Bollywood, Take 2

I had my second Bollywood acting gig last night. This time I played the role of ‘Well-Dressed Fan #5.’ Well-Dressed Fan #5 is metropolitan elite who attends all the big events, like book singings. He stands on the edge of the red carpet. He claps and cheers when celebrities drive up and walk the red carpet.



Although, this one didn’t seem as high budget as my last production, I got a lot more face time on the camera, which should be good for my acting portfolio. I went to this shoot with my Isreali buddy Tamir and a bunch of the people from France. We all had a good time and the 80 minute cab ride took us through parts of Mumbai I had never seen before, which was a nice.

Rat Attack

Rats are a common sight in the streets of Mumbai. They are huge, relatively brazen, and all over the place. The rats are actually as large, if not larger, then most of the stray cats. Luckily, the place I am staying is on the fourth floor of a building, and is the cleanest of the three places I have stayed in India, making it an unlikely habitat for rats.

A few nights ago, one of the Australians got bit on his chest while sleeping, and claimed it was a rat. I thought it was possible, but unlikely. Last night, I returned from my Bollywood shoot around 1am, and was walking down the hall to our room when a pretty huge (say 5-10 pounds) rat runs out of our room, literally stares me down, and then runs in to another room. Although I was not happy to see that the Aussie-biting rat exists, I was happy to see he has moved to another room. Just moments later in our bathroom, where I have to use my flashlight, I spotted another rat slipping in to the crack in the wall.

At that point I decided to take the necessary precautions to avoid getting bit by rabies-infested rat. I moved to a top bunk.

Huge Buddhism Conversion Ceremony

Late on Sunday I went out to the northern, non-touristy, part of Mumbai with an Australian mate from the hostel to see a mass conversion to Buddhism. It was 50 years since low caste Hindus started converting to Buddhism, so it was a huge event. Many people were worried about violent opposition from Hindu extremists, but things ended up being peaceful. Of the 100,000 + people their, we were the only 2 white people, so the heavily armed guards at the gate did not allow us in. A bunch of Buddhists started arguing with the guard in Hindi on our behalf, and they ended up letting us in. It was an amazing atmosphere and their were sooo many people. At one point, everyone chanted harmoniously, and it was one of the most spiritual things I have ever experienced.



All of the people were amazingly nice and it was the first time since I arriving in India that I went a few hours without people selling me things, asking for money, or trying to scam me. We met many Buddhist converts who wanted to talk to us and they were some of the sweetest people I have ever met.



We talked to soooo many different people, and some even asked to have our picture taken with them. I think my hair and glasses suggested that I was somehow involved in Buddhism.



I even had a cool pro-Buddhism baseball cap, which I bought to protect my head from the sun, but I gave it to a sweet little kid who had his photo taken with us. It was an amazing and spiritual event, even for someone not actively involved in Buddhism.

Here is a news write-up on the event.

Elephanta Island

On Sunday I went to Elephanta Island. It is charming little island in the Mumbai harbor with 9th century cave statues of Hindu gods.




The statues were very pretty, and carved by hand. Unfortunately, when the Portuguese were in India, they used the statues for firing practice and many are at least partially destroyed. Overall, the island and the statues were very beautiful, and it was a nice (but expensive) morning outing. Also, on the island I had my first run-in with monkeys. I saw a monkey steal a coke from a little girl and drink it. Awesome.

A (Bollywood) Star is Born

On Saturday, I was an extra in a Bollywood movie. The producers needed white and black people to be movie extras, because the movie is set in South Africa. A French girl, 3 New Zealanders, and I were recruited from our hostel and were paid 500 rupees. I was ‘Office Worker #2.’ Office Worker #2 is an intelligent office worker in a hideous blue-green suit whose work consists of talking to one woman at her computer, picking up a document, and bringing it to another woman. I nailed it.



My mind-blowing acting landed me long-term acting gig. They wanted me to be a reoccurring character in another movie that was being shot Hydrabad & Mumbai. I would have to work 1 month. They offered me 1200 rupees a day, plus room and board. It was tempted, and acting was pretty fun, but I would rather see the Himilayas then act in a Bollywood film for a month. Maybe next time.

Map Of Tenative Travel Plans

At my grandmother’s request, I made a map showing where I will be throughout the trip. Other then the final 6 weeks in Guwahati (#8) the plans are pretty fluid and may change, depending on who I meet or what catches my interest. The current plan is as follows:

• Mumbai Area (#1) - I fly in to Mumbai.I plan on seeing the sights, watching Bollywood flicks, and partying with the Bombay residents I met on couchsurfing.com.(5-10 days)

• Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra (#2,#3,#4) – I will take a train to these locations from Mumbai and will shuffle between the three cities. I plan on seeing the pink city, prominent forts, and the Taj Mahol. The amount of time I spend in these cities will depend on when I can get a flight to Leh. (3-7 days)

• Leh, Manali, Simla, Himalayas (#5,6,7) – I will take a flight from Delhi to Leh. After taking a few days to adjust to the altitude I will do some trekking (hiking) in the Himalayas. I am looking forward to traveling the famous Leh-Manali highway and visiting Buddhist Gompas. I also hope to visit an assortment of small villages in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. I will then head back towards Delhi by foot, camel, horse, jeep, and bus. (14-26 days)

• Delhi (#4) – I will return to Delhi so that I can catch a train to Guwahati for my internship. If I have some extra time in Delhi, I will check out the city’s bazaars, tombs, and museums. (1-3 Days)

• Guwahati (#8) – I will arrive in Guwahati and head to IIT for my internship. IIT is just a quick ferry ride across the Brahmaputra from center city, so I hope to spend weekends in the city or visiting Assamese wildlife reserves. I will reside in a graduate student dorm for 6 weeks. (6 Weeks)

• Mumbai (#1) - I will then take another cross country train trip to Mumbai. I estimate that I will spend well over 100 hours on trains during my time in India. I will then spend a final few days in Mumbai, probably buying souvenirs, before heading home. (1-3 days)

Blog Intro

Hello family and friends. Somewhat inspired by Ayla's blog, I decided to create a blog to share my Indian adventures with family and friends. After the first few posts, this blog will consist mostly of photos from my trip. I will try to update it once a week, except when I am up in the Himalayas, where I will have limited internet access.

For those who don't know me, or what I am doing:
My name is Dave, and I am an American grad student backpacking India on my own for 6 weeks. After that, I am doing a research internship in the design school at IIT for 6 weeks.