Being back in Mumbai, India has been a satisfactory experience so fare on this, my second trip. I think I am finally getting used to everything here in India. The traffic doesn’t surprise me, and I pretty much expect (and get a kick out of) the constant inconsistencies in everything from food to security procedures. No hassle at the airport this time around since I just went right through the x-ray scanner that caused my dual-laptop dilemma last trip.

One thing that happened today would have probably been disturbing last trip, but I actually thought it was borderline on funny. A colleague and I went over to the cricket batting cages at the mall next door to try our hand at 3 overs that were surely pure comedy to the spectating locals. On our way back to the Tunga, we were literally accosted by the begging children that are so common here in Mumbai. Normally, their advances are relatively harmless with the occasional touching of your shoes or maybe your stomach. This time, however, a tour book poking out of my pocket set a horde of the kids into a frenzy. A small girl snatched the book from my pocket as I was mostly concentrating on protecting my wallet. As I plucked it out of her hands and held it high above my head, I found myself engulfed in throngs of children pulling and my shirt and arms in a manner that was far from comfortable. On small boy was clinging to my arm so tightly that his feet were completely off the ground! We scuffled back to the safety of the hotel literally dragging the horde along.

I was smiling and laughing, which probably provoked the situation even more as the kids now seemed to view this as some kind of make-the-stupid-American-uncomfortable game. They were smiling and laughing as well, which made the situation seem less threatening and rather comical. Luckily that Hindi shouts from the security guard at the gate of the hotel dispersed the beggars, and we had a good laugh as we assessed the damage to my poor Jazz Fest T-shirt. There were smudges of street grime everywhere, and several areas where the cotton remained in a distorted shape from the small clenching fingers. I truly wish that I could help them without exacerbating the problem, but tour guides and locals alike consistently say that donations to charity are the right way to contribute to the well being of the impoverished locals.

So now I sit 7 stories above the craziness below in my safe and cozy hotel room. It is tragically unfortunate that for those kids life is so unfair. I only hope that the prosperity that India is experiencing as a country can trickle down to all of the slums, ditches, and alleyways of the Maximum City.