Still on the ledge

I'm sitting on my ledge once more, legs stretched out in front of me. It's a comfortable position and the sun-warmed marble surface is pleasant beneath my rump. It's a welcome counterpoint to the icy chill I felt upon entering my overly air conditioned hotel room.

The sun is low in the sky over my right shoulder, it's bright glare reflecting off the ever shifting surface of the nearby ocean. The beach looks inviting although busy. In the fading daylight I see far more than I managed last night. I cannot say whether it is what I expected or not. Perhaps it is neither.

Beneath me a group of six men, identically clad in green t-shirts and red trousers parade in single file. On each of their shoulders appears to be mounted a small candelabra whose purpose I can only guess.

The traffic outside is in full flow. Swarms of three wheeled taxis in fearsome yellow and black livery buzz around larger cars, horns tooting angrily. I do not believe it is possible to drive in Mumbai without a fully functioning car horn. Their sound is persistent although the strange chorus they form seems less cacophonous than it ought.

A mass of pigeons collect atop an enormous placard opposite advertising a brand of scottish whiskey. The sign too is yellow and black. It does not appear angry and I do not suspect of any connection with the strange tricycle taxis. Scooters wheel by. On the back of one I spy a mother in a verdant sari carrying her child. She and child seem precariously mounted, though her face is a vision of serenity.

My day was less long than I feared. A late start after a sleepless night combined with an early finish has left me feeling at something of a loose end instead. My throat is slightly sore. I talked a lot today. It's possible I'm being generous to myself. Rambled may be the more appropriate term. Still some ground was covered and some foundations laid and I can claim some productivity accomplished. Some. My hosts were polite and generous in the extreme. I found myself at a loss for a proper response to the bouquet of flowers I received upon stepping into the office. And what I initially took to be the offer of a brief tour around the city on Saturday has transmuted into a weekend long adventure to a different city altogether with more flights and more hotels to look forward to.

I said "thank you" a lot today.