October has been such a stellar month. We’ve had three 4-day-workweeks in a row. And here’s the best part – Nia had school on 2 of the 3 days we had off of work! You know what that means . . . date day for Mom and Dad! We literally put her on the bus at 7:30 and immediately hopped in an Uber to South Bombay where we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast followed by a movie at this cool, old art deco theatre.
The weather was fairly cooperative too, so we decided to do some strolling about the beautiful old British part of the city in the Fort and Kala Ghoda areas.
We found ourselves having such a lovely time that we just kept extending it…shopping, lunch, an art gallery visit & more sightseeing. Highly recommend day dates! Such a fun change-up from our usual Friday evening outing!
We’ve also been to some really fantastic events this month. A documentary film producer who lives in our building extended an invite to Bloomberg’s Equality Summit where her film Son Rise was being showcased on the event’s opening night. The documentary takes place in Haryana, a town just outside of Delhi that has one of the highest rates of infanticide in the country.
Here’s a synopsis of the moving film, which hopefully should be coming to Netflix soon!
“SON RISE is filmed in rural Haryana, a strongly patriarchal state, bordering India’s capital, New Delhi. Illegal, yet rampant female infanticide, has led to the eerie absence of girls in hundreds of villages, giving the region the notorious title ‘The land of Daughter Killers’. This sex-ratio imbalance has resulted in the dangerous increase of unmarried men, and the trafficking of “brides†from other parts of India. In turn, this has led to a worsening law and order situation, with an unprecedented epidemic of crimes against women.
Exposing these darkest corners, the film maker finds, all may not be lost: In this unlikeliest place, she follows ‘ordinary’ men doing the ‘extraordinary’ in the struggle for women’s rights and gender justice. From a forward-thinking village chief and father of two daughters, fighting for women to enter the male-dominated arena of local-politics – to a farmer who, in an arranged marriage, defies society by marrying a gang rape survivor. “
http://www.sonrisethefilm.com/
I was incredibly touched by the film and could not help myself from crying when one of the main characters, the farmer who married a gang-rape survivor & fought for her justice, came up to the stage for the Q&A with the film’s producer. I was beyond thrilled when I managed to get a photo with him at the end of the event. I’ll keep you posted on when this is available worldwide – definitely a must-see!
And last but not least was the taping of Indian comedian Vir Das’ Netflix special. We heard about the taping and managed to get some tickets online. Little did we know there would be a special “foreigners” section for certain jokes to be directed at. And wouldn’t you know it, my porcelain skin earned us an invite to sit in the very front row of the foreigners section …. because I’m about as “foreign-looking” as they come here with my pale skin and blonde, short hair.
The night just got more and more amusing. The material was great, there were loads of direct interactions between the comedian and the “foreigner section” and we even got invited to say hi to him in his dressing room after the show! Definitely one of my favorite nights in Mumbai thus far. The Netflix special should be released in January. Rest assured that I’ll let you know when it’s out. :)
November doesn’t look to be too shabby either. We’ve got the Marine Ball, Nia’s Birthday party, my parent’s visit & a trip to India’s Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur). Woohooo! Life is good here. Hope you can say the same friends. xoxo
