The Taj Mahal Hotel and the Bombay I came to know....

The below is a Guest Article showcasing the guest's personal impressions of Mumbai during her visit with her future husband in 2013. For more information on the Author, please scroll to the base of the article.
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Oh, Bombay! Isn’t it the most populous, cosmopolitan, stylish, commercial, liberal, rich, Bollywoodish place in the whole of India? Take my word for that, it is. But also, it is home to infamous Mumbai mafia and the world largest slums (with 60% of Mumbai’s population living there).

Most Indians would still call Mumbai by its British name – Bombay, and there is an on-going debate regarding the original name of the city. Some say, that Mumbai is a derivative of two words “Mumba” (the name of local goddess Mumbadevi) and “aai” (“mother” in Marathi), while Bombay is an anglicized version of Portuguese “Bom Bahia” – “Good Bay”.

Seven original Islands, and later connected by land, today compose the city and like most places in India, its history goes far back in time, precisely to 1508 when the islands were taken by Portuguese from Sultan of Cambay in today's Gujarat. They built a settlement, churches and forts, however, without a clear idea of how to use the islands, they handed them over to England in 1661 as part of the dowry of Catherine de Braganza when she married Charles II of England. Apparently, the British king had no use of the islands either so, in 1668, he leased them to the East India Company for 10 pounds of gold a year. The Company built the ports and business dominated the center of the city. The construction of the port and trading incentives given to the locals, attracted many industry and business communities to flood the city, thus laying ground to the diversity of the city and its commercial success.

Dimitris and I arrived in Mumbai on time, took a taxi (Rs.500) from the airport and 45 mins later checked-in into a beautiful Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. After 10 days of traveling and staying in different hotels, Taj Mahal Palace was all we wanted from Mumbai and more than we hoped to get from a hotel. It is a piece of art, monument of history and an extraordinary experience, all in one! Upon seeing our room in the Palace section of the hotel, Dimitris let go his subconscious desire never leave the hotel for the entire stay in Mumbai and frankly speaking, neither did I!

This stunning hotel is today Mumbai’s landmark and perhaps, one of the most famous hotels in the World. But of course, it is not the marble or design, the cotton count of the sheets or the bathroom toiletries that make this hotel great, it is the impeccable and attentive service, the “extra mile” the staff were willing to go in order for us to enjoy ourselves and of course, it is a “wow” effect we got from pretty much everything – and to name a few : beautiful Tibetan mandalas in the room and access to an Oxford-like lounge with drinks that compliment the mood. I was rest assured that me insisting to stay at this particular hotel was indeed wise and no less than a fairy tale relived.

After dropping off our luggage, we went for dinner to the Zodiac Grill - one of the best romantic restaurants we’ve ever been to. We ordered non-vegetarian tasting menus for both and spent an evening, worshiped by the attention of our two Goan servers, Anthony and Domnic. They were professional, well-mannered and delightfully pleasant. Our first evening in Mumbai gave a promising start and well-needed refuge!

The next morning, after having our morning coffee at the lounge, we came to the concierge desk to find out about things to do in Mumbai and Viren A. D’Sa, the Taj’s Experience Manager, whom we approached, turned out to be, an experience in himself. He, perhaps is one of the best people suitable for the hospitality business from whom I have ever met (but I guess it applies to everyone we met at the Taj). He was super knowledgeable, entertaining and friendly. He wasn’t a concierge (and he seemed to be on the run when we approached the desk), nevertheless, he spent 15 minutes telling us where to go and what to see in details. We grabbed the map he handed to us and walked out eager to explore.

Unlike Delhi, Mumbai has very few things to see. Indeed, Brits invested in building the city center, but after the Independence, Indian’s zeal to wipe away all traces of colonial rule was, unfortunately, not matched by the same enthusiasm to build a new city. Skyscrapers popped up in some parts of the city and old Victorian buildings were given names that a non-Hindi speaking person could never pronounce, but most of Colaba (southern Mumbai, where we stayed) represents a fair amount of Art-Deco buildings in a pretty good conditions.

In general, we thought that Mumbai was by far the cleanest and most organized place we have seenduring our visit in India, perhaps, it is partially due to a ban on tuk-tuks within 20 kms of city center. Our taxi driver told us that the reason for it was that “tuk-tuks don’t follow the traffic regulations and create chaos in the city”, as if the rest followed traffic regulations?!

Our goal was to check out Victoria Terminus Train Station building (locally known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), which indeed had the most extravagant Gothic architecture of all. As historian Christopher London put it “the Victoria Terminus is to the British Raj what the Taj Mahal is to the Mughal empire”. Designed by F. Stevens, it was completed in 1887 and today, it is Asia’s busiest train station and a World Heritage sight as well. True to its reputation, it was so overflown with people that it forced us to run away and look for a refuge at the Crawford Market.

As Viren told us, Crawford market was a place where we could buy everything and he meant “e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g”, from fruits to postcards to souvenirs to puppies.

As it was Sunday, half of the market was closed, so while trying to get rid of an “I-am-a-security-and-you-can’t-walk-on-your-own-here annoying man,  we checked out a few cute pets and took a taxi (Rs.70) to Marine Drive and Girgaum Chowpatty, also known as Corniche and “the Queen’s Necklace” to enjoy warm (+30C) weather and a beautiful Arabian Sea sunset.

Dinner at Leopold's Cafe

We took a taxi back and before going to the hotel, walked around the Gateway of India monument for some fantastic shoots. It was built to commemorate the 1911 royal visit of George V, but not completed until 1924. At any time of the day, it was always full of locals, taking pictures and people-watching.

After returning to the hotel, we grabbed some snacks at the lounge and went to a famous (read “Shantaram“) and super busy Leopold Cafe for dinner.

Dimitris and I planned to meet our classmate Mihir the next day at 5 pm, to attend a tour of Taj Mahal Palace together. It was a fascinating story of the hotel, told by our favorite person at the Taj – Viren. I believe many hotels in the world could borrow an idea and start organizing hotel tours, but very few of them would have such a vibrant and eventful history as Taj Mahal Place, from its inception in 1903 to the terrorist attack in 2008 to the current celebs staying at the hotel (Scarlet Johansson and Russell Brand).

After the tour, we dropped by Sea Lounge for some tea and juice before heading to Khyber restaurant, highly recommended by everyone in Mumbai.It is a lovely, lavishly decorated restaurant serving a north India cuisine. We ordered an appetizer and some samples of meet kebab for the main course, as well as desserts. Everything was delicious.

After dinner, we continued to the stylish Harbour Bar, back at Taj Mahal Palace – the first bar in Mumbai to acquire a liquor license in 1933 – to try their signature cocktail from the Prohibition era. The story behind the cocktail is that a few Americans who had their boat moored by the Gateway of India heard about the abolition of prohibition in the US, entered the Harbour Bar to celebrate and demanded a cocktail which would blow them away. The bartender used Indian fruit juices to concoct a cocktail that is now known as Harbour Bar 1933. Our bartender came to the table to demonstrate the preparation of the drink before our eyes. Not only was his show impressive, but also the drink was delicious.

After saying goodbyes to Mihir, we went back to our room to pack and get some sleep before flying off to Mysore.

Mumbai, though rich in history, for us, it was a piece of paradise because of Taj Mahal Palace. So, my advice if you plan to visit Mumbai – book the Taj, get your swimming attire in order and enjoy the amenities! The rest of the world can wait!

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Meet the Author:

Sviatlana Tsiaseika-Economou is an event planner living in New York. Born in Minsk, Belarus, she graduated from Oxford, UK and has become today, by passion a proud world traveler and history aficionado. 

She visited India with her, now become, husband, to attend the Dalai Lama teachings in Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India.

If you would like to read more of her articles please log on to :
www.svetanyc.com 

The Eunuchs - Understanding the story of India's third gender

Whenever we think of cross dressing today, we imagine men and women exploring their feminine and masculine sides respectively. From kids exploring their sexuality to adults making it their profession, cross dressing has been a part of many a person's life whether or not he may wish to admit and to what extent. From the famous lady boys of Thailand to the Eunachs of India to the strangest and kinkiest fetishes in the West, exploration of both sides of man's emotions with respect to their ability to showcase the same and their respective comfort zones vis a vis the society in which they live in, that man decides his sexual orientation.

This decision is different for different people and can vary in their respective display in their masculinity and feminism like paint splattered against a wall. From ultra macho where one's penis is Divine to ultra gay where his accessories are at the altar, man and women have found and justified themselves in being in their respective personality of choice. And who are we to judge them as long as they are in their comfortable zone and be natural for we need to understand and like a person for who he or she is and not what the individual is.

Like all nations India too was no stranger to this phenomenon. But unlike all nations, India has her own secret which runs so deep that it either glorified or vilianized it to epic proportions. Thats right we call the phenomenon the Chakka, the Hijra, the Eunach or the Transgender.

The word "hijra" is an Urdu-Hindustani word derived from the Semitic Arabic root hjr in its sense of "leaving one's tribe," and has been borrowed into Hindi. The Indian usage has traditionally been translated into English as "eunuch" or "hermaphrodite," where "the irregularity of the male genitalia is central to the definition." However, in general hijras are born with typically male physiology, only a few having been born with male intersex variations. Some Hijras undergo an initiation rite into the hijra community called nirwaan, which refers to the removal of penis, testicles and scrotum.

On April 15, 2014, The Supreme Court of India [SC], in a landmark judgement, created the "third gender" status for hijras or transgenders. Earlier, Indian nationals were forced to write male or female against their gender. Besides, The SC asked the Centre to treat transgender as socially and economically backward. The apex court said that transgenders will be allowed admission in educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category.

The SC said absence of law recognizing hijras as third gender could not be continued as a ground to discriminate them in availing equal opportunities in education and employment. This is for the first time that the third gender has got a formal recognition. The third gender people will be considered as Other Backward Classes [OBC]s, the SC said. The SC said they will be given educational and employment reservation as OBCs.

Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi

The SC said the states must construct special public toilets and departments to look into their special medical issues. The SC also added that if a person surgically changes his/her sex, then he or she is entitled to her changed sex and can not be discriminated. But, The bench clarified that its verdict pertains only to eunuchs and not other sections of society like gay, lesbian and bisexuals who are also considered under the umbrella term 'transgender'. 

Welcoming the Supreme Court decision, Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi, transgender rights activist said, "the progress of the country is dependent upon human rights of the people and we are very happy with the judgment as the Supreme court has given us those rights." 

But who are these Eunachs? and where did they come from? Since the days of record-able history, India was plagued with two main genders: Male and Female. From fiction to reality, these genders ruled Indian society. It was only from around 1200AD with the advent of the Turkish rulers did the third gender begin to make its presence in Indian folk, political and social scenes. So what was the importance of the Eunuch in Turkey that their rulers found fthem worthy of being introduced in the Indian sub-continent?

Imperial Harem - Ottoman Empire

The Imperial Harem or Harem-i Hümâyûn of the Ottoman Empire, existing between 1299 and 1923, was the Ottoman sultan's harem composed of the wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives, and the sultan's concubines, occupying a secluded portion of the Ottoman imperial household. This institution played an important social function within the Ottoman court, and demonstrated considerable political authority in Ottoman affairs, especially during the long period known as the Sultanate of Women.

The utmost authority in the Imperial Harem was the Valide Sultan (queen mother), who ruled over the other women in the household and was often of slave origin herself. The Kizlar Agha, also known as the "Chief Black Eunuch" because of the black African origin, was the head of the eunuchs responsible for guarding the Imperial Harem.

At Topkapı Palace, at the court of the Ottoman sultans, the harem staff commonly included eunuchs. These were slaves, either captured in war (mainly Christian Europeans in the Balkans) or recruited within the empire (especially from the Caucasus and blacks from Sudan) or even beyond (especially in Abyssinia). Black eunuchs usually were Sandali ('clean shaven' i.e. their genitalia were removed completely), hence they were preferred for harem service, while white eunuchs usually kept part of their penis or testicles, so they were assigned to less 'intimate' duties, e.g. secretarial. They were often donated to the Sultan by his governors, in total about six- to eight hundred.

The Black Eunach

The castrated servicemen in the Muslim and Turkish states in the Middle Ages were recruited to serve in the palace from the times of Sultan Mehmed I onwards. These eunuchs who were trained in the palace and were given the charge of guarding the harem rose in rank after serving in many positions.  The harem eunuchs and the harem organization were under the command of the Chief harem eunuch, who was also called the Master of the Girls (Kızlar Ağası) or Chief Black Eunuch. They supervised the quarters where the female population of the palace lived. They had influence on the palace and later on the state administration in the 17th and 18th centuries as they had access to the sultan and the sultan's family and became very powerful. Eunuchs at the Ottoman court were preferably taken from Africa, especially Sudan.

The Turks later invaded India in the 11th Century commencing with the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni who drove his forces into India from Afghanistan after first defeating the Hindushahi Kings of Peshawar and the Muslim Rulers of Multan. Though their rule started with mere invasions and loot. The Turks soon made their presence known in India over a considerable span of time and produced three great Monarchs: Qutb-ud-din Aibak who built the Qutb Minar. His daughter Razia Sultan who became India's first Queen and was assassinated in six months for being a Queen and his brother Iltutmish. 

Apart from merging the Dervish Dancers of Konya who later became the Sufi dancers of India and merging the Indo - Turkish vocabulary chief being Turkish Airlines : Türk Hava Yolları where Hava is air in Hindi, the Turks brought in their prized possessions: The Eunachs. 

Initially brought in with the sole purpose of administration and guarding the Harem, a task in which they had made a reputed name for themselves, they soon began to charm and influence the animalistic beliefs of the local Hindu populace.

Eunuchs were highly valued for their strength, ability to provide protection for ladies' palaces and trustworthiness, allowing eunuchs to live amongst women with fewer worries. This enabled eunuchs to serve as messengers, watchmen, attendants and guards for palaces. Often, eunuchs also doubled as part of the King's court of advisers.

Besides, the Hindus considered the Kings as their Gods, as was witnessed in many cultures across the world, chief being the relationships shared between the Egyptians and their Pharoahs. So here too the Sultan was given Divine status; and as the eunachs shared an intimate role with the Sultan, they too were soon hailed to the heavens with many attributed with the powers of healing and cursing. The ceremony is supposed to bring good luck and fertility, while the curse of an unappeased hijra is feared by many. They are integral to several Hindu ceremonies which is primary form of their livelihood. They are a part of dance programs (sometimes adult) in marriage ceremonies. They also perform certain ceremonies for the couple in Hindu tradition. 

But with the departure of the Turkish Rule and the subsequent arrival of other powerful dynasties, the eunuchs who remained now became a political and social threat to the dominence of the new Kings who were heavily under the advise of their respective councils who viewed the eunuchs as stiff competitions and needed to be exiled.

They began a villification process to epic proportions that though it took many a generation to oust an entity of Heavenly Might, the results were soon to go against the Eunuchs and today the once moost powerful people who decorated the corridors of power are themselves powerless as no self respecting community, society or even company would want to hire and worse still, be associated with them such that they today, typically live in the lowest margins of society and face discrimination.  A major means to earn their living are: by coming uninvited at weddings, births, new shop openings and other major family events and singing until they are paid or given gifts to go away. Other sources of income for the hijra are begging and prostitution. The begging is accompanied by singing and dancing and the hijras usually get the money easily. Even in social life calling another a Eunach is almost always said with negative and crude connotations with the receiver rejecting it with disgust.

Some Indian provincial officials have used the assistance of hijras to collect taxes in the same fashion; they knock on the doors of shopkeepers, while dancing and singing, and embarrass them into paying. It is said that if the individual does not cough up the money they will start to undress, much to the embarrassment of the hapless miser and will finally show their famed scar of castration which is considered to be the ultimate curse on any household.

Recently, hijras have started to found organizations to improve their social condition and fight discrimination, such as the Shemale Foundation Pakistan.

It is only now in 2014, that the Supreme Court of India accepted and adopted with immediate effect, the third gender as an official gender. But its actual assimilation into the social fabric of the country will take a few generations as change though constant is a very slow process especially when one has to convert a wrong into a right as no man wants to change his thought process that easily.

 But whatever being the outcome, the eunuchs are here to stay and deserve respect as unlike the millions of Indians living dual lives, scared to let the skeletons in their closets come out into the real world, there people have the courage to brave out their identity even if it means going against the second most populated country in the world.

Eunach Upliftment Foundation - India