Goa By Way of Bollywood / 9 Nov 09

Thanks in part to Alex and in part to Kashmera, we had a spectacular day. Alex de Sousa served as our guide. On the way south Alex drove through northern villages and along famous beaches including Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol. The weather was drizzly so our view of beaches was somewhat tempered but we could see the appeal of the less touristed north.

We’d read about a museum of Portuguese houses called CALIZZ near Candolim Beach and selected it as our first stop. Calizz is a restored village square with houses that represent both affluent Portuguese homes as well as native Goan mud-brick dwellings. The museum seems to be the pet project of a wealthy Goan who has a hobby of collecting antique objects and whose desire it is to preserve Goan heritage. Apparently there is very little in the way of museums in Goa so this small museum is a jewel. We had a beautiful young guide at the museum who knew every fact about the objects on display. She gave us fascinating insights into current Goan society by telling us stories about her own life.

We headed south, winding through more villages and fields. After two hours or so and many bumps over “sleeping policemen” (the Goan name for speed bumps) we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel. Kashmera had only arrived in Goa a few hours earlier. She offered us her room to freshen up while she dashed off for a pre-show rehearsal. At 6pm her makeup artist and hair stylist arrived and they began final preparation. We had a great time watching the application of layers of stage makeup, including sparking silver eyeshadow. Several wigs and costumes were selected before dashing off at 7 for the performance.

The event was a corporate reward banquet for high-performing Bridgestone sales people from all over India. Kashmera was the featured entertainer of the evening and she both opened and closed the show. What looked like heavy stage makeup in her room appeared completely natural under lights. Kashmera danced with a troupe of 10 and lip-sync’d (as is customary in India) to popular Bollywood songs. The Bridgestone men adored her; they held still and video cameras high in the air despite a steady and hard rain. By the end of the performance we were thoroughly soaked but the warm rain felt good. Alex, our faithful friend and driver, had accompanied us to the performance and we were relieved to have him to drive us the long way back to Siolim.

Jodhpur to Mumbai / 3 Nov 09

We were scheduled to depart Jodhpur on a 2pm flight and arrive Mumbai at 4pm. But it seems that flights having anything to do with Mumbai are perpetually delayed. The complicating factor is that we were to meet Cliff and Cathy’s friends, Bollywood actors Kashmera Shah and her boyfriend Krushna, for dinner and they were going to pick us up at the airport. Mumbai is a huge city and, like in LA, it takes forever to drive from one side to the other. Krushna and Kashmera live in far northern Mumbai. Our hotel, the Taj Mumbai, is in the extreme south. To make logistics easier, we’d previously made arrangements with our tour operator to take our luggage from the airport directly on to the Taj Mumbai. Although we arrived much later than planned, thanks to the conveniences of text messaging on our Indian phones, Cliff and Kashmera were in constant contact.

K&K arrived in two cars and whisked us north to their favorite part of town, Juhu. Juhu is a wealthy area of Mumbai with “bungalows” (think three story white houses ringed with balconies) where the rich and famous live. We pulled into the ultra-chic JW Marriott Hotel with Las Vegas-style fountains in front and security posts that retract into the ground to keep vehicles from approaching.

Dinner was a lavish series of buffets reflecting cuisine from all over the world. I made small talk with the chef (a stunningly good looking native of Mumbai) feigning interest in recipes. Kashmera is a vegetarian on Monday and Tuesdays (giving up meat for religious reasons) so she avoided meat dishes. We had no such dietary restrictions and filled our plates with shrimp, chicken, pizza – and I haven’t even mentioned the Indian foods we sampled.

After dinner K&K drove us to see a local beach and then to a birthday party for an actor friend at a club on the beach. At the party K&K posed for paparazzi and were interviewed for the press. Needless to say, they are a glamorous couple!