Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 67

Athena Finger: Year One

In 2006, when I started researching Bill Finger for what would become Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, I quickly learned that there might be no family left. As relayed in the author’s note of the book, I was told that Bill had only one child, Fred, who was gay and who died in 1992. It seemed to mark the end of the Finger bloodline.

But eight years ago today, late on Saturday 2/17/07, I learned that what I was told was wrong.

Fred had been bisexual for a while…and had a daughter. Meaning Bill had a grandchild…an heir.

Learning of Athena Finger was the biggest moment of my research.

Going on memory, I would have said that I found Athena the following Tuesday (2/20/07), but upon referring to my notes, it was actually a week after that. I can’t believe it took me 10 days.

The family members who told me about Athena did not know how to reach her. On Ancestry.com, I found her marriage record, thereby learning the name of her husband. I searched and found his name on the site of a drummer who turned out to be a friend. He suggested I contact Athena via her MySpace page. (This was in the quaint era before I would’ve immediately checked MySpace…now Facebook (AKA Findbook).

Upon checking MySpace, I saw that her dog’s name was Bruce Wayne. And I saw a photo of her as a child with Fred.


With the subject line “Hi Athena - your grandfather,” I sent this message:

Hi Athena,

My name is Marc Nobleman. I’m a writer who lives in Connecticut. Most of the books I’ve published are for children; you can see a full list on www.bn.com. (I’m also a cartoonist at www.mtncartoons.com.)

Now I’m working on a picture book about a subject that has been a passion of mine since I was seven: Batman. My focus is the uncredited co-creator of Batman—Bill Finger. I’ve been researching for almost a year and finally found a piece of the puzzle that was very elusive—Portia’s family. (I did not know the name of her twin sister so it was a lot of trial and even more error.) Through [Athena’s aunt] Judy, I learned of you!

I know you were born after Bill died but you are his closest living relative so it would be my honor to talk with you. In particular, I am hoping you inherited photos of Bill? Judy loaned me the few she had (including some of your dad and you, which I’d be happy to email you) but I am hoping to find more. The photos are not for reproduction in the book—the book will be illustrated so they are for visual reference for the illustrator.

Also, the book is not an expose or an intimate family portrait—it’s a tribute to Bill and his role in Batman.

If you’re game, I can call at your convenience. My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx and email is xxx@xxx.com.

I love the name of your dog!

Hope to hear back from you soon,
Marc

That night, at 6:30 p.m., Athena called.

I noted that she sounded “grounded, calm, nice.” Among the things she said...

only other person who had contacted her about Bill did so in about 2002; she didn’t remember his name or the reason, but nothing came of it most of what she knew about Bill was the same as what Fred said in his 1986 interviewshe had not heard of Bill’s sister Emily, whom I had also recently discovered and contactedshe was not included in the process of giving away Fred’s things after he died (she was 15)she did not know that Fred’s companion Charles Shaheen had also died, in 2002she did school projects on Billwhen she married, she kept the last name “Finger” as a tribute (she’s the last—her son’s surname is different)she was excited to show my book to her sonshe was happy—sometimes emotional—that I had gotten in touch
By that point, I’d been researching for more than half a year and thought I knew my arc. But this changed everything. This meant the story was not yet over.

And by chance, I had a trip to Florida scheduled for the following month, so we did not have to wait long to meet in person.

3/18/07

A month later, Athena posted this. 

Three years to the day I found Athena, Charlesbridge made an offer on the book.

10 things you (probably) don’t know about the Bronx

Crain’s 5boros, a magazine covering New York City, posted 10 things people don’t know about the Bronx. 


Except if you’re reading this, you probably do know #1. Appropriately, the list posted on February 8.

Coverage of a Kickstarter that hasn’t kickstarted yet

It speaks so highly of Bill Finger that a post about a potential Kickstarter campaign to commemorate him in New York City attracted media attention in Florida and on Comic Book Resources.


One response on Twitter that both amused and humbled me:


Stay tuned for my next step…which may not be what you would expect.

The Dynamic Duo of the Himalayas

While at the American School of Bombay, I had the pleasure of meeting an American-born teacher named Carol who had a charming story to tell about her son and daughter and a certain Boy Wonder:

In the late 1980s, my family was living in a little town north of New Delhi, a hill station named Mussoorie, where my kids attended Woodstock School, the oldest international boarding school in Asia. My son Jamie was always gathering up the neighborhood kids to play superheroes and would bully them shamelessly to be Spider-Man one day, Superman another, Batman another, etc., as they roared up and down and around the hill paths surrounding our house.

[At] about nine years old, he was dead keen to have a Robin outfit for Halloween. So several weeks before, I walked into the bazaar and sat with one of the local tailors, Abhinandan, who was completely mystified by this most unusual request. I patiently sat with him, explaining who Robin was, showing him comic books, giving him Jamie’s measurements, explaining how important this was to Jamie, and assuring him he could do this. And indeed he did:

Since it was cold, Jamie ended up wearing a pair of nylons under his outfit—and I promised I would never tell his friends.

The Batman outfit, by the way, we inherited in Bombay a few years earlier from an Australian preschool friend of Jamie’s. I’m sure Batman never carried a red pistol…but, hey, all’s fair in love and war—and this was clearly war.

Jamie now lives in Delhi, where he writes about superheroes of a different sort as a cricket journalist.

My daughter Afshaan was a cheerful sidekick to all of Jamie’s adventurous and imaginative games. She’s probably three years old in this photo. She would like someday to be a writer, for which I take all the blame. She was a child interested in everything—every rock, every ladybug, every plant, every cow we passed on the way down the hill to preschool. It was torturous to ensure both kids got to school on time every day. 

So I told stories. I started with the usual ones—the Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, Rapunzel, etc., then Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, etc., then got desperate and resorted to “Batman Meets Cinderella” and “Spider-Man Courts Rapunzel,” etc. Thus, step-by-step, talking non-stop the entire 20 minutes downhill, I cajoled my sweet little girl to school. The crunch came when I’d pick her up at noon and she’d say, “Okay, Mama, tell me the story you told me this morning,” and I would have no idea…

This is the power of superheroes…and brave tailors in little towns in the Himalayas…

Kickstarter to commemorate Bill Finger in New York City

The summer of 2013, I prepared a Kickstarter proposal to raise money to honor Bill Finger by installing a bench in Poe Park in the Bronx.

Because running a Kickstarter campaign seems to become a full-time job for the duration, I have not yet followed through.

But below is the (slightly modified) proposal. If it generates enough enthusiasm here, it might embolden me to launch it immediately!

A Commemorative Bench in New York City for Batman Co-Creator Bill Finger

Goal:

$6,000

Purpose:

Install a bench and plaque dedicated to Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of Batman, in Poe Park in the Bronx, New York. This would be done through the NYC Parks Adopt-a-Bench program.


An installation about Bill would serve a triple purpose:

help right a wrongcontribute to Bronx/NYC tourismmake pop culture history
It would be the first memorial honoring a superhero creator in NYC, the Superhero Capital of the World.

(Unofficial fourth purpose: provide another place to sit.)

Who I am?

I’m an author and pop culture archeologist. I tweet at @MarcTNobleman.

I wrote Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, the first-ever book on Bill Finger. It has been covered by NPR’s All Things Considered, The Today Show/NBC News online, New York Times, Forbes, WIRED, and more. It made best-of-the-year lists at USA Today, Washington Post, MTV, and more. It has raised the public’s awareness of the tragic story behind one of the world’s most popular characters, as did my campaign to honor Bill with the Google Doodle for his 100th birthday (2014)...but I want to do more.

Backstory:

Batman’s biggest secret is not Bruce Wayne.

It’s Bill Finger.

Bill Who?

Bill who......wrote the first Batman story (1939).
...wrote many of the best Batman stories of his first 25 years, including his heartbreaking (and groundbreaking) origin.
...was the original writer of Robin, the Joker, and Catwoman.
...named Gotham City, the Batmobile, and Batman’s secret identity, Bruce Wayne.
...nicknamed Batman “the Dark Knight.”
...even designed Batman’s now-iconic costume.
 
But Bill who...

...was barely credited as a Batman writer—and never as co-creator—in his lifetime. He is not in the credits of either film (The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises) named for the nickname he coined.

Why?

Because cartoonist Bob Kane, Bill’s onetime partner, took all the credit. In a quarter century, Bob drew relatively few Batman stories and wrote none, yet his was the only name that appeared on Batman; over the same period, Bill wrote approximately 1,500 Batman stories, yet his name appeared on almost none. In 1974, Bill died alone and poor.

No obit. No funeral. No gravestone.

No kidding.

Bill was the main mind behind one of our greatest fictional champions of justice. It is time for justice—in the form of public recognition—for Bill himself.


Why Poe Park?

Bill and Bob used to brainstorm Batman stories there...sitting on a bench (ask me if you’d like documentation). In the early 1940s, Bill lived on the Grand Concourse just north of Poe Park. Also, appropriately, Poe was the father of the modern detective story and Batman is known as the World’s Greatest Detective. The Batman-Poe Park connection was covered in the New York Times (though the article mistakenly states that Batman was created in Poe Park).

from Bill the Boy Wonder
Why now?

True, this is not the best time. The best time would have been while Bill was alive. But since we can’t go back, this is the next-best time. There are untold thousands of Batman fans worldwide clamoring for DC Comics to add his name to the Batman credit line. DC may not be able to do that at this time, but we can pay tribute to Bill’s legacy in another meaningful way.

I propose the installation happen in 2014, for three reasons:

100th anniversary of Bill’s birth (2/8/1914)75th anniversary of Batman’s debut40th anniversary of Bill’s death
[Missed this, obviously.]
 
Why not something more noticeable like a statue or even a symbolic gravestone?

I tried.

What will the plaque be like?

The plaque will be 5.5” wide and 1.875” tall, stainless steel with a light border engraved ¼” from the edge. It will remain on the bench for the life of the bench, which is usually 10 years or more. If, before that time, the bench or plaque is damaged or vandalized, Parks will replace the bench and/or plaque at no cost to the donor.


How will the money be used?

The cost of the bench and plaque ($2,500). The cost of producing the pledge rewards. The cost of my time to propose/oversee the bench, which will include travel to/from New York, and my time to promote the bench to the media and to Bronx tourism outlets. And the cost of my time to simultaneously develop two more commemorations to Bill—one of a different kind for the Bronx (riddle me this: what rhymes with achoo?) and one for Denver, the city of his birth. In short, all money raised will in some way go toward boosting Bill’s legacy.

So if this Kickstarter succeeds, you may see The Dark Knight Kickstarter Returns.

What’s up with the incentives? I don’t get a mini-bench or a Bill Finger action figure?

I wish.

This project is not to fund my own creativity but rather to honor someone else’s, though the incentives do relate to my creative project about that someone else.

Your generosity will nonetheless earn you cool and exclusive incentives, all featuring the handsome cover design of my book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, drawn by fan-favorite, Eisner-nominated illustrator Ty Templeton…but I suspect for a majority of however many donors I’m fortunate to get, the donating will be its own reward.


Why am I doing this?

Because of this:


In other words, because I grew up loving Batman (and Robin).

And because I grew up to be a writer myself.

And because creators deserve credit for their cultural contributions.

And because justice has no expiration date.


Any questions or suggestions?

At your service anytime: mtnobleman@gmail.com

Pledge $1 or more (Bill was involved with Batman from Day 1)

BOY (OR GIRL) WONDER

Your name smothered in gratitude in a heartfelt blog post announcing the bench, which I will promote to the media (particularly the pop culture and New York media)

Pledge $14 or more (Bill was born in 1914)

CAPED CONTRIBUTOR

Postcard signed by myself and Ty + previous award

Pledge $27 or more (Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27)

DYNAMIC DONOR

Postcard-sized (4.21" x 5.47") magnet + previous awards

Pledge $75 or more (Batman turned 75 in 2014)

PARK KNIGHT

Bill the Boy Wonder (hardcover) custom-signed to the person of your choice by me + previous awards

Pledge $100 or more (Bill would have turned 100 in 2014)

BATMANIAC

Car magnet (8.73" x 11.48"; also sticks to non-cars) + previous awards

Pledge $500 or more

BRUCE GAIN

iPhone case + previous awards


Pledge $1,000 or more

WORLD’S GREATEST DONATOR

Author presentation/Q&A at U.S. school of your choice about my adventure in uncovering Bill’s startling story + previous awards (delivered in person!)

$1,800 honorarium value; donor responsible for airfare from Washington DC and hotel expenses

Feedback on my presentations:

“To say that [your] presentation was outstanding is almost an understatement. I’ve been the Head of Lower School for 30 years. All of the adults agreed that [you are] the best presenter we have ever had.”
—Dana Hahn, Head of Lower School, Wheeler School, Providence, RI

“That was one of the best presentations we’ve had EVER! Not only did you inspire kids to love writing, which is great, but you promoted their development as human beings.”
—Laura McKone, 5th grade teacher, Mark Twain Elementary, Centennial, CO

“I’ve seen a lot of presentations over my 6½ years arranging book events. Marc’s ranks among the very top of the heap. His message...is delivered uniquely, with enthusiasm, humility, and rare perfect rapport with his listeners. During his talk, I witnessed my favorite thing: kids' hairs being blown back by the audacity of possibility.”
—Suzanne Perry, Events/Public Relations, Secret Garden Bookshop, Seattle, WA

“I couldn’t care less about superheroes, but this was riveting.” 
—attendee, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore

If you’re a Batman fan, you’re a Bill Finger fan. We can do this! Bill deserves it. Thank you!

My India visa saga

None of the four previous posts about my time in India at the American School of Bombay would have been possible if I did not get an Indian visa. It was far harder than I anticipated.

On 11/3/14, at 2:06 p.m., I arrived at the company to which the Indian embassy outsources the process. I remember the date and time only because I was greeted by a sign on the door: “Effective 11/3/14, we will not accept visa applications after 2 p.m.” Off to an auspicious start.

Later that month, I dropped off the paperwork. I was told the process takes 3-5 days. My departure date: 1/16/15. Plenty of time.

Slight snag: they flagged that I indicated my occupation was “writer.” They said the embassy would therefore consider me a journalist. I explained that I was not and never have been. They said “Even if you published only one poem 20 years ago, they will consider you a journalist.” It’s like logic itself tried to enter a country without a visa and was indefinitely detained.

On 12/19/14, after seeing no updates online and being unable to reach them by phone, I went back to the office. An employee said he’d personally check with the embassy and call me back.

No call came. So on 12/30/14, I did—back to the visa company. The employee who said he’d get back to me instead went to India.

A partial email trail of what happened next:

12/31/14

MTN:

Any luck with the embassy regarding case number x and my booked business trip to India, departing January 16?

Thank you again for your kind help.

1/2/15

visa company:

Thank you for your inquiry. I am expecting to receive word today regarding the issuance of your visa. I will contact you by 5:00 PM. Please note that you case is considered active by me.

MTN:

Good morning and thank you so, so much. I really appreciate your fast attention. If we know by 5 pm it will put my mind at ease!

visa company:

Unfortunately your visa has not been issued and is continuing to be processed at the embassy. I will be sure to inform the Unit Manager, who has been copied on this mail, of your case and we will continue to monitor closely due to your upcoming date. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.  Please be assured that we will continue to work hard for a positive resolution.

MTN:

Thank you for the update.

Online travelers are instructed to apply for a visa no sooner than three months before departure date, and I did just that (starting the process in October). I also had no choice but to book my flight already; as a seasoned traveler, I never dreamed there would be any issue with obtaining a visa for India. As you can see from my application, I am NOT a journalist nor have I ever been. I write books for children and am invited to speak at schools around the world. In this case, I have been invited to work with the students at the American school in Mumbai for 10 days. We have been planning this for more than a year. The entire school is counting on me being there.

This delay is making me extremely nervous. I am supposed to leave two weeks from today and next week the only day that I am able to come pick up my visa is Tuesday January 6. Then I must go out of state for four days. Then I am back but that is the week of my departure.

I must know before that if all will be okay or else the school (not to mention me) will be put in a bad position.

Is there anything I can do?

1/5/15

MTN:

Hope you had a pleasant weekend. Only briefly checking in to see if there’s any chance of picking up my visa tomorrow? Again, as the inviting letter in my application packet indicates, I have been invited to the school to teach writing to children.
visa company:

I regret to inform you that at this time the embassy has reconfirmed that they are currently processing your visa application. They have not provided any more additional information regards this case.

MTN:

Thank you. I am at a loss with this situation. If there is any issue that is holding up the application, I would appreciate the courtesy of being told immediately so I have time to correct it. I am scheduled to work with hundreds of students starting next week and cannot leave this to chance.

Also, as mentioned, I will be gone four days. Therefore, I need to pick up the visa tomorrow; considering I submitted the completed application packet in November, I don’t believe this is asking too much. Can you please ask your embassy contact if it will be possible to have it ready tomorrow, or at the least, ask for the courtesy of more information?

visa company:

I can understand your anxiety at this time. The embassy has not requested any information from you. Please know that upper management is involved and I would ask that you allow them to interface with the embassy in order to come to a resolve.

MTN:

Thank you for your understanding.

I realize this is not entirely in your hands, but if there is anything you can do to have the visa ready for pickup tomorrow, I will be extremely grateful to you.

visa company:

May I ask a question? If you are not traveling until 1/16/2015, why is a pick-up of 1/6/15 so relevant? I would like to understand your point.

MTN:

Thanks. I am happy to elaborate:

I do not live or work daily in the city. I am going to be downtown tomorrow but then not again before I am supposed to leave on 1/16.

Also, I am not being given a guarantee that I will be issued a visa in time. If you could guarantee that now, I would not be so worried and I would figure out a way to pick it up next week, though that would be a considerable inconvenience, especially since I submitted my application with plenty of time AND have come twice to try to pick up the visa after seeing no change on the site and having no luck reaching a human being by phone. Lastly, I’m also concerned that the embassy may suddenly ask for more info while I am out of town, meaning I cannot get it to them till the week of my trip.

I am just not used to cutting things so close, especially with international business travel—and I travel a lot.

visa company:

Thank you for the explanation. If your visa is approved, we do have courier service and it would arrive next day. I will stay in touch with you.

MTN:

“If” my visa is approved is alarming...what is the possibility that this visa will not be approved?

visa company:

I have a meeting tomorrow with the Embassy and will get back to you post-lunch. I will surely look into this personally.

Just to keep you posted, have already reminded about your case to them.

1/6/15

MTN:

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your urgent attention to this.

visa company:

I am writing to share that we will have a definitive answer regarding your case, today from the embassy by 4:30 PM. I will reach back out to you at that time.

MTN (after 4:30):

I was awaiting a response by 4:30 pm, as you’d indicated. I hope you have positive news?

visa company:

At this time your application for visa is still under process and there will not be another status update until the embassy has received the clearance from India. 

MTN:

Thank you for writing.

I turned in my application, as directed, in November. After weeks of no update, I came to your office on 12/19 and [name] said he would get back to me the following day; he did not. Since then, there has been no update and no explanation as to what is holding up the process.

I have followed your rules. I have been patient. I have appreciated your efforts. But it has gotten me nowhere. So now at this late stage, I hope you understand that I need a guarantee that I will get a visa in time. Is this something you can do?

My departure date is only 9 days away. This is not a casual trip; this is an involved schoolwide work engagement that the inviting party has been planning for more than a year. I need to be respectful of the school who is expecting me. Does the embassy understand that an entire school is counting on me being there? Do they understand that I cannot wait till the day before to know if I will or will not be issued a visa?

1/7/15

visa company:

Have you received the correspondence delivered by Embassy to you last evening? Many sincere apologies. I can share my sentiment of hoping that the needed clearances are obtained in time for your trip. I will work with our internal Upper Management moving forward on addressing some of the follow up issues which you have cited in your email involving the staff.

As for now please be reminded that we are a vendor for the Indian Embassy. The discretion is based on that of the government to issue visas. The first line of our disclaimer states the following:

“Please note that acceptance of an application is no evidence of approval of your application. Dispatch / return / collection of documents does not imply that your application is granted. The approval of your application is the sole prerogative of the Embassy / Consulate.”

Our team will be the first to notify you once an approval has been obtained. Again, many apologies that at this time we do not have a more fruitful reply.

MTN:

Thank you for your continued empathy.

I did receive a nonspecific message from the embassy last night. Is it possible for you to simply give me the courtesy of telling me what “further clearance” means so I can help resolve this process?

Marc

P.S. On the one hand, travelers are instructed to apply for the visa within three months of intended departure date. On the other, we are instructed not to book travel until the visa is granted. But here I am about a week from departure with no visa. If I had waited to book my flight, at this late date the cost would be prohibitively expensive, if there were even seats at all. Who can wait till the very last minute to book international travel?

Later that day, the company called and said my visa was ready.

Cultural observations in India

Mumbai is an explosion of sights and insights. And in two weeks of being in vans multiple times a day with multiple drivers, not one used GPS.

I did not learn till my ninth day in Mumbai that my hotel and the school I was in India to speak at were in the suburbs. Looked like city to me!

My ride from the airport:


An eye-opening walk on my first morning:




I went to an ATM where this sign greeted me:


Looks like I picked the wrong week to start carrying a cutlass.

I withdrew 3,000 rupees, which is $50, which might last me the whole trip with some to spare. For example, I bought four roses for my host who invited me to lunch…


…for 40 rupees, which is about 64 cents. (I tried to give her 200 but she refused to accept it.)

At a chain supermarket, big vats of grains:


I bought one item. Though the cashier was at a computer, for some reason she handwrote my receipt:


At the school, I was given this bag, whose pattern includes a swastika:


But the swastika had a (non-sinister) significance long before the Nazis appropriated it.

In a restaurant, I could not be sure which bathroom door to use. You probably can:


I learned of two types of marriages, arranged and “love” (meaning the couple chooses each other as is common in the Western world). Couples who want love marriages sometimes must go against their families.

I find it charming how many young men walk around with an arm draped around a buddy. This affection is not just for walking:


People—including colorfully dressed women—without shoes doing road work:



What some claim is the largest synagogue in Mumbai and one of the largest in all of Asia:









Some of the damage may be monsoon related.

This man is not holding a strange table tennis racquet. It’s an electric bugswatter that zaps mosquitoes midair—complete with sparks to mark the time of death:


A longtime friend who is Israeli and who lives in London happened to be in Mumbai for part of the same time as I was; one afternoon, we met at the Four Seasons.



What a stark contrast from the top of the hotel to the scene right across the street:


When stopped in traffic in certain parts of town, raggedly dressed, barefoot children approach cars and gesture for a handout by pantomiming eating. It is, as you’d expect, heartbreaking.

This sign announces rooms with or without AC. I was in India at the most mild time of the year (warm, not sweltering, and not humid), but from what it sounds like, I can’t imagine being here in the hottest months and opting for no AC. (Maybe it’s offered as a cheaper alternative.)


Here is a mutton shop with the mutton still walking around outside:


College banners hang on a wall at ASB, and I was happy to see Brandeis among them:


One sign we passed in a car too quickly to photograph: “No Parking: Tyers Will Be Punctured.” Can’t say they didn’t warn you.

One night two of the teachers took me to dinner at a Western-style restaurant whose design was transporting. I felt like I was in the video for a-ha’s “Take on Me.”


I accumulated more than the usual bulk of gifts so had to leave a few things there. One casualty was a pair of sneakers. I had had them for a while, and though they were still fine for walking, they were past the “suggested mileage limit” for running, which was their primary purpose.

Since they were in relatively good shape, I offered them to the young man who cleaned rooms in my hotel. He did not appear to speak much English and he called in a manager who did, and who explained that I had to write a note stating that I gifted the shoes to this employee...presumably so he could not be accused of stealing.

More scenes that caught me:

 













 

Namaste.

Touring Mumbai's Dharavi slum (as seen in "Slumdog Millionaire")

On 1/28/15, the last full day of my two-week stay in Mumbai, I had a profound experience that surpassed the profound experiences I’d already had there.

I took a walking tour of Dharavi, currently the third-largest slum in the world and the largest in India. If you’ve seen Slumdog Millionaire, you’ve seen Dharavi. Now I have felt it, too.

I admit I was nervous about this. It was just walking—no skill required—but I have been tense about dirt since I was very young, so this would be a considerable bound beyond my comfort zone.

Photos are below. But first, some textual texture.

I met my guide, Nikesh, just outside the slum. He grew up and still lived in Dharavi. Almost immediately I was struck by his intelligence and worldliness. He’s become friends with hundreds of people he’s taken on tours. He was in the process of getting a visa to go on an all-expenses-paid trip to Boston to visit one of them, who had arranged for Nikesh to give a talk on slum living at Boston University.

I think Nikesh could sense my anxiety, though he would not be able to tell what was causing it. Some of my questions must have seemed shamefully ignorant; when entering Dharavi, I asked if it was the only entrance. (It’s not. Duh.)

Nikesh said one million people live in Dharavi. There are neighborhoods within the slum—working and residential districts. To me, it was a dizzying labyrinth of stone, cloth, mud, and trash. He knew every street and path.

I was quickly struck by how many people in the slum were well-dressed, clean, and friendly. I’d experienced plenty of warm Indians on my trip (and in life), but the perception of slum residents as dirty, downtrodden people is, I was happy to discover, inaccurate. They are so hard-working and some have jobs outside the slum. Many made eye contact and were welcoming though some areas were off-limits to photographs.

The residents have access to water for three hours a day—“that’s enough for us,” Nikesh said. They store water in big barrels for use once it’s turned off. They pay for electricity; Nikesh’s bill is about $6 a month.

I was told that slum dwellers don’t like Slumdog Millionaire because its depiction of adults disfiguring or maiming kids and forcing them to beg for money on the streets is untrue, as is its depiction of drug use.

I was conflicted about touring through people’s lives like they were museum exhibits, but it seems that is not how the residents perceive it. The money from the tours allegedly goes back into the slums. And the slums are big business—generating $650 million a year. 

Much of this is impressive manufacturing and recycling operations. Leather production is significant. Since big, posh brands buy materials from Dharavi, chances are you own something that was produced there. Some slum residents earn a good living and remain in the slum by choice. It is affordable. It is their home and their community. They are proud of what they do and how they live—and they should be.

The tour, in the order I experienced it:

Where we entered the slum.



A barber shop.

Recycling plastics.

A factory.


  Nikesh and I take our first slummie (slum selfie).

The only place in the slum that sharpens bladesof equipment.


Owners write their names on their blades sothey can be returned after sharpening.



Sewing.


 A chase scene for Slumdog Millionaire was filmed here,but at night so it would not disrupt industry.




A bakery.





Wallets for sale outside the factory in which theywere made.

 

Roomier homes.

One million inhabitants. One supermarket.

This restaurant looked quite fancy.

The “White House.”






This is one of three schools I saw in the slum.It also appeared in Slumdog Millionaire.

The government school in the slum.


The private school in the slum. Some students come from out of the slum.

The hospital.

Another manufacturing juggernaut in Dharavi:pottery. It is the most dangerous job in the slum due tothe fire and smoke involved.

Setting up for a wedding.









In the (temporary) home of Nikesh with some of the kids he helps teach as part of his NGO.


 The kitchen with the entire railroad-style living spacein the background. No beds. They sleep on mats on the floor.



Even though the tour was only two hours, upon leaving, I was physically exhausted. Being in a place I thought I would never get (or never want) to see firsthand and discovering how complex it is was stimulating, overwhelming, humbling.

Oh, Nikesh (and his brother) both have a new Facebook friend.

My first three tours in Mumbai

While in India to speak for two weeks at the American School of Bombay, the school kindly arranged a cornucopia of tours for me and two other guests-now-friends, author/illustrator Lauren Stringer and her daughter/dance instructor Ruby.

Tour 1 of 3 – heritage sites walking tour, 1/24/15:

The Gateway to India, built from 1911 to 1924, is apparently the top tourist attraction in Mumbai. When he was a boy, our charming tour guide once took off his clothes, stashed them under the Gateway, and jumped in the water it overlooks (the Arabian Sea). The police did not like that.

 city side
sea side
This is the Taj Hotel, where everyone from John Lennon to Bill Clinton have visited, and which was one of several targets during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Archival images hung throughout the hotel.


 yore




This is ingenious: they designated an area in which pigeons can be fed, and as a result there are almost no pigeons around the rest of this historic site.


The famous Leopold Café, another site of the terrorist attacks (bullet hole still there).


This was the first cinema in India to have air conditioning and to show Western films.


As always, I see Batman and Superman (look closely) everywhere I go.


During British rule, this impressive but now abandoned building was one that hung signs indicating “Indians and Dogs Not Allowed.”


Stationed along the High Court were soldiers with big guns propped on surfaces aimed at head level toward the street. (Again, look closely.) Needless to say, it was not comfortable walking past them.


On a table under this tree in 1875, the Bombay Stock Exchange launched. It has since moved nearby to a huge building. According to our guide, it’s the third largest stock exchange in the world, though online sources claim otherwise.


Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is the main train station (and World Heritage Site) in Mumbai. Filmed inside was “Jai Ho,” the infectious dance number that runs under the closing credits of Slumdog Millionaire. I was inspired to recreate it but the place is crowded.


With my fun tour companions, Lauren and Ruby.


In a city of 25 million, how unlikely is it that anyone would pass someone he knows on a street that wasn’t in his neighborhood? Well, our tour guide bumped into…his daughter.

Tour 2 of 3 – Elephanta Island, 1/25/15:

Elephanta Island is a one-hour boat ride from Mumbai.


The island is home to three towns; 1,300 people; untold numbers of monkeys and cobras (not to mention cows, goats, and dogs); and caves filled with large Hindu statues that date back to somewhere between the 5th and 8th century and, according to our guide, took 1,300 (!) years to carve.


No, we did not see cobras.

Yes, we did see monkeys.



 The moment when the monkey discovered heshould be wary of himself.


And the breathtaking caves.




Human pillars:


This is the grandest statue in the caves, depicting the three faces of the god Shiva. Lauren, Ruby, and I posed with it…


…and with the replica situated between the landing dock and the stairs you take to get up to the caves.


From 1534 to 1661, the Portuguese controlled the island and desecrated the sacred statues by using them for target practice…but, strangely, mostly the arms and legs. I saw no faces destroyed. And the clever natives hid the biggest statue—shown above—with a (now gone) stone door. You can see the two grooves at either end of the door frame above the statue:


Other sights around the island

This kind of tree never has leaves, only flowers:


The market runs on either side of the long set of stairs that lead to the caves:


The snacks our kind host provided:


If you come all the way to Elephanta in search of a Yankees hat…you are in luck:


I was fascinated by Elephanta Island and by our 23-year-old guide, who lives there. He spoke and understood English very well, was smartly dressed, and is attending university on the mainland. He has a Samsung smartphone and a girlfriend, knows about Hollywood movies and Hindu history in potentially equal measure, seems altogether in sync with the 21st century…until you find out that the island has electricity only between 7 and 10 p.m. daily.

He and the other inhabitants must wait till then to charge their cells and they do not have fridges. His diet is mostly vegetables, fruit, rice, and fish. At one point he described a Bollywood movie he likes…which, humorously, sounded very much like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (which he did not know).

There are no doctors on the island. To see one, inhabitants must take the boat. Emergencies must be particularly scary. Pregnant women go to the mainland a month or so before their due date and stay with family or friends till the big day.

I bought a pair of handmade bronze door handles and a handmade bronze wall hook thing for 2,600 rupees (about $42); a hand-painted piece of art on silk for 600 ($10); and a hand-sewn bag for 200 ($3). (First day I withdrew 3,000 rupees—$48. Later in the trip I withdrew 2,000 rupees—$32—twice.)

A sign on the boat indicates a different maximum capacity depending on weather:


Tour 3 of 3 – various sites of note, 1/26/15:

Monday, 1/26/15 was Republic Day (marking independence from Great Britain). President Obama came to India for it, and for diplomacy. He was in Delhi or else I’m sure we would’ve had masala chai together. I thought the city would be even more crowded than usual because of the holiday, but apparently it was the opposite.

The day started with a traffic violation. Our kind driver got pulled over for using his cell phone while driving. The officer did not process the violation at the window like what we’re used to in the States. Instead he asked the driver to step out of the vehicle…and they proceeded to discuss the situation IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY STREET.


Dhobi Ghat, the sprawling, open-air laundry-washing area—stunning. People from all over the city send their dirty clothes here (Dhobis, as they’re called, come pick it up).





A Jain temple:



The Hanging Gardens of Mumbai:


The Towers of Silence abuts the Hanging Gardens, but unless you’re Parsi, you can’t get close. Perhaps that’s a good thing. The Towers of Silence is a traditional post-death structure in which the deceased are placed so the flesh can be eaten by vultures. Many birds—they looked more like crows—flew in circles over it. Apparently it used to be open-air but they added a roof because the birds were dropping human remains elsewhere. A tiny sliver of the roof at the bottom of the visible sky behind the trees is all we could see of it:


Last stop of the tour was Mani Bhavan, a large home in which Gandhi lived and worked (but did not own) from 1917 to 1934. 


A piece of stone from the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial gifted by President Obama in 2010:


The library—and specifically, the children’s section:



This quotation:


Letter from Albert Einstein; love the last line:


Letter to Adolf Hitler (less than two months before Germany invaded Poland):


Gandhi mission control (see sign at bottom):

 
Next...touring the largest slum in India.

Two weeks at the American School of Bombay

As I’ve written before, school visits are as educational for the author as for the students.


From 1/19-29/15, I was a guest at the American School of Bombay, which is in Mumbai, which is what Bombay was renamed in 1995. I spoke twice to all students from 4th to 8th grade (first an assembly then a breakout session) and once to each grade from 9th to 12th; I also did a talk for parents and a six-hour writing workshop for about 30 kids who’d signed up. Yes, six hours. (With breaks.)





Mumbai is the wealthiest city in India, though most streets I saw presented (often distressing) contradictions.

This was the farthest from home I’d ever been (7,978 miles), beating the previous record set by Tanzania a year ago the same month by only 62 miles. This was the closest my hotel has been to a school—literally next door.

The hotel was comfortable and had some quirks and perks:

the option of having four pieces of laundry cleaned per daythe most slippery floor of any hotel room I’ve stayed in (don’t know why)the thinnest rolls of toilet paper I’ve seen





In any city new to me, one of the first things I ask my hotel is where the nearest outdoor running track is. In this case, I needed only look out my hotel room window.


Bonus: an adjacent cricket and tennis court.

The following Saturday, the field was transformed for a grand wedding.

 5 p.m.
 7 p.m.
 9 p.m.
4 a.m.
On my first of eight days speaking at the school, three students introduced my presentation. This culminated with one of them giving me a garland and another fingerpainting a tika (or bindi, though I understand that term is more commonly used with females) on my forehead, which I still had when I left the school that afternoon, by which time it had smeared into what looked more like a scab, which explains some of the looks I got walking back to the hotel.



The lower and upper schools are on different campuses, about a 20 minute ride. (If no traffic, it would take maybe six minutes.) Every hour during school hours, a van makes runs back and forth between the locations. On some days, I’d have to speak at one campus, then another, then back at the first. On one of the trips in the van, I had to sit in front—where there was no seat belt for the middle seat. Apparently, in India, it’s not standard to wear seat belts in the front seat. The streets are so choked that you cannot reach any significant speed, but still, I haven’t been in the front seat without a seat belt since…well, probably ever.

On my ride from the airport to the hotel, and several times after, I was amused to see a sign in an auto rickshaw (AKA tuk-tuk or three-wheeler) that read “Don’t Touch Me.” At first I thought it referred to the driver, but then realized it was always scrawled or attached to the meter, which is within reach of the passengers. Don’t tamper with your fare!

There is a movement to reduce the honking of car horns, but from where I sat, the movement has a long way to go. The noise of horns was constant. Some drivers who don’t mind paint “Horns OK Please” on their bumpers so other motorists don’t feel badly if they honk. (However, not displaying this charming permission did not hinder people from laying on the horn.)


When one of the campuses was put up, most of the area surrounding it was marshland. The building was designed to look somewhat like a hotel; if the school failed, they’d be ready for Plan B.

While in India, I was in touch with HarperCollins editor Jill Davis. To explain the odd hour my email was arriving, I said I was in India. I was surprised when she asked if I was at ASB, and even more surprised when she said she’d been here several years before. Her trip ended in an unthinkably tragic way. But she had happy memories, too. She sent me a photo of her with several students. The school helped me determine that three of those students were still at the school. We rounded them up and forced them to take a semi-reunion photo (which, unfortunately, the school policy does not allow me to post).

Throughout all this, my host was librarian Heeru Bhojwani. When asked, she shared her personal story, and, appropriately, Heeru is a hero.


This trip was a privilege and a dream. Thank you, Heeru and ASB, for giving me this gift.