X-Mas Mishap

Much to write about since my return to Meherabad, for starters, I just did a big update of the blog post below, with lots of interesting shots of the interior of Leopold's post-terrorist attacks. Please check it out.

In the meantime, so apparently I'm allergic to something that ends up in the food around Meherabad, because tonight, after a lovely Christmas dinner with friends, the state of my face you see above happened.

I have never had allergic reactions to food in my life. And yet, just a month ago my bottom lip swelled up in much the same way (although I don't remember eating a meal at that time). Perhaps its not an allergic reaction at all but a phase of my already plump lips making big forays into even plumper territory.
Anyway, made for some great laughs. For more hilarious lip shots please visit my flickr page here: www.flickr.com/mikeyfresh. I'll let you know, invisible blog audience, if it goes down by tomorrow, if it doesn't, I'll just take more pictures of it looking ridiculous and continue laughing my ass off at myself. Much to write about since my return to Meherabad, so I'll be back soon.

Until then, love and JB. -Mikey
And look below! :)

Back to Mumbai Baby

I’m back in Colaba, Mumbai, and you know what . . . its good to be back.
Last night I arrived after a fairly easy bus ride from Pune, and a short rickshaw ride (that cost almost as much as the bus ride) from the bus stop to my quaint home in Mumbai.
It’s been two weeks since I’ve been away, and two weeks since the terror attacks, and I've been enjoying taking a much needed break from it all in my lovely country ashram home. It was never nicer to be back, but alas, the call of the wild has brought me back here to this concrete saffron jungle.

Mumbaikers Can't Be Held Down

And here in Colaba, it’s as if nothing ever happened. Things are swinging as usual, maybe a little slower than it should be for this time of year, but everyone is back at it. Perhaps even a feeling of defiance in the air. Indians have a remarkable ability to pick up the pieces and get on with things. Its like its not even an ability, it is a through and through way of being, a way of life. Its inborn. Its like the way they get up from naps or sleep, they just get up, there is maybe a split second of shaking themselves back into reality, if you look really close you might see them take one long blink or a hand wiped down the face but then its boom, back to action. There is no grogginess. Show me a groggy Indian, just try, I'd love to see one, but they don't exist.

I’m sitting in my favorite internet café, working on my laptop deep in Colaba, next to me some German girl is chatting away on the STD. Just as before, young men full of vim and vigor whispered to me as I made my way down Colaba causeway: “hash, hash, charras, Charlie,” and then really low with a devilish grin if they get right next to you, “ladies."

Everything's pretty normal.

Return to Leopold's
UPDATED
To take my night in reverse order, before this I went back to Leopold’s Cafe for the first time since about 8:30pm on November 26, approximately one hour before terrorists attacked the restaurant, shooting and killing employees and patrons with automatic weapons and grenades.

It was emotional returning to the scene where I had been close to sitting down and ordering a meal myself just an hour before the place was put under seige. I was relieved to find that my buddies who work the front as floor managers were all in one piece, as well as my friend Santosh the waiter. As luck would have it, all of them had been in the back of the restaurant when the terrorists opened fire, and neither had a scratch on them. But apparently, had I come a week earlier, there would have been a scratch, as my buddy Eric literally had the hair above his ear grazed short by a bullet, so slightly that it has already grown out. How’s that for a close call?

Eric gave me a quick tour of the damage: bullet holes in the front window still unfixed, some of the stained glass windows in the upper portion of the wall boarded with newspaper from being shot out, bullet holes in the ceiling
and the register desk, and to top it off, a small crater about the size of half a small grapefruit under one of the tables where a grenade had gone off. That was great fun, as Eric lifted up the table skirt and pointed it out to the unsuspecting pair of young women sitting at the table, who were intrigued but undaunted smiles on their faces as they continued with their meals.


UPDATE: I originally came in to Leopold's on a Wednesday, and then went back to take the following pictures on a Friday night and found the place in absolute full swing, packed, maybe the busiest I'd ever seen it.

You can see from these pictures that there was absolutely no shortage of people having a good time in spite of the recent attacks, if anything, working hard to laugh especially hard in the terrorist's faces.

Take these guys for instance,


undaunted by the bullet hole behind them, they wanted me to take their picture as they engaged in their revelry.

For those who are interested, they may find it very interesting that the pictures of Meher Baba (spiritual master and Avatar of the Age of the 20th century), and Zoroaster (spiritual master and Avatar of the 7th century B.C.), as well as the picture of Meher Baba surrounded by his five "Perfect Masters" (Satgurus) of his time, (including Sai Baba of Shirdi) that hang above the register in the right corner of the restaurant did not sustain any damage, despite grenade shrapnel striking all around the photos. Look closely and you can see the small marks that are lighter than the rest of the wall, and form a sort of triangle about the portrait of Zoroaster (the man with the big beard).
Also of interest is the register itself. For a while now, there has been a small sticker with a picture of Meher Baba and his quote "Real Happiness Lies in Making Others Happy." taped right there at the front of the register so people could easily see it at the front of the store. Again, directly below a bullet has come close to Meher Baba, but his image has not sustained damage, even though directly next to his image, the entire mirror had been shot out (as you can see, the plywood is exposed).

Many people saw this particular picture on the left, that ran in The New York Times shortly after the attacks, but what no one could know, is that something similar happened twice inside the restaurant as well, that is, this aspect of bullet holes and shrapnel coming so close to Meher Baba's image.

It would seem to me, that Meher Baba was bringing the violence of the world close even to his own self, his very sanctum, bringing it here to India so near his home in Meherabad and Mumbai, a city where he had an ashram at one time, and a place only 250 kilometers away from Meherabad. Perhaps he wants us to see that even this madness is still his work, his way of making things darkest before dawn, and even it is part of his divine plan. . .

With all that being said, it’s been great being back in Mumbai actually. To be honest, I really wasn’t looking forward to coming back. I was dreading it. Being back in Meherabad, in my own house, never seemed so sweet as it did after returning from my last stint in Mumbai. But I’m happy to be back now. For one thing, the show we have going up at the gallery is amazing, crazy ambitious, and it’s been great fun today getting right back in the swing of things and helping put up all these amazing pieces. I still feel so lucky that I am able to work with such a wonderful gallery showing such renowned artists. The artist we are getting ready to show, Reena Kallat, does really amazing work. I encourage anyone in Mumbai on Thursday to come to the opening. Click here for details.

As of now I should get going. It’s 12:39am, and its been a long day of installing art and reconnecting with Mumbai. I’ve got a lot of things coming down the shoot for the blog, stay posted for a posting of my interview with Munchie Wadia, a film producer who was trapped in the Taj and narrowly escaped with his life on 26/11. I caught up with him in Meherabad a few days after the attacks. He was visiting because he had taken Baba's name during his escape and felt he should pay his respects. It's a very interesting interview. Coming Soon!

Before I go:

Just a couple parting quips: I just want to give a big shout out to my boy Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the brave soul who is now surely being tortured terribly as he sits in custody, for giving Bush a fraction of what he deserved. Check out the vid if you haven't yet of Bush narrowly avoiding al-Zaidi's shoes. I'll give Bush some credit, he showed some agility (and sorry Baba, for mentioning politics).

I also wanted to direct your attention to two other blogs by friends of mine that I find just so damn good lately, one by my long time brother-from-another-mother, and fellow world-traveller:

+Jonathan Ramsden, (yes, now a respectable medical professional, but still known by his close friends as Rik Turbo) - he's currently having a too damn good time from what I can tell. He's in Argentina, and making his way around the world, writing about it all as he goes. Check out his wonderful writings at his blog: worldsteppin.blogspot.com

. . . and a new friend who is a fellow Baba-lover and Mumbaiker, but who I haven't even met yet other than through facebook (but if you know Baba-lovers, you know we roll tight!), but look forward to meeting very soon:

+Akshay Mahajan, who is my opinion is one of the finest Indian photojournalists I've ever seen (Ok, I suppose I'm not familiar with very many, but still, just look at this guys stuff!). Prepare to be knocked-out by his work at trivialmatters.blogspot.com, or explore his beautiful flickr collection, which functions like a fantastic blog of pictures and words as well at: www.flickr.com/lecercle, and tells amazing stories of life in Mumbai. For anyone who has questioned coming to Mumbai since the attacks, these shots should whet your appetite. :)

Well, that's all for now, I hope to be updating again soon. Stay posted and Jai Baba!

Now, the "Baba-version" of the blog, and a nice chicken to cheer everyone up.

Just thought I would share this since some people seem to be wanting to read it. The following is the "Baba version" of my previous blog posting about my recent experience with terrorism in Mumbai. Its going to go in some kinda Marathi magazine for Indian Baba-lovers. It's written for an Indian Baba-lover audience so if the Baba references get to heavy for you, just refer back to the original at the post below. And enjoy this nice chicken graphic above that I took in Ahmednagar if you are feeling in any way depressed. These particular paintings of chickens always cheers me up, plus, I figured it was time to get back to posting something wacky instead of only stuff on the attacks. :) Enjoy.

Jai Baba from Meherabad everyone!

I'm writing to tell my story of my recent brush with the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, something that Baba obviously wanted me to be a part of, but luckily wanted me to escape as well! It's been a difficult time, but as we all know, Baba's work is mysterious, and perhaps it is his words now coming true, that things must get worse before they get better. I've written a blog about my experience. You can read it at www.vicablog.com. But below is my account written more for a Baba-lover audience. ☺

To tell you a little about myself, my name is Michael Files. I am a young Baba-lover, 26 years old, from the community of the Avatar Meher Baba Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, SC, USA, an incredibly beautiful place with beautiful lakes, a beautiful beach, cabins in the virgin woodland, and the all-pervading presence of the infinite power, knowledge, and bliss of the Ancient One! A place that Meher Baba called his "home in the West," and a place he visited and blessed with his presence many times during his advent, stating that one day it would be a great center of pilgrimage for the world. ☺

It has always been my great blessing to be born into a loving Baba family. This is something that Baba has called one of the greatest blessings there is in the universe. I guess I must have done something right in my past lives! ☺ My parents were always committed to bringing my siblings and I to the place where Baba did the great majority of his universal work, to the holy ground of his home here in Meherabad. I've been coming since I was a seven-year old boy and lost count of how many visits it has been to the place I consider my true home.

Currently, I've been living in India for the past 4 months. Three of those months were spent in Meherabad, but the past month was spent in Mumbai, where I had recently moved to take a great opportunity, clearly set-up by Baba, to do some work with a very famous art gallery. Through the meeting of a new friend who turned out to be a fellow Baba-lover, I was introduced to a chance opportunity to have some work in my field, art. Then, magically, Baba put the pieces in place for me to be able to live in Mumbai for free. Baba's hand was clearly in it all, and I could see that he clearly wanted me to be in Mumbai for a while.

As it turned out, I ended up spending a lot of time in South Mumbai, sometimes traveling with my gallery to the Taj Hotel or the Oberoi Hotel: going to panel discussions on contemporary art, or meetings with international contingents about upcoming art fairs around the world, very exciting stuff! But more often than not, the place I would visit the most in South Mumbai was Leopold's Café. It's a place that is owned by Baba-lovers, and has a beautiful poster of Baba over-hanging the cash register for all to see. So of course I liked to sit there and have a meal and look at Baba's beautiful face.

As it turned out, I was in Leopold's on the night of the 26th, the night the terrorists attacked Mumbai. I was there only half an hour before the attacks began, and Leopold's was one of the places the terrorists targeted, shooting automatic rifles into the crowd and killing many. I had been thinking of sitting down and having a meal as I often do, but my friend had sent me a text message to join her around the corner at a different restaurant instead for dinner, so I thought, OK, I'll skip Leopold's tonight. Looking back, I guess Baba didn't want me leave this body just yet!

As it turned out the restaurant where I ate was right next to the Taj Hotel, a place called Indigo Deli, and once again, a place the terrorists could have easily targeted. We were directly next to the Taj, a place full of upscale westerners including Americans, just the sort of people the terrorists had seemed to be after. But again Baba didn't seem to want me to go. I was there in the restaurant at 9:30pm when we heard the first reports of the terrorists shooting outside, and before long we became aware that the city was under attack, mostly right outside our door! So at one point the police locked us inside the restaurant, closing the steel curtains for protection, and didn't let us out until the next morning. We had to spend the night inside, getting any sleep we could in the booths of the restaurant.

I was relaxed that night, somehow I knew that Baba was keeping me safe. I could just feel it in my heart, somehow I just knew. Even with all the crazy reports of mayhem and death happening so close by to us that we were receiving by our cell phones all night, I somehow knew we would be OK. I remember thinking at one point, "What are you up to Baba? I guess it's time for some shaking of the world!" Although I wasn't afraid, when I was finally able to leave the next morning I felt a great sense of sadness. I was walking out into the middle of the war-zone. Military and police were everywhere, traffic was extremely light for Mumbai, I didn't look, but just around the corner a battle was still raging inside the Taj hotel, and people were still dying. Actually, I didn't think too much about it all until I got back to Meherabad.

I can't tell you all, my fellow Baba-lovers, how wonderful it is to be back in Meherabad after being a part of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I don't think any of us forget how lucky we are for every moment we get to spend in this holy ground, but returning here after being a part of those grisly events, it really makes me aware of how lucky I am.

Actually, I feel so grateful that Baba put me so close to these terrible events, because being in his presence after the proximity to such madness, hate, and death makes it all the sweeter to be in his home again, and makes me realize with such depth how all that matters is him, and all that is is him! I haven't been this happy in months! How ironic is that!

It seems that Baba's hand was very close in these events. Perhaps some of you have seen the picture in the media of Baba on the back of the car parked in front of Leopold's, bullet holes marking the car all around Baba's face?
The picture was featured on the cover of The New York Times, which of course has a huge distribution, bringing Baba's image to millions in this time of great sadness and confusion. Another piece of video footage of the restaurant had the camera stopping on Baba's poster, and was repeatedly shown around the world on different news channels over and over again. In the midst of this madness Baba seems to be saying, "It's bad, but I'm here, and I always will be." Baba seems to be ramping up his work of clearing the world of its falsehood by bringing the worst on first. Its all Baba's work, the despair and the joy of the world, the destruction and the preservation. I suppose its all his work of clearing us out of our old ways.

This past Tuesday I was lucky to be able to hear Meherwan Jessawalla tell stories of time with Baba, and reflect on these events in Mumbai in Mandali Hall at Meherazad. Coincidentally, it was the anniversary of the terrible car accident Meher Baba and his mandali suffered in Satara, India of 1953, an event Meher Baba foretold as a terrible personal tragedy he would have to suffer in order to alleviate the suffering of the world by taking that suffering upon himself. It was wonderful to be a part of this, to hear how Baba works in mysterious, and some times horrible ways to bring out the best in us, and to help us on our spiritual path.

Other stories have unfolded too of Baba's presence on this night of terror. Meherwan had heard a story of a couple preparing to be married that very night on the ground floor of the hotel, who happened to be on the 14th floor of the hotel when gathering smoke forced them to make a decision to try and escape. They made a call to a friend who was a Baba-lover pleading for any advice on what they should do. The reply came, "take Meher Baba's name! You will find a way!" They managed to escape miraculously, shouting Meher Baba's name as bullets missed them by inches, and managing to find an escape from the building that later they were told never physically existed.

So Baba's work continues even as he is out of the body. He seems determined to shake us from our slumber! The Awakener will not stop his mission of rousing the world from its spiritual sleep! And yet he keeps his eyes on his close ones. I for one can tell you that from my perspective I feel strangely more at peace than I have in a good while, for I feel Baba's presence so strongly in my life now. How humbling to know that Baba's nazar was on me that day. Strange that this terrible event would make me feel his love so strong, but how could I not when he put me so close but kept me so safe. Things seem simple now. Its as if Baba did it all for me. Its as if he said, "look Michael, Mumbai is exciting, Mumbai is hectic, but it is illusion, take time to appreciate what is real, I alone." Sometimes we get so easily caught up in the world, but its always just as simple as holding on to his damaan, and trying to love him more and more.

For those of you who made it through this post, here is your reward: A crazy statue of Ghandi from Ahmednagar town. You deserve it! Enjoy.