Meeting the Locals

Before we settled in Mumbai, we were constantly on the move – making it extremely difficult to meet local people. Although we would meet people during the day at our consulting projects and group dinners, we never had the time to follow up other than on Facebook.
Once we arrived in Mumbai however, meeting locals became much easier and much more fun. As a group of almost 30, we tend to be a little intimidating. But when we have free time, we go out in smaller groups (between 4-6 people) and it becomes a lot easier to interact with other young people at local restaurants and cafes. Although we have yet to get too friendly with any locals, many like to come up to us, chat and usually take pictures with us.
One of the best experiences I have meeting locals is through friends from Northeastern that are from Mumbai. Although my friend is taking summer classes in Boston, he introduced me to his brother and a couple of other friends to show me around the city on our free day.
It was fascinating getting the perspective of a local – they showed me around parts of the city I wouldn’t have had the chance see. They also took me shopping – the prices weren’t nearly as high when locals were with me. My best purchase with them was at a spice shop – Indian food is known for its spice and because they were friends with the local seller, they offered us chai and cookies as we tasted and smelled the many options.
As they helped me finish off my gift list, I was happy to get the chance to separate from our large group and see the perspective of locals. It definitely gave me another perspective of India outside of the business and social entrepreneurship world and I am glad I got a glimpse of the everyday lives of the people living here.