Varsha Bajaj

Born in Mumbai, India in the 1960s.

Came to US for graduate school in 1986.

Began writing in 1999.

Lives in Houston, TX

Mumbai, formerly Bombay, city, capital of Maharashtra state, southwestern India. It is the country’s financial and commercial center and its principal port on the Arabian Sea.

Mumbai is the setting for Thirst.

Explore: Mumbai India

Mumbai, the city of dreams

Banda-Worli Sea Link bridge, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

In the distance, the flyover bridge soars into the sky and snakes across the bay. Its lights twinkle and outshine the stars in the night sky.
"The sea link bridge looks like an M," I say
"It does," my brother says. "M for Mumbai?"
"M for me--Minni," I say. "And for Monsoon. I hope this year we have a good one." Lately the monsoon season comes later and later, which means less and less water.

Dhobi Ghat, an outdoor laundromat in Mumbai.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Mumbai/images-videos#/media/1/72526/210438

Banda-Worli Sea Link bridge, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

In the distance, the flyover bridge soars into the sky and snakes across the bay. Its lights twinkle and outshine the stars in the night sky.
"The sea link bridge looks like an M," I say
"It does," my brother says. "M for Mumbai?"
"M for me--Minni," I say. "And for Monsoon. I hope this year we have a good one." Lately the monsoon season comes later and later, which means less and less water.

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https://scroll.in/magazine/893888/mumbais-staggering-inequality-comes-into-clear-focus-in-an-american-photographers-drone-images

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Luxury skyscrapers and and slums share space in the immensely crowded city of Mumbai.

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https://scroll.in/magazine/893888/mumbais-staggering-inequality-comes-into-clear-focus-in-an-american-photographers-drone-images

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Luxury skyscrapers and and slums share space in the immensely crowded city of Mumbai.

Bollywood is the Hindi-language sector of the Indian moviemaking industry that began in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1930s and that developed into an enormous film empire.

"Minni," she says "yesterday, Masterji taught us the dance steps to the song from Student of the Year."
"The movie?" I say.
Faiza nods. "I imagined that I was Alia the whole time."
"Why not? You are just as talented as any Bollywood actress," I say

"Minni, you will learn to make rotis."
"Ma, I'm studying. And you've already taught me," I tell her.
"Yes, but I haven't shared all my secrets, and your rotis need to be perfect circles," she says.

Making roti

"Minni, you will learn to make rotis."
"Ma, I'm studying. And you've already taught me," I tell her.
"Yes, but I haven't shared all my secrets, and your rotis need to be perfect circles," she says.

Other Resources

water.org/our-impact/water-crisis

un.org/en/global-issues/water

unicef.org/india/what-we-do/clean-drinking-water

who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-a

Who are the Water Mafia?