The bedlam of Mumbai seems to end at the harbour's edge, as if it were washed into the sea, devoured by the white haze that has descended on the city. From the haze, a battered but brightly coloured ferry emerges, chugging away, black smoke adding its own fug as it nudges towards the ancient stone stairs at the base of the Gateway of India.
Built to commemorate the arrival of King George VI and Queen Mary in 1911, this Indian Arc de Triomphe is, like many monuments of the city, surrounded by beggars, tourists, commuters and long trailing lines of countryside folk in the big city for a wedding or funeral and some sightseeing.
For many visitors, the harbour is more of a novelty than the gateway, and this milky ambience where the steely grey water and pearl dust of the air mesh is their first encounter with the sea.
Despite being almost 11am, the sun has done little to defuse the smog but it gives an other-worldly note to the journey across Mumbai's harbour to the mystical island of Elephanta, formerly known as Gharapuri Island or the 'place of caves'.
The ferry steams across the gentle waters of the bay towards an island passengers can only assume is ahead as no one can see more than 100 metres through the haze.
Disembarking the tiny ferry, visitors pass down the rickety wharf towards a small-gauge train. Any good intentions about walking across the coastal strip to the staircases which lead up to the temples quickly evaporate in the sweltering heat.
The way to the caves is up a steep and slippery flight of stone stairs, beaten smooth and shiny by the countless feet of pilgrims and now tourists. The island was once the centre of a powerful local kingdom but is now a fishing village where electricity is limited to a few hours a day.
