Day 1 of the Rajasthan Excursion

I'm back and online once again after a 10 day hiatus and a fabulous trip through Rajasthan, India's western desert state. We had a great experience; every day was full of adventure and entertainment. I'll start w/ Day 1 today, as I filled a third of a journal on the trip...too much to post at once.

We left Delhi early Sat., Nov. 8, nagivating through tons of trucks transporting stuff (I've yet to see a semi, though -- is that just a North American thing?), vehicles teeming w/ people headed to work.

You know those HOV lanes we have? No need to encourage people to car pool here -- it's a given. Had no idea you could fit so many people in a tiny car, bus, auto (these are jobbies w/ one wheel in the front, 2 in the back and seem to run on a scooter motor -- I'm really not in a good spot to judge, knowing next to nothing about what's under the hood, other than having a bad experience w/ a plastic bag and Honda Pilot engine, but that's another story), rickshaw, you get the idea.

No doubt our traffic safety bureau would throw in the towel if they saw some of the buses w/ people hanging off of them (top and sides) during rush hour traffic. That's merely one example of Indian vehicle overload.

Anyway, en route to Manvar, our first destination on the Rajasthan experience, I'd say we saw a little bit of everything. Urban changed to slightly less urban as we got out of Gurgaon. The road worsened as we got further from Delhi (to the point of being dirt with immense washboards/holes in the middle). Mom and Dad, the impossible has been achieved: it really was worse than the Birch Creek road.

Before long we were passing camels laden w/ packs or pulling carts, many burgeoning with goods (to the point where you'd see the big wagon from the back but couldn't see a driver, camel or cart -- if you looked hard you might spot feet). They (the camels) have a slow, gawky gait, with big two-toed hooves doing the clop.

I have to say it was nice to see some green space as Delhi is so populous, and Gurgaon is so under-construction. Mustard and wheat, sugarcane and rice are grown in various parts of the state; we saw some of the first two en route to Manvar, a village of 35,000, known for its haevelis (18th century homes with courtyards, painted with beautiful frescoes).

We passed through a number of markets on our way: carts and carts of bananas (trucked/delivered via train from Mumbai), mangoes, vegetables, nuts, what looked like homemade sweets, etc. We saw men playing cards, groups of men and women chatting, oxen getting baths, people taking baths (in fact at times it felt like we were traversing through someone's front room -- as people ate breakfast, smoked, brushed teeth and a whole lot more up close and personal next to the road).

I had to laugh -- I got up early to bike (stationary) for 30 minutes, later saw a man with what must have been 30 pounds of linens on the back of his bike. And I though my 1/2 hour on the bike worked up a sweat...

Also remarkable were the items carried on women's heads -- all shapes, sizes and weight. Half a tree walked by on top of one woman's head. These must be some incredibly strong necks.

One item of interest was a colorfully dressed woman (well ok, all these women are colorfully dressed) carrying a basket of dried cow dung on her head.

We saw goats, cows, donkey, a horse and as noted, plenty of camels (by the end of our Rajasthani tour Claire's camel count was 200+ -- that was just the figure of those she spied from the road), pigs, sheep, all kinds of stuff in a whirl of activity.

Back to the road (I use the term road loosely). It started out as a two-laner (going one direction, evolving to a paved stretch without lines but w/ enough room for cars in both directions -- and bikes, walkers, rickshaws, donkey carts, camel carts, etc.

At one point it was big stones and small stones (a number of poeple were, by hand, working on this stretch of roadway). Then it narrowed to alley-size, still supporting afore-mentioned stream of traffic, with a few added speed bumps (+ those engulfing potholes).

All this did little for Claire's stomach -- poor kid lost her breakfast and naturally where we pulled over there was no bathroom or gas station -- just an old man watching as we three adults tried to clean her up with wipes. Her socks were a lost cause so I stripped them off. We drove off after leaving all our trash and her socks on the side of the road. (Don't worry, the trash had plenty of company.)

We found a bathroom, cleaned her up, changed her, Sprited her up (kids' teeth will fall out after this trip; we went through plenty of Sprite) and moved on.

After all the sensory overload and morning vomit we were quite thrilled to get to the hotel, an old havaeli that now serves as a hotel.

Non-descript from the outside, the havaeli (home w/ 3 courtyards), was a delightful place; our room was up a narrow, steep flight of stairs, featuring a big bed with handmade Rajasthani quilt, sporting little mirrors throughout for decor (we saw a whole lot of these over the next few days, all lovely). A chair rail went around the room, the lower part had lovely flowers in the fresco style. A picture of the Hindi elephant god adorned one wall (that's apparently a given in Hindi homes as it's the god of prosperity). The walls still had original fresco paintings and notches for oil lamps. It was the prettiest, most historic hotel of our trip.

Our English speaking guide caught up w/ us at the hotel, turns out he was nephew of the owner of the hotel, who is a friend of a colleague of Joe's. He took us to a rooftop restaurant (in another haveli, this one restored to its original splendour by a local art school) for a great Indian cottage cheese/vegetable dish for me, fried chicken and chips for the kids.

(Note: what they refer to as cottage cheese here isn't what I get in the round carton from Teeter at home; it's firmer chunks of white cheese. No doubt Archana could tell me how it's made.)

We then went into several havelis featuring frescoes in varies states of non-restoration/restoration, depicting scenes of fighting, kings, harems, Hindi gods, elephants and more on walls, ceilings, shrine areas, etc. Because of the smoke from cooking, one home's frescoes had a dark film over it, in other areas of the homes the paint was worn or missing but the effect was still lovely; where sun/weather/use hadn't affected them, they were spellbinding.

The 3 courtyards had different uses, 1st was for "gents" to do business and be entertained, 2nd for ladies/kids, 3rd for servants/stables. We climbed up narrow steps for a view from the top of one -- spied Moslem and Hindi temples (first w/ green flags, 2nd w/ red), dozens more havelis and the city fort).

In the havelis the caretakers (owners -- wealthy merchants who'd fled to cities when their lifestyles were threatened by changes in leadership; most havelis are still owned by these original families and visited occasionally by same) were busy doing laundry, dishes, selling souvenirs, etc.

The havelis had drainage systems -- little canals carrying water to courtyards -- which featured grass, gardens or patios. (In drier areas the drainage systems collected water for use throughout drought periods.)

From the havelis we wandered to the fort, built in the late 1700's. Half of it was pristine (restored and used as a hotel), the other half privately owned and decrepit.

The lobby was spectacular, every inch of wall and ceiling vibrant fresco painting that had been restored to original bright colors. Men in turbans staffed the property (these were the first of a great number of turbaned men we'd see on our trip).

The grounds were fabulous with flowers, pool, cupolas (is that the right word for small round structures you can take great pix in?).

From the fort we went to the market and a government controlled silk shop where we got a formal demonstration (serious sales pitch) on handcrafted tablecloths, place settings, wall hangings, bed spreads, etc. They were all lovely; he pulled 10 or 15 out, told us how they were made and by whom (area tribeswomen). Kids loved touching them but I passed on purchasing. (it was, afterall, day 1 -- no idea what awaited! Had it been up to Claire and Ava, we'd have a house adorned w/ elephant-related furnishings.)

Back at the hotel we met the owner and his friend Simon from Belgium, joined them for a lager followed by dinner. Well into the evening I realized the former thought I worked for the American embassy (Bank of America/American embassy confusion). It got us all kinds of attention so that's all good, until of course the guy calls the embassy to collect a favor.

Anyway, we had a lovely evening, they're both well traveled (as seems to be the case w/ many people we've encountered from NZ, Australia, Europe) -- the haveli owner seemed to be a jack of all trades -- ran a major hotel for several years, published a tour book of the area, studied English literature and Judaism, read the Koran, etc. His niece was getting married the next day so we heard fireworks half the night. The kids had fun w/ Simon, enjoyed tandoori chicken and Ava ate most of the pistachio/milk desserts.

Shortly after dinner we collapsed into bed, though were supposed to help select art for each room. That was looking to be a lengthy experience so we opted to extricate ourselves.

More on temples

More on temples...don't worry; this won't be as lengthy. We weren't allowed to take photos and Ava was just not in the Hindu spirit after her red dot experience.

The second temple we visited was the Lakshmi Narayan Temple (more commonly known as the Birla Temple. It enshrines Lord Vishnu, preserver of the Hindu Trinity.

A modern Hindu temple dedicated to Laxmi (goddess of wealth) and Narayana (the preserver), the Birla Temple was inaugurated by Gandhi with the stipulation that it should be open to all castes (including the untouchables).

A few facts:

The temple was built over a six year period (1933 - 1939). Its highest tower is 165 feet; the ancillary towers reaches 116 feet. One hall -- the Geeta Bhavan -- is adorned with beautiful paintings depicting scenes from Indian mythology.

Also featured is a temple dedicated to Buddha, with fresco paintings describing his life and work. The entire complex, especially the walls and upper gallery, are full of paintings by artists from Jaipur in Rajasthan. The rear of the temple has been developed as an artificial mountainous landscape with fountains and waterfalls.

I found this temple to be very welcoming, not terribly overwhelming in size and scope and incredibly detailed (carved elephants and oxen around the steps leading up to shrines, for example).

We also had better luck with bathrooms (I know, seems like such a minor thing but when you're escorting the 3 and 6 year old crowd around it is nice to find a toilet with a seat). The smell of laundry detergent and two women industriously cleansing clothes by hand welcomed us upon entry.

After absorbing a little of the magnificence of the Hindu faith, we called it a day and headed back to the hotel.

We'll spend Friday laying low, getting ready for our trip to Rajasthan and getting together w/ some new ex-pat friends.

And by the way, I may be offline for a bit as we head into the desert for elephant and camel riding and sight seeing. Hope to have some good stuff to share upon return!

Temples

It's already Thursday! Obama is all over the news here, no big surprise, I suppose. He's well liked, or at least that's how the Times of India reports it...though the interviews I've seen are less about platforms and more about his demeanor, the fact that he likes Indian food and that he's not white.

I do, by the way, get a kick out of reading the paper here. This morning my favorite comment (which the Times found on an American blog) was:

"Can we stop acting like it's the second coming of Christ? Like all of us, Obama has his faults, and like many presidents, whether great or mediocre, he will have major stumbles."

On to my corner of the world:

Today was Temple day. Roop offered to take us to a big Hindi temple and believe me it is big. HUGE.

The Chhatarpur Mandir is the second largest temple of India and, per the internet, one of the most popular.

The area around it is painted a lovely shade of peach, and from the road one sees the gorgeous buildings and statues glimmering in the sun.

After parking we ditched our shoes (much to the kids' chagrin -- they're convinced someone's going to steal them) and headed into the Temple.

All signs were in Hindi and there appeared to be no English-speaking guides hanging around waiting to explain the entire Hindu religion to us so we wandered through and absorbed as much as we could. Beautiful jewels, silver and gold embellished statues of gods throughout; the Temple was abuzz with visitors and people praying, though it's so large it never felt crowded.

The Chhatarpur Mandir was built by Swami Nagpal Maharaj, "a great devotee of Goddess Durga." Per the Web, the main shrine is made of white marble and dedicated to Goddess Katyayani (a form of Durga).

(Frankly I had trouble determining which one was the main shrine, but you'll have to forgive my ignorance as I know little of the faith, and each of the many buildings within the Temple -- it consumes about 3 city blocks -- is incredibly large, incredibly beautiful and boasts ornate altars to what I assume to be Hindu gods. Temple campus may be a more apt description.)

I interrupt this temple diatribe to remark on Ava:

Ava decided she was done with the Temple excursion when a man of the Hindi faith gave her something (looked like an offering you would make to a god) and put a red mark on her forehead. (No, I'm not a lax parent who let her be swept up; he held out the white item and she reached for it, then she willingly put her face up to receive the dot. When Claire shook her head "no" Ava THEN decided she did not need the mark and burst into tears.) Poor Hindu man looked like he lost the faith for a minute when she started to howl.

Shortly thereafter Ava decided the bathroom was in order. And no where to be found in this immense complex was an open restroom.

More on that later.

Back to the Temple.

Internet: "The main feature about this temple is that its construction doesn't seek any end.

With a South Indian style of architecture, the Chhatarpur Mandir encompasses many structures made for different activities:

- beautiful gardens and lawns that leave a soothing impact on the souls of the devotees.

- One shrine dedicated to Maha Gauri (form of Durga -- invincible superheroine w/ 10 arms), which is opened for 'darshan' (vision or sight of the divine, says wikipedia) every day.

- Another shrine dedicated to Goddess Katyayani, whose 'darshan' can be availed only on 'ashtami' falling in every month. Otherwise, the 'darshan' of Goddess Katyayani can be made throughout the days of 'Navratri' (Hindu festival of worship and dance). (Katyayani is huge and festooned in rich clothes, striking jewelry and a heavy garland of flowers.)" Good word -- festooned.

Apparently during Navratri, the temple is thronged by thousands of people with lines kilometers long.

Near the shrine of Katyayani Devi there are two rooms meant to be Goddess' rooms (living room with tables and chairs made of silver, the other the 'Shayan Kaksha' (bedroom), with bed, dressing table and table are carved in silver.

Inside the complex there are several shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Radha-Krsihna and Lord Rama. Apart from the shrines, a massive structure has been constructed where 'Bhandara' (food offered to people) is conducted on a daily basis.

Nearly 24 hours a day, notes my Temple resource, various religious prayers and discourses are held in the temple.

After canvassing the campus for an open bathroom and avoiding many camera-hungry Indians seeking to capture Claire and Ava on their film (ok digitals), we retrieved our shoes and were sent to a bathroom in the parking area. (None too soon on the shoes; I got past the bird poop on the ground, skirted spittle and Lord knows what else, but when someone cleaned her nose out -- on the ground -- I did think how nice it is to have soles between skin and dirt/marble whatever.)

Re: the restroom: not your most desirable facility. Ava's bladder seized up at the squatters and I didn't hear another word about needing to go. Claire, on the other hand, expanded her toilet horizons.

From the gorgeous Chhatarpur Mandir we went on to another temple but I'll have to write more about that tomorrow because it's past my bedtime.

Doll Museum & Lotus Temple

What a great day in New Delhi! It started with us headed to the Doll Museum, which was Claire's vote for today. En route we spotted an elephant -- as we were traveling down a 4-lane (VERY busy) highway. Elephant was in the far left, lumbering along with a young Indian man atop, swinging his arm to and fro.

Our driver slowed down so we could take a photo, then asked if we'd like to take a safari. I thought he meant take a safari someday, not at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday on a 4 laner where lanes seem optional and accidents seem to be a narrow miss at all times.

But no. Roop meant "how about a safari now? I'll drive the car slow behind the three of you, up on top of the elephant -- it will be perfectly safe."

Well maybe so, but not exactly how I pictured my first elephant ride, thankyouverymuch. I was thinking of a decorated one out in the desert area, preferably on a trail or through the sand or grass or something, anything other than New Delhi pavement.

After convincing Roop that no, today was not the day for the elephant ride (which by the way is considerably cheaper on the roadside in New Delhi as opposed to tourist elephant riding mecca Jaipur. This we know as he asked the guy on top of the big animal how much it would cost for the 3 of us to saunter down the road, making an even bigger spectacle of ourselves than our typical American-ness affords here.)

By the way, it was fascinating to watch the elephant rider dismount; he wiggled/slid down the back of the animal and was on the ground next to the car faster than you could blink. Not sure we would have gotten up/down with the same agility, even if the elephant was seated.

After that episode we continued onto the Doll Museum, a fabulous collection of dolls in a bustling business district of New Delhi.

After watching a street altercation which involved police and navigating through dozens of motorcycles, autos, bicycles, cars and assorted other traffic, we spent all of 90 cents for admission to view hundreds of dolls from around the world.

I kept trying to discern a favorite but that wasn't possible -- loved the ones from Germany, Poland, Argentina, Japan, China, India's various states, Taiwan...and on and on.

Many of the dolls had been donated by First Ladies; these were, as expected, particularly opulent in dress. My favorites were those with handcrafted costumes, some so elaborate it looked as though they were wearing eight or more pieces of clothing, all decorated with dainty, delicate stitchery/needlework, jewels, buttons, ribbons and more. No detail forgotten.

We saw a few dollhouses, which Claire particularly liked. One set of dolls even moved, powered with a vibrating motor of some sort. India's bride dolls from various regions throughout the country were particularly interesting to me -- delightful colors/costuming.

Big dolls, small dolls, happy dolls, sad dolls -- we'll probably all dream about them tonight.

From there we went to the Lotus Temple, the Baha'i House of Worship. It was designed by Iranian architect Fariburz Sahba and completed in 1986. With 27 petals, the white marble lotus shape has obviously given the structure its nickname.

Walking up to the Temple is auspicious, with a gorgeous view of the building surrounded by 227 acres of lawns and manicured landscaping. Before entering the building each visitor is given a burlap bag for shoes, which is then checked into a downstairs space that smells like an old high school gym on a hot day. Must be a horrific job in summer, collecting the shoes, that is.

Wetraipsed barefoot into the Temple, where we were allowed in in groups, hushed as it is designed for silent prayer/meditation.

The interior seats up to 1,300 people and 15-minute services are held inside at various times throughout the day.

Here's info on the Baha'i religion per wikipedia if you're inclined to know more:

As with all other Bahá'í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as emphasized in Bahá'í texts. The Bahá'í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.[2] The Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practiced.[2]

That about wraps it up for today; I'll be tuning into election results!

Connaught Place & Jantar Mantar

After a lazy Sunday, the kids and I hit the road running Monday morning. Our first stop was the huge American Embassy, where we submitted some paperwork.

From there we went to Connaught Place, New Delhi's famous colonial-era circular market. Formerly the commercial district of the British Raj, it is laid out like a wheel so is easy to wander. And it's chockful of upscale and low brow shops, the same realm of restaurants, hawkers, beggars and, per our driver, pickpockets.

We had no altercations w/ the latter, thankfully.

After a little sensory overload we sought out a snack and soda; Claire's preference was TGI Friday's. No doubt the ultimate irony after her enjoyment of chicken fingers was her later stomachache from American chain food...

From Connaught we went to the nearby Jantar Mantar, an astoronomical wonder dating from the 18th century.

It was masterminded by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur under orders from Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.

Comprised of red brick and rubble (rubble?) the structures are inscribed with scale markings to take readings.

The Jantar Mantar features six instruments, including:

- a huge sundial known as "Samrat Yantra" or 'Prince of Dials', meant to measure accurate time of the day within half a second and the declination of the sun and other heavenly bodies dominates it.
- Other yantras meant for the study of heavenly bodies, plotting their course and predicting eclipses.
- Two pillars on the southwest of Mishra Yantra meant to determine the shortest and longest days of the year. (in December one pillar completely covers the other with its shadow; in June it does not cast a shadow)

After the completion of the first Jantar Mantar and with a view to verifying astronomical observations made at Delhi, Jai Singh built similar observatories in Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain, and Mathura.

After our science lesson for the day, Roop decided I needed to see handicrafts from Kashmir so we stopped at a very nice market. We got a firsthand look at how the rugs are made by tribal groups in Kashmir -- incredibly labor intensive and must require a wealth of patience. All the rugs he showed us were incredibly beautiful and of course it would have been delightful to furnish our hotel room with a variety of them. (Would also have been fascinating to watch Joe's face when he experienced that Visa moment.)

It took us a few minutes to extricate ourselves from the sales pitch, turning down offers of tea, more wares, etc.

As for tomorrow, we'll be tuned into election results (rest assured the event is getting plenty of attention here)!

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

November 1 found us handling some administrative affairs, then tooling around for a Catholic Church in Gurgaon. There are actually a few and one quite close, though Mass in English is to be had only early Sunday mornings. And that's the day our driver has off.

So after perusing the Gurgaon market (quite a bustling affair) we checked out other Mass options online and opted for the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart:

"the most important Catholic Church in New Delhi but also arguably one of the best in entire India." (per the internet)

Arriving early, we saw a wedding party taking photos out front of the very pitureque Roman-style Cathedral, built in the 1930's. (The reception was set up tent-style kitty-corner from the Cathedral; it looked like an auspicious affair.)

Two schools flank the church, also featuring the same architectural style. The lovely campus' grounds had some activity -- a soccer game on one side, karate (or related sport) on another.

We wandered through the Cathedral prior to services, enjoying the interior grandeur and smells/views of the wedding flowers.

Mass was nice, if a little hard to understand (in English as a Second Language with compromised acoustics). I think I caught every third word -- how's that for worship?

On the ride home Claire swears she saw 6 people on a motorcycle. Unfortunately I missed it.

One item I forgot to mention after our Kahn Market shopping adventure: I spotted 1/2 dozen eggs for sale, labeled "Almost Organic." (Is that our equivalent of "free range? Or is it more like "We didn't feed them quite as much pesticide this time?")

On that note, I'll sign off and wish all a good weekend!

Halloween!

I can't believe it's November 1 already! Soon the election will FINALLY be over -- yea!

We had a good, if rather avante garde (sp?) Halloween. The kids and I hung close to the hotel in the early part of the day as our air shipment was supposed to arrive between 1 and 3. And at exactly 1:00 it was downstairs -- can you beat that?

(Air shipment contained Halloween candy, more clothes and shoes, beach towels, school books, mac n cheese, PB, OTC meds, all the stuff we felt would make transitioning the kids a bit easier. And let's face it; what is Halloween like without cheap American candy?!?)

Anyway, after escorting several boxes into our space we took off with Roop to pick up Joe and register ourselves as Americans living in Gurgaon -- a beaurocratic process that might be found anywhere, except for a few minor details:

The building had no A/C and while it said it was built in 2000, it was in far worse shape than my high school, constructed in the 1930's.

Apparently the man in charge of processing our documentation was on a bit of a power trip so he made the lackey prepping our papers remove staples and paste Joe's photos on his information. (Apparently it was ok for the kids and my images to be stapled.)

As seems typical so far with most of our interactions, the man carries all the weight in this culture. So when our paperwork pusher was getting details (height, eye color, etc.) he asked Joe for his, then without even glancing at me, he asked Joe for "madame's eye color."

I think my husband almost burst out laughing.

We sat for what seemed like forever in a stuffy room on the fourth floor. Claire completed an entire reading book for school; Ava sat on Joe in the "boss'" office, where I was convinced the game was to see how many people they could fit into the small space.

At one point someone from the UK (or some other English-speaking domain) forked over 9,000 rupees (around $100), apparently to smooth over the fact that his passport had expired two months prior.

Oh how the system functions. I also had to laugh as I looked around and saw stacks of papers in what appeared to be no semblance of order, labeled as foreign documentation. Seems like it would be easy to disappear without a trace in these parts...

I was heartened to see a young Indian man keying data into a computer -- until Joe said he was flipping back and forth between data input and his yahoo account.

After completing the sign-in process, we dropped Joe at the office and rushed to the hotel to get ready for the ex-pat Halloween party!

Both kids dawned their more-expensive-than-they-should-have-been) adult size Halloween costumes, we grabbed our Halloween treats and headed over to T.J.'s apartment for the party. (T.J. is an American woman who we met through the Gurgaon ex-at connect group.)

The kids had fun playing with other children & I had fun chatting with English-speakers from the UK, US, South Africa and Australia. A few had babies, several with kids Ava's age and one or two for Claire to play with.

Four rooms in the apartment were the "houses" for trick or treating, and the kids made off with plenty of candy. We were the stars of the party for our straight-from-America m&m's, snickers, etc.

The ex-pat group gets together regularly for coffee, playdates and parties so we hope to catch future activities. T.J. has invited us to a holiday bazaar next week which we may put on our calendar.

Hope all of you had a memorable Halloween and enjoy the weekend!

Kiwis and motorcycles

Ok -- I forgot to make note of these observations yesterday:

- Kiwis -- had no idea they could taste so good. Each day fruit is delivered to our room; they're my new favorite. Ava's all about the kiwi too. Claire remains, as always, skeptical of anything green.

- Motorcycles. Who knew you could fit 5 people on one...while driving at 55 mph+ sans helmets, weaving in/out of EXTREMELY BUSY roads where lanes seem optional. It's actually quite common to see the entire family perched on said set of wheels, and we're not talking about a big Harley-sized one (no side cars, either).

Imprinted on my memory, I think, will be the brightly colored saris flapping in the wind as the Indian woman sits side saddle behind the male driver. She seems to casually hold on with one hand. I refrain from imagining what would happen in the event of an accident.

- Something I read in the paper yesterday. Apparently the pollution from the Divali fireworks/crackers has shrunk the population of dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes and other bugs. I can only imagine what it's doing for our lungs.

- Incense in the hotel. I thought the whole place was suffering from poor air quality every morning. It's actually incense. Maybe I'll recommend a different flavor. LOL it's great to be learning so much!

On that note, back to my coffee.

The Market & Qutub Minar

What a great day! We started off slow -- our schedule has flipped as Joe goes into the office late (i.e. 10 or 10:30). Now of course the down side to that is he walks in late (i.e. 9:30 tonight).

But we get to do breakfast with him, then Roop takes him to work and today we set off in search of Halloween costumes. Yes, I forgot to pack last year's "just in case" garb and we didn't have time to hunt down a ladybug and Native American costume before leaving so...

A tip from our Gurgaon yahoo group led us to the Khan Market, which is frequented by Embassy and ex-pat types. (Code: no deals here.)

It was a great market, though, lots of tiny shops crowded in, a few restaurants, bakery w/ m&m cookies, a whole lot of shoe and automobile parts stores, etc...

An Indian mom pointed us to the toystore that had a few costumes; neither of my children wanted to be a witch so they're both going to our ex-pat Halloween party as pumpkins. The sales person managed to slip in some face paint so I guess they'll be dolled up pumpkins.

From the toystore we of course had to check out the rest of the market; next stop was a bookstore that had children's books on level 2. After MUCH deliberation Claire and Ava chose the only two books they felt passionate about: a paperback pony chapter book and a princess picture book.

On level 2 the sales person took our books and told us we'd pay downstairs.

Thirty seconds later we were at the cashier's, where prices were tallied. Yet another person got involved in the transaction ($). However, when they opened the bag to show us the books, they were the wrong ones so suddenly someone shot out the door apparently in chase of the person who had OUR books.

(Frankly I think there were a few too many people involved in that transaction.)

With disappointed children in tow I headed back upstairs for another round of book sorting. Thankfully we found 2 books of interest and this time the three-person sales approach was successful. (Though we were told the people who made off with our books were no where to be found -- they told us to come back next week and check.)

From there we picked up a couple other items, decided we were hungry and, having heard good things about the Turtle Cafe (3rd floor of the infamous wrong-bag bookstore), we shlepped up there for sodas and pasta. Highly recommend it! Great ambience, music, food. Clean bathroom, too. BONUS

Next Roop took us to Qutub Minar, the tallest stone tower in India. (Gorgeous too, I might add.)

It is named for the Muslim sultan Qutub-ud-din Aibak, is 234 feet high and construction on it began in 1193 (it and all the other stone structures around it were completed in the 1300's). Description from guide book: "...handsome sandstone example of Indo-Islamic architecture with terra-cotta frills and balconies." (I wonder if "frills" is really an architectural term?)

At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid, the first Muslim mosque in India (build on the site of a Hindu temple using pillers and other materials from 27 demolished Hindu and Jain shrines). Recycling at its best...

"The mosque is also famous for a 24-foot-high, 5th century iron pillar, inscribed with six lines of Sanskrit. According to legend, if you stand with your back to the pillar and can reach around and touch your fingers, any wish you make will come true."

Claire's still wondering how we can test that legend.

Several people again asked if they could have their photo taken with my children. We politely declined; no need for us to show up on someone else's blog. And if they're going to be famous we'd prefer to sign the contract first. (Frankly I think the Qutub Minar made for good photography material but what do I know.)

Tomorrow we hope to get our air shipment, though its delivery has already slid some so we're not holding our breath.

Divali and the zoo

Ok I'm really tired so will keep this short...
Yesterday we had a delightfully lazy Divali -- slept in, tried the chef-recommended dosas for breakfast (had another today -- like a crispy crepe rolled perfectly with a pototo curry filling, warm and yummy). Kids are sticking with pancakes, waffles and bacon.
We spent half the day by the pool, Ava and I swam (chilly water but fun!), Joe and Claire played cards. Apparently that's a common Divali pastime so you can say we jumped right into celebrating...
Yesterday evening we attended a big Divali feast and enjoyed all kinds of specialties from throughout the country. Don't ask me their names, I just know I tried a wide array of dishes, and most memorable were a couple items commonly sold on the street in Mumbai (sp). Stir-fried noodles with scallions, spices and tomatoes.
We went home with a box of special Divali desserts; rest assured I'm working my way through it.

We fell asleep to fabulous fireworks displays all around us!

The Zoo
Today, October 29, our driver took us to the Delhi Zoo. Thankfully we beat the crowd; I think many people had today off for the holiday so took the family to the zoo, too.
We all enjoyed the animals -- a wide array in nice settings, most in view even though it was warm. I had to laugh, though, I think we attracted as much or more attention than the animals. No doubt some of these folks haven't seen many foreigners, a contrast to many of the people we've encountered here in Gurgaon, where there are so many international companies. At the hotel alone the last few days we've encountered French, Germans, Australians, Japanese...

And at the local mall no one seemed to look twice at us tromping through.
I digress -- about the zoo...my favorite were the hippos -- I really did think they were big bumps of mud until one of them finally came up for air or a break or whatever it is hippos do. Ava preferred the alligators, who were dragging their tails in the water, either to cool off or as bait (Claire's suggestion).

Claire was most fond of the white tigers, which were truly magnificent.

We did learn to assert ourselves rather clearly while at the zoo -- someone tried to cut in line once, someone pushed Claire out of the way later and a woman tried to cut in front of me twice in the bathroom line. Given Claire really had to go, and that it was our turn and that I really had no plans to spend any more time in that bathroom than we needed to, I told her "no" once nicely, and the second time I cut her off at the pass (after she tried to push in front of me).

This evening our driver took us through the parliament and India gate area for the views at night -- incredibly pituresque with the boulevards and buildings lit. We took a stroll around the area, then picked Joe up from work and are now collapsing after a very full day!

Jumped ship from yahoo360

My apologies -- and warning: if you read my last entry on yahoo360.com, don't bother with the one below! It's a repeat (God forbid I miss any of my own writing.)

I just had a few challenges w/ the other blog so am hoping this site is user friendly for all of us!

More to come -- thanks for keeping up w/ me!
Anyway, back to today.
While I didn’t have much energy to attack the day, having slept from 1 to 3 and spent the rest of the night counting sheep, half heartedly reading, tossing around. (Chalk it up to jet lag and too much Indian food too late at night.)
Anyway, my family was up at 8 so I rallied and we ate breakfast together, then Joe headed off to work and we grabbed wipes, water & cameras and headed out with our driver, Roop.
He whisked us off to New Delhi; we’d been told traffic would be terribly cumbersome due to Divali but we didn’t spend much time en route. That may be in part due to the driver’s road sense – he keeps telling me 24 years of experience, sometimes 26, today it was 27 years driving.
(And having been warned a million times that it will take FOREVER to get ANYWHERE here my expectations are low so maybe it was a zoo out there today – I will say I’m amazed at what passes as traffic here…)
Back to New Delhi:
I found the Capitol area of New Delhi to be very clean, relatively orderly, with lovely green spaces, trees and flowers throughout. Many of the embassies, universities, homes of armed service leaders, etc. were recessed behind shrubbery so we were left imagining their auspiciousness or lack thereof. We did spot the American flag and the seal on the front of what Roop said is a huge American embassy.
Even the road, which featured a ton of roundabouts (Becky you would have been at home) seemed a bit less chaotic – until the ride home, when we saw an accident involving 2 cars, 1 bicycle, 3 angry men and from what I could see, no blood.
Back to touring: Roop gave us a driving tour of the Houses of Parliament and the President’s House, which were all appropriately auspicious.
Our first actual stop was the India gate, “a massive red sandstone arch, built to commemorate the Indian and British soldiers who died in WWI and those who fell in the battle in the NW Frontier Province and the 3rd Afghan War (good Lord how many wars have they had?).” – verbiage straight out of my guidebook (with some commentary from me on # of wars) -- guidebook courtesy of some of the beautiful women in my life.
Back to the Gate. At the bottom is an eternal flame in memory of soldiers who died in the 1971 India-Pakistan War.
Near the India Gate is an impressive Statue Canopy; together they make a lovely focal point into New Delhi.
Also near the Gate were a wide array of vendors, one with monkeys that do tricks (tied to payment, naturally), others selling peacock feathers, what looked like scrawny cotton candy, guide books, photos, etc. We passed.
Oh, and several foreigners who felt a need to take Ava and Claire’s photos. The kids declined; I don’t blame them.
From the Gate we went to Humayun’s Tomb, the “1st example of a Mughal garden tomb” and inspiration for the Taj Majal and other later monuments. It was built in 1565 by a Persian architect, commissioned by Humayun’s senior widow (so I have to ask: is there a junior widow too?).
Before checking out the Tomb (which Roop and now Ava refers to as the Baby Taj – they share the same type of dome), we wandered around the two crypts nearby, where other important Mughals are buried. (I swear someone said one was the king’s barber. Given my fondness for hair cuts, I’d agree with the high status of the barber.)
We were able to climb up to the 2nd story (for lack of a better word) on one of the crypts and on the Tomb, too, so were able to absorb more of the detailed stonework and surrounding gardens. We also spotted several temples in the area – fodder for future sight-seeing adventures.
The Tomb was truly magnificent; the arch leading in lends itself to the magnificence of the building. Both kids were enamored, Ava particularly in being a model in every photo, Tomb and otherwise. She perched right up on one of the tombs inside. No doubt it was non-spiritually correct but I can’t imagine the Moghals mind at this point.
After traipsing around the Tomb area and complaining about the quality of the bathroom (thank heavens one had a seat; the other 3 were squatters and the kids aren’t quite ready for that yet), we headed for a market recommended by Roop.
It was more like a regular store than street market -- sales people were quietly helpful, there was no bargaining, prices were established on each product. We oohed and aahed appropriately and managed to leave without a bunch of small carved elephants and such. (I’m not ready to fill up our hotel space w/ trinkets just yet…)
Roop then whisked us back to our hotel.
Our highlight for the evening was an in-kitchen demonstration of the tandoor oven. We expressed interest so the chef brought us around the counter to watch a ball of dough be flattened, then attached to the inside of one of the two big barrel-like (might I mention extremely hot) ovens (they burn coal and must burn 1 ½ hours to cool down enough for use). The dough remains on the side of the oven until done and peeled off with very long tongs (if too done it peels off by itself and I suspect would then incinerate).
As a final note, we are enjoying the light displays in and around the hotel for Divali – each day more lights are added to trees in the courtyard, candles in the water features, candles and ornate flower petal decorations inside and out.
Re: the petals – as we were waiting for our driver this morning, a very tall American man took a step back on the sidewalk and wiped out an entire Diwali petal decoration with his size 12 shoe. I think he wanted to crawl under the tiny Indian rental that retrieved him shortly thereafter.
And Ava has clearly settled into India already: “Mom, WHERE is our driver?!?”
Happy Divali in advance to all!