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.