January in India

It's been great to be back in the land of saris and curries, I must say -- I so enjoy the people here. Great sense of humor and very friendly, plus the weather (right now) is outstanding -- cool in the morning, warm and sunny mid day. No doubt in a few months it will be sweltering.

Drivers

Upon our return our driver resigned to take a job with a touring company (well, we got three different stories about why he stepped away from chaffeuring us around the Delhi area, but that one seemed most palatable).

So we were provided a driver whose name started with an S and went on for a long time. He was young, quite officious, spoke no English but we managed just fine for a couple of days.

Then driver #3 entered the picture. His name is Ram and he now runs us around. He doesn't speak much English either but Joe generally just goes to the office and back to the hotel, and I bring an address whenever we go someplace so thus far it works.

He did get in an altercation w/ security at the mall last week. (Gurgaon is land of the malls, and each has a big security contingency w/ officials who check cars, parcels, etc. Everyone entering malls must also go through metal detectors, have purses/bags checked etc.)

Anyway, Ram hadn't formally parked, just pulled into the circular drive (I use that term loosely) to pick us up as we weren't there long (Subway run -- whole wheat, turkey and cheese for Claire, Ava gets same w/ pickles, cucumbers and tomatoes). They requested payment for parking so Ram started arguing w/ the security guy.

Five minutes later he was arguing with 6 security guys. You might ask who was securing the joint while everyone else came and went -- don't worry, like everywhere here, they have scads of people employed.

At the end of the day, mall security won the war; Ram forked over the rupees and cut someone off on the way out of the mall.

Otherwise all quiet on the driving front.

Garden Visit

Last week we visited Garden of the Five Senses, so named because it is designed to appeal to the five senses:

Visitors are encouraged to touch the rocks and displays, the fragrance of flower for the nose, the landscaping appeals to the eyes - the sight, the ceramic bells and the water falls create a soothing sound -pleasing to the ear and the food courts serve a variety of cuisines - to please the tongue.

Set on 20 acres, the Garden is a lovely park that features a wide array of art (sculptures, statues, murals, etc.). Paths, some brick, others dirt, wind through a maze, different parts of the garden featuring different plants -- herbs, cacti, varieties of flower beds, etc. -- an amphitheatre, and viewpoints overlooking the city.

A lovely facility, we picked a great day for visiting -- sunny and warm. We did some sketching and explored, and had lunch at Magique, a great little restaurant adjacent to the Garden. (Good food and ambience -- outdoor seating w/ fountains in the middle, bamboo hut-shaped bathrooms that Claire was particularly fond of.)

Crafts

We also stopped at the National Handicrafts Museum last week (Claire's outing choice). It has a huge, varied collection of handicrafts from throughout India -- the collection of fabrics itself takes an entire floor in a lovely old building.

The museum includes an outdoor area with examples of homes from various parts of the country (grass huts, mud huts, stone architecture, traditional Himalayan homes, etc.).

Other exhbits featured paintings related to Hindu and Muslim beliefs, pottery, jewelry, carriages uses for weddings and other important events, dolls and figurines and so much more.

Outside were 15 or more craftspeople, many working and selling their wares. We watched someone make small pots using his potter's wheel, others were weaving, someone was sculpting oxen by hand with clay, another man and child were making bowls from stone.

Claire fell in love with a crocheted skirt at one of the stalls. I was short on rupees that day so we returned yesterday (after an hour of hell at Citibank -- by the time we get our banking in order we'll have moved!).

Our stop at the museum yesterday was purely to shop -- Claire now has a lovely white/pink/purple crocheted skirt. And I left with a lovely silk shawl. The buying process was great fun; the two salesmen at the stand of course unfolded scads of neatly packaged scarves of all sizes for me to peruse.

Then, because they didn't have a mirror (bit of a miss, right) they took photos of me modeling the two I liked best with their cell phone. What a riot. I made my choice after we all weighed in on what looked best on me.

I do love these kinds of buying experiences -- memorable and fun. Plus he gave me a discount. (I always wonder how low I could have gone w/ this bargaining stuff.)


Chickens

Going back to last week, we also stopped in at INA Market, per recommendation of a friend. It's a huge busy market in a small space, so stalls are packed in and aisles are narrow, w/ sellers beckoning and doing their best to entice customers to see their wares (looked like everything from toothpaste to melons, hardware to dogfood).

One turn took us to the meat area; a stall of live chickens, varied in hue and size (some white, some multi-colored), were waiting to be chosen -- the butchering area was right next to the cage. Must be a happy experience for the birds.

We didn't last long in the meat department -- a bit smelly.

After winding through, I was enticed to try some delicious looking chicken dish (I know, it was probably purchased and slaughtered in the spot an hour ago from the guy down the aisle, right?). Somehow that didn't slow me down much; I ordered whatever the customer before me had at this little outdoor stall -- 3 men were working behind the "counter" -- one was kneading tennis ball sized rounds of dough, making them into small pizza shaped flatbread that ended up being puffier than pizza. Fabulous smell, incredibly tasty.

With it I got a chicken dish of some kind that was warm and so flavorful and simply out of this world. Ava tried some of the bread, Claire just wanted out of the entire experience. India's market scene is a bit too chaotic for her, I think (unless we're looking for something she wants to buy).

Dance

Joe was in Mumbai on business last week, so kids and I took the opportunity to join a friend at the Epicentre, a bit theatre/restaurant/art gallery/business meeting facility near us, to attend a dance recital.

First we hit a reception as the Epicentre is seeking to expand its visibility among businesses and the community as a trade show/meeting venue. We enjoyed appetizers (kids like the fish on a stick) and listened to jazz. One of the musicians was blind, we were told, so kids spent the rest of the time trying to figure out which one couldn't see.

The dance performance, held in the theatre, was lovely -- one woman performed for an hour. She'd danced in the U.S. and has danced all over India, is trained by someone from Chennai. Her dances were all to traditional Indian music and her movements and expressions relayed the story of each song. One could easily interpret the emotion she was conveying, and her dancing was extremely elegant and graceful.

Her costuming was lovely too, gorgeous brightly colored, flowy material with bells around her ankles that added to the music as she moved across the floor.

After the dance we enjoyed a bit more food at the multi-cuisine buffet. I tried a cardamom flavored Indian ice cream that was very good -- very unique taste.

Ava was thrilled with the vanilla ice cream.

Over the weekend we had the world's longest lunch at a new restaurant (Amici) in Khan market. Great space, one is quite removed from the busy-ness of the market, hanging out in an urban chic space with cool black and whites on the walls. The food was good but mistake after mistake on the order, even after our waiter wrote down, word for word, our order. We did get a discount and we did enjoy fabulous shakes; kids had freshly squeezed apple juice, which was delightful.

This week we enjoyed Delhi's National Museum, a huge collection with a wide array of exhibits -- excavations, sculpture from various eras, Egyptian artifacts, etc.

We went down specifically to see the Faberge exhibit before it moves on; it was a small exhibit, took maybe 30 minutes to view -- some jewelry and several of the famous eggs. Lovely but we ended up spending more time looking at the Harappan exhibit, which featured a large number of artifacts from the sites of Harappan Civilisation, including pottery, seals, tablets, weights and measures, jewellery, terracotta figurines, toys, etc. It also has copper tools from Harappan sites like axes, chisels and knives.

About the Harappan civilization:

The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated IVC, was an ancient civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin. Primarily centred in India (Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan) and today's Pakistan (Sindh and Punjab provinces), it extended westward into the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Remains have been excavated from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran, as well.

Historically part of Ancient India, it is one of the world's three earliest urban civilizations along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The mature phase of this civilization is technically known as the Harappan Civilization, after the first of its cities to be unearthed: Harappa in today's Pakistan.

Excavation of IVC sites have been ongoing since 1920, with important breakthroughs occurring as recently as 1999.

After the Harappan exhibit we made a brief stop at the Buddhist Art Collection:

- focused on the sacred relics of the Buddha (5th-4th century B.C.) unearthed from Piprehwa, Distt. Basti and outstanding specimens of Buddhist Art as a global movement, is illustrated through 84 exhibits in stone, bronze, terracotta, stucco, wooden sculptures and painted scrolls or Thankas from Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, Myanmar, Java and Combodia, representing the three principal Buddhist forms - Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana.

Of special importance are the images of Kapardin Buddha from Ahichchhatra, Buddha - pada (footprints) from Nagarjunakonda, Distt. Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and Buddha's life scenes from Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh as well as ritualistic objects from the trans-Himalayan reign. These objects stimulate a sense of devotion, dedication and love for humanity.

Near the exhibit several monks were doing art demonstrations, one painting a mask, others painting statues. Flags and black/white pictures of the Himalayas adorned the hall around them.

Imperial Hotel and Lohri Festival

From the National Museum we headed to the Imperial Hotel for a bathroom stop and to check out the property. It's absolutely lovely and should you ever get the chance to stay there, please let me know so I can join you.

One of the restaurants takes you back to the time of English rule, both in style of the rooms and through photos from that time period. It opens out into lovely grounds. Other restaurants -- Asian and Italian -- had wonderful ambience and decor as well.

The Imperial hotel building itself is spectacular, seems intimate even though it's a large hotel, and the fabulous smells of flowers overtake you when you enter the lobby.

From there Margie whisked us off to the club her dad belongs to for an Indian holiday celebration:

Lohri is celebrated every year on the 13th of January. It is a festival to worship fire. Lohri Festival is celebrated with great pomp in North India. At this time Earth starts moving towards the sun marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan. First Lohri is very important for the newly wed and the new born babies as it marks fertility. At night, people gather around the bonfire and throw til, puffed rice & popcorns into the flames of the bonfire. Prayers are offered to the bonfire seeking abundance & prosperity. People make merry by dancing & singing traditional folk songs.

We enjoyed fabulous Indian food and snacks (incredibly good dessert -- made like funnel cake but dipped in a yummy nutty syrup and eaten warm). Kids had fun throwing things into the huge bonfire and dancing on stage.