Post-Taj -- Feb 12 onward

After the big day in Agra, we relaxed a bit – cranked away at some homeschooling. Claire has been accepted at the American School in London to complete first grade. I am quite thrilled to retire from teaching, though it’s been a great way to continue her education without the confines of a typical school schedule.

Plus it’s given me great insight into the learning process and a deeper appreciation for the wonderful teachers she’s had so far.

(Ava, too, has been following a curriculum and is eager to start at a preschool in London. Naturally it’s more difficult to get a kid into said institution than to get her into college.)

Back to life at the Crowne...I’ve embarked on having some clothes made by my 20 year old tailor, so made a couple visits to the shop he works out of. He’s affiliated with the woman at the lingerie shop, but he comes and goes, so I would come to the shop, the woman who runs it would track him down via mobile (the cell phone, like the car horn, is indispensable here – even some of these people living in slums have them).

Therein we communicated through her about my tailoring needs, and I brought a picture or two of what I was envisioning. For one item – a long black skirt – another woman, much like the shop owner, was there, so both of these down to earth, take charge ladies, plus the tailor and a couple of customers all weighed in on what material would be best, should the skirt have a slit, etc. I may as well not have been there. One of the most entertaining exchanges I’ve enjoyed here!

(Must say, often it’s decision or assistance by committee in India – everyone likes to share their opinion.) The 12 year old boy and young woman who assist in the shop stood off to the side, as always, and took in the scene.

I was sent off to find the fabric the name of which no one could remember (after all that discussing) while the tailor went on his way to make a couple of shirts. (I actually brought a shirt for him to use as a reference point, as most women’s clothing here is made tunic style, and I much prefer something with some darts and whatnot to provide shape.)

For Valentine’s Day Joe and I went to dinner and to see Slumdog Millionaire. Enjoyed both very much – I highly recommend the book as well, given they were very different. We’d been told to get gold star seats at the theatre – not sure how they differ from regular? Seemed quite like home, except they threw in a very short intermission (and Slumdog isn’t a lengthy movie). So as people were starting their break, the movie resumed. Not sure what value that intermission added?

Week of February 16
We made it to the Mughal Gardens this week. Each year for a month or so the President’s Gardens are open to the public, so we left all items in the car (you can’t carry anything with you – probably like visiting the White House these days) and wandered forever to enter the gardens. Once there we wandered forever to see all the gardens – they’re huge(13 acres)!

The first one we came to had many spices and medicinal plants, labeled with their uses. Others included the Musical Garden, Spiritual Garden and Biodiversity Park. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gardens are a blend of the formal Mughal and British styles.

The roses alone were spectacular in this place – hundreds of them of all different shapes, sizes and colors. Paths wove here and there in the herb garden so we could zigzag our way through. Another garden was round, so we skirted the outside, looking down into layers of color. The one closest to the house was biggest, on a rectangular plot, with beautiful walkways throughout, fountains, canals and terraces adding to the beauty. The last one featured many trees and shrubs, some for practical uses, others for décor or traditional to various areas of India. On the edges of the gardens were huge banyan trees which made a lovely boundary.

While the Gardens were busy when we were there, we didn’t have to stand in line and crowds weren’t overwhelming (though a couple of school groups came through – they’re very noisy and run from place to place, but since they do their sightseeing at record speed, the size of their groups haven’t had an impact on our viewing experience– at least this has been in the case in our travels so far.)

(I actually just read that a record 95,537 people visited the Mughal Gardens last Sunday! Glad we didn’t pick that day to visit.)

Following the garden tour, wherein I carried Ava much of the way (and really realized how big and removed from the parking area these flowers are – there were first aid and water stations along the way, marathon style!), we went to Khan Market for lunch. After milkshakes, lasagna and noodles at the Big Chill (great to eat something other than a curry), we made one final stop at the Craft Museum, a delightful place to shop. We struck out on skirts (Claire was on a mission to get another knitted one) but got a lovely journal for her and ornaments for Ava (must have decorated tree in London – we sort of skipped over that business this year).

Later in the week I arranged for a guide to show us a few sites we hadn’t yet seen in Old Delhi/Delhi. Ram took us down to Raj Ghat, which marks the spot where he was cremated after his assassination in 1948. It’s a lovely, serene place with simple black marble marker and eternal flame surrounded by green space. We walked around it, then went upstairs to the overlook for a lovely view of the Raj Ghat and the surrounding area.

From there our guide took us to Old Delhi, where we stopped at the Red Fort (not to be confused with the Red Fort at Agra). Delhi’s Red Fort is much smaller, built by the same ruler in the same style from same material -- red sandstone.

After a photo opp we hopped on a rickshaw for a ride through Old Delhi. It’s a bit of a surreal experience to ride on the back of one of these wobbly cycle carts in heavy traffic with much larger cars trucks you name it weaving in and out. Images of the daily paper with its list of gruesome pedestrian/cyclist fatalities did cross my mind. Obviously not a big enough worry as we sat back and let the poor cyclist navigate crossing the street with us in tow.

One does see a little of everything in Old Delhi – it’s jam-packed full of people at all times (at least in my experience). Narrow streets weave in, out and around, one can lose oneself in the small alleys that spiral off from Chandni Chowk and other larger streets.

A large concentration of Muslims live here, as Jamal Masjid, the country’s largest Mosque, can be found in Old Delhi. I’ve been told there’s very little crime in the community, as people are closely knit and watch out for each other.

The buildings here are old, some crumbling – apparently the government tried unsuccessfully a few years ago to tear them down and re-build new ones, but the people protested, as most of these homes have been in families for generations – and this is, truly, Old Delhi.

Ram met us at the end of our rickshaw ride and we drove around a bit more, saw a woman taking a potty break in the road, a very busy one at that (the road, that is). Just when you think you’ve become accustomed to the unusual…

What if she’d gotten hit by a car? Although let’s face it, for many people here life is lived almost, if not in, the street (that said, using the actual street as a bathroom is a bit extreme, especially for a woman – typically there’s more discretion involved – she may not have been 100% -- now isn’t that the understatement of the year).

From Old Delhi we stopped at the India Gate and President’s House for a stroll around. Lovely day, so many people were out and about – the grounds around India Gate are very popular for recreation – picnicking, kite flying, a little pond is available for paddle boating.

Next stop: lunch at a delicious restaurant teeming with locals and tourists – such a busy place – our guide said it’s always packed. He and I shared butter chicken, which was the best I’ve had since arrival. (May I interject here that who doesn’t like I dish with a name that begins with “butter?”)

Back in the car, our guide told us we were going to see a special temple, wherein Ava, who was sitting straight up in her seat, wearing her current favorite bright pink dress with her hair framing her face in the quintessential child-doll haircut (there is nothing as cute as a small round face framed by bangs, I’m convinced) stated, politely:

“I hate temples.”

I nearly laughed out loud and crossed my fingers the man hadn’t understood her. He didn’t appear to, telling her we were going to see pretty goddesses like herself (let’s be frank, no Hindu goddess I’ve seen so far measure up to my children, but then I am biased).

Despite the lack of enthusiasm for the temple, the kids hopped out of the car and we walked through the Birla Mandir, which is made of white marble and sandstone and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. We’d actually visited once before but it was nice to return – to me this temple seems very peaceful and elegant, clean and quiet.

From the temple we stopped at a fabric shop as I was on a mission to find skirt material, then back to the Crowne. Long day but a good one. Later, Joe and I met up with our friends Joe and Christina for drinks at a new cricket-themed brewery – great fun to connect and catch up on travels/life in Gurgaon. They’ll be here until April, then moving to Chicago.

Friday the kids and I picked up lovely Miss Margie, who we’ll dearly miss, to run a few errands as she was preparing for her dad’s birthday party on Sat. She’s still in a cast so we tried to help a bit – India’s a tough place to navigate for a handicapped person, I think – lack of sidewalks, holes here there and everywhere, not many ramps…

She took us to a very nice butcher shop (not that I’m whipping up many meat dishes
these days), and we paid a visit to her favorite flower guy, ordered cakes, etc.

That evening we picked up Joe at his office, got to see his digs (nice corner space with great view of Gurgaon – actually not a bad scene, either – around here you have to take what you can get in terms of scenery with all the city’s construction, shanty towns and trash. We all set off for the British Consulate to pick up his passport w/ new visa. The trip was LONG as traffic was miserable, and it took us nearly as long to get to a nearby restaurant (Tonino’s) afterward. Lovely ambience, though, and good food.

Saturday we ran a few errands, tried desperately to get Joe’s passport notarized to no avail, and enjoyed the party at Miss Margie’s home, which is under construction. Out back she’d set up a temporary grill so our Aussie friend Ian became grillmaster and we enjoyed grilled chicken and lamb burgers, along with cole slaw, salsa, potato salad and all kinds of things that taste so “home-y.”

On Sunday we had a lovely brunch with friends Vipul and Kashmira, who are Indians but live in Africa, she originally hailed from London, where they also have a home, but with their global rice business they travel frequently. Here, like us, they’ve been hotel dwellers.

We enjoyed their delightful company and the Hyatt’s excellent food, particularly the thin crust pizza. And the endless champagne…

On Monday the kids and I schlepped again to the British Consulate, as we had our appointment for visa processing since our documents had arrived from the U.S.

In the evening we very much enjoyed a going away party for Joe, held at DLF Country Club in Gurgaon. The place is a gorgeous oasis from the Gurgaon I described earlier. Lovely people who I think will truly miss Joe and his talents.