dehli dehli

this weekend i got to tour around delhi with a few colleagues. saturday's adventure began with a stop at jantar mantar, which was quite impressive (though boring, i think, to my colleague). these gigantic things were built to measure time and astrology... it's like the 1700s version of tarot.com. (shout out to jewel!)




then on to the jama masjid, the largest mosque in asia. in order to keep me proper for the muslims, they gave me a muu-muu to cover my short-sleeved shirt (not even sleeveless, i swear!). considering recent attacks in india, i honestly don't mind the extra modesty. and check out how gorgeous i was - hard to resist. there was a high tower to climb (tough with a muu-muu always getting stuck underfoot) - from where we got some amazing views of old delhi. you could almost not hear the horns below...almost.

then to lunch at a delicious place called karim hotel - a couple of comments about this place. first, the hindus seem to leave it mostly to the muslims to butcher the animals, so chances are good that you'll find the best meat dishes in muslim neighborhoods (since we were near the largest mosque in asia, you can probably guess that this was a mostly muslim neighborhood). second - what is up with all of the restaurants called "hotel" in india. i don't get it. third...my first run in with no western toilet option. not fun... very smelly hole in the floor in a 2ft x 2ft space, i swear. ick. the rickshaw ride through the teeny alleys of old delhi was...exciting! i also got to experience my first taste of holi - we had several water balloons thrown at us! thankfully it was not colored water...not yet anyway! the ride was full of people staring at me, drivers throwing up their tobacco/betel leaf mixture in front of us, crazy traffic jams, near fights with other rickshaw drivers...pretty interesting!

then we went to the red fort of delhi - made by the same emporer as the taj mahal and the agra fort. some pics:

my tour guide for saturday was my colleague gaurav, who told me some interesting stories about his last job in a call center, doing "MI" - marketing intelligence. you know those telemarketing type people who cold call you, trying to get personal information? yep, there were people at his company doing that. interesting...

gender roles

more on the gender roles here in india...

when having lunch with some of the ladies of the office, rachna told me that i could tell she was recently married because of all of the bangles and jewelry she was wearing. i asked if this was because when a woman is recently married she makes an extra effort on her appearance, but once she's been married awhile she doesn't have to try so hard. because, after all, "he now knows what you look like when you get up in the morning." the giggles i got when saying this only thinly masked the slight horror. i was then told how a woman is expected to be made up and dressed nicely at all times for her husband. some women even sleep in their saris?!? all i have to say is...wow. (and if you're still wondering about the bangles - it's really just a custom to wear them either for a month and a half or for the first year of marriage - depending on where you live.)

next story on the gender roles... this coming week we will have an office party for holi. there are kingfishers being ordered, and for a brief moment i got excited thinking i might not have to wait until the plane ride home for a nice beverage. i'm then informed that only the boys will drink, and that it's really not something for girls to do. now i must decide... be one of the "sweet girls" of the office, or not care what opinion the office may form of me. decisions, decisions.

oh! and why is the entire world a male toilet? i swear...every time i turn around, some guy is taking a piss. there's not even an effort to go up to a tree or wall.

random musings

some of my random india musings for today...

• why are there mothballs in all of the drains?
• will i ever lose the urge to take a swig of water when brushing my teeth?
• interesting that playing music at your desk is totally acceptable (must remember my ipod headphones)
• my friend sarah mentioned how weird it feels to be so served - so strange! the tea guy in the office brings my tea, the doorman at the hotel salutes me, the hotel breakfast guy practically trips over his feet running to see if i need anything else, the driver rushes to open my car door for me (i think my own rush to get out of the car is breaking him of this habit), etc.
  
• the only people who socialize outside of work are the "bachelors"... and it seems that it's inappropriate for me to socialize with them. *sigh*
• puppies are still cute, even when they are street dogs playing in garbage piles
• cows are not cute, especially when they are playing in garbage piles (ok, maybe not playing...but eating)
• there are a lot more people wearing western clothing than i expected
  

taj mahal!

i got to visit one of the seven wonders of the world!

this entry must begin with a description of the journey - a 4 hour car ride with a kind, non-english speaking driver with a lead foot. i think maybe a safer car ride would have been in the indy 500 because at least there i would have been strapped in! (here backseat riders do not need to wear a seat belt by law, so most of the cabs just hide the belts inside the seat.) i can see that they are very good at what they do, but that doesn't always calm the mind as you inch between cargo trucks and autorickshaws at 100 kilometers/hour. literally INCHES. the journey began at 6am, and i tried to drift asleep between the honking and slamming on the brakes.

anyway, after a exciting journey, we arrived in agra. first stop - THE taj mahal. it's amazing to consider something so huge, complex and beautiful being built in the 1600s. i won't bore you with the history of the monument (wikipedia can do that for you), but basically it's a memorial of a mughal emporer to his favorite wife. both the emporer and his wife are entombed there. the building is almost entirely made of white marble, with precious gemstones enlaid to make designs. to the left of the taj is a mosque and to the right, a matching guesthouse. both of these buildings are made of red sandstone (when i write sandstone, i can hear my guide's accent in my head: san-ne-stone). the surrounding gardens are surprisingly tranquil, considering the amount of visitors the place gets. thankfully, there was a slight breeze to cool the over 90 degree temps - the place is so open to the sun, it gets pretty hot. my guide told me that it gets to over 120 degrees in july and august. here is a picture of the beautiful place (which i'm told is even more beautiful in moonlight and sunrise).



and my guide...little deepa. he was quite endearing, with his memorized scripts. i found that his english was actually better with conversation than with his memorization, which was funny. the only problem with deepa...was when he tried to force me on the local shops where he would make a commission. i lose my patience pretty quickly when shopkeepers use the hard sell - i don't want your gemstones, alright?! don't get me wrong, they are beautiful...but my house payment is due today. i know that when they see the western girl with her own driver, the assumption is that i must have loads of cash. and i'm sure comparitively i do. but that doesn't mean i can afford their stuff. not to mention the hawkers throwing things in my face and refusing to hear my "no" (or my more forceful "nahi!" when necessary). anyway, enough of that, because the visit really was incredible.

then onto the red fort, across the river. the fort was built around the same time, by the same empire. it's completely red sandstone (hence the "red" fort), and gives great views of the taj from far away. there are many rooms and passages, all with a brief explanation from the guide (this is where the harem for the emporer danced, this is where the kings met to conference, this is where the queen took a bath, etc.) i was a dorky tourist and got most excited about the monkeys running around, ha!

the final visit of the day was to sikandra, the tomb of akbar the great. another beautiful building (picture below), though this one was not adorned inside. the tomb itself is in an empty room, and the tomb was pure marble. the gardens at sikandra were filled with some sort of elk prancing about. combine that with the sound of palm trees and sun, and the place was wonderfully serene.


too bad the car ride home could not maintain the serenity of this finish to the day. :)

indian marriage

i feel so lucky to have attended an indian marriage! the experience began with getting dressed for the wedding, and my colleague sunil's wife not only loaned me a sari but she wrapped me in it! binni was so sweet - and an expert with saris! i tried to learn how...but i'm not sure i could recreate it.

the marriage turned out to be only a reception, while the traditional ceremony had already taken place in the hometown of the couple. the marriage was arranged...for those of you who are wondering. it's still quite common to have arranged marriages here - sunil and binni were also arranged. sunil has been quite good at explaining the traditions to me. wearing a sari was interesting...it hangs so differently than anything i've ever worn that i was constantly afraid it would unravel and fall off! i'm sure that would be a great way to make a good impression in this conservative country. ha! the comments were hilarious - sunil told me "i am thinking you look quite gorgeous in a sari" and the hotel reception guys were well impressed, saying i looked so sweet. add to that comments from my friends on facebook, i'm thinking maybe this should be my new look.

the wedding had a lot of fantastic food - i got to experience some intersting indian snacks! i guess normally there is plenty of dancing and music, but this reception was quite subdued. not only had the traditional ceremony already taken place in the hometown of the couple, but the groom's mother had recently passed away. i was still excited to wear a sari, even if i didn't get to see a complete ceremony! on the way to the wedding, we did see part of a ceremony - the bridegroom riding on a horse, surrounded by people playing music and dancing. too bad i wasn't fast enough with my camera!

akshardham & lotus temple

my first weekend adventure was to akshardham - a temple built a few years ago to honor the guru Bhagwan Swaminarayan. well...i think guru would be an appropriate term. i'm still trying to get my head around some of religious ideas over here. unfortunately, i have no photos of the place as cameras are not allowed. the buildings were all beautiful - amazing marble carvings, statues and gardens. the india way of showing the history of this guru was...interesting (and a bit entertaining). between giant screen movies, animatronics and boat rides, i think i know everything about this man's life. it was kinda like a religious disneyworld (especially the animatronics). :)

after touring the temple, we went into delhi to see the lotus temple. the lotus temple is a temple of the baha'i faith, and it's modeled after a lotus flower. it actually looks a bit like the sydney opera house, but i'm not sure which was first.





while admiring the temple was great, i think the most entertaining part of this visit was the spectacle i became. there was an entire school of children who kept turning to look and smile. then there was this little girl whose older brother/friend/uncle? approached me to say she wanted to meet me. she didn't speak any english, but reached out to shake my hand. kinda funny... who knew i'd be such a celebrity! cell phone pictures came next...ha ha

weekend plans

this weekend i'm heading to akshardham, an indian wedding and the taj mahal! watch this space for updates... camera will certainly be in tow