My One-Week Anniversary with India
An odd waking time of nearly noon this morning, and only because I received a call from someone I was supposed to meet half an hour ago. I guess that's what happens when you stay up till 4am blogging!
I throw myself into action, but somehow, I still can't move very fast... Things really do just take longer in India!
The person I am meeting if the mother of an old university friend, who saw on facebook that I was in his hometown, and hooked me up with his family here! I was so grateful to have the connection - great things happen when you set intentions and are open to possibilities!
I meet Deepa at a metro close to her home (after having taken a rickshaw by myself for the first time!), and she takes me out to lunch at a South Indian restaurant. The food is naturally just delectable. We have a fried lentil donut in milk curd with crisped lentils and spices on top to start, and I order a Ghee Roast Masala, which looks like a giant crispy crepe stuffed with curried potato, served with coconut chutney, and samba (spicy vegetables in lentil sauce), with a sweet lassi! Yes, this beats Chana Masala =D
I eat this half with utensils, and half with my hands. Haven't really learned how to eat just with my right hand yet, so I cut things apart with the fork and knife, then pick it up with my hand =D
Deepa takes me to the Qutb Minar, a tower built in the 1100's, at the top of which you can see all of Delhi. Apparently following a catastrophic accident some years ago where11 school children fell down the stairs on the inside and died, they no longer allow visitors to go up on the balconies.
The stonework is magnificent - with Urdu carved into the sandstone bricks.
Inside one of the multi-portal, domed, archways, there is something that just feels so calming, in spite of the hundreds of people passing through every minute. I feel like I could sit here for hours.
I love visiting historical sites, and taking pictures of them, but am not very good at writing about them. For more of my photos of this magnificent complex, see here.
Next, we visit the Garden of 5 Senses. Sounds enticing, doesn't it? I am so zonkered by the weird schedule I've been keeping that I totally pass out in the car. Speaking of which, this is the first time I've been in a car since my arrival in Delhi a week ago, and it is such a treat! I never thought I'd say this about a car, but compared to rickshaws, autorickshaws, and the crowded metro, I am happy to sit back and not worry about breathing fumes (even though the vehicle I'm in is producing them... Paradoxical, isn't it?).
Beside the ticket booth to the Garden, I notice a group of stray puppies yapping noisily at something. One of the puppies has fallen off the ledge where the others are, and can't get back up (a bit comical because the ledge is just a foot high). I approach, and they all look at me, still yapping worriedly for their lost buddy. I think about it for a second, then forget about any fleas they might have. I scoop up the fallen one with one hand and place him back onto the ledge with the others. They all go nuts with yapping, then all retreat together to a little sandy patch and pile up together in the sun.
The Garden is the quietest place I've been to all week. There are TONS of couples hiding in all the nooks and crannies, including a couple of men. I'd seen men holding hands together in public, but wasn't sure if people were openly out in India, or if was more a gesture of friendship. I ask Deepa, and she says that it is becoming more accepted in India, but that there is still a lot of prejudice against homosexuality.
A camel is hanging out in a little fenced off area, and it reminds me how excited I was to be planning a a three day camel safari in the deserts of Rajasthan. Patience, Visa card, patience.
***
Deepa drops me off at the metro again, and we make plans for tomorrow!
It is rush hour, and the metro has already arrived when I get onto the platform. There is no time to get down to the women's section, and I see that other women are getting onto the general section, so I go with them. The metro gets more and more packed, and I find myself squished up in the middle of a lot of men. I am hanging on tightly to my bag with one hand, and am checking frequently to make sure my pockets are still zipped closed. My other hand is occupied hanging onto the grab bar. I feel a pressure rubbing against my side, and it is the elbow of a man to my left. The way that it is happening could be arguably passed off as simply the bumpiness of the metro, but it becomes more and more clear to me that he is doing the same thing as the man in
the metro line the other day.
There is really no place to go, I am totally surrounded by people. I switch hands so that my bag hand is between him and me, and shift slightly so that I am behind him. Somehow, he manages to follow me into this space, and continues rubbing his elbow on me. I think about confronting him, but reconsider since I am totally outnumbered, and it would be so easy for him to claim that it was the metro that was making him do it. This continues for the 15 minutes it takes for him to get off at his stop. All throughout, through the corner of my eye, I can see him quickly glancing at me. I don't look at him. Looking someone in the eye here is considered a sexual come on.
Instead, I try to ignore it, but I'm becoming more and more irritated. I resolve to either never take this car again, or make a scene the next time this happens. The doors open, and the man pushes past me, 'accidentally' leaning onto my shoulder as he passes. He openly stares at me as he passes, and looks back several times as he walks away. I glare at him as he goes, giving him the finger with my eyes.
***
I find my way back from the street where I get off the rickshaw to the flat in MT! Baby steps, baby steps =)
For dinner, Kelsang and I go out for Tengtook, a traditional Tibetan stew with meat, veggies, and dough pulled into pieces. 50 rps a bowl, just a few cents over a dollar at home. Tomorrow, Deepa will help me be a tourist again!
More photos of today can be found here!