Friday, June 29, 2007

First Day

So I forced myself to sleep around 2:00 a.m. and then forced myself to stay in bed until 8:00 a.m. I slept for awhile and read for awhile, but I felt relatively refreshed when I got out of bed at 8. Then I just went downstairs and had breakfast, which was nice and comprised of tea, croissant, a grilled tomato and another luxuriously sinful piece of sweet bread. It was quite delicious. Took dose #2 of my Lariam and set out on a mission: find a suitcase. (Right now in Columbia there is a brand new beautiful suitcase sitting at my doorstep!)
I strolled down the block to Connaught Place and the Palika Bazaar. It's an underground flea market basically where I was pounced upon like a baby rabbitt by a puma. Everyone wanted the little white girl to come in and buy saris, punjabi suits, pashminas, trinkets, suitcases, scarves, shawls, cd players, cds, and everything else you could ever imagine! Though I am NOT a haggler and hate the thought of hurting anyone's feelings ever (yeah, I know I need to get over that), I successfully bought a good, large suitcase for about $50. I also splurged and bought myself two more light-weight tops for a whopping $10 total!
Brought the suitcase and new treats back to the hotel and then freshened up a bit. After thanking God for air conditioning, I had to make my way back to Palika Bazaar and meet Mrs. G. One of my biggest aspirations before coming to India was to see and be in Hindu temples. Well, my dream came true on the very first day! We went to a temple together, honoring Krishna. It was beautiful. The colors, the architecture, the paintings--everything was exquisite! Hanuman, Ganesh and Shiv were also represented. And though I am not Hindu, I was allowed inside. It's always moving to see people praying even if it is not in the way I pray. Next she showed me the President's Palace, India Gate and the Lodi Gardens. (It was at Lodi Gardens that my camera battery died.) We had lunch together, which was fantastic, and talked about everything under the sun. It was really wonderful! She also invited me to dinner tomorrow evening, so I will be seeing her again!
It has been a wonderful day so far, but now I think I will take a nap!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pace yourself, you have a month! But do keep that camera battery charged!

Mrs. Dell

Fr. Gaurav Shroff said...

YAY! YOU MADE IT! Why didn't I think of seeing the blog. I tried calling you last night (ie about 930 am on Friday in Delhi) at the hotel and the stupid operator could not understand what I was saying. That's when I realized I was speaking American and hadn't switched the accent over hehe. :) You weren't in your room though.

Glad you're having a blast with my mother! I think this is wonderful for her as well! Did you get the sim card yet?

I love temples and mosques. (I actually prefer mosques/sufi shrines. There's that monotheistic connection I guess. Who knows.) -- for the same reasons you said. I love seeing people at worship and prayer and the sense of finitude that is universal among all peoples. Most Hindu temples allow everyone to enter. Some (especially in the South) don't.

Lodi Gardens! I know every inch of that park ... we lived right across the road and I used to go practically every day and explore it on bicycle.

Am going to try calling you now. Get the photos up soon! After that, Z and I are going to work out hehe.

And yeah, get new batteries!

Fr. Gaurav Shroff said...

[PS: That bage better be darn good if you spent Rs. 2,000 on it! :)]

Fr. Gaurav Shroff said...

PPS: That's "bag" not "bage." :-D

Fr. Gaurav Shroff said...

So weird talking to you in Delhi while I'm in SC!

BTW, the Birla Mandir (the temple where you went) was frequented by us regularly (as in a few times a year) when I was a kid in Delhi. I hated going to temple though ... :)

Dogwood Dell said...

Note: Always carry a backup battery (one of the primary rules of good photography (or is it a good photographer? Humm....)).

Haggle - If you are of German decent, then it should be somewhere in your blood. (Note - Mrs. Dell cringes every time I haggle and starts feeling sorry for the sales person.)