Postcard from Delhi – August 18, 2009

Delhi is quite the baptism of fire for a newcomer to India! It is a huge, crowded, noisy city of 16 million people with traffic more intense than anything I’ve seen in the U.S. (and that includes Los Angeles and Chicago!).

To recap, we arrived here on Friday, August 14, after traveling for almost 24 hours (a 2 hour bus ride, a 3 hour wait at O’Hare Airport, two 8-hour flights and a layover in Frankfurt!). Air India turned out to exceed expectations, despite the foreboding warnings we received. The service was great, the flight was on time, and we had individual TV screens at each seat with our choice of TV and movies in English, German and Hindi!

Our first full day in India – August 15 – happened to be India’s Independence Day. On this day, the Prime Minister of India addresses the people from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi. We did not attempt to attend, as we were told it would be overflowing with thousands of people – perhaps a little too overwhelming for our first day! Instead we ventured out in the late afternoon to the India Gate, a memorial arch built to commemorate the Indian and British soldiers who died in WWI. It is surrounded by a large area of green space that serves as a sort of public park – a great place for people-watching. We saw lots of Indian families out enjoying the holiday. Even though there was not much wind, there were dozens and dozens of paper kites in the air. Everywhere you walked, there was something for sale – giant rubber balls, paper flags of India (the only people wearing the flags were the tourists!), stuffed elephants, fried dough from little carts, mini helicopter toys, light-up glow wands, and bright pink cotton candy. And ice cream carts! There must have been at least fifty carts – mostly the same brand. Taz and I tried the ice cream – what a treat to get an imitation Dove Bar on a stick for only 20 Rupees (40 cents)!

We had our first auto-rickshaw ride on Sunday, August 16, when we ventured out to the Red Fort. The “auto” as it is called, is an experience not to be missed. Way cheaper than a taxi, but definitely more dangerous, as these little guys weave in and out of traffic. For those of you who play Wii, I imagine it is like riding in a live version of “Mario Kart,” except with huge buses as part of the obstacle course. And did I mention the horns? I’ve never heard so much honking. It’s just part of driving here.

The Red Fort was truly awesome. Originally built in the 1600’s, it was the palace of the Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan. The walls are enormous – made of red sandstone, and enclose a huge area, that once housed 3,000 people. It once had huge foursquare gardens with fountains and reflecting pools, ornamental pavilions, hammams (bathhouses) and a Hall of Public Audience, where the Emperor sat upon his Peacock Throne made of gold and met with his ministers. For those of you who are familiar with my writing, you know that this is right up my ally. I tried to imagine the site as it was, perhaps similar to the Khan’s Palace in my book! The kids were not quite as thrilled as I was, as I exclaimed over the latticework, the carved stone and the miniatures in the museum.

On Monday, August 17, while Mike was at meetings with the other Fulbright teachers, I took the kids out into the Pakila Bazaar to go shopping. Quite an experience, with stalls selling clothes, toys, electronics, scarves, perfume, purses, etc. Kind of like an underground flea market, with no fixed prices. I’m usually not one for haggling, but I kind of got into the spirit of things (everyone knows I love a good deal!).

Reading the news here has been interesting. The big entertainment headline has been the American treatment of “SRK” (Shah Rukh Khan), the Bollywood star, who was detained at the Newark Airport when leaving the U.S. As far as sports go, cricket is huge here. Mike is very eager to learn more about it, especially since cricket lasts much longer than ANY American sport. Apparently, there are matches that last for days!! (Yes, days).

On the 18th we leave for Chennai, which we are all looking forward to, as we are tired of living out of suitcases and ready to settle into our apartment. But it has been quite an experience so far!