Some Good Things

1.) it rained today - hard and long, the sky was almost black. the road flooded with water and mud, but it was kind of fun. all my coworkers clustered in thedoorway watching. the regal vahasendra tucking up her long sari and belining for her car.


2.) accupressure and massage. the doctor cracked my elbow!! it hurt for a second but i might help - keep your fingers crossed. the chinese-indian lady who did my massage and stretching is really nice. i think she likes me. the stretching was really tough, but again i think needed. she knows my body now i think better than does my husband!!!! ... to be fair, better than i know my own, i think.

western doctors have been so frustrating - for one thing, the back specialist and pt in particular hardly even touched me! x-rays, nerve conduction studies yes. but good ol' fashioned palpation, not at all.

anyway. the massage/clinic is my favorite place in delhi. good music, too.


3.) coming home from massage near nightfall through the river of the street in my "enclave"- i love being out at night. it is a rare treat for me here.


4.) taj mahal tomorrow... we will see how that goes!

Book I Just Finished

Temple on Krishna's Birthday

Me with My Purchases

Head cut off but whatcha gonna do?

My First Real Purchases - About $9 USD total

Some Images from Humayun (Correct Spelling)'s Tomb

Huyaman's Tomb I

Domesticity

Once I decided that I should stay close to home today, I realized that I actually have quite a few domestic chores to do, in addition to work that I should complete toward my future. Although in my last posting about my roommates I expressed some annoyance regarding the percentage of time devoted to domestic tasks that should take a lot less time, I must admit that I do respect the practical wisdom and the attention to things of the body, shown in particular by one of the women and one of the men with whom I live.

Anyone who has lived in close proximity to me, or just knows me well enough, will not find it surprising at all that “domesticity” is really not my thing. By domesticity, I mean specifically the discipline to spend hours every day On domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and even the upkeep of my physical self. Each of these things I enjoy at different times to different extents. I can spend an entire day cooking or an entire day cleaning for an entire day giving myself a facial or pedicure or some such thing… but more often than not, I feel too “busy” to spend much time on such things. Too busy working or reading or studying or writing or traveling or exploring my own surroundings, or out with my friends. Or of course, painting or photographing or editing photographs. My mother as well as most people I know would probably suggest that I sacrifice the practical for the impractical. I can see the truth in that.

When I think about it, however, it is usually in terms of the irony that women are always supposed to be so much more concerned with things of the body and men with things of the mind. I know that I am very feminine in my emotions, and in many other ways as well. I also know that in our culture is a lot more leeway to define how gender interacts with the ways we live our lives… but I am sure that my roommates here think that I am just the craziest person!

Rather than reflecting on myself for the most part, though, through my begrudging admiration of the less attractive, but far more efficient, woman, I realized that I do have a strong desire to at least fulfill my domestic responsibilities more completely, more deliberately and with greater passion. My mother has a lot of energy, like I do, but was raised in the country. I have always admired that she knows (as this woman who lives with me now does) how to make something out of nothing - be it plants in the garden or wonderful simple meals out of disparate ingredients. I am trying to linger around in the kitchen sometimes while Reeta is cooking, to try to take in some of her tricks - it would be a lot easier if we could communicate, of course!

In addition to cooking, as I have mentioned, the other daily activity that requires quite a bit of effort is the washing of clothes. Both the men and women wash their clothes every single day. They are staying for a month, but brought only the tiniest of suitcases. They remove their clothing in the shower and put it into the basin in the bathroom. There are these tiny packets of Tide, which I assume were made specifically for this purpose. Reeta scrubs the floor, and then uses the floor to scrub her clothes. This takes about half an hour and a whole heck of a lot of water. Once washed, the clothes are hung out to dry overnight, and the next day. Morning is a two-hour saga of cooking, ironing, more washing, the preparing and drinking of tea…

While I do not ever see myself relishing a daily cycle that involves four hours worth of domestic tasks, I know that so much of the coziness, security and order that I experienced growing up, came from my parents’ attention to these types of details. I think that once we have children in particular, I will do what it takes to corral my whimsical spirit and be a proper mother.

So, today the major tasks on my agenda are/were as follows. My completion of these tasks is greatly aided by the fact that it is raining, thus making it much easier to resist the lure of adventure waiting outdoors:

1.) To disinfect my toothbrush and mouth guard by washing them in boiling water - because it is hard to get them really clean without the running water of the tap, which I of course cannot use to brush my teeth;
2.) To do my laundry by the laborious hand washing method;
3.) To iron the clothing that I washed last week;
4.) To re-impose order on my belongings, confined as they are to one corner and a tiny cabinet;
5.) To sweep the floor in my part of the room; and
6.) To do the mountain of dishes that has accumulated for our entire community - it is the least I can do, given their generosity with food!

Birth of Krishna

The first thing that I want everyone to know about Lord Krishna is something that I just learned two days ago: Lord Krishna is black. Not just brown, but black as the night, blacker than the night. “Krishna” in fact means “black” in Sanskrit. In pictures, however, he is often depicted as being blue or dark blue. There are different interpretations as to why this is and whether Krishna really should be considered black or blue.

Let me just put it out there that from my perspective dark blue is probably just as good for a god as black, but black is a good color as well :). Europeanized versions of Christ and Mary, on the other hand… being in the East right now, the idea just seems kind of strange... but I know that man is always prone to "create" God in his own image.

In celebration of the holiday, the temple next to my balcony was decorated with balloons and pink colored lights. There were many more people than usual entering into the gate, and lining the inside balconies, families with small children. Many of them seemed to be bringing gifts with them, which I believe they left as offerings to the gods themselves. I know that they often bring gifts of flowers or food; I am not sure what the specific custom is for this holiday.

I did pluck up the courage to go down to the street, but not quite to the door of the temple itself. There were several guards hanging about. I think that by now, they are coming to find me amusing, but it will be some time perhaps before I feel comfortable traversing the temple entrance.

Independence Day

Today's Indian Independence Day, and yesterday was the celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna. Thus we have had a three-day weekend. If than about it sooner, I probably would've liked to travel to a place called Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Alas, I only found out last week and the trains were full by the time I attempted.

So I decided to stay in Delhi and do some more sight-seeing here. Yesterday I went to Humayan’s Tomb, one of the largest attractions in New Delhi. I loved it! I must say that I have never been anywhere in which I was happier to see a bunch of white people than I was yesterday to see so many Europeans at the tomb. It simply signifies that people are accustomed to Westerners. The environment itself feels very safe and clean - and perhaps just as important, it was one of a few spots of quiet I have found so far in the city. The grounds are beautiful and lush, it is space to spread out and so plenty of time to stroll, to gaze… basically to just be. After the tomb, I went to another Delhi attraction – Connaught Place - a retail emporium. This I did not like at all and will not be back. Too much concrete, too many people. I am not necessarily the biggest one for shopping anyway. I wanted to go to this crazy old-school market in Old Delhi, Chandni Chok, much was just too tired and burdened by that time. I may try to go right after my massage on Sunday.

Although it is hard to record every instance of craziness, yesterday did have its share. The most crazy thing actually ended up being helpful. I'm a house of the tomb, I got into a random auto - this ought to a driver spoke fairly good English, but it seemed it to that of a special business dealings with all of these vendors in the city. I told him I wanted to be dropped off at Connaught Place, but instead he ended up driving me to like four different shops - the first of which was a super-expensive Emporium (though admittedly very posh, with a kind though insistent Muslim salesman who used a hint of flirtation to try to convince me to buy a scarf and kept putting his arm around my shoulder, to guide me back towards the shelf). The next place, specialized in tapestries downstairs and art and figurines upstairs. I actually did end up buying a small miniature painting, pictured somewhere on this blog. The next place he took me was a tourist office; actually it was a place where they book tours. We exchanged numbers, and I took their business card. It might actually come in handy when I decide to go to the Taj Mahal, since I hear it can be a little bit sketchy.

Next to the tourist agency there was another small shop, where I met one of my favorite people so far: a quiet, respectful, slightly shy-seeming young guy, who again spoke pretty good English. He works at this shop, apparently owned by his father: Banaras Cottage Emporium, Bhagat Singh Market, they specialize in “silk sarees, ready-made garments, branded shirts, T-shirts, jeans, trousers etc.” The shop itself was the kind that makes my imagination run wild, a Harry Potter-esque store, dark and dusky, though neat. Close and crowded and smelling like Indian spices as all stores do, with stacks upon stacks of garments neatly folded, but towering floor-to-ceiling. Mayank Aggarwal the salesperson was a lot less aggressive than most, but unfurled kurta after kurta and explain to me what constitutes a full female “suit,” how they create them to size based on each person's measurements, etc.. There were two small Ottomans in the shop, though one was broken, and I could just imagine the shopkeepers taking tea breaks in the middle of the shop.

I only bought one scarf, the cheapest one they had, but promised that I would come back when I feel up to the challenge of ordering a full Indian garment. I am sure that I want to wear one at least once or twice while I am here; I have been stunned at the percentage of professional women who wear traditional Indian dress… I just wonder if it is Mayank who would measure me… that would make me feel a little bit strange.

Finally bursting into the sunlight again, I found my auto driver – who, I would like to mention, was of the mustached, turban-wearing variety (More on that later) - waiting for me. At last he took me to Connaught Place and dropped me off. I left for home, about 15 minutes later!

The tour guide I had met and exchanged phone numbers with, last night became the second older Indian man to ask me out for tea or lunch “just so that [I] would not be alone.” The first one, by the way, approached me at Kahn Market and told me that I look like his friend except a different color. He offered to buy me a Coke at the McDonald's, which I declined by explaining that I was married. To which he replied “come on, I am not trying to sleep with you!” Needless to say, I found this man somewhat offensive and managed to gracefully refuse to exchange numbers with him. The tour guide on the other hand, has my number. But when he called, I tried my best to make it clear that I would call only in the case that I wanted his help arranging the tour.

Sunset Over Tanks

The boring light of hazy summer New Delhi has made quality pictures of outside more difficult. So this is (obviously) an altered photo. It is a first attempt of this particular scene, to be revisited.

Indian Clothing I See Every Day

I. The Kurta

A kurta (Persian/Urdu: کُرتا, Hindi: कुरता, IPA: [ˈkɜrtə]) (Nothing like kurti) is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women. They were traditionally worn with loose-fitting paijama (kurta-paijama), loose-fitting salwars, tight-fitting churidars, or wrapped-around dhotis;[1] but are now also worn with jeans.[2] Kurtas are worn both as casual everyday wear and as formal dress. A kurta is also referred to as a panjabi, (usually spelled lower-case) in Bengal, Britain, and Canada.[3]
Women often wear kurtis as blouses, usually over jeans.[2] These kurtis are typically much shorter than the traditional garments and made with a lighter materials, like those used in sewing kameez.

First Pomegranate

You might think that an India blog is no place for a photo of a pomegranate, but: 1.) I took it in India. A real Indian pomegranate, complete with ants in the withered flower (if you need a bio lesson let me know) and 2.) I have been wanting to take a portrait of a pom for many months now, but they are too expensive in the states!

The Slum at Kailash Colony

This image does not quite capture the experience, but I was taking it through the gate of a middle-class household.

Something positive to counter the negativity

I did get to attend my first Indian party on Saturday night. It was seriously so much fun. I will write about that little bit later

Ganesh(a)

August 4, 2009 - some information on Hinduism
the first is just some general stuff I found online - feel free to ignore it if you like. I am keeping it at myself as part of the record of my experience. I was particularly interested to understand what goes on in the temple every evening. So far I am still a bit frustrated in my attempts, but it is getting a bit clearer.
One thing I have not been able to capture in my photographs due to the angle of the balcony is the statue of the elephant God Ganesha: (sorry pic won't transfer) (will upload later)

The statue of this deity is, on my temple, outlined in orange neon. It is quite an imposing figure, rising between the two primary domes, glowing in the dark sky. Here is a tiny bit about Ganesha:
The Lord of SuccessThe son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.
Significance of the Ganesha FormGanesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.
The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

The Hindu TempleDaily Worship
Daily worship in Hinduism usually takes place in three different places: in the home, in a temple, and/or at a street-side or road-side shrine.
The home of a religiously observant hindu is the location of two types of worship. First, there is the practice of rites that are probably older than the Vedas themselves. At dawn, the householder and his wife rise, purify themselves with a bath--usually in a temple pool or a river if one is available--and then make an offering to the fire-god Agni in their household fire. The man may then turn towards the rising sun and say a mantra to the sun-god Savatar, asking for blessing and understanding. A similar sequence of activities will take place in the evening.
Second, most hindu households have a small shrine to the gods important to that house. It may have a small statue of Krishna or a picture of Shiva or Durga. If the householder has a guru, a photo of the guru will appear, to remind the worshipper of the guru's teachings. This shrine will be the focus of household puja, i.e., worship. Offerings of food or drink may be laid before the statues, mantras and prayers may be said, and so on.
A nearby temple to a god or goddess is usually the focus of regular puja (i.e., worship). While a local temple may do for everyday worship, a grander cathedral-like, temple may be visited on special occasions. (To see pictures of a large Hindu temples, go here.) Offerings of meals, money, flowers, etc. may be brought by the devotee. Once the god has taken his part of the sacrifice, the devotee may share in some of the now-blessed food (called prasad). The worshipper may also say mantras, or listen to the priests chant, sing, or read from the sacred texts.
Within the temple, the god (such as Vishnu as Rama, or Ganesha) or goddess (perhaps Kali) will be treated as royalty--living royalty to be exact. The statue will be bathed and dressed, sometimes with sumptuous clothes for "holding court" other times with pajamas for sleeping. Meals and other gifts will be regularly given. During the god's or goddess' festival, the statue will be paraded through the streets. While some of this may seem silly to Western sensibilities, these actions help the worshippers view the divine being as immediately present. A mere statue does not need any special care, a statue revealing the divine presence does. For a description of how puja (worship) takes place during a long festival, visit this site.
Small shrines to hindu gods and goddesses, both major and minor, stand on road sides in the country and on the streets in cities. They may be permanently fixed and unattended, or on a cart and moved around by an attendant. During the day, as people pass by, they may stop, offer a short prayer or mantra, perhaps leave a small offering in gratitude for some blessing.
byAnthony BatchelorJuly 1997
The temple is the focus for all aspects of everyday life in the Hindu community - religious, cultural, educational and social. The temple is also the place where one can transcend the world of man.
Hindus believe that their lives are merely stages in the progression to ultimate enlightenment. The temple is a place where God may be approached and where divine knowledge can be discovered. All aspects of the Hindu temple focus on the goal of enlightenment and liberation - the principles of design and construction, the forms of its architecture and decoration, and the rituals performed. And all of these are determined by ancient texts called shastras compiled by the priests, the brahmins. The vastushastras were theoretical and idealised descriptions of the architectural traditions and conventions to be followed.
The temple is designed to dissolve the boundaries between man and the divine. Not merely his abode, the temple ‘is’ God. God and therefore by implication the whole universe is identified with the temple’s design and actual fabric. The ground plan is perhaps the best example. The vastushastras describe it as a symbolic, miniature representation of the cosmos. It is based on a strict grid made up of squares and equilateral triangles which are imbued with deep religious significance. To the Indian priest-architect the square was an absolute and mystical form. The grid, usually of 64 or 81 squares, is in fact a mandala, a model of the cosmos, with each square belonging to a deity. The position of the squares is in accordance with the importance attached to each of the deities, with the square in the center representating the temple deity; the outer squares cover the gods of lower rank.
The construction of the temple of the temple follows in three dimensional form exactly the pattern laid out by the mandala. The relationship between the underlying symbolic order and the actual physical appearance of the temple can best be understood by seeing it from above which was of course impossible for humans until quite recently.
Another important aspect of the design of the ground plan is that it is intended to lead from the temporal world to the eternal. The principal shrine should face the rising sun and so should have its entrance to the east. Movement towards the sanctuary, along the east-west axis and through a series of increasingly sacred spaces is of great importance and is reflected in the architecture. A typical Hindu temple consists of the following major elements - an entrance, often with a porch; one or more attached or detached mandapas or halls; the inner sanctum called the garbagriha, literally ‘womb chamber’; and the tower build directly above the garbagriha.
Besides the ground plan there are other important aspects of the temple which connect it to the phenomenal world - its site in relation to shade and water, its vertical elevation relating to the mountains, and the most sacred part, the garbagriha, relating to caves.
As a god can be malevolent as well as benevolent it is important that the temple site is one that will please him. The Puranas state that ‘The gods always play where groves are near rivers, mountains and springs’. Sacred sites in India therefore, are usually associated with water, shade and lakes of India are often considered to be sacred and they have healing and purifying powers. Rivers such as the Ganges are thought to have descended from the heavens, perhaps the Milky Way, and their sacred water is needed in the temple tank.
The gods have always been attracted to mountains and they have great mountains for the symbolism and appearance of the temple. There was an impulse to create soaring towers that looked like mountain ranges. Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas is the celestial abode of Shiva and the Kailasa temple at Ellora us the architectural interpretation of this mountain. To reinforce this symbolism temples were originally painted white to make them look even more like snow covered mountains.
In India caves have always been thought of as places of great sanctity. Most of the earliest surviving Buddhist, Jain and Hindu shrines are rock cut caves. In later Hindu temples the garbagriha is designed to resemble a cave. It is small and dark and the surfaces of the walls are unadorned and massive. It is a place that encourages meditation which is possible only in solitude. Approaching the shrine is a movement from open spaces to a confined small space; from light to darkness, from a profusion of visual form and decoration to the visual simplicity of the cave. From this sanctuary the implied movement is vertical, to the symbolic mountain peak directly above the image of the god. This movement upwards is linked wo the idea of enlightenment which is identified with the crowning final of the temple - the amalaka or sikara.
Most ancient stone temples were the result of royal patronage. Though they were built for the benefit of the whole community, they were also an expression of the devotion and peity of the ruler. It was thought that by building a temple the patron would always have peace, wealth, grain and sons. It might also ensure fame and even immortality. Sometimes temples were built to celebrate important events. In the early eleventh century, for example, the Chola king Rajendra built a Shiva temple at Gangaikondacholapuram to celebrate his victory in the north.
The murtis (depictions of the dieties in a temple) provide access to the divine. It is interesting to note that it was not the sculptor or painter who was honored for this work as he would be in the west, but the donor. In fact, almost all Hindu art is anonymous.
The temples were maintained through donations from royal patrons and private individuals. They were given money, gold, silver, livestock and income from grants of land including whole villages. Such gifts would provide religious merit (punya) which would increase the possibility of ultimate liberation for the donor.
Some temples became very wealthy often invested in land and hired tenants to provided income. The important temples hired priests, garland makers, suppliers of ghee, milk, oil, rice, fruits, sandal-paste and incense. A famous detailed account made in 1011 of the people supported by the Rajarajaeswara temple at Tanjore listed dancing-girls, dancing masters, singers, drummers, conch-blowers, accountants, parasol bearers, lamp-lighters, sprinklers of water, potters, carpenters, astrologers, tailors and jewel-stitchers. There were 600 people in total. In return for their temple work, they were given land which they cultivated and could live off. By providing livelihoods for such large numbers of people, the temple not surprisingly could exert great influence on the economic life of the community.
To this day Hindus donate vast amounts to temples. One of the wealthiest is a Vishnu temple at Tirumala. The temple staff alone is 6000 and an average 30,000 pilgrims visit each day. Its annual income is said to be about $165 million and it is also regarded as the most charitable in India.
Lastly, what I was most interested in, the daily ritual and its relationship to time (though this Internet posting is somewhat incomplete:

Daily Worship
Daily worship in Hinduism usually takes place in three different places: in the home, in a temple, and/or at a street-side or road-side shrine.
The home of a religiously observant hindu is the location of two types of worship. First, there is the practice of rites that are probably older than the Vedas themselves. At dawn, the householder and his wife rise, purify themselves with a bath--usually in a temple pool or a river if one is available--and then make an offering to the fire-god Agni in their household fire. The man may then turn towards the rising sun and say a mantra to the sun-god Savatar, asking for blessing and understanding. A similar sequence of activities will take place in the evening.
Second, most hindu households have a small shrine to the gods important to that house. It may have a small statue of Krishna or a picture of Shiva or Durga. If the householder has a guru, a photo of the guru will appear, to remind the worshipper of the guru's teachings. This shrine will be the focus of household puja, i.e., worship. Offerings of food or drink may be laid before the statues, mantras and prayers may be said, and so on.
A nearby temple to a god or goddess is usually the focus of regular puja (i.e., worship). While a local temple may do for everyday worship, a grander cathedral-like, temple may be visited on special occasions. (To see pictures of a large Hindu temples, go here.) Offerings of meals, money, flowers, etc. may be brought by the devotee. Once the god has taken his part of the sacrifice, the devotee may share in some of the now-blessed food (called prasad). The worshipper may also say mantras, or listen to the priests chant, sing, or read from the sacred texts.
Within the temple, the god (such as Vishnu as Rama, or Ganesha) or goddess (perhaps Kali) will be treated as royalty--living royalty to be exact. The statue will be bathed and dressed, sometimes with sumptuous clothes for "holding court" other times with pajamas for sleeping. Meals and other gifts will be regularly given. During the god's or goddess' festival, the statue will be paraded through the streets. While some of this may seem silly to Western sensibilities, these actions help the worshippers view the divine being as immediately present. A mere statue does not need any special care, a statue revealing the divine presence does. For a description of how puja (worship) takes place during a long festival, visit this site.
Small shrines to hindu gods and goddesses, both major and minor, stand on road sides in the country and on the streets in cities. They may be permanently fixed and unattended, or on a cart and moved around by an attendant. During the day, as people pass by, they may stop, offer a short prayer or mantra, perhaps leave a small offering in gratitude for some blessing.
_____

The Tempo of My Life

I am starting to get more accustomed to my schedule, or rather to establish a more consistent schedule. For some reason in my mind the routine really begins after work. I have decided that while I am living alone it is inconceivable that I be out after dark. This has also been told to me by numerous of my coworkers. So I have to make sure that I have food, or procure it on my way home from work. I grew tired of Ramen last week, but have not had any for four days; I may be able to return to it soon. I am hoping to buy some vegetables actually and prepare a simple ratatouille or something-I have not had vegetables in almost 10 days. I did manage to get my first fruit other than bananas yesterday, a giant mango that I bought from the “Pandey Pan” store.
Once I get home, I lock myself in and conduct my affairs from the back rooms-the kitchen and my bedroom, which actually opens directly into a bathroom so I don't really have to leave my room if I don't want to. Although it seems counterintuitive, I actually find the dark slightly more comforting than the light - I am less afraid of people trying to break in to steal stuff and more worried that they will think that I am home and to try to bother me.
Despite the insecurity, dusk remains one of my favorite times of day. It is the one time of day right now that I feel somewhat poetic about.

Impression of evening
The sky deepens, falling rapidly through colors from pale blue to violet
like velvet behind the cacophonous stage of human activity.

in accordance with Hindu tradition
the Temple drums mark the juncture of day and night.
I too celebrate the occasion, silently,
invisible behind the cover of the balcony.

The drums and the bells
horns honking, peddlers peddling
the air in its heat and moisture palpable
touching, caressing, close -
purple velvet.

The Temple taking on a different vesture
now that alive, pulsating
and even more majestic with the prayer flags illuminated by single lights.

People come onto their balconies and roofs
to listen –
turn their heads to gaze upon the Temple.

I feel safe, unseen, hiding behind the cover of the balcony
within the cloak of darkness.

Above the balconies,
free of the congested maze of human habitation,
free as the birds that fly above Safdarjung Enclave
kites dart at the ends of little boys’ strings.
Gaily, they climb and plunge
Erratic in their flight like bats.
I have heard it is a Muslim custom, kite running –
And question that they fly
Suspended on the prayers of Hindu
worshippers
now chanting
their welcome of the night
their devotion to their gods.
-------

Once the drumming ends, the chanting continues for an hour or two. I usually take pictures during this time, though I am maybe getting a bit obsessed. I still owe Notre Dame a paper, so work on that some. Photo editing as well. Read a bit. Try to take care of my shoulder/elbow/back. Learn Hindi phrases. It is amazingly solitary, but I am used to being alone. In some ways it allows me to get more done, in terms of reflection and writing. Another reason I felt no desire to get sucked into spending all my time with Chima.
Go to bed about 10, sleep well. Arise at 6 or 6:30 – the temple comes alive again at 6:30, it is already quite light. In every place I have been but the US, my schedule has adapted to the hours of light. It gets dark here by 8 pm.
Though prone to procrastination especially with regard to showering and getting dressed, I try to be clothed by 7:30. Asho the “servant” “boy” or “kitchen boy” comes at 8:40. I am usually itching to leave the house by 8, but have to wait for Asho because he does not have a key. The first week he made me “chai” (really the generic term for tea) everyday, but I am already tired of it, so have denied it this week. We have a cappuccino machine at work (of all things!) so have switched to coffee for now. Or make my own yea without milk.
Obtaining breakfast is still a bit of a problem…

Sightseeing with Neha - Gandhi Memorial & Lothi Gardens