Street Food & Travel Notes

Langar at the Golden Temple

2011-06-22T01:28:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you can smell a restaurant before you get there. With the langar hall you hear it first. Imagine the din of thousands of metal trays clanking and banging. You take your metal bowl as it's handed to you then your metal tray then you can fish a spoon out of a giant tub as you're moved down the hall and, in our case, up the stairs to the massive dining hall. You don't dawdle here, they've got the system down pat and if you slow down to look around you're likely to get plowed down.

On the floor are long jute runners which indicate the designated seating area. You move in and sit down on the floor with your tray on the floor in front of you. You have to be quick because the guys who are racing around with huge metal buckets of food are hustling and they clearly haven't trained in Lausanne to become waiters. If anything they may have practiced at San Quentin because you're left with a feeling that this might be what it's like in prison.

Ladleful of watery rice pudding ... slop, ladleful of dal ... slop, scoop of veggies (that day it was some kind of pumpkin) ... plop, roti ... catch it. Despite the brusque serving style, the volunteers (every bit of work in the temple is done by volunteers) are smiling and the atmosphere is congenial.

Once you get over the shock and dig into the actual food you'll find it actually quite wholesome and good. It's free, it's all-you-can-eat and the buckets keep passing by offering seconds or thirds.

Despite us gringos clearly holding the starring role as "dinnertime entertainment" there's no lingering over the meal here and it's pretty clear that there won't be any after-dinner coffee coming when they start splashing buckets of water on the floor in front of you to clean up for the next "service". It's time to move on.

On the way out you deposit your bowls and spoons in big tubs and give your trays to guys who's job it is to whack them as loudly as they can on the side of a huge waste container to knock off any residue and pass them over to the crew who number in the hundreds and must suffer permanent hearing loss after volunteering for washing up duty. The clanging noise is incredible!

Everything is on a massive scale here from the dal cooked in kettles that would easily double as jacuzzis in a suite in Aspen, the assembly-line production of rotis to the mountains of vegetables that groups of pious peelers are laboring away at on the floor.

Unfortunately we took no pictures to share with you...but thanks to the miracle of Google images I found some online!

Amritsar - A Trip Back In Time

2011-06-18T06:09:00.000-04:00

After our early morning visit to the Golden Temple and about the worst breakfast I have ever had we decided to explore the back lanes of Amritsar.

Off we went, not really knowing where we were going, brushing off offers of a chauffer-pedalled rickshaw tour - we preferred to walk in the 105 degree heat! So walk we did through the crowded streets filled with shops selling every imaginable object with the face of Guru Nanak on it, swords, steel bracelets, special Sikh underwear, turbans, wool-trimmed fly swishers, leather slippers and, of course, the ubiquitous "pashmina" shawls.

Somehow we ended up way off the beaten track and found ourselves transported back to the middle ages down a quiet, narrow lane lined with blacksmith shops where the smiths were bent over their fires hammering out hoes, trowels, plows; printshops with the guys setting the actual pieces of metal type with tweezers; and small mills grinding flour between stones.

These were the most interesting things I saw that day, even more meaningful to me than the riches of the golden temple. It was a simple glimpse into the lives of real people and it felt like a trip back in time.

Amritsar - Golden Temple

2011-06-18T05:27:00.001-04:00

With our bellies full we settled back for the long drive to Amritsar. Unfortunately the Grand Trunk Road is undergoing a major overhaul with flyovers being built at each village and town it crosses.
That means that every 2 kilometres on average (just about the time you hit a decent cruising speed) you're diverted onto a bumpy, dirt road to bypass the work. Between the 800 bypasses and the 15 mile narrow, 2-lane stretch where you play chicken with oncoming 10-ton trucks the 280 mile trip took well over 8 hours.

The biggest highlight on the road was passing through Kurukshetra, the scene of the epic battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and the spot where Krishna and Arjuna had the heart-to-heart immortalized in the Bhagavad Gita.

There is pretty much only one reason to go to Amritsar - to see the Golden Temple - the equivalent of the Vatican for the Sikhs. Outside the temple walls the city is filthy and crowded, like any other north Indian town.

The Golden Temple itself is spectacular. I was expecting a very serene, peaceful place from other people's descriptions but found it crowded and busy with people staring and pushing just like in Chandni Chowk.

We got up very early to avoid the massive lines to get in to the actual Golden Temple and see the holy book. It still took us almost an hour to make our way through the line (the people shoving their way past us in line didn't help either).

I found the chanting beautiful and hypnotic but once inside I have to admit I was a bit put off by the guy right in front of the holy book scraping up money and stuffing it into a box with a sword as fast as he could. I don't know why I expected this holy place to be different from any other...

Grand Trunk Road - Gulshan Ka Dhaba

2011-06-01T02:15:00.000-04:00

A trip to Amritsar with visitors gave me the chance to try out some dhabas along the Grand Trunk Road.

Punjabis love to eat and the more desi ghee the better! They load it onto everything from paranthas to their dal. Makes me wonder what the average cholesterol reading is in the region.

Our first stop was Gulshan ka Dhaba in Murthal about 60 miles north of Delhi. We were early for lunch so the place was pretty much empty when we got there. The long, family-style tables in the open restaurant each hold a bucket of mixed pickle. We placed our order for some stuffed paranthas and dal - the classic dhaba meal.

The paranthas here are baked in a tandoor (unlike the fried paranthas in the Paranthe Wali Gali in Old Delhi). Don't let that fool you into thinking they're any lighter though. They're served with a big spoonful of snow-white desi ghee on top. The ghee comes from water buffalo milk which is why it's white instead of yellow like the butter we're used to. While we were waiting for our food we wandered back into the open kitchen to see how the paranthas are made.

We preferred the potato/onion parantha to the cauliflower (which we had to get because they didn't have any murli or radish) and the paneer options. The dal makhani was creamy and good. Not the best I've had but not the worst...

Served with homemade yogurt on the side to cool things off (notice the copious amounts of green chiles in the paranthas), mixed pickle and a masala lassi to wash everything down we walked out of there ready for the rest of our trip on the Grand Trunk Road. Little did we know that the decent highway was about to end about 10 miles further down the road...

Chandni Chowk in Photos

2011-05-29T06:22:00.000-04:00

Some more photos from our walk through Chandni Chowk in April.

Betel leaves for paan

Costco-sized jars of pickle

busily stringing flowers on garlands

Fresh corn and chickpeas, I got myself some
fresh chickpeas they're delicious!

namkeen - fried, crispy snacks in all shapes and sizes!

We didn't eat here...

These bizarre looking things are basically soy protein
wrapped around a stick. Tofu popsicles
Didn't try these either...

They take their kite flying very seriously
in these parts!

washing up, street style

Eating in Chandni Chowk part 2

2011-05-28T14:10:00.000-04:00

After the stuffed naan we made our way back towards the Fatehpuri mosque to get the best lassi I have ever had. I've been to the Amritsari lassiwallah before so I knew exactly which one I wanted ... mango. Thick, creamy, tangy sweetness with a layer of malai on top. Creamy goodness in a glass!

papri chaat, not the most appetizing
dish in the world

From there we took a long stroll on a dusty street lined with vendors of every kind of metal household kitchen utensil imaginable and some kitewallahs. We eventually ended up in front of Ashok Chaat Bhandar. We lined up for "Delhi's Best" golgappas, papri chaat and dahi bhalla. I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of Delhi-style chaat, it's very goopy. I've had it many times now and it just doesn't do it for me. The golgappas were OK but I've since had the most amazing pani puris in Bombay and will leave my discussion of them for a later post.

Watch out for splinters!

Just like a sorbet or granite is served between courses, our next stop was for ice cream where we finally found a place to sit down in the kulfiwallah's shop. Mango was the group favorite and the masala sprinkled on top was something tasty I've never tried before. The pomegranate sorbet-style kulfi was my favorite and was really refreshing after 3 hours walking in 100 degree heat in the dusty lanes of Chandni Chowk. Check out the spoons - slats of wood!

By this time we were too bloated to waddle to the next stop so we loaded our lazy selves onto bicycle rickshaws and paid the poor guy about a dollar to pedal us there. En route we had a flower fight, throwing marigolds at each other and showering people on the streets with petals as we passed by. You won't get that on anyone else's tour!!

3 people plus the driver per bike
what a load!

We unloaded ourselves in Kinari Bazaar which is the shiny-ribbon and gaudy-trim market. One of the most famous food places of Delhi is near here - the Paranthe Wali Gali. Although not one of us was the least bit hungry by this point, there is no way you can say you've done a food walk in Chandni Chowk without stopping here so we did what any self-respecting food lover would do - try 5 different kinds of stuffed and fried paranthas! Karela parantha was my favorite and I was most surprised by the papad parantha.

Just at down the lane from the Paranthe Wali Gali is Delhi's Old and Famous Jalebiwala and that is where we called it a night. We tried some of these sweet sweet treats but since I don't think these are the best in town I'll save my jalebi post for later too!

Eating My Way Through Chandni Chowk part 1

2011-05-27T13:35:00.000-04:00

What better way to get back into the swing of life in Delhi than to wander around Chandni Chowk trying some of the goodies on offer in those crowded, narrow, dirty lanes?

And definitely the best and most fun way is to go with Himanshu Verma of the Red Earth Project. www.redearthindia.com

This wasn't your typical tour through Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk - we walked, ate, talked, ate, had a flower fight on bicycle rickshaws, then ate some more!

We met up at the far end of Chandni Chowk near the Fatehpuri mosque and headed straight to the Khari Baoli, the largest spice market in Asia. You know you're in the neighborhood when you start sneezing from all the spices in the air! Anything and everything including a lot of unidentifiable things are available here, it's fascinating!

Saltwallah - black salt and pink Himalaya salt
along with the normal white variety!
Don't know what the stuff that looks like
clods of dirt is...

Phoolwallah with his
genda phool

Himanshu is passionate about flowers and is fighting to keep Delhi's idiotic government from closing down the neighborhood flower markets (check out his website for more info) so he took us on a quick detour up a narrow flight of steep stairs to a small flower market completely hidden away from the craziness on the street below.

I generally prefer that the chef's feet
are more than 5 inches away from
my food ...

By then we were getting hungry so we went for stuffed naan at Kake di Hatti. We got paneer and potato. They're cooked in a tandoor oven and as it was about 100 degrees out I felt sorry for the poor guy who sits on top of the tandoor cooking these things all day long! They were pretty good although I thought there was too much raw ginger and they could have used some more seasoning - the flavoring was kind of bland except for the ginger.

... then I noticed the guy grinding
the spices in a hole in the sidewalk

Stay tuned for the chaat, kulfi, paranthas and more in part 2

From Blizzard to Bermuda

2011-05-15T08:39:00.000-04:00

I returned to a winter wonderland with perfect snowman snow! We had a great time building snowmen, my niece & I built a snowman in a tree and Dad, brother-in-law, nephew and niece built a 9-foot snowman!

After a week back home I was off again, this time to beautiful Bermuda. The purpose of the trip was to check out prospective wedding locations but my wonderful, loving fiance suggested I invite my sisters along so I would have some company (since he was stuck back in India wrangling laborers). Since my sisters' (who are twins) were celebrating their 40th birthday in March I thought it would be a great occasion for an all-sisters' reunion / birthday celebration.

this is what happens when the kids
are left home with Dad for 5 days!

With the support of my awesome brother-in-laws who stepped up to the plate to take care of my 8 nieces & nephews (who are between 18 months and 11 years old) we met up in New Jersey picked up some bottles in duty free and were off!

Where are my kids again?

It was the first time the four of us were alone together without husbands or kids. Even though it wasn't quite warm enough yet to go swimming we had a great time on the sandy beaches of Bermuda. We stayed at the Elbow Beach Resort which is absolutely beautiful. It's right on the beach, set on parklike grounds and it would be the perfect wedding location!

The most memorable taste treat we discovered in Bermuda was the Dark 'n Stormy (which is not pictured here, this is a mojito in a to-go cup)

the best sisters in the world!

This is what we woke up to the day after we got back home...

Making Up For Lost Time and Low Cholesterol

2011-05-14T13:47:00.000-04:00

Bangladesh to Bermuda via Chamonix and Lausanne - what a difference a month makes!

After being escorted to the Dhaka airport by the police in February and giving my digestive system some time to recover I was once again out of India, this time headed for snowy Alpine peaks.

It was great meeting up with family and friends in Chamonix but almost as good as seeing them was my first real non-Indian meal in months.

My cholesterol was feeling dangerously low so I opted for a croûte montagnarde with a crisp white wine from the Savoie. The combination of bread, cheese, wine and ham was just what I needed to hit the slopes the next day.

Even though everyone in the US was sick of shoveling, I was really missing the snow since I had spent Christmas in Delhi for the first (and last) time. Little did I know how much snow we would get back home in March!

What Bangladesh Taught Me

2011-02-08T09:59:00.001-05:00

How very nice it is to have enough hot water to be able to wash my body and my hair AND shave my legs and all that without having to wait 45 minutes for the geezer if somebody has showered before me.

Never, ever forget my iPod when I get into a car in Dhaka, even if I am only going 0.4 miles.

Next time I shop for pvc fittings make sure they're "strong and glossy"!

Back In Bangladesh

2011-02-07T02:25:00.001-05:00

After ten months of silence I'm back.

What prompted this revival? If you think it's to announce that the work is done and we're moved into our flat in Delhi you'd be miserably wrong. The work is still not done and I am still living out of a suitcase at the in-laws' (which itself could be the subject of a whole new blog, but I won't go there...) while incompetent laborers continue to wreak havoc.

That's basically why I haven't written for months. I would only go off on a rant about how the plumber didn't install the fixtures straight then proceeded to (for almost 15 minutes - I stood there in amazement and watched him) push on it then stand back and stare at it like he expected it to magically straighten itself or about how the tile-wallahs have an uncanny ability to place the chipped tiles in the most highly visible location (in fact that's about the only ability they do have) or how the painter managed to paint an entire room the wrong color (apparently the idea to verify the color against the sample that was sitting there did not occur to him).

Nope, I just came from a wonderful yoga retreat last weekend and I am trying to maintain a feeling of vairagyam - detachment - so I'm picking up the story on a positive note: Bangladesh.

I was last in Bangladesh in 2009. On this, my third, visit traffic has grown worse even than Delhi traffic. It took us over 3 hours to drive the 8.7 miles (distance verified on google maps) from the airport to the Pan Pacific Sonargaon. Out of frustration or rage or I don't know what Dhaka drivers have taken to going as fast as they possibly can any time a gap of over 8 feet opens up in traffic - only to come to a standstill for another 18 minutes before moving again. Makes for some fleeting moments of excitement in the hours of waiting.

Sitting in traffic gave me lots of time to observe the scenery. Buses seem slightly less battered than last time, the electric lines look like even more of a fire hazard than ever, fewer colorful bicycle rickshaws on the roads but more 3-wheelers with cage-like doors to protect driver and riders, and the movie posters don't have the same fluorescent luridness as I remember them having last time but people are still hanging bunches of plastic grapes from their rearview mirrors!

Unfortunately, as I pick up this post after several days in Dhaka, I wasn't able to take any fishing boat tours or lounge in the luxury of another century at a beautiful tea garden in Sylhet. Nope, this time I got to sit in lots of traffic, got sick, got to take care of RG when he got sick, got to experience a hartal (strike organized by the opposition party) but that was relatively mild - just one handmade bomb explosion and 10 buses burnt - and nursed RG again when he stumbled and hit his head on the thermostat as a result of which he now looks like Raging Bull. Oh, and I felt an earthquake.

We're leaving early so I'll have to find more exciting stories on our next trip.

Burra kebabs revisited

2010-04-12T04:05:00.003-04:00

Ever since my first, then second amazing encounter with burra kebabs (both times from Swagath in Defence Colony) I raved about last June I have been desperately searching for those tiny, tangy, tender chops only to be disappointed with chewy, tough or raw kebabs.

I'm driven to write about my quest after yet another encounter with mediocre kebabs last night.

After a relaxing day hanging out by the pool, the only place to be when the mercury hits 41.6 C (that's 106.9 F for my celsius-challenged friends), we thought we'd stop on the way home to try out the latest branch of Delhi's famed Karim's Restaurant that recently opened in Malviya Nagar. The place was packed when we went in, good sign we thought, so we ordered burra kebabs, chicken seekh kebabs, butter chicken (I know - how cliche, but it is one of Delhi's favorite dishes; Rajiv wanted nihari but I wasn't in the mood for something so oily) and dal makhani.

The burra kebabs were tough and chewy, the butter chicken was overly sweet (it tasted exactly like it was cooked in Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup from a can), and the dal was only OK. Even the nan tasted sweet! Only the chicken seekh kebabs were tender and tasty.

Karim's is a Delhi institution. Getting kebabs from there is like getting a pastrami sandwich from Katz's in NYC - kind of a dive but it's the real thing.

Now I know we didn't eat at the original Karim's near Jama Masjid (and I haven't eaten there yet so I can't compare the quality), and I know butter chicken isn't what they're famous for but any way you look at it, it doesn't bode well for Karim's. Either their branches aren't up to the standards of the original which isn't good or they are and this is the level of quality to be found everywhere...which also isn't good.

If anybody out there can tell us where to get tasty, melt-in-your-mouth burra kebabs in Delhi we'd be grateful! Karim's is supposed to have the best in the city, Swagath's were amazing twice and disappointing twice and the other places aren't worth mentioning.

Intersections

2010-03-28T04:24:00.002-04:00

Intersections have their own little subculture here in New Delhi. There's one on the outer ring road flyover near the IIT campus with the guy who's always selling small, brown or black, velvety bobble-head dogs with sleestak eyes and the hand-lettered sign on the wall advertising "Kader Key Meka" with his little shop (a box under a tree at the intersection).

The lights stay red for ages at the massive intersections on the ring roads. Enough time to support entire colonies of beggars who clamber out from under the overpasses to work the lanes whenever the cars are stopped. I cut an article out of the paper last year that describes how certain intersections are transmitted as part of a bride's dowry - "I give you my darling Jenny along with the rights to beg at the corner of 1st Ave and 34th St and two goats".

Anything can become interesting when you're sitting at an intersection for what seems like forever - like this sign posted at the entrance to Siri Fort park. I especially like #9, no "stickin of biles"!

Nizamuddin basti - the best little neighborhood in Delhi!

2010-03-26T12:13:00.003-04:00

One really great thing, among all the things that can make you seriously crazy, about Delhi is the amazing variety of events going on every day - and they're almost all free!

One such event was the recent Jashn e Kushrau festival in honor of the kalaam (poetry) of Amir Khusrau a 13th Century Sufi. This 2-week long festival featured live qawwals, lectures, readings, and heritage walks through Nizamuddin.

I followed one of the walks led by young men from the neighborhood who have volunteered to guide people through the place they've grown up in. There is a lot of work going on to revitalize the neighborhood, restore ancient sites while creating opportunities for those who live there and instauring a sense of pride in their home. It's really great to see, especially in Delhi where one can easily get the impression that nobody cares about anything!

I've been through Nizamuddin a couple of times, but it was great to discover more hidden lanes and alleys. It's amazing what's tucked in this place, Medieval tombs are scattered all over the place, shrines and even a surprisingly huge, old baoli or step well!

The crowded lanes are filled with shops where craftsmen sell everything from attar (perfume oils) to mosquito net tents and tooth cleaning sticks. The smells of jasmine perfume, grilling kebabs, garbage and incense mingle to create an undescribable, often overpowering, aroma.

Fair 'n Lovely

2010-03-20T01:35:00.000-04:00

The other night we were having dinner with a professional acquaintance of Rajiv's, a lawyer, and another friend. I don't remember how we got on the subject of fairness creams but out of the blue the lawyer asked me if I could give him some tips on a good one and how to use it (as if I would know anything about that).

He said he'd been considering it to help his career since he's got darker Indian skin and he would feel more confident when he appears in front of the judges if he were lighter toned. I couldn't believe it, here's a fully qualified professional, middle-aged man worried about his skin tone!

He in turn was astonished when I told him that in the US people pay for lotions that make your skin look tan just like people here pay for lotions to make them whiter. Either way Loreal, Ponds, Garnier, Olay, Clinique & Estee Lauder and all the others are making a lot of money off peoples' insecurities.

Everyone else at the table jumped all over the poor guy and said that confidence doesn't come from your skin color it comes from inside, from being smart and competent.

That said, there is discrimination, and its counterpart favoritism, based on skin tone in India. Take one look at the matrimonial section and you'll inevitably see ads proudly proclaiming "wheatish" or "fair" (sometimes homely - which doesn't have the same connotations as in the US, here it means good homemaker - and always beautiful) sons or daughters. Nobody's ever looking for a son- or daughter-in-law with gorgeous, dark Indian skin.

Qawwal and Karachi halwa

2010-03-11T07:12:00.002-05:00

My street food encounters have been few and far between lately. Not that I haven't been eating, au contraire, it's just been at home or in a restaurant. Been so busy working on the apartment or stuck in traffic and now with the expat group I've joined I just haven't had time to wander.

Rajiv and I did make it out to Nizamuddin this past Sunday evening for a Qawwal concert but to be honest, after seeing the meat hanging in the butcher shops I rather lost my appetite and there's no way he could try that stuff with his delicate stomach. The grilled meat sure smelled good though. I'm going there again tomorrow so maybe I'll grab a kebab for lunch!

I have been curious about Karachi Halwa for a while (mainly because of the name) so I stopped at a sweets shop after my yoga class this morning to pick some up. It was OK, nothing special. Tasted rather neutral with the chewy texture of the inside of a gumdrop. I've seen some recipes that include more almonds or cashews which would be an improvement on the one I tasted today.

So, what's the connection between Qawwals and halwa? None really...

Public service announcements

2010-03-07T04:29:00.000-05:00

Driving around Delhi can get you down for any number of reasons (insane traffic, beggars at the intersections, filth everywhere, incessant honking, metro construction) but one thing that always makes me smile when I see it is a public service announcement.

They're usually hand-painted on a wall or on the side of a building; they're usually in Hindi and the meaning is sometimes puzzling to me but they always catch my eye. Here are a couple I got fairly good shots of the other day. I'd like to know exactly what the one with the bugeyed guy and the pill is for!

Agra and one strike against corrupt cops

2010-02-28T10:33:00.002-05:00

So we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal for Valentine's Day (I know, I'm a bit behind on my postings). A romantic idea except that we got there too late to visit and they don't do night viewings anymore (too great a terrorism risk) so we went to our hotel and had a mediocre meal. We chose not to go to pay 25,000 Rs (yes, that's almost $5000) for the Valentine's dinner at the Amarvillas...

Rajiv had meetings on Monday so I went to the Taj Mahal with the driver (how fun). I've already seen it at daybreak, midnight under a full moon and in the afternoon but it's still as fabulous as ever and I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing it. This time I was able to visit the Red Fort which was also quite impressive.

But the real excitement took place as we were driving back through Agra to pick up Rajiv & Brahm Datt. We were stopped at an intersection minding our own business when the traffic cop signaled for us to pull over to the side - I knew where this was headed...

We did, he walked over and asked for the driver's license and the car's papers. He took them and walked off. The driver got out and went over to see what the problem was. He came back and sure enough the cop wanted 500 Rs for some pollution control sticker or something. I said to tell him I'll take the ticket (which was supposedly 1500 Rs) - there was no way I was going to pay a bribe. In the meantime the cop walked back up to the car and began getting really aggressive with the driver - opening the door and trying to physically yank him out and take the keys. The driver didn't get out and the cop walked away again. Since he still had our papers the driver got out and walked back up to the cop. He came back again after a few minutes and said that he'd lowered his price to 200 Rs. By this time I was getting really angry. I thought I'd pull a Rajiv so I got out of the car and walked up to the cop myself to call his bluff and make him to show me his ID so I could take down his info at least. I got up to him, poked him on the shoulder and said "you want money from me???". As soon as he saw me he gave me a slimy smile, handed me back the papers and said "chello Madame" or "go on Mam". I walked back to the car, gave the driver the papers and said I didn't pay anything; but in the meantime he had finally reached Rajiv on the phone who said not to move, they'd be right there in a rickshaw and he'd sort this guy out.

I knew things were about to heat up. Rajiv and Brahm Datt pulled up in an autorickshaw and hopped out. Brahm Datt and the driver went to fetch the cop (who had no idea what was in store for him) and I explained to Rajiv what had happened. I didn't understand much of what ensued as it was in Hindi, but basically the cop turned into a snivelling worm saying "sorry sir" and denying he asked for a bribe. Rajiv really pulled a Rajiv, grabbing the cop by his collar and shoving him up against the back of the car. By this time a crowd was gathering and 3 lanes of traffic had come to a standstill. The cop wouldn't show Rajiv his ID which only made him madder. A paddy wagon showed up sirens wailing, two other cops got out but if the bad cop thought he was saved he was wrong. Rajiv didn't back off, calling these two guys over to make a report on the bad cop. The reinforcements quickly turned tail and scuttled off without doing anything. I was afraid Rajiv was going to punch the guy, he was still shoving him around and yelling at him. Nobody in the crowd of at least 200 people moved a finger other than film the whole thing with their phones. Finally I got out of the car, Rajiv let the guy go and we took off.

At the very next intersection we were pulled over again...Rajiv jumped out of the car blood still boiling from the previous encounter. Three cops were there and he was instantly in their faces, yelling at them, asking what the problem was now. Whether the other cops had called ahead we can only just suspect, but these 3 quickly backed off and said to go on, but not after Rajiv came quite close to going ballistic again and calling a magistrate to report them too.

The last time we went to Agra we were hit up for a bribe by a traffic cop too.

At least that cop got the thrashing he deserved and that with hundreds of people to witness it. Maybe, hopefully, one of them will have the nerve to stand up for himself next time a cop tries to abuse his power and coerce a bribe. At least Rajiv has become a folk hero (my hero!) for standing up to a dirty cop!

Believe it or not progress has been made!

2010-02-20T01:28:00.001-05:00

Video!
Walkthrough tour of our future home

There's more to Jainism than meets the eye

2010-02-09T09:30:00.002-05:00

And a lot more than I was expecting first met my eye!

Let me begin by admitting that my awareness of Jainism was superficial to say the least...they didn't eat onions or garlic and often wore masks to avoid inhaling any insects was about all I knew about Jains - until now that is.

On our walk through Old Delhi last week we had the chance to visit a Jain temple. I didn't know what to expect as we passed through the beautifully carved entryway but upon entering my first thought was that apparently Jain holy men all sit around naked!

Obviously there's more to this religion than that so I turned to Wikipedia where I learned:

Jainism is an ancient religion of India that prescribes a path of peace and non-violence towards all living beings.

Jainism encourages spiritual development through reliance on and cultivation of one's own personal wisdom and self-control.

The swastika symbol and naked statues resembling Jain monks, which archaeologists have found among the remains of the Indus Valley Civilization, tend to support a claim of some antiquity.

Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy in India; Jain libraries are the oldest in the country.

An honorable and wise tradition, but what's the problem with clothes?

Apparently there are two sects of Jainism, one believes that salvation or moksha can be achieved while wearing clothes (only white) and the other believes that a person should not wear clothes and be sky-clad in order to achieve moksha. We were clearly in a temple of the latter!

That said, the temple had some beautifully detailed painting on the ceilings and walls.
Here's to well-placed flyswatters!

Exploring the lanes of Old Delhi, I'm definitely going back for more!

2010-02-08T03:54:00.005-05:00

Once again sorry for the lapse in posting. We're in the final throes of kitchen and bathroom design. I'm happy to say that we're almost there (design-wise that is - we'll see how the conceptualization to realization phase goes...) and I'm getting excited about my new kitchen-to-be which I've only seen in 3D renderings so far.

I've been to Old Delhi before (in search of mango lassi when it was 42 celsius last year) but haven't ventured into the dark, narrow, winding lanes yet - basically for fear of getting lost on my own - so this walk with Delhi Heritage Walks was the perfect way for me to get a feel for the place with people who know their way around.

You can almost imagine yourself transported hundreds of years back in time if you can mentally photoshop out the electrical wires and motorcycles. The medievalesque feeling is heightened by the way the neighborhoods are divided up by different crafts or businesses and by the way the open drains along the alley make you want to look up to make sure some serving wench doesn't empty a bucket of slop on your head. Most of the shops were closed on Sunday which made it easier to get through but much less colorful.

Our tour started just outside the mosque where we passed the fireworks sellers area, then we walked through the bead quarter, the ribbon/edging quarter, the quarter where guys made folders and ended up in the Parathewali Gali where a few paratha makers will stuff almost anything into dough and fry it up for you.

Even though the beautifully carved entranceways and the lovely screened porches (where the ladies were permitted to watch life on the streets outside) are decrepit and dirty, it gives you an idea of what the havelis must have been like in their prime. Most havelis have been broken up into apartments and filled with shops, but we were able to see one that retained the basic form which is similar to buildings in Paris in that they're built around a courtyard.

We visited an old Jain temple too, but that deserves its own posting once I've done some research...

Old Delhi is a photographers paradise, I feel a little uncomfortable snapping pictures of random people on the street since I would not like strangers taking pictures of me like that but several others in the group (with much nicer cameras than mine) were shooting away so I just went with the flow. Here are a few random pictures I took.

Perfect morning to visit Jama Masjid but first I had to make it through the thieves market

2010-02-01T03:11:00.001-05:00

I love wandering around back alleys exploring so I was really happy to discover Delhi Heritage Walks, a group that organizes walks through Delhi's historic neighborhoods. I signed up for one of their tours through Jama Masjid and Old Delhi and yesterday was the perfect day for a walk, sunny and clear (for Delhi) springtime warm but not too hot yet.

Getting to the entrance where we were to meet was a spectacle in itself. It was smooth sailing on the ring road, but as soon as we branched off traffic slowed down to a crawl. The sidewalks were filled with vendors mostly selling books, it got more and more crowded the closer we got to Jama Masjid. As it turns out Sunday is when Chor Bazaar is held. Imagine an enormous street market, I mean thousands of vendors with their goods spread out on the ground with even more thousands of people buying everything from first editions of books to dubious electronics and pants to pet birds. Chor Bazaar means thieves bazaar. I didn't know about this market but I'll have to come back one day and check it out.

I finally made it to gate 3 and up the steps to the entrance. Tourists were swarming all around busily removing their shoes looking around skeptically as if they were wondering if they would still be there when they came out. We had to make it past the gatekeepers before entering the mosque itself. These were a couple guys thrusting robes into womens' hands seemingly randomly. I got stuck with one even though I was wearing long pants, a long sleeved shirt and a scarf around my shoulders. Maybe they just get a kick of seeing tourists in these silly looking robes.

Then I was inside! Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame), the mosque was commissioned in 1644 AD and completed in 1656. It's basically a huge rectangular enclosure with the main domed structure on the western side. It's the largest mosque in India and one of the largest in Asia. 25,000 people can fit inside for services (which aren't open to tourists). Like the Red Fort across the road, Jama Masjid is also built of red sandstone with some marble accents. I found this picture of the place when it's full to give you an idea.

We took the paid option to climb the stairs to the top of one of the minarets for a knee-knocking view of Delhi. After we descended back to earth we lucked out because the guy with the key to the little room holding the holy relics was there. These include a Koran written on deer skin, a slipper worn by Muhammad, a strand of red hair from Muhammad's beard and an impression of Muhammad's foot in marble. After seeing some relics swaddled and caged in cathedrals in Europe, I found these holy relics shared with the public in a very casual manner.

There's not really much to see in the mosque, there's a big square fountain in the center and, in a touch I thought was nice, a marked off area on the ground covered with grain and bowls of water for the birds. After everyone was re-shod and de-robed we descended into the lanes of Old Delhi...

Qawwals in Nizamuddin for Basant

2010-01-30T11:12:00.003-05:00

Things have been so hectic I haven't been able to write anything lately. Who would have thought that selecting sinks, taps, tubs and toilets could take so much time? Who would have thought there is a market for $1000+ (yes, that's 48,000 Rs) toilet flush systems (that's not even counting the toilet itself)? India is nothing if not a land of extremes!

I wanted to follow up my last posts with the pictures from the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. You'll have to go back in time to January 19, 2010 where I last left us trudging down Lodhi Road avoiding construction ditches, traffic and random piles of dirt. We made quite a spectacle, a ragtag band of folks all dressed in yellow straggling down the street and across the massive intersection on foot to get to the Nizamuddin neighborhood. Once we got into the narrow streets of this old neighborhood the group was quickly bunched back together.

The lanes got narrower and narrower as we approached the shrine. Vendors crowded the incense-smoke-filled space, from their little closet-like stalls they sold offering cloths, flowers (we picked up a basket of rose petals and rose garlands for the tourist price of 20 Rs), incense, jewelry and prayer beads among other things. The air was a mixture of incense and grilling meat (I'm sure it's much more fragrant when the temperature climbs to 100+) We offed our shoes (where we paid 5 Rs to a shoe minder) and donned our scarves before entering the outer shrine area. While several tombs were scattered around, this obviously wasn't the main scene. We did visit a small shrine where we women had to content ourselves with walking around the outside, peering through beautifully carved marble screens at the tomb inside and tying red string on to make a wish.

We stepped through the entry to the main shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi's 14th centure Sufi saint. As it was the eve of Basant Panchmi, the day that marks the arrival of spring, the qawwal singers and other men were all wearing yellow scarves on their heads. Here once again we women weren't allowed inside so we gingerly stepped around the girls and women praying around the perimeter and made another wish with a red string tied to the carved marble screen.

There was a procession through the narrow lanes which ended up in front of the shrine where the head sufi accepted offerings of yellow mustard flowers (and money of course). We were seated to the side of the qawwal singers and had a front row seat for the singing that accompanied the offerings. They sang the Hindi qawwalis of the Persian poet Amir Khusro who was a great disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin. It was pretty intense sitting there seeing these men chanting, I can see how it could induce a trance after a while. I met the "head priest & Naib Sajjada Nashin" and his #2 after the ceremony, and this being the 21st century they gave me their business cards and got my email to keep me informed of other events and to invite me to other qawwal. I'd love to come to their regular Friday night ceremony!

Food chain in Nizamuddin

2010-01-24T02:50:00.004-05:00

Basant

2010-01-24T01:51:00.011-05:00

Yellow was the color of the day last Tuesday. I was invited to join up with an interesting group of people to celebrate the coming of spring in a traditional Basant festival. The event was organized by Himanshu (the guy dressed in brilliant yellow) who runs an art organization called Red Earth.

Thankfully Shumita, the friend who invited me along, had a yellow shawl to lend me! We met in the beautiful Lodhi Garden where we all sat in a big circle while Himanshu gave a little talk explaining the history of the festival.

This being India, we were visited by the police claiming that we were not allowed to hold an "event" in the park... After listening to a story read by a lady about Basant festivals during her childhood and the riots and massacres that took place in India and Pakistan after partition and again in the 80's we walked (to the amusement of drivers on Lodhi Rd.) all the way to Nizamuddin. More on that in a later post, things are really busy at the moment trying to get the apt. renovation underway.

All in a day's work?!

2010-01-12T07:50:00.022-05:00

The day got of to a creepy crawly start as I discovered an erupting nest of termites in the closet when I moved some papers. That caused a minor uproar as we had to have everything cleared out and cleaned up. The closet needs to be gutted and replaced and I have a newfound love of rubber gloves!

That crisis under control (sort of) we went back to Gurgaon to the apt. again. Here's what my future bedroom currently looks like. Admittedly some imagination is required....

From there we drove through the outskirts of Gurgaon to see someone. The roads are terrible so it's slow going which gave me ample opportunity to grab a shot of a garbage pile nourishing some stray cows, dogs and pigs (fleischkase anyone???)

While glumly contemplating why Indians have so little concern for their country and anticipating stopping to visit a furnishings showroom to look at sinks and faucets we got a call from the guard downstairs that there was trouble at home...

Ramu was drunk and fighting with Indra. The guard locked them up in separate rooms until we got back. The culprit ... Stud Whisky. I could make a cliche joke about firewater and Indians but that would be in very poor taste wouldn't it?

For anyone who's interested, $1.10 (50Rs) will buy you one pint of Stud Whisky. To put that in some sort of perspective, I just paid 625 Rs or over $13 for 8 rolls of TP.

For anyone else who might be wondering what in the heck I am doing here, I will save that answer for another post...

Turns out my low expectations were astronomically high

2010-01-11T08:47:00.006-05:00

We went to the apt. today to check things out for ourselves. I knew the work had been put on hold and still far from finished but not in my wildest dreams would I have expected the scene that was waiting for us behind door #420.

OMG! - and not a good kind of OMG! like when some girl tweets "OMG! I just saw Justin Timberlake!"

A picture is worth a thousand words and I took over 100 today; if I could have one drink for every dozen photos I might start feeling better and find the words to describe how aggravated I am.

To say that the architect (and I'm using the term loosely here) is in for a reaming is using my most diplomatic language.

Fleischkäse and back in India again

2010-01-10T09:16:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since I last wrote but I've been busy. I moved from Denver back to Ithaca (well, my belongings are there at least) spent 6 weeks in France / Italy / Switzerland, a month in New Jersey (but let's not talk about that), welcomed new twin nieces and celebrated New Year's Eve in Germany before landing in Delhi on Jan. 6 at 1:30am to an airport filled with smog and Christmas music on the PA system.

Lots of exciting things have happened (when I have time I'll post the video of karaoke night at the Broken Spoke in Dodge City, KS) but the recent culinary high point has been my introduction to Fleischkäse - flesh cheese. It tastes good, better than it sounds and I like saying it again and again. Fleischkäse Fleischkäse Fleischkäse

It was during our brief stop in Mutterstadt (outside Frankfurt) to visit Rajiv's cousins (who are really great BTW) that I got my first taste of this German delicacy. Next time I hope to taste handkäse (some kind of stinky cheese concoction) which Nils, my German brother-in-law and father of the above-mentioned twins, told me about. Then again, maybe he doesn't like me and is setting me up for something nasty!

I'm mostly over the jetlag now so expect more exciting posts soon. We're going to check the progress on the apt. in Gurgaon tomorrow. I have low expectations...stay posted

What's Taking So Long?

2009-06-12T05:15:00.011-04:00

I've never thought I would long for Lowes or Home Depot, but trying to get some remodeling done in India does strange things to a person!

This is what we've got to work with. I've been meeting with designers, visiting showrooms looking at tiles and stone and faucets and sinks and poring over magazines to decide how I want it to look. Nothing happens fast here.

For The Vegetarians - Kadhi

2009-06-11T04:17:00.004-04:00

This is one of my favorite things to eat - kadhi is a tangy, creamy, yogurt-based curry gravy with pakoras in it. Lots of curry leaves and mustard seeds add to the tangy flavor and it's generally served over rice.

Burra Kebabs And Kulfi

2009-06-09T03:54:00.013-04:00

We usually eat in since Indra's food is so good, but the other day we were running round Delhi all day so we decided to stop for some takeout on the way home. We knew exactly what we wanted - burra kebabs from Swagath in Defense Colony Market.

From the menu: "Pesawari Barrah Kabab - tender lamb chaps (yes, chaps) marinated with sour cream, special herbs and condiments cooked in clay oven" These thick-cut lamb chops (they say lamb, but I have a feeling that most lamb is actually goat since I haven't seen many sheep around here) are the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth, delicious things I've ever had. The spices are subtle and rich and a nice Spanish Tempranillo or Garnacha would have been perfect with them but, alas, I had to settle for some Indian Sauvignon Blanc.

We ordered dal makhani, a super-rich, creamy black dal on the side and some thin roomali roti.

Rajiv also had to get some kulfi from the Defense Colony Market kulfi walla (a good one, there's always a line in front of his cart) which we had at home too. They serve the ice cream with vermicelli noodles and it ends up looking like ice cream soup. I have to say I'm not too crazy about noodles in my ice cream.

Mint Harvest - Where Pudin Hara Comes From

2009-06-06T12:05:00.007-04:00

Our trip back down the mountain was made all the more eventful by Brahm Datt's car sickness. Apparently he only gets it on the way down, not on the way up or on level roads. We had to stop three times for the poor guy...

Once we made it back down it was smooth sailing through some pastoral Indian countryside. I kept seeing these interesting-looking contraptions in fields - big tanks that were filled with some kind of plants - so I asked Brahm Datt (also my go-to guy regarding all things agricultural since Rajiv is hopeless and the driver said they were for concrete!!) what they were.

It turns out they are for extracting mint oil from mint plants and all the lush green fields we were driving past were mint fields and all the oxcarts we were passing were filled with the harvested mint! We stopped near one and got out of the car to check it out (well, Brahm Datt and me at least) to the great joy and amusement of the poor guys working there and some passers-by who stopped to gawk at me gawking at the mint extracting process. In case anyone doesn't know the miracle that is Pudin Hara (Rajiv's cure for everything) check out http://www.dabur.com/en/products/Health_Care/Digestive/PudinHara/

Kashmiri Cherries In A Leaf Cup

2009-06-06T02:47:00.008-04:00

That there are vendors hawking everything all over the place goes without saying, but the ones that were most enticing to me were the ones selling roasted corn on the cob and the ones selling little leaf cups filled (or so I thought) with delicious looking cherries, tiny apricots or some other kind of berry (goji berries maybe?).

The cherries looked so good I got some to munch on while we were on the boat. I handed over my 20 rupees and the guy handed over a little cup made of leaves with ripe red cherries.

We put on our lifejackets, climbed onto the boat and headed out onto the lake. The cherries were sweet and yummy but after eating down a layer, I realized that the little leaf cup had a little leaf shelf inside that effectively delivered half the cherries I thought I was going to get! Since Rajiv wasn't eating any cherries it was enough for me though.

So What Does One Do In Nainital?

2009-06-06T00:43:00.015-04:00

If you're Rajiv, you spend time meeting with lawyers - the high court grounds are a lot nicer than the ones in Delhi! If you're the average Indian here on holiday you dress up in your outfit with the most sequins, sparkles and gold and walk up and down admiring all the stuff for sale from embroidered "Kashmiri" shawls and cheap plastic toys from China, to lacquered, odd-looking "sculptures" made from local pine cones or really ugly furniture.

There are no sidewalks which makes a stroll along the lake an exercise in avoiding traffic and tolerating the incessant 500+ decibel honking.

If you tire of the metropolis you can head up into the hills (along with 15,000 other people) to a point where you're supposed to be able to see the snowcapped Himalayas on a clear day (which it wasn't when we went). There you can dress up in a gold-trimmed velvet outfit to have your picture taken (for some unknown reason this seems to be a popular pastime in Nainital, you can have it done by the lake too) or you can shoot at plastic bottles strung between trees down the hillside.

Another popular attraction is the Cave Gardens where for 15 rupees you can experience nature in a setting that's devoid of any concept of liability litigation (as long as you don't spit). Here in the Cave Gardens you climb down narrow paths into natural caves (more like crevasses that have been opened up in the mountains) with absolutely nothing in the way of security. Slippery rock steps, low hanging rocks in narrow passageways, pits going down another 100 feet completely open next to the path just waiting for a child to slip into... It's an amazing sight to see fully decked out Indian women wearing sparkly saris, glittering jewelry and sandals picking their way over the rocks, through the narrow tunnels!

Taking a boat ride is the biggest deal in Nainital and from morning to night the little lake is swarming with long, gondola-like boats and those swan-shaped paddle boats. Naturally we had to take a boat ride and after visiting the Cave Gardens I found the fact that lifejackets were "compulsory" here rather ironic. For 160 rupees we were rowed up and down the lake, with only the honking in the distance to serenade us.

Destination Nainital

2009-06-05T13:22:00.005-04:00

And by close association Tallital and Mallital also.

Unfortunately approximately 50,000 other people had beat us to it.

I had heard from someone who had just been there that the place was packed. School's out and families are on holiday. She wasn't wrong! After almost 2 hours navigating hairpin turns on a road that was about one and one-half lanes wide trying to avoid oncoming trucks, buses, cars and the random cow on the side of the road we made it to Nainital ready to collapse - and we weren't even driving (although it's more nerve-wracking being a passenger in a car driven by a flatlander who's never driven in mountains before - if I could shift gears with my left hand I would have taken the wheel).

We paid our 100 rupees to get onto the main drag of Nainital - the Mall. The town is squeezed along the steep slopes of the lake and there just isn't enough room for people + cars + bicycle rickshaws and as a result everyone is honking all the time. In a country where honking is a national pastime, it reaches shrill new levels here.

We checked into the Lakeside Inn (no stars, not even a comma) and ventured out to find some food. We ended up getting Chinese takeout from a place down the road - we are actually not that far from China here but that didn't make the food any better...

I fell asleep after the honking and the air hockey noise from the arcade downstairs stopped and woke up to chanting from the temple across the lake (and more honking).

Road Trip To The Mountains

2009-06-05T07:14:00.028-04:00

Well, to the foothills actually...

The road to Nainital heads east out of Delhi up into hill country, the foothills of the Himalayas. Sounds romantic and exotic right? First you have to pass through Uttar Pradesh which is undoubtedly one of the filthiest places I've ever seen and I've spent a lot of time in New Jersey.

It's quite depressing actually. Poverty, dust and dirt are one thing but acres of garbage, garbage lining the roadside, garbage piles next to the marketplaces, garbage piles spilling over into the ponds, rivers and canals - it's like people just dump their garbage everywhere. Doesn't anyone care? It's really a shame because UP is home to the Taj Mahal and Varanasi among other sites and it's considered the cradle of Indian civilization.

We stopped at a roadside restaurant (Classic Chicken Point where we got some tea but you could also order "butter tost with jaim" for 20 rupees) then hit the road again wondering why the traffic was so heavy.

Something was definitely going on and a lot of people were headed for it. It turns out we were driving into Garmukteshwar on the last day of the Ganga Dusshera Festival, a 10-day long festival devoted to the worship of holy river Ganga where devotees flock to numerous ghats located on the west bank of the river Ganga to bathe in water and carry the river clay home to venerate (thank you Google search). As we crossed the bridge over the Ganges (the first time I was seeing the Ganges River!) we could see hundreds if not thousands of people in the river and on the shores - quite an impressive sight!

On our way back to Delhi we drove across the same bridge at night and I could see large fires burning along the riverbanks. I asked Brahm Datt (being a pandit, he's my go-to guy for questions regarding all things Hindu) if they were funeral pyres but he said cremation isn't supposed to take place at night. But what if the fire was started during the day and it's not done burning everything up completely by the time it gets dark???

They have the craziest looking taxi/trucks in UP! Maybe they go over the top decorating their vehicles to compensate for the bleak, garbage-filled scenery that blights the landscape in so many places?

Time

2009-06-05T03:48:00.003-04:00

I've been reading (finally) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie and came across a quote that sheds some light on Indians' concept of time (or lack thereof).

..."no people whose word for 'yesterday' is the same as their word for 'tomorrow' can be said to have a firm grip on time."

The word is kal and it goes even further, the word for the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow is the same too (parson) as is the word for two days before / after (narsom)

Is that why they're never on time?

Indra And My Daily Meals

2009-06-01T22:35:00.015-04:00

This is Indra. she and I have a hard time communicating but I have learned to say yeh khanna bahut badhiya hai (this food is delicious) because it always is!

I've gotten into the habit of eating a stuffed paratha for breakfast along with a small bowl of yogurt and some leftover vegetables - this is truly the breakfast of champions although I think I'll have to do the decathalon to lose the weight I'm sure to put on eating this every day.

For lunch she usually fixes rice, dal (a different kind every day) a vegetable and sometimes some meat. Dinner is pretty much the same except we get hot, homemade chapatis with it and either a lamb or chicken curry. I don't know how she does it, but everything she makes is delicious. My tolerance for spicy food has increased, although she doesn't overdo the heat generally.

I know I'm spoiled, but this is the life!

Beauty Hut Parlour

2009-06-01T00:39:00.001-04:00

If you're ever in the Karol Bagh area and need a new hairstyle stop by the Beauty Hut Parlor, near the Jhandewala Deviji Temple !

Lawyers And Lassi

2009-05-31T11:00:00.010-04:00

This is a typical lawyer's office outside the courts in Delhi - the largest court in all of Asia supposedly. There are rows and rows of them outside the courthouse.

The expensive lawyers have enclosed spaces....

While Rajiv was meeting with his lawyers, I went to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi in search of a mango lassi. I had read about Amritsari Lassiwalla in the paper so Brahm Datt, the driver and I went off in search of it. Chandni Chowk has a few streets through it, but most of it is a maze of narrow passages which I'll have to come back with a guide to explore. It was worth suffering through the insane traffic of Chandni Chowk - the mango lassi was deliciously thick, creamy and not too sweet with a nice tangy spoonful of fresh yogurt on top!

Lassi Walla Outside Income Tax Office

2009-05-28T22:59:00.015-04:00

It's mango season and I was craving a mango lassi so when Rajiv had to go to the Income Tax Office, I came along hoping to find a lassi walla while we were out. The street next to the big ITO is filled with vendors of everything from fruit juice to legal books and typists. While Rajiv and Brahm Datt went inside, the driver and I looked around for mango lassis.

No mango lassis were to be found so I settled for a regular lassi. It's quite a procedure to make one and it hits the spot on a hot hot day. Rajiv thinks I'm going to die one of these days as the concept of hygiene among Indian street food vendors isn't up to even NYC hot dog cart standards, but I carry emergency Imodium, I take my probiotics every day and I've been fine so far!

After the lassi we checked out the other snacks on offer and I tried a mung bean samosa. It's basically a fried dumpling made of cooked mung beans - not much to write home about, kind of bland but the green chutney and radish on the side perked it up a bit.

Wisdom In Calcutta Airport

2009-05-28T11:19:00.002-04:00

Hopefully you'll never have a 4+ hour layover in Calcutta airport, but if you do pick up a book by Tagore at the small bookshop, find the "Top Deck" restaurant upstairs and have a samosa and a drink while you're waiting it out.

Off The Boat And Into The Village

2009-05-28T01:52:00.006-04:00

So after about an hour and a half chugging upriver on the boat we took a smaller, side branch of the river and pulled up at a small village. As soon as I climbed off the boat I was surrounded by children (who love seeing their pictures in the digital camera) and suspiciously eyed by the women who were working spreading rice to dry on the packed earth under the sun. We walked through the village, obviously heading somewhere but I couldn't figure out what the guide was saying.

We walked through the narrow path, past the cutest little mini-chickens to another courtyard where men were at work hitting rice stalks across a board and barrel to knock the rice off, the kids trailing along behind me the whole time. I thought, that's nice to see some more of the harvest work, then we went into a building and I was very ceremoniously led to the end of a short hall and a bathroom - I got it, this was the bathroom break part of the trip! I've had to use turkish toilets before in France but I didn't have to go (really). I went in anyway and washed my hands, waited around a couple minutes, came back out and thanked the waiting crowd.

We stopped by where the women were working on the way back out and the guide started talking to an ancient looking lady sitting on the ground. He said she was the oldest lady in the village. I asked if I could take her picture, so he got a photo of us with some kids. I got a picture with all the ladies and they giggled looking at the image on the digital screen. They were starting to look at me less suspiciously now and followed us down to the riverbank waving when we left. The kids ran along the bank following the boat as far back down the river as they could waving and yelling like crazy. It was the best part of the whole trip.

Cruising the Meghna River on a Fishing Boat

2009-05-24T09:07:00.019-04:00

Through the hotel's recommended travel agency (Bangladesh Expeditions "An Expedition With Us. An Experience Forever..." which has offices in Dhaka and Paris of all places) I booked a day-long tour that included a cruise on the Meghna River aboard a wooden fishing boat and a visit to the original Sonargaon, the ancient capital of Bangladesh. Lunch included!

It was hot hot hot, even on the river and I could understand why everyone along the banks was in the water if they weren't working in the fields harvesting rice. Everyone on the river was happy to see a foreigner, they waved like crazy and the kids would splash around showing off in the river.

Driving in a Bangladeshi Village

2009-05-22T13:08:00.004-04:00

Just a taste of what traffic's like there. The roads are about 8 feet wide.

What's with the grapes? I saw them hanging in other cars also!

Here is the link to the entire photo album from Bangladesh http://picasaweb.google.com/rougeinternational/MyTripToBangladesh2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCIGnkv3S1afVKw&feat=directlink

The Other Side of the Fence

2009-05-22T11:46:00.005-04:00

From the window of my luxurious suite at the Sonargaon I had a lovely view of the pool, hot tub and bar as well as the giant water-filled pit in the ground just behind the hotel.

From the window, I could watch people toiling away hauling dirt out to lay those massive drainage pipes, children playing in the dirt and people bathing in the water.

A visit to Bangladesh is a good way to become more thankful for what you've got.

Boutique Prints, Paul Masson & Power Lines in Bangladesh

2009-05-21T12:02:00.022-04:00

Now I know where all the Paul Masson wine in carafes has gone.

I never thought I would go to Bangladesh once let alone twice, but I had the opportunity to tag along on one of Rajiv's business trips so why not??

We flew out of Delhi last Thursday on a non-stop flight to Dhaka. Some guy who wants Rajiv to do some work with him had arranged to pick us up at the airport (we were to look for the guy "wearing a half white shirts with Boutique Print and brown color pant") We wondered what in the world a "boutique print" would look like but, thankfully, every other person at the arrival area was wearing a solid color shirt. I snuck a picture of the shirt in the car in case anyone else was wondering what one looks like.

Traffic was worse than when I last came in 2006, but the rickshaws were just as colorful and the electrical system just as dangerous looking.

We stayed in the posh Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in a suite that was bigger than some NYC apartments I've lived in. Paul Masson Chablis and Burgundy were the only wines on offer in the lounge though.

Getting The New Car Blessed

2009-05-21T11:14:00.014-04:00

I went with Brahm Datt and Rajesh to pick up the new Toyota Innova. Brahm Datt insisted on doing a puja immediately to bless the car so we stopped first to pick up a box of laddoo (sweets) then stopped at the temple a block from the house.

The street was packed with a line of people that went out the door and down the street, there were vendors selling garlands of marigolds, loose flowers, coconuts, shiny satin cloths with gold trim and trinkets outside the entry and across the street a crowd of beggars - mothers with children, elderly people and handicapped people - waiting for alms. It was a crazy scene - a mixture of sparkly, shiny, colorful things on one side and dirty, drab, poor people on the other.

We slowly drove past the temple and I realized that there were three right next to each other. The first was a Hindu temple (to Shiva I think) next to a Sai Baba temple followed strangely enough by a Jehovah's Witness temple (or chapel?). Brahm Datt hopped out of the car to find a pandit to bless the car and we drove around in the prosaic task of finding parking but apparently the parking god wasn't anywhere near that neighborhood.

We circled back around and pulled up in front of the Shiva temple (thankfully the huge line was at the temple next door). I got out of the car into the chaotic heat and crowd. The air was a mixture of incense and sewage.

Brahm Datt had already picked up the provisions (2 strings of marigolds and a coconut) and the plump pandit came out with a little pot of orange paste. He proceeded to do some chanting while drawing a swastika, an OM sign and some dots and squiggles on the hood of the car with the orange paste. He circled the coconut around my head then cracked it on the ground and dripped some coconut water on the car as he circled around it then he gave Rajesh and Brahm Datt orange dots on their foreheads. He put a string of marigolds under a windshield wiper and we went inside the temple.

There I was instructed to put the other string of marigolds around the stone lingam and put a laddoo on it as well. He sprinkled some more of the coconut water on it and gave me an orange dot on my forehead. I handed over 101 rupees and it was done.

Outside the temple I gave some alms to some people then we left. We got to the gate of the house and Indra was waiting with a jug of water. We stopped before going through the gate and she walked around the car pouring some water on the wheels then Rajesh drove it in, we gave the guards from next door some sweets and now the car being duly blessed is ready to hit the road!

Village Scenes from Kheri Kalan

2009-05-15T22:32:00.011-04:00

I woke up at the crack of dawn to the sound of birds chirping, peacocks squawking and somebody chanting. We took a ride out into the country to look at some birds and visit Bram Datt's farm. I ended up learning to milk a water buffalo, driving an oxcart, visiting some friends in a neighboring village, ringing the bell in a Shiva temple and ingesting a pound of dust.

Making chapatis village style!

my charpoy bed

Kheri Kalan - a weekend in the country

2009-05-15T06:49:00.007-04:00

Where my gastrointestinal system is put to the test & passes with flying colors and they try unsuccessfully to teach me to dance Indian style.

The road to Kheri Kalan passes by the ancient Tughlakabad fortress, the third city of Delhi, and through the suburban city of Faridabad where posters advertising the "Genetic Citizens Club" left me intrigued since the rest was written in Hindi. You know you're moving from city to village as motor rickshaws give way to bike rickshaws. I have a theory that the number of persons crammed into a three-wheeler is proportional to the distance from the city. In Delhi you see one or two people inside - the further out into the country you get, the heavier the load up to and including the entire population of a small village stuffed into and clinging on to a creaky three-wheeler.

After stopping to visit the temple and try sugarcane juice (btw, saw an article in the Delhi paper yesterday about sugarcane juice sellers and outbreaks of gastroenteritis and cholera...) we stopped a few more times to pick up watermelon, regular melon, mithai (sweets) and a lassi (but the lassi walla wasn't there). I was starting to get the feeling that I was in for a lot of food this weekend.

It didn't take long to see the proof either. As soon as I met Brahm Datt's family the procession of neighbors, family, friends, food and drink began. They were coming to see the American who'd come to the village. They brought out a huge tray of appetizers and sweets and set it down in front of me. It all looked good so I had one but nobody else would have any - it was all for me! Then they brought sweets. I realized that I had better start pacing myself.

After a while we made our way to the tent that was set up for the ceremony and feast (I think this was the "tilak" part of the days-long process). I was the only female in the tent watching the ceremony which was going along fine, the groom was getting loaded down with gifts (ranging from towels to a gold watch), until a guy in the front row had an epileptic seizure. The men jumped right in, helping him, holding him down and some rubbing his legs and feet but they ushered me right out of there like he was possessed by the devil.

From there I went down the street into the room where all the women were. They were seated on the floor, passing around a tray with the bride's gifts on it (mostly jewelry). Then the chanting and dancing began. They dragged me up and got me to dance, people were stopping by the open doorway taking pictures with their cell phones.

After a brief break where the ladies changed into even-more-sparkly clothes (and I didn't fit into the outfit they had for me) we went back for the vegetarian feast. I tried everything - except one dish that had so many chiles floating on top that I thought I'd better stay away - paneer, channa, poori, salad Indian-style, raita, subzi, pani puri, jalebi - I ate it all.

The dancing went on long after we left for bed (charpoys in this case) - I slept with the Brahm Datt's wife and daughters on the roof terrace under the stars listening to the music until dawn.

Sugar Cane Juice

2009-05-10T23:31:00.006-04:00

Or where I come to the realization that I'm going to have to give up any concerns I may have about what I am putting into my digestive system this weekend.

So we finally hit the road for my weekend in the country - Rajesh, the driver, and Brahm Datt whose family I would be staying with and me. Although it looked like it might rain in the morning, it was another hot, sunny day by the time we left Delhi at around 3 in the afternoon.

We were finally free, headed into the bucolic Indian countryside. On the road outside Delhi we stopped at a large white temple. We went inside to check it out but unfortunately the actual temple part was closed so we just walked around the courtyard. Wheat was spread on the white marble to dry in the sun and the whole courtyard smelled like warm grain.

Outside the temple there was a guy selling fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. He runs the sugar cane through a crusher several times and collects the juice. On the last run-through some limes are added and crushed with the cane. Rajesh and Brahm Datt asked me if I wanted to try some.

I took one look at the flies swarming over the ancient metal rollers, the grubby glasses upside down in an even grubbier old wooden rack and, putting my faith in the preventive dose of Immodium that I had taken before leaving, said "sure why not?".

A small crowd gathered to watch me, I got my camera out and took a picture of the setup, Brahm Datt (always thinking of my well-being) admonished the guy to give me a clean glass and he promptly rinsed a glass in a bucket of not-so-clean-looking water before filling it with the sugar cane juice that had collected below the crusher/press.

I tasted the frothy, slightly sweet, slightly milky liquid and liked it which made them all very happy. The lime added a nice touch of acidity which balanced the sweetness and the juice had a faint grassy, herbaceous taste. Some mint would have been nice also and chilled with a dash of rum it would make a pretty good cocktail!

Shaadi - Nobody Said Anything About a Wedding!

2009-05-02T03:09:00.005-04:00

So, I was invited to spend the weekend in the country, in a village outside Delhi, with Brahm Datt's family. A great way to experience real India on a rural farm! I come to find out an hour before we leave that I'm going to a wedding in the village tonight and apparently I'm the guest of honor. They've got a sari ready for me to wear and everything - good thing saris are one-size-fits-all. Did I mention that nobody speaks English there? This should be interesting...

Goodbye New Jersey, Hello New Delhi!

2009-04-28T10:40:00.006-04:00

Let the honking begin!

I was greeted with garlands of flowers and a bouquet when I arrived in Delhi airport. Rajish (on my left) and Bram Datt (on the right) were there waiting for us.

The electricity only went out for about 45 minutes today - lucky us since it was 45 degrees celsius today!

Ready to go ... almost

2009-04-26T09:21:00.002-04:00

It's a beautiful Sunday morning here in New Jersey, but that doesn't make me any less thrilled to be leaving this place. I got up early and started a blog to collect my notes from the road. Why not? It's for anyone who's interested in following my travels and hearing about what I'm eating on the road!

I'd really like to get some good Mexican food before I take off today - I know I won't be getting any of that where I'm going.