Namaste

It's almost trite but I started going to yoga class in India...and love it.

Jamie introduced me to Seema at the Yoga Studio in Haus Kauz. Despite the fact that this class is an hour away from where I live, I find it to be the most challenging and rewarding workout for my mind and body. Each class is unique and Seema is the perfect balance of spunk and expertise.

Manged to convince other Googlers to take classes too and the picture is of Mollie, Austin and I doing the 'yogic squat' outside a monastery up north in Jammu Kashmir.

This morning's 8am class (yep, I woke up at 6.45 to get on the road by 7am on a Saturday!) kicked my butt but when I walked out of the studio, I was completely at peace. Namaste.

Ridiculous Plane Ticket Buying Spree

The degree at which I travel in India astounds me. Tonight I bought 5 separate plane tickets all of which will be used over the course of two weeks – and I had already bought another plane ticket to come home on September 30th. This spree was particularly ridiculous, but I for the last 5 months I have bought at least 4 plane tickets a month and this will continue all the way through November. Obviously this cannot continue when my adventure is over but I do wonder what life will be like when I stay put for a while…or even for just two weeks. At least my credit card will get a break.

Best Mexican Food in India....

....was at the Novotel in Hyderabad. Great tortilla chips, salsa and a legit taco. I didn't even mind that they brought Parmesan instead of Monterey Jack. Sure beats the 'burro to' in Rishikesh and the new Delhi hot spot Sancho's. This also gives me something to look forward to when I travel to HYD.

Gurgaon in the News

Gurgaon made it to the most read list for the NYT again...apparently i-banking is off-shoring talent right in my backyard.

Olympics

When I was home in July I attended Blastoff to Beijing where the US Women's Water Polo team trounced Australia. This event caused me to catch Beijing fever so much so I have considered hopping in a plane to China just because I'm so freaking close to the action. Last night I watched the opening ceremonies live, a friend who is the Water Polo sportscaster for NBC has been sending daily Beijing updates and Brian is wandering around complaining about the air quality and looking for tickets to swimming. So.....the fever continues as I live vicariously.

This morning I watched boxing (while waiting for my organic chicken at the French farm), cycling and football on an Indian sports network. Of course, I didn't expect to see coverage of US athletes (that's what the web is for) but I was surprised at how depressing it is to be an Indian watching the Olympics. The two sportscasters update regularly on the Indian athletes progress and none of them have advanced. The opportunities were in archery, shooting and boxing and the commentators use soft voices and the word "disappointing" a lot. This contrast has sparked a surprising athletic patriotism in me that comes out every four years. It may have started in 1984 when Mary Lou Retton rocked the gymnastics competition in Los Angeles but I am so proud to be an American athlete and am really looking forward to the rest of the games.

And, in particular, I really, really, really, really want the Women's Water Polo team to win GOLD!!!!! GO TEAM USA!!!!!

Organic French Farm

It's almost too good to be true but there is an organic farm just 45 minutes away from where I live. This morning after yoga (love my yoga class!!) instead of heading home, Amit and I continued heading south on the Delhi-Jaipur highway to the "French Farm." The farm is not too far from the highway but arguably in the middle of nowhere. It was started 16 years ago by a Frenchman who left the military and moved to India.

When I decided to drive out to the farm I envisioned something like a very small farmers market, where produce would be on display and there would be coolers with some fresh meat. Instead I got a personal tour of a working farm including a look at the pregnant pigs and baby chicks. They have imported Peking ducks from China, roosters from Africa and pigs from the US; quite a cosmopolitan farm. I did feel a bit guilty thinking of bacon as I looked at the pigs but as I walked away with $50 of free range chicken breast, rocket salad, fresh rosemary and mint the guilt slid away. Tonight I plan to make roasted potatoes, chicken breast and salad and this will be the second meal I will cook since January (the first being pasta when I was in the states for the 4th of July).

Shimla

Shimla was simply beautiful. The fog was perfect. Dense, blowing and just a bit warm. This is a town I would easily visit again to go hiking and relax. In particular, I liked that Shimla gave many signs of being an "environmentalist" town. We saw school children protesting forest logging. Though there was the usual litter and black exhaust spewing from tailpipes...

Megan gives a detailed description of the weekend here.

Terrorism

I never really imagined that I would post on this topic but it's impossible to ignore the current events. I was at a dinner party and a guy answered his mobile. When he hung up and returned to the group he excitedly explained that a series of bombs had exploded in Ahmadabad...he was quoting number of bombs and numbers of people dead. The contrast of our music/food/wine and the knowledge that there bombs going off somewhere in India was very disconcerting. And, this was following bombings in Jaipur earlier this year.

People are talking about how it's just a matter of time until 'they' bomb Delhi...which totally freaks me out...and all I can really hope for is that if that happens, I won't be near it...which strikes me as a very selfish thought...but it's really how I feel.

UPDATE - Nov 21, 2008

Following the blasts in Jaipur and Ahmadabad, there were events in Bangalore and then there were bombings in Delhi in September.

Luckily, I was not in Delhi at the time. Megan and I were eating dinner in a very lively bar/pub in the Himalayan town of Mcleod Ganj (where the Dalai Lama lives) when I received a text message asking me if I was ok. Completely confused, I called the friend who sent the message. She explained that two bombs had gone off in very popular shopping districts in Delhi...three more bombs exploded after we hung up. Immediately I started checking on all of my co-workers and friends. Amazingly very few people were actually killed (this is truly amazing considering how popular the locations are for shopping).

The source of the violence appears to be a Muslim group called Indian Mujahideen . Honestly, I don't understand all of it...but this group has claimed responsibility for a lot of nasty things lately.

What I find more interesting is the reactions. For a lot of my friends/co-workers, there was about 20 minutes of panic and once they concluded that everyone they knew was ok things went back to normal. In fact, even the location of the bombs have gone back to normal and it would be very difficult to find the actual location now.

For me the effect has been a bit more lasting. Whereas usually I love the 4th of July and firecrackers, I did not enjoy the 'cracker' exuberence during Diwali. When an errant firecracker went off in the garage under our building I was terrified and shaking for a few minutes. I don't think the Mujahideen is going to bomb my apartment complex but loud blast really get my attention these days. While I know no place in the world is safe; leaving this country where terrorism is a part of life will be a welcome change.

Shiva

Kawariyas are the approximately 6-7 million followers of Shiva that walk annually to Haridwar, a city in Northern India, gather water from the Ganga river and bring it back to Lord Shiva in their hometowns. Shiva is the destroyer god in Hinduism as well as one of the three heavyweights amongst the many thousands.

My first sightings of these missionaries dressed in orange was when I was in Varanasi. I assumed that this event was specific to the holy city and was quite surprised to see thousands of men (and a couple of women) walking through Delhi and Gurgaon for almost a month.

I've walked two marathons and understand that it's not easy to walk 26.2 miles and this is given weeks of training as well as high tech shoes and fancy apparel. These people just get up one day and walk hundreds of miles without training and certainly without Nike's. Some men were even barefoot! And so I was completely impressed with the endeavor from a athletic perspective. I also liked the flashy orange uniform and highly decorated water carrying devices.

Carrying the marathon theme a bit further the support system for this event was phenomenal. Hundreds of miles of Indians supported the kawariyas with food and places to rest and bandage sore feet. And for a country that does not seem to believe in road safety, a protective sidewalk suddenly appeared in Gurgaon. All in all, a very impressive display.

Tax Time

India is a rampantly sexist country...which is fine, I can deal with it...but this blew my mind.

There is a verification on my Indian income tax filing that includes my father's name. Essentially the words read, "I, Heather, the daughter of SSR, solemnly declare that to the best of my knowledge.....mind you I also have a unique tax ID number as well.

What does my father have to do with my income tax return?

Home

First trip home....was a work trip. Barely saw my family but managed to see a ton of friends over the 4th of July, went to a few doctor's appointments and checked in on my house (LOVE the new hot tub). Also got a sail in on the Bay.

But each time I get onto the plane to leave home, it's hard to stop the tears.

Time Differences

Reason #713 why I love my BlackBerry:

Even though the Swiss are obsessed with time, they do not have clocks everywhere and especially not at the beach. And when my phone clock is stuck on Indian Standard Time, I can still use Google Search and query the “current time in Switzerland” and it gives perfect time. Quite convoluted solution, but this translates to fewer annoying questions to strangers. Do you know what time it is?

Power of Language

In the last week I’ve done some serious traveling*. I’ve loved every minute of it but one of the things that really made an impression on me is the power of language (especially from my position of knowing a little bit of a lot of different languages). Though many of my interactions are completely superficial – Hello, Good Day, Thank You, How Much? – these simple phrases are still important in order to function in any town and I feel that, as a visitor, I should be able to converse in the native language.

My co-workers in India give me a really hard time because I’ve stopped going to Hindi lessons and therefore my Hindi vocabulary is limited to common daily phrases, numbers and some clutch shopping directives. Based on this limited capability, what amazed me the most was when I was forced to quickly order breakfast in French (I have studied French for the longest time starting Freshman year of high school) it was Hindi that came to mind first (though maybe it was actually Hinglish). “deux café creame” wanted to come out as “do coffee.” Luckily, as I have spent more time listening to the French speaking Swiss and Parisians, my French came back to me and the Hindi (what little that was there has quickly departed).

Yesterday, while shopping, I met the most adorable chocolatier in Lausanne. (He made chocolate from the heart which gave him the authority to call his chocolate the best in the world!) He asked me where I was from and upon learning that I was from California, he wanted to speak Spanish. Now this should have been a cinch; Spanish has been around me my entire life. Unfortunately Spanish was gone. Totally gone. Couldn’t even muster “my name is Heather” in Spanish. But what did come to mind were some random Italian words (mi amo??)….weird.

Then today, I went on a quick trip up to Zurich which is the German speaking part of Switzerland. For context, my German is about on par with my Hindi – limited to very limited. Again, what came to mind first was Hindi! Totally weird.

So what does all this mean? All I can come up with is that I’ve been in India for long enough for it to really stick to me. And after all this language talk, the most interesting new language I’ve heard is Ebo (native to Nigeria) at the Lausanne Train Station and French remains my favorite.

*These are the cities/languages I’ve been exposed to in the last 10 days - Mumbai/Hindi, Delhi/Hindi, Hyderabad/Urdu, Lausanne/French, Paris/French, Zurich/German.

Looking Forward To.....

....seeing my family and friends.
....swimming, surfing, sailing, spinning.
....a burrito from Villa Corona in Napa and Taqueria Cancun in the Mission and a mole taco from my taco shop on 24th.
....seeing Martha and slowly sipping a latte d'Heather.
....the Olympic Club pool and water polo practice on Tuesday (I think it's on Tuesday??).
....driving my car on 280; almost can't imagine driving without cows and dogs in the road.
....fog, cold mornings and hot afternoons.
....a deep breath of fresh air and the stars at night.

I'm sure there are other things but this is what has really been on my mind...food and exercise and the weather. I'll be home July 3rd-12th it's less than a month away and I can't wait!

Elevator Madness

I am going to attempt to describe the elevator scene at 8.25am in my office building. It may seem that I am obsessed with the elevators because this is my second posting but the reason I share this experience is because it defies my personal logic . Each time I take the elevator at 8.25am and observe my own behavior, I'm forced to laugh at myself. Ok, here goes...

Since most offices in the building seem to start work right at 8.30am, at 8.25 there can be up to 30 people waiting for an elevator at the ground floor, where I enter the building. There are at least two basement levels and 15 above ground levels plus a stairwell. My preference would be to take the stairs because this is usually the healthy option. However this is perhaps the most unhealthy thing I could do in India because everyone smokes in the stairwell and there is absolutely no ventilation. So, no stairs. Also, as these 30 people are waiting, they start to guess which elevator will open next and they begin to crowd around the next logical elevator. But usually when that elevator's doors open, it's already full and we have to wait for the next one.

There is a trick to avoid this annoying situation. Especially during busy times, I first ride the elevator down when I want to go up and ride up when I want to go down. This kind of inverse logic applies to quite a few situations in India (most things related to a queue, driving and shopping) and understanding this actually helps me get things done.

I'm starting to figure this place out...

Delhi Daze

Some random thoughts of a deep, and not so deep, nature....

Just finished "The Power of One" and I'm ashamed that I had not read the book earlier. This is my favorite quote, "The power of one is above all things the power to believe in yourself, often well beyond any latent ability you may have previously demonstrated. The mind is the athlete; the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further or box better." I believe this wholeheartedly. Thank you goes to Megan for recommending that I read the book.

Mom and Brian are coming to visit next week. Brian's visit was planned but Mom's is a surprise I get an energy boost each time I think about having some relaxing time to spend with her in the city that I have grown to really enjoy.....for those who are wondering, that city is Delhi....not Gurgaon.

Mango, Mango, Mango

In January it was papaya....in May it's mango. So ripe and abundant. I love Indian Mango.

Let's Chaat

Chaat, (pronounced 'chat') as I understand it, means snack. There is a chaat walla at my office and for the first two months I stayed away from him. He stood behind a counter filled with many buckets of colorful condiments, most of which looked like they could turn my stomach upside down. Looking back, this was entirely because chaat was an unknown entity. The first chaat I ate was the closest thing to a tostada that I have ever tasted without actually being a tostada. Seriously, it reminded me of a Taco Bell run after a morning at Linda Mar. Padpri chaat, pictured above, even kind of looks like a tostada.....or have I just been craving Mexican food for too long.

Grocery List

A while back someone asked that I not forget to share the mundane things and I thought this was fairly mundane and also mildly amusing. Below is the grocery shopping list that was passed from the old house manager, Kaphil, to the new, Arif.

This list came with explicit instructions that these items should have a never-ending supply.

Gatorade
Lemon Soda – Sugar Free
Nestle Skim Milk
Yogurt – Strawberry, Mango
Brown bread
Peanut butter
Gelatto – Hazelnut, Chocolate Mint
Kellogs Corn flakes with honey

I should add that this is meant to keep Megan and I blissfully happy for breakfast and dessert. The two conclusions I arrived at when presented this list was that it's not all that different from what I want in the kitchen back in the US and that I eat a lot of dairy products.

42 Degrees

Celsius that is. For those who think in Fahrenheit, that converts to 107.6 degrees. The humidity, recorded at 16%, barely even registers but everyone predicts when the humidity will arrive. I acknowledge that Delhi is warm, but I had no idea it was that hot! And it really surprises me that I'm not melting at 42 Celsius after my prior week spent in cold, cloudy, 4 Celsius Dublin, Ireland. Ah, well. I'm heading north soon; hopefully for white water rafting on the Ganges (near the source where it's clean and COLD).

Dublin Days

A simple list of what saw over in 8 days in Dublin. Technically, I only had 3 days to sight see because I was working the other 5....so if you are familiar with Dublin, you should be impressed. This is in chronological order:

Trinity College - kids these days.....
Grafton Street - American consumerism has been imported; love Brown Thomas
St Stephen's Green - urban park with blooming tulips
Temple Bar - "cultural center" with a lot going on, including a farmers markets and...
The Stags Head - a proper Irish pub with Guinness on tap
Dun Laoghaire - shouted at a violent sea and met NorCal bakery couple at a farmers market
Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains - hiked in the mist and rain
Guinness Stock House - a freshly brewed pint high above the Dublin skyline
Malahide - sadly the castle was closed but the beach was fabulous
Grand Canal - one long walk and one short jog; convinced me that I could live in Dublin
Book of Kells - great museum exhibit; wonderful ornate pages
Dalkey - played with dogs on the beach...again, fabulous
The Mermaid Cafe - dinner date with myself

Many thanks to Tim for showing me around; both on foot as well as in his new Audi A3. My parting wish is that whenever I return to Dublin, I will swim in the Irish Sea with his father.

Soul Cleansing

Clean air, cloudy sky, blowing fog and biting cold temperature could not have been more welcome after three months in India. My Irish Sunday - latte in hand, a coastal farmers market, a hike in the hills and a quiet dinner of tomato soup with whole wheat toast – absolute heaven.

Tuesday Morning

To my delight, the brand spanking new airport in Hyderabad has a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Café open at 5.30am. This morning I ordered a non-fat latte with a beaming smile on my face and enjoyed each sip immensely. As much as I love my morning cup of chai, I like lattes better and I’ll be dreaming of Martha Bros for a couple of nights.

When I got back to Gurgaon I saw monkeys at the toll plaza. I’ve read stories about unruly packs of monkeys in Delhi but have only seen a few around the city and none, prior to today, in Gurgaon (there was one adorable pet monkey in Agra…it was straddled, arms clasped around its owner's waist on a motorbike….).

All this happened before 9am. Let’s just say it’s been an active Tuesday morning and today, April 15th, marks my three month anniversary of living in India. The time has flown and it has already been a life changing experience.

PS I have approx 10 postings pent up to describe my trip around India with ME and my plan is to put them up in chronological order so if you want to read about that trip, you’ll have to dig into the archives at a later point in time.

Elephant Walla

I had to pinch myself last Wednesday night as I placed a call to an elephant walla (this translates to elephant guy) to arrange an elephant ride in Delhi for the seven expats/visitors who were going to be in town on Sunday.

The experience ranked high on the bizarre scale as I rode atop an elephant that mingled with traffic on a side street in Delhi. However, when it was over, my feelings about the morning were mixed. It may sound strange but I could not connect with the animal (as a reference point, I now connect with cows and dogs on the street, sometimes within a single look) and spent a fair amount of time trying to decide if the animal was better off carting people around in Delhi but not knowing what alternatives the elephant had. I became frustrated because I couldn’t communicate with the elephant owner or even determine how old the elephant was (somewhere between 35 and 75 years old). And then there was the haggling over the price with the elephant walla and the realization that bait and switch tactics have become too common. Even as I write this post I am still not sure if the whole experience was enjoyable and bizarre or just bizarre.

I finished the day with 5 hour brunch at the Oberoi. All the lobster, sushi, salad and dessert I could eat with complementary pour of Moet. That part was enjoyable.

Go-Go Goa

A quick weekend jaunt to Anjuna Beach in Goa with co-workers was exactly what I needed to kick start the longest vacation I've taken in a while. Following an easy flight and harrowing taxi ride from the airport, Scott and I arrived at "The Orange House" in Anjuna. For a cool Rs 600 per night ($15) we got our money's worth; a bed, a fan, a sink, a toilet and a shower. The weather was hot and muggy and the landscape was green and lush . In many ways, I was reminded of other vacations in the beaches/jungles of Mexico and Costa Rica.

For the most part we (there were 9 of us in total) spent two days sitting on the beach, drinking the local brew Kings Pilsner and munching on Indian snacks. The beach was pretty remote and it felt like we were at the end of the world. The highlights included: some rough water swimming in the Arabian Sea, catching a great beach sunset, shopping at a huge international flea market (Ingo), scooting around the back roads of Anjuna while avoiding yak traffic, mendhi henna on the beach and knowing that when I returned to Delhi Mo was waiting at the airport to join me in two weeks of travel all over India.

Chandigarh

Modernism and urban design are not terms that leap to mind when thinking of India. So when I learned that a town designed by Le Corbusier was just a 3 hour train ride away, I was determined to go and check it out. I studied urban Utopian design in college and was familiar with images and philosophy behind Le Corbusier's tall buildings, large public spaces and wide boulevards. However, what I did not expect was the lack of emotion in the practical implementation of Le Corbusier's design.

If you look at the pictures, you will see empty streets, cool modern fountains and large plazas with just a few people loitering around. These pictures were taken in the commercial district of Sector 17 (the city is built on a perfect grid) during the afternoon; the space should have been a buzz with commerce but it appears to be totally dead. In the US and in Europe, I tend to appreciate this type of design however, in all manners of speaking, this is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from the rest of the cities in India . The irony is that for most my time in India, I have craved linear structure and order but as soon as it was presented, the logical presentation felt empty and sad. To be fair, it's really hard for me to separate my emotional connections to the chaos of India (I have accepted chaos as part of the way things are and therefore, chaos is normal). So, when presented with a city plan that agreed with my mind but not my heart, I felt a huge disconnect.

Aside from the city plan, Megan and I checked out a really cool (back to chaos) rock garden/maze built by a transportation engineer from Chandigarh. While inside the garden we played on some swings and rode a camel. I could not stop giggling while on the camel....totally hilarious experience! Megan does a better job of describing our time in Chandigarh but I'll add one comment which is that I never want to cut it that close with a train again...we stepped onto the train as it pulled out of the station. Whew!

U Turn

Just as soon as driving the wrong way on a one lane road became normal to me, Amit revealed a new traffic violation; wrong way on a one lane U Turn. The maneuver was truly heroic because we needed a running start in order to horizontally cross three lanes of traffic and not t-bone the car on the metal traffic barrier (as shown in the photo). Good times.

BollyWould

Jodha Akbar was my first - but will not be my last - Bollywood movie. Nearly four hours long, the movie is the most recently Bollywood block buster and I checked it out on Saturday night. Classic story of an arranged marriage between a handsome prince and a willful woman who is in love with another man. I was absolutely captivated by the jewlery and fabrics. Maybe you will be so lucky to watch the version with English subtitles with me sometime.

New York Times Article

Gurgaon made it to the NYT this weekend (thanks for the head's up Bri). The pictures are exactly what I see on my drive home each night. If you click on the title of this blog post, it should take you to the article.

It's about how parts of India are developing so quickly and how they deal with energy, emissions and growth. I completely agree with the final point, which is that India has a chance to redefine the rules about energy consumption which are more evolved than 'the west.' The trouble is that I can't tell if Indians have an awareness of conservation. Where ever I see prosperity in India, people are consuming on a level that rivals America coupled with a ton of waste. Not just with energy, but with almost everything. And surprisingly, Indians in higher socio-economic classes, where I would expect people to be educated and aware of conservation are not as aware as I would expect. There is a culture of consumption instead of conservation. My biggest pet-peaves are that people litter and the absence of recycling. And trust me, I understand that part of the reason these things bother me so much is because I was raised in Northern California, but they still point to the larger issue - that people don't seem to care.

On the bright side, they are building a Metro line on the street right outside my apartment at an astonishing speed. I am convinced that they will be done with the construction before I leave India and this public transportation link into Delhi will absolutely remove thousands of cars daily.

One final point about my current home town...many people have stated that they hate living in this Delhi suburb but I've grown to enjoy it (my interest in urban development has never left me even though I don't use the degree). I get to see a developing city in the middle of a developing nation as well as be a part of the development. To me, this experience is just as exciting as my travels and daily work.

Beautiful Delhi

Summer, at least summer as I know it, has arrived in Delhi. This weekend the temperature was warm, the air was clear and I finally went to Lodhi Garden and the Lotus Temple.

I was prepared for the Lotus Temple to be a quickie tourist stop but I ended up sitting inside the temple on a cool marble bench for over an hour. To enter the Bahai temple I removed my shoes and walked up a set of warm stairs before entering a structure that looks very similar to the Sydney Opera House. The temperature was 10 degrees cooler than the outside and guests were directed to sit on very plain, white marble and teak benches in silence. Within the stark white interior and enforced silence I realized that over the last 6 weeks I've become accustomed to sensory overload of the visual and aural kind. It was almost unsettling....but I have a feeling the Lotus Temple will be a great place to escape in the future.

Lodhi Garden is Delhi's version of Golden Gate Park or Central Park...though much smaller. It's also a place where couples go to make out. It's actually quite funny because these may be lovers who's families don't approve and so they make out in private....kind of....there are a handful of green park benches which are perfectly placed facing a large hedge or bush so that when other people walk past, they can't see the faces of the couples smooching. I sat down in the wide open, on slightly damp grass and read Shantaram.

Found It

Not that I was actually looking for it...but I now know where Delhi has a yuppie, head-banger bar. Cafe Morrison (playing rock music from Metallica to Creed to The Doors all night long) in South Extension was the site of James' going away party. He's headed back to Dublin and I'm not sure family dinner will be the same without him. (pictures coming soon...)

Palak Paneer

Tonight Abdul taught me how he makes Palak Paneer and so I am teaching you. At every opportunity, I eat this dish and have become a bit of a connoisseur; Abdul's ranks very near the top. On the topic of food, tonight I realized that I now eat most Indian meals with my hands. This is how Indians eat the food and I've grown accustomed to dipping bread in the gravy and grabbing chunks of paneer and chicken with paratha. And I try to use my right hand exclusively because the left hand is considered unclean.

All of the measurements are approximations because no measuring instruments were used. Ok, here is the recipe.

Palak Paneer (Spinach with Cottage Cheese)

1/3 Cu cooking oil in a super hot pan
5 dry whole red chili's (add to oil and stir)
2-3 Tbs whole cumin seed (add to oil and stir)
2-3 Tbs chopped garlic (add to oil and stir, wait until brown)
1/3 Cu chopped onion (add to oil and stir, wait until brown)
1/2 Cu chopped tomato
1Tbs garam masala
1Tbs cumin seed powder
1Tbs chili powder
1Tbs tumeric powder
3 Tbs fenugreek aka methi

Add 2 Cu boiled spinach that has been pulverized in the food processor and let the gravy reduce.
Add salt and butter to taste and add 1/4 Cu milk.

Lastly add 1 Cu chopped paneer

Ek, Do, Tin

One, two three. I've started Hindi language lessons this week which means I have a much better understanding of what is going on around me. It may seem pathetic that I've waited this long now that the learning has begun I'm really happy now that I can communicate with the people around me on a daily basis.

And for a total non-sequitur. I am convinced that cars in Delhi are all destined to break down in the diagonal position and block two of the four 'lanes' of traffic in the process.

Next up, yoga classes.

More Random Thoughts....

...Went shopping at a wholesale sari shop (not sure which is more correct, sari or saree) and now I'm looking for an occasion to wear my new Southern Indian sari...
...Sunday brunch has become the most decadent part of my week. Seriously, it might keep me in India longer that planned...
...I love having guests!!!!! Thanks Wallace and Patricia...

Mohan's Wedding

Wallace Holland (Tam's husband) came into town and he was my first official guest. After working in Bangalore for two weeks he was in Delhi to attend his coworker's wedding. Lucky me, I was also invited.

The bride is from the North and the groom is from the South and so the wedding was a mix of different traditions. The couple had been dating for around 10 years and so this wedding was a 'love marriage' and not arranged by the families. It was such a different experience than an American wedding that every single part was eye opening. Despite being almost two hours late, we arrived in time for the 7 circles around the fire, the most important part of a Hindi ceremony. The timing of the ceremony, noon to 12.30 on Valentines Day, was chosen by a priest who read the couple's horoscopes to choose the exact time. Essentially, the stars predicted a Valentine's Day wedding.

The sari's were beautiful and most of them were in the Southern style. Stiff raw silk with detailed gold embroidery on the edge and beautiful colors. Northern sari's tend to be silk georgette with a lot of crystals sewn on and they are nice but not really my style so the opportunity to see a very different style of sari.

Perhaps my favorite part was at the end when we were sitting and talking with Mohan's friends. It was casual and and I could tell their friends were really happy that everything worked out. Indian weddings are about the joining of the families and the bride becoming part of the groom's family. This is very different from American traditions where the new couple tend to become independent from both families. However, the support from friends is exactly the same.

Less that 24hrs in Jaipur

Jaipur. I've been hearing about Jaipur for weeks now and with no real plan in place, Megan and I bought bus tickets for a 5+ hour bus ride into Rajasthan Friday night. A moment about the bus stop; it is a stretch of road about 3 blocks from our house that looks exactly like every other stretch of road in India. And when we were standing on this stretch of road, all we had for guidance was that we were to get on 'the Volvo.' Luckily we also had a co-worker to help guide us.

We arrived in the middle of the night and all Megan and I wanted to do on Saturday was shop for textiles in the Pink City. I know shopping is not the best mission when in the middle of a state with an incredibly rich history with amazing castles and elephants and tigers and cannons, but that was really our only ambition.

So with no plan in mind, Megan and I were lucky enough to get a fabulous tour from our co-worker Palavi. We went to the City Palace (where the 11th King of Jaipur still lives!) and really had a good time in the textile museum. The palace guards had great uniforms as well.

Then we headed for the hills to the Jaigarh Fort where we saw the worlds larges cannon and then down the hill to the Amber Palace. These two stops are rather touristy but well deserved. They are totally impressive, massive buildings nestled into the hillside and each of them are large enough to house an entire city. I have finally gotten used to the labyrinth of rooms in these palaces and it's fun to climb the towers and turn corners and unexpectedly find another huge courtyard. In Jaigarh we followed the sound of music to find a puppet show....along the road back to the Pink City I finally saw elephant and camel traffic (very cool!).

After a quick delicious meal, a Lassiwalla and a fervent hour of bargaining for textiles we were heading back to Gurgaon on the 7.30pm bus. I'll be returning to Rajasthan a couple of times but I doubt I'll be able to cover as much ground in such a short amount of time.

Hyderabad

Early last Monday I was on a plane to Hyderabad (south and in the middle of India) for work. When I left Delhi it was freezing cold and foggy and I arrived in Hyderabad it was a balmy 80 degrees and the women were all dressed in short sleeves colorful sari's. It was really fun to see another city and contrast it to my construction zone of a home. Looking forward to more trips to Hyd and some warmer weather.

Random Thought

I eat a HUGE bowl of chopped papaya every morning and for about 5 minutes a day I'm convinced that I'm back in Hanalei.

Lal Qil'al

Megan and I explored Old Delhi and Lal Qil'al (or the Red Fort) on Sunday. This was the first time I used my Indian residency papers to get the non-foreigner fare at a tourist attraction (for residents the fare is Rs20 for foreigners Rs200). I got chuckle at the admission gate attendant's shock when I presented an Indian resident ticket.

I'm quite sure it was an impressive palace in it's day but once through the impressive red sandstone gate the rest of the fort was falling apart. The remaining structures give very little evidence of the extravagance of the 15th century but when I realized that it was a string of buildings dedicated to bathing my opinion changed. Water, the Stream of Paradise to be exact, was meant to flow through the string of pavilions. Adding visions of flowing water, lush grass, gold plated ceilings and rich fabrics I could even envision myself lounging around on a lazy Sunday.

After the Red Fort I impressed myself with some serious bartering for a pair of camel skin Punjabi shoes and ate a fabulous dinner at Karim's. The one regret was that we did not get into the mosque in Old Delhi; it's the largest mosque in the entire city....good thing I'm here for a while.

Karim's

This is my favorite Indian meal. Palak Paneer, Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken and Naan. Thank Ganesh that the royal chefs know how to cook it! Karim's in Old Delhi is one of the best places in town for great tandoori.

My well being

This man is responsible for my well being. This week he has said things like, "I will take some of your illness so you will have less" and "when you are happy, I am happy." And he really means it. Today Capil, Megan and I went grocery shopping. The goal was to find some snack foods and I thought we were going to an American style grocery store. In fact we went the Gurgaon bazaar but not before we crossed a few major intersections on foot - and this is a really big deal for me because it's TERRIFYING to cross the road. I could blame it on Saturday morning laziness but I did not make a grocery list. And when we got to the bazaar I was totally over stimulated. Needless to say, Capil was very patient as Megan and I picked out a couple of things (cashews, almonds, pasta, sugar and sweet potatoes and a pair of socks). After the morning adventure I felt so much more confident walking around Gurgaon and later that afternoon in Delhi. And that is why Capil is a good protector of my well being.

Combiflam or Sinarest

I have a cold....nothing too horrible, but I'm congested and have a bit of a sore throat. A couple days ago I decided that I wanted some medicine and was totally lost. For my entire life, the first call at the slightest onset of illness, was to my mother, a nurse practitioner. I could describe my symptoms and she would hand me a pill, I never really had to figure much out.

The grocery store didn't carry medicine and when I asked at work the two possible symptoms could be fever or aches. Congestion was not an option. For fever or aches I could take combiflam or sinarest. These were my options.

The first time I heard the word combiflam I laughed out loud. It sounds more like an extra special Mexican dessert. Taken out of context medicine names are pretty funny.

I went with combiflam for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday night medicine is Kingfisher.

A Royal Beating

After being a "VIP" at the Wagah border on Saturday night, it was quite nice to find my Monday evening VIP invitation from the Minister of Defense (along with a couple thousand other VIP's) for the Beating Retreat celebration.

Everyone seemed to think that attending a retreat was a special event, but no one had actually attended one. So I didn't really know what to expect. What ended up happening was a really cool marching band display where the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force displayed their finest. It was as if UCLA, USC and Cal marching bands came together and tried to one up each other. I loved it!

And to add to the whole experience, there was a row of 22 camels that kept watch over the event. And just when we thought the whole event was over...at that right moment of dusk....the entire place lit up like Tivoli Gardens. Totally worth it.

Transport & the Weather

The auto rickshaw ride is crazy exciting. The device is a bit bigger than a vespa and can produce a similar rush. In Amritsar the majority of the traffic was bikes, tractors and horse drawn so it seemed less life threatening to careen around street corners on three wheels at 25mph. Auto rickshaw is a major form of transportation in India but I'm still not ready for this mode in a big city like Delhi.

The trip back to Delhi from Amritsar was uneventful aside from the usual chaotic drive on Indian roads; we nearly ran down an old man on a bicycle. And the International airport was under construction...

A quick comment on the weather; it was cold in Amritsar and that's why I'm wearing a heavy sweater in most of the pictures. We are even planning for freezing weather this weekend in Delhi. This cold weather is a big motivator to go see as much of the country as possible before the heat and the monsoons set in later in the year.

Jallinwala Bagh

Jallinwala Bagh was the location of the leisurely afternoon in the sun. There was a park just off the Golden Temple where he British opened fire on unsuspecting park goers in 1919. On our Sunday in Jallinwala Bagh the sun was out, kids were flying kites and folks were promenading and relaxing and we looked past the bullet holes in the walls to enjoy the day. This was one place where I "felt" the staring of the locals; other groups on the lawn oriented themselves so that they could watch the five of us as we snapped pictures and caught them looking at us. By now I realize that just comes with the territory.

Pakistan Border

The Pakistan border flag lowering was a spectacle but at the same time, similar to something you may see in Washington DC. There was a particularly large Indian contingent because Jan 26th was India's Republic Day . Keep in mind, India and Pakistan have not had the friendliest past and one person I spoke with explained that the closing of this border crossing is one of the earliest indicators of rising tension.

Megan and I laughed quite a bit when we were pulled out of the crowd and given good seats as VIP's. As it turned out women, children, vertical challenged, elderly - really any person that was not a young male - became a VIP. Though I can't add Pakistan to my list of countries visited, I can now say that I have now looked at Pakistan with my naked eye.

The Golden Temple

The visit into the Golden Temple was very powerful. Before this trip I did not know much about the Sikh religion and I have a newfound respect for the customs and beliefs (one god, somewhere between Hindi and Muslim, strong work ethic and not afraid to fight).

What I like the most about the religion is that the 10th Guru passed the spiritual baton to a book. And it is this book that is housed within the Golden Temple. Another interesting fact about Sikh's is that men take the last name Singh and all women take the last name Kaur.

The five of us walked around the perimeter and then waited for over an hour to enter the gold center chamber. Time flew by mostly because there was chanting broadcast from inside the temple and people around were singing along.

Train to Amritsar

After mild panic when half of the crew (the five of us; James, Heba, Megan, Tim and I stood out like big 'ole tourists) was dropped off on the wrong side of the expansive New Delhi train station, we were off with fairly little excitement. The train was very nice but I know that we paid top dollar to be in first class with A/C. It was so nice to get outside of Delhi and Gurgaon to see what Indian countryside looks like. For the most part, the state of Punjab reminded me of California. Green fields divided by roads. From the train window, I looked back to Delhi and caught the sunset. The sky was an amazing palate of vibrant purple, orange and pink. Sadly, I was reminded that very polluted air causes the brilliant colors.

Since it was my birthday weekend, Megan and I splurged on a very nice B&B that was just perfect. Transport from the train depot was arranged and we were welcomed with a cup of tea. For the first time in over a week, it was quiet. No noise at all.

First Time for Everything

I ventured outside of Delhi this weekend and came away with many first time experiences. In just about 48 hours I did so many things it's really difficult to summarize. I'll try to keep this posting to just the highlights but be sure to check out the pictures (the link is over on the right hand side of the blog titled "Heather's India Pictures") and you can post questions or email me if you'd like.

Quick version: This was my first...
...train trip - took the Shatabdi Express for ~1150 rupees or $30 for a 7 hour ride
...view of the Indian country side - a bit like the Central Valley
...train food experience - actually very good!
...moment of silence
...auto rickshaw ride - and second and third and fourth....
...temple - The Golden Temple to be exact
...flag lowering ceremony at the Pakistan border
...upset stomach while in India
...leisurely afternoon in the sun while in India

Power Struggles

Gurgaon is well known to have power problems. On the drive into work I can see people tapping directly into the municipal power lines overhead. And so far, there is a power outage for approx 2 minutes EVERY NIGHT!

Another daily power struggle is getting into the elevator at work in the morning. There are 10 elevator shafts, divided into two sections. Despite the seemingly large number of opportunities to get into an elevator, it's been really difficult to predict which elevator will actually have room and more often than not, the elevator I am standing in front of is full (at least my version of full as I have repeatedly watched people just walk past me and squeeze in like clowns into a firetruck). If I was a patient person, I would wait for one elevator shaft and probably be on my way in a minute or two. But this is not what I actually do. Instead I scurry between the two banks looking for just the right one and the whole ordeal takes quite a while. Despite the mild bit of frustration, I have found this morning exercise rather comical.

This morning in particular, these two power struggles collided. The service elevator (unfortunately, this is the one I usually end up in) at the office had a power problem. I am not sure if it was a surge or a failure. All I can say is that very few of my sporting events can compare to the adrenaline dump into my bloodstream this morning as that vestibule a hop and a skip up and down the elevator shaft. No more service elevator for me.

At this point I should also point out that I promise not to focus on the banal parts of my life in India. But I do want to include the parts of my day that are either absolutely bizarre or really memorable.

What is it you require?

The form of English spoken in India is derived from British English which is different from American English. And I'll be honest, there are some phrases that catch me off guard, partly because the sound like commands and partly because the words just don't sound quite right to me. After learning a bit of Hindi, the phrases below are a combination of British English and Hindi English (the commanding tone in particular is from Hindi).

Revert the same
Tell me
My pleasures
Same, same....but, different

And my favorite....spoken regularly by the house staff;

What is it you require?

Site Seeing - Qutub Minar & Humayun's Tomb

Megan and I checked out two Delhi tourist sites on Sunday. Though it was a bit cold, the weather was clear and beautiful.

Qutub Minar - we splurged (200 rupees ~ $5.00) for a guide and though I can't find it in a lot of guide books, our guide explained that the Minar was actually a tall sundial and that there are 24 ridges around the Minar, each corresponding with an hour of the day. What I found most salient about this site was that the overlap of Muslim and Hindi symbols is everywhere.

Humayun's Tomb - We arrived at HT late in the afternoon during a tourist lull and it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. The buildings reminded me of pictures of the Taj Mahal but the gardens had a European feel and there were a handful of people lounging on the grass. Both of us thought it would be nice to come back on and relax on the grass on a nice day.

By the end of the day Megan and I were exhausted but we still attempted to in Connaught Place (CP). Shopping was not meant to be because the stores were closed on Sunday. Instead we went to Banana Leaf in CP and had South Indian cuisine. The dosa was fabulous!

Honk Please

So far, my favorite part of the day is driving to and from work; it is a visual orgy. Every day, mass chaos ensues on the road, on the side of the road and even sometimes above the road. Yet, the driver always arrives at the destination without accident (one week of driving and I have yet to see a major accident). To get through each drive I convince myself that the car is armored.

Let's talk about the honking. Being a California driver where the horn is a last resort I originally found the honking totally annoying. Now I realize that noise is way that each driver indicates when a potential accident may happen. Most large trucks even have the words "Honk Please" painted on the back to encourage other drivers to indicate when they are near.

And amazingly, the drivers remain totally calm. Literally, another car can be inches away and both drivers are just calmly checking their mirrors and listening to music. I can't imagine myself ever driving here and I have relinquished all back seat driving authority.

Random thoughts collected in one place

.....when I wake up in the morning my first sensation is the smell of a campfire. It's comforting.
.....Gurgaon is a town where high rise offices buildings are being built out of brick.
.....a co-worker mentioned that a crane accidentally hit the window of the cafeteria the other day. I really hope that doesn't happen again.
.....I have an uncanny ability to catch the sight of men peeing on the side of the road. Megan has not seen one yet and I can find 3 in under 15 seconds.

Dinner in Delhi

Last night we (Megan, James, Tim, Heba and I) went to Baluchi in the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Delhi. For my first experience with high end Indian food in India, it was awesome. The palak paneer (my favorite dish at home) was amazing! They also had live entertainment playing in the background. It was a total immersion experience and when you come to visit I will take you here.

I should also explain that there is a fun group of Googlers that I spend a fair amount of time with and we are all working in Gurgaon. Tim and James are from Dublin, Ireland, Heba is from the Bay Area and Megan is my "partner in crime" for the entire 9 months. The five of us do dinner together each night and catch up on each other's day. Already feels a bit like family.

Journey to the Motherland

The flights (SFO to Munich and then to Delhi) were long but I slept through most of it. The highlight of the journey was sitting next to Jimmy, a former Tibetan monk (his monastery was outside of Nice, France) who was making his way to Dharmasala India (this is where the Tibetan government lives in exile) where he and his wife now live. These days, Jimmy leads meditation retreats all over the world and talking to him helped ease me into the many juxtapositions of India.

After traveling for 22 hours, I feel pretty good and even went into the office for a half day, though I am starting to crash. Driving through Gurgaon has been the biggest adventure. I have yet to see the $2,500 car but I have seen goats, cows, rickshaws, jam packed buses and a BMW.

The living situation is very nice. Marble floors, a huge walk in closet and there is bathtub with jets in the bathroom. Oh, and three men live in a room off the kitchen. The cook, Abdul, has made a big impression. He came to my bedroom to introduce himself and he also did a bit of supervision when cable tv was being installed. Abdul has also taken it upon himself to teach me some Hindi.

Overall, I am very happy that I'm here and really excited about this adventure.