September 1, 2006

Part II, Chapter 2

My manage apologies, all. Friday was busier than expected and I encountered technical difficulties on arriving in Delhi. Here's the latest, however. Look for photos sometime later on today, maybe.

THURSDAY (continued)

Thursday already had been a busy day – seeing Haji Ali while Vivek did his visa interview, visiting his old apartment colony, walking along Marine Drive and shopping for clothes.

To finish the day, I had asked to see Ganesh in Laulbaug, a neighborhood in Bombay that traditionally has the biggest idol for the festival. This sounded to me like a pretty easy thing to do. We'd seen dozens of lean-to Ganesh temples along the streets, and I was usually able to catch a glimpse of the statues within from the street.

Little did I know that the Hindi conversation in the car that followed my request – relayed by Vivek to his parents – was our driver warning us that the big Ganesh temple would be very crowded. I should have taken a hint, too, when Uncle opted to stay in the car with the driver while we ventured out.

It wasn't until we were asked to cross several barricades and circle and an apartment building in order to queue up for Ganesh that I knew we were in trouble. Signs of confusion abounded inside the outer realms of the “temple” – really more like a fair at a tent, with tons of bunting everywhere. It looked as if several lines were moving toward the big idol, which rested on a stage.

After our trek around the building, we joined a queue that showed few signs of moving. There were hundreds of people inside the temple. Some were with us in our line. Others were standing on temporary stairs and a temporary ramp leading to the stage, waiting to go in. Still others were exiting the stage, walking along the same stairs and ramp in the opposite direction.

As we neared the front, I started to relax. Bad idea, since that's when the shoving began. The longer the wait, the more the people behind us pushed forward. I turned around once to see a woman pulling a child from somewhere behind her and pushing her right behind me. We talked about leaving, but I'd caught sight of a Ganesh arm through the stage doors and he was huge. I'd come this far, and even though I wouldn't probably have withstood all the pushing to see a good rock concert, I decided to wait it out.

Besides, Aunty was showing immense patience. So I decided to try.

For all our waiting, we only got 15 or 20 seconds in full view of Ganesh. I tried to snap two photos (even that's not quite PC) and Vivek snapped another. But all came out blurry. I can confirm, however, that this idol was huge – probably 15 or 18 feet, and of course wide as well, with his classic paunch.

We returned home all very sleepy. I showered immediately, then had a snack of vegetable-filled croissant. I also did some laundry and looked at sites I'd like to see in Delhi, then finally grew quite sleepy, around 11 p.m.

FRIDAY

Today was fairly routine. I slept late, after yesterday's excitement, then headed with Vivek back to Mulund, the self-appointed Prince of Suburbs, to do some shopping for our trip. We actually accomplished few of our goals – I couldn't change my traveler's cheques at the travel office, which didn't have any cash, and Vivek couldn't find any swimming trunks anywhere. But I may several excellent clothing purchases, including a swimming suit, $10 (!), several t-shirts for our trip, a sleeveless wraparound kurta with gold edging and a nice top to add to my business casual attire. I've bought a good many clothes here, which I hadn't planned to do – but at the prices I've found, I can't pass them up. Go FabIndia!

As I write this, we're on the plane to Delhi, where we'll land in about an hour. (In true form, Vivek's sleeping in the seat beside me. The boy can nod off anywhere. It's amazing.) I should be able to post this when we get there, to Vivek's friend Shaleen's house. We'll spent Saturday and Saturday night in Delhi and leave early Sunday morning by train for Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We'll then head to Jaipur by train Sunday evening and spend Monday there, taking an overnight train back to Delhi to catch our flight to Goa – the beach! – Tuesday morning. We'll have two nights there before returning to Bombay Thursday evening.

GENERAL MUSINGS

I've been making mostly chronological posts the past few days (there's so much to see!) and haven't spent much time talking about what it feels like to be here. To start with, it's hot. I've found that less oppressive, however, as my jet lag's worn off. It took me a full four days to be rid of the dizziness of traveling through 12 time zones, but I'm happy to report I'm quite myself again.

As most of my guidebooks warned, I've been getting more than a few stares from the locals, mostly men. But I've found that a quick smile usually cuts off the stare. The more friendly men smile back; the others either continue to stare or just look away. At at the aarti Wednesday evening, a girl in front of me just kept staring up at me. She must have been only five or six years old, but it was still fairly strange. The smile approach did not work with her.

In other cultural points, I'm happy to report that I've found a lot of middle class similarities in recent days between American and India. Yesterday at her favorite Bombay shop, Aunty found a table cloth, with much relief, that will suit her “hard-to-fit” dining table. (Sound familiar, Mom and Grandma?) And after that quite busy, Uncle fell asleep on the couch while he watched TV with Aunty and Mani. Cell phone plans apparently suck the world over – it's going to cost me three rupees a minute to make calls from Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Goa, even though I'll still be within India. And technology spam is universal. I've received a text almost everyday this week on my prepaid cell phone telling me that, in honor of Ganesh Chaturthi, I could win a free Honda. (Well golly gee!)

We've just been told that our flight is 20th in line to land in Delhi, so it looks like we'll be spending a bit more time in the air than expected (ah, Indian planning). I think I'll sign off and join Vivek for some shut-eye. Keep in touch, everyone!


SATURDAY

I've just woken up from my first night of sleep in an airconditioned room since I arrived in India -- quite nice. The household dog, Brownie, nudged me awake at 8 a.m. Not a bad way to wake up. Now off for some poha and sightseeing.

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