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Published: November 2nd 2008
Delhii 1
Hand (Fran's photo)The trip over was perfect, uneventful, but it's a long flight. You can smell Delhi before you even see it. It's not what you might think; the smell is pungent, not very nice, but also, not resembling anything else you might be used to. Our first impression was denseness. There are people all over at a density we've never experienced. Everyone looks poor, many, maybe half, destitute. Half of a huge number of people having nothing yet going about their daily business, whatever that may be. The hotel with 4-stars is as you would expect; not bad, but not so great not either. It's 10 1/2 hours later here than on the east coast. Even with a sleeping pill a piece, we were weirded out. And we woke up at 2 AM and basically have been up ever since. I learned something about my coffee addiction. About 3 AM I noticed a headache coming on. By 7 AM it was wicked. 2 cups of coffee and, magic, gone.
This morning we met everyone, got a briefing; no eating street food, no drinking bottled water unless it's on the bus or in a hotel or restaurant they take us to -
Delhi 4
Chest (Fran's photo0 a big industry here is fake bottled water. No drifting off alone in bazzars. No eating raw anything. No giving money to beggars (more about this later). Lock passports and most money in the hotel safe. Then off on our bus to the flower market. On the way we ran across a Sikh wedding in progress. They stopped the bus and we went out to photograph. The participants were either happy to have us or just didn't object. We were in their faces and not a negative vibe was had. They do up their weddings as you will see in a couple of photos.
After that we went to a flower market. You can't believe the traffic and lane markers and street lights are mere suggestions. We were told that to drive in Delhi, you need 3 things; a good horn, good brakes, and good luck. We made it to the market and it was a sight to behold. Marigolds everywhere, picked from the stems. No leaves just flowers, sorted by color. We walked through the market trying to find photos of flowers and people. We'll include some.
Then lunch at a nice restaurant. More yellow stuff
Delhi 3
Fran's photo - wedding and brown stuff. All quite tasty, a litte spicy, with similar spices,smells and flavors. It was terrific to get off the street. This is the worst air pollution I've ever experienced. There is a haze and a "flavor" that one tastes all the time in the backs of our throats. Everything is covered in dirt, every tree, flower, and article of clothing. Deoderant is unknown in Delhi. They are used to natural smells. Deoderant, along with hair goo, perfume and the like are all attractions for mosquitos, the kind that carry malaria. We are taking out pills and by afternoon have no doubt that we smelled much like the natives. Showers feel like a real luxury but we were admonished to keep our mouths closed in the shower too.
Every place we went there were hords of people. Delhi is a city of 16 million. There is no social security of any sort and beggars are pervasive. They have become sophisticated with their babies, with their acrobatics, and the destitute and pitiful looks on their faces. But we are admonished not to give them anything. "It creates a culture of begging." But we are confused. How do these people
Delhi 5
Waiting for the Groom (David) feed themselves? They scavange, they beg, and they sometimes steal. So if we give them nothing, will they get jobs? There are over a million beggars and even the employed are underemployed and paid pittance. So what to do? By giving beggars money do we encourage them to beg more? Or won't they keep begging anyway because that is their only option? The Hindus believe in destiny and poverty is the destiny of these folks. So be it. Easy to say. Easy to rationalize, but it feels off. What to do? It's a question to which we have no answer.
Our afternoon was spent in an area that can not be described by a single adjective. Bazzar? Slum? Open air market? Beehives of streets and alleys. These outdoor markets sell everything - New and used books, stolen books, used clothing, food, repackaged bottled water, fish, live chickens, goats, lamb, and recently butchered all of these. But this doesn't do the area justice. It's more, much more, and we transited the area in bicycle rickshaws, two to the rickshaw. Fran and I shared one and it was quite an adventure. These rickshaws are designed for Indians with their skinny bodies
Delhi 6
Party time (David) and tiny asses. Get the picture? Fran says that's not nice. But try to picture riding through tiny alleys with cars and motorcycles screaming past with inches to spare. Crashing through potholes with beggars and merchants all around. It was really cool and it terrified Fran. The bicycle had the right of way though that provided very little comfort. Electrical wires wove a lattice above the streets and alleys. I'm not sure anyone pays for this electricity. It certainly would not pass code, say, in Zimbabwe. Dense and smelly, filled with color and stories that we will never hear.
Tomorrow, if we have time, we'll write about our instructor, Vincent Versace. You can google him. He's pretty famous. He loves himself. I almost lost it with him three times. Fran almost lost it with him once. He might end up teaching us stuff, but I think he's a real asshole. An example; on the bus I was messing with my camera and he told me if I held the camera that way again he'd break my arm. He was trying to impress upon me a better way to hold a camera. He was right, but it was all I
could do not to say, give it a shot. I behaved. But tonight he told me he'd be on my butt all week so that I'd be taking good photos just to shut him up. I told him that I would do most anything to get him to shut up. It's going to be an interesting week with Vincent and me.
We're having a great time with our friends, Dan and Jan, and with Erica and Richard and Ashley. We are laughing, learning about photography, experimenting with food, and having an unbelieveable adventure and it's just starting.
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jeanie
non-member comment
Thank you...
I am leaving next week with my neice starting in Mumbai, travelling on our own, it is great to read about your adventure, I'm very excited to go! Is there something that you wish you brought or wish you had left home?