February 18, 2013
We are like a drop of ink in a pool of water, slowly expanding outward. This morning at breakfast, we met Megan from Ottawa and invited her to join us for a day of exploring New Delhi with a car and driver. The four of us, (including Page & Tammy) headed out with our first intended stop being the Gandhi Smriti, the property where Mahatma Gandhi spent his final 144 days and where he was assassinated. It’s now a museum and traces his footsteps onto the lawn where his final words upon being shot were “Shree Ram” (my God). Unfortunately, the Smriti was closed…and I know these things about it because it was a memorable place when I had visited it in 2011.
So what are four women to do when their cultural opportunity has shifted? Find another one. We went to the Raj Ghat, the place where Gandhi was cremated and now is marked by an eternal flame. Each day, Gandhi devotees sit at the memorial and chant his favorite Ram Raga and they happened to be there at the same time as us. As we walked around the upper perimeter, looking down upon the memorial, we hear all these school children saying, “Hi! Hi!” and waving at all of the foreigners as they walked past. Their childhood exuberance for a days outing was reminiscent of my elementary school field trips and a reminder of how fortunate they are to be receiving an education, unlike the girls we are about to meet.
Constant reminders of gratitude and having options.
We then headed to Janpath market place to find some culturally appropriate attire (kurtis/scarves) and pretend to bargain for the best deals. Only one of us were really getting into the bargaining dance yet we all found things for what seemed like great deals by our own standards.
After a lunch in a groovy bar/cafe with dal, rice, palak paneer and naan, we headed to Dilli Haat, another outdoor market. This one had an entrance fee of 20 rupees (less than 50 cents) and as we were in line, a man cut in front of me. An Indian woman stepped up to him, scolding that “this is a cue and you stepped in front of these women….they are our guests!”. He apologized and I was impressed with her calling him on it. At the market, we ran into another 3-4 challengers who were on their way back from Agra.
We have merged yet again at a new hotel, having been transferred from our original hotel to its sister property some 30 minutes away. Apparently a government ministry was taking over the original place and bumped us out. As we arrived, so had many of the others and now were are almost a complete group with a few arriving later tonight.
Our official work begins tomorrow with a visit to Apne Aap and I am in the position of not knowing what to expect. What I do know is that I need a shower to wash off some of the metropolis dirt.
More later…
