arise, awake: March 2009

Monday, March 23, 2009

Rumi Darvaza, Lucknow

Note, the rushed style of the following narration is an attempt to imitate the speed with which Cat's trip went by:
Cathy visited me last week and it was awesome. We jam packed as much as we could into 6 days. If she was jet lagged, I didn’t know it because we jumped on the Metro on Friday morning and began touring Delhi. Friday included: Jama Masjid, Lal Qila, Chandni Chowk, Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place, Bangla Sahib, and Dilli Haat. Of note, were the white foreigners in loud smocks that looked like they were hospitalized patients on a field trip at the Jama Masjid. Saturday we found a $200 itinerary to/in Agra on the web, copied it, and did it in $25 bucks. The Taj Mahal was just as gorgeous as ever and I got to see Fatehpur Sikri for the first time. Akbar was quite a baller. I was really impressed by all of his religious tolerance and pluralism efforts. Not so impressed by the inundation of touts. They all also claimed to be each other’s younger brother. We also got to visit my Bua’s family in Meena Bazaar. It was really nice to hang out with them for a little bit. Sunday included a very memorable bus ride to Akshardham. We spent most of our day there (in lines) and learning a very agenda driven history. Afterwards we went shopping in Pahad Ganj and got some excellent deals! Next on the list was mass at the Sacred Heart Church in Connaught Place. It was neat having Cathy pointing out the cultural differences, most amusing being the fact that a simple Namaste replaces the American handshake “peace unto you?” ritual.

tonga ride!

Cathy has had too much sun!

beautiful jaali at Fahtepur sikri

fob style (angry face and all)

can you spot the foreigners?

Lal Qila

The trip would not have been complete without a train snafu. Long story short, we got a ticket to from DEL to LKO 10 minutes before the departure. I’m glad we ended the trip in Lucknow. On Monday, we took a really long cycle rickshaw ride from Hazrat Ganj to Naqaas and then walked from Naqaas to Gol Darwaza. On the way we tried yummy Kashmiri chai and kulcha. The kebabs were too spicy for Cat. I also maxed her out on the typical Indian bazaar, so I scratched Aminabad off the list. On Tuesday we hit up the Residency and the Imambara which included a tonga ride! I’m glad I got to visit the Imambara again. This time we didn’t take a guide into the bhul bhulaiya and realized that the maze isn’t so convoluted as the guides make it out to be. After some more shopping in Hazrat ganj, we had a lazziz Mughali meal at Royal Café. On Cat’s last day, we did what all visitors need to take advantage…cheap beauty salon services!! Def one of the things I will miss most about India J All and all, I’m so elated that Cathy came to visit and that I got to show her a glimpse of “Incredible India” and my life in lovely Lucknow.

mosque at Bara Imambara, Lucknow

Holi hai!

Rang barse bhige chunar vaali….that song was playing all over the streets on Holi. The bazaars started selling rang, water balloons, paints, water guns galore two days before the festival. Zehra and I took a cycle rickshaw to our friend Anna’s place in Gomti Nagar. We didn’t expect to start playing Holi until we go there, but those on the streets had other plans. Before we arrived we had buckets of wet color dumped on us. Zehra ended up looking like a character from the Willy Wonka movie. My salwar suit and orange nike bag (that I have had since middle school!) are now permanently green. I’ve been waiting for ages to celebrate festivals in India and this year has been my grand chance. Holi in Lucknow rocked! And not to mention, one of our friends had a room at the Taj so we got to go swimming at the Taj pool after playing Holi all morning! What a great day.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Banni

What I heart about Kacch:
-dhabelis (yummy mix of vegetable puree, spices, chutnies, and peanuts sandwiched between toasted bread
- the lack of special foreigner fees for entrance into historical/cultural monuments
-the Kacchi language (it's the most natural mix of Sindhi and Gujarati, just brilliant.)
-I got my number skills tested as all would give me phone numbers in Hindi
- the silver, the embroidery (can't wait to go back when I am not a student!)

a bhunga (typical village dwelling in this area)

beautiful mud art inside the homes of Dhodo

my friend Sofiya's dowry (she and her friends hand embroidered e main blanket and the large stack of blankets behind it

Zakhira dressed up as a bride (the house I was visiting had just welcomed 4 new bahus, so all were very excited to show me all of the wedding related items)