Day 3:
Day 3 in Delhi was my first day of cultural orientation. I went in expecting to dive into Hindi, but we actually talked about joint families, arranged marriages, and the caste system. It was really interesting, even if much of the information was previous knowledge, but the real highlight of the morning for me was when Rajeev brought out his wedding album and showed us all of his wedding pictures. He and his wife got married in 1978 and the combination of traditional dress and bell bottoms was absolutely amazing.
We spent the afternoon at the Central Market, which had been recommended to us by the incomparable Shankar as we both really wanted to expand our small wardrobes with some traditional Indian dress. I ended up getting two tops which I really like and Caitlin was also very successful.
We then headed back to our little apartment for a family style dinner with the other volunteers. Indian home cooking really makes you feel like you belong in a place.
Day 4:
Our second day of orientation was truly more focused on Hindi, which was great. I filled 6 pages of my notebook with helpful words and phrases as well as pure vocabulary. We practiced a little bit and mispronounced virtually everything and promised Rajeev that we would practice when we got home.
Rajeev then invited us into his home, which was right upstairs where Shankar had magically appeared and let us watch him cook for while, showing how much and what to add to the deliciousness. The only thing we got to touch was the roti (my favorite part) which is a flat bread which magically puff up as you cook it. Oddly enough, we didn’t get to eat that meal, but we got some food at a place nearby.
We spent the afternoon at the Red Fort, which was beautiful and amazing. We hadn’t been to old Delhi yet and wanted to see the old part of the city before we left. The Red Fort isn’t just a fort, it was the home/ compound of the Mughal emperors, and you can tell. There are many beautiful white and red buildings on the inside, separated by shockingly green grass, a true luxury in Delhi. We decided to relax in the shade on the grass for awhile and watch the kids play while cooling down. It was a lovely afternoon.
One odd thing about this place is being asked for selfies by strangers while simply living your life, merely because you look different. It is just really weird.
Day 5:
Friday was another sightseeing day with the Lotus Temple, Qutab Minar, and Humayun’s Tomb. It was hot, as it was that entire week, but the sights were beautiful. I think the pictures speak well for these places.
We wanted to see a movie on our last night in Delhi so we looked up the trailer to the movie showing at the right time, and we really liked it, so we headed to the theater which actually meant going back to the mall. Who knew that the first time I went to the mall twice in one week would be in India…
When we got to the theater we discovered that there was no way we could see the movie with English subtitles, which wasn’t totally unexpected, but we were still so disappointed we decided to see the movie showing in English, which was the new X-Men movie. It was really good and we both felt like we were no longer in India by the end of it. One odd experience was the fact that there’s an intermission in the middle of the movie in which everyone left and then came back with more snacks, as my Papa pointed out, a winning combination of concession sales and AC-time lengthening.
Spending time in that movie and at that mall really gave me a sense for the entitled feeling among the wealthy elite I had been warned about but hadn’t truly expected. It seemed like all of the rich Indians were being rude to staff and acting as if their interests were the only one’s on the earth that mattered. My instinct was that if you are surrounded so completely by such desperate poverty an easy defense mechanism would be to feel as if you had a right to a better life, a feeling supported by a society divided into castes.
Final Thoughts on Delhi:
Delhi is a complicated city, as so many big cities are. The harsh disparity between rick and poor here is difficult to process and the city itself seems to always be on the attack, a constant offensive in overstimulation. It is just so completely and incredibly hot– this was a record breaking week in India; the air is dust, its presence is even more constant than people trying to sell you something; and then there is the noise, the cars, the people, the peacocks. Delhi’s an overwhelming place. Those things aren’t pleasant, but they seem easier than the constant pressure created by the old and the new, the east and the west, squeezing together in a place only designed for one. You can feel the tension as sandal sellers pushing carts cross in front of the apple store. It is uncomfortable, like the city is uncomfortable, and although it is a place full of the comforts of the West, I am ready to see something new. On to Palampur!
P.S. There are lots of photos in the Gallery!