New Delhi, April 28, 2012: Who are the people in my neighbourhood?

I can't believe that this is our last day in Delhi. Both Jay and I are in shock and feeling more than a little sad. I remember the  first day I arrived, waking up, and hearing the sounds of the fruit and vegetable wallah's calling out announcing their produce (as I write, the last wallah's are coming around trying to sell their last few items to those cooks who forgot to purchase something earlier). at the time, it all seemed to foreign and yet so exciting, now it's just normal. 

I thought I would write my last blog about some of the people in my neighbourhood. The pictures aren't that great so I apologize in advance. I have come to "get to know" a few people, particularly those wallah's who are out there everyday, day and day out, no matter the weather, the day of the week or holiday. 

Regardless of the language barrier (most of them speak very little English),  they know who I am by now and never fail to nod their head and say namaste. It makes me feel part of the 'hood, almost accepted.

So I will introduce you to a few of them, not necessarily in the order that I meet them.

This is the "broom  wallah". He sells all sorts of brooms and dusters from his bike which he wheels around. He was very shy, and he didn't want his picture taken. I must admit that I never bought anything from him, but that never dampened his spirit or his hope that I would eventually.

Here is one of the many vegetable wallah's. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't really show off his produce, which I have been very impressed with. I have no idea what some of the items are, and the language barriers makes cooking instructions rather difficult. They are also fairly competitive with each other. One time I bought some melons off one wallah on my way home from yoga. I ran into another wallah in front of our apartment who made it clear that I had bought inferior produce and he had much better - and I understood what he was saying in Hindi, so clearly some messages aren't sensitive to the language it is delivered in!

Here is the sweeping wallah. She starts early in the morning, and sweeps up all the dead leaves, dog pooh, garbage, etc. everyday. She has a big dustbin which she puts everything in, although she must empty it out every so often as it often looks full.

This is one of my favourite wallah's, the ironing lady - sorry that it's sideways!. She has a stall at the side of the road, with a tarp on top, and a table of sorts made of brick and ply wood with a little door to store her iron etc when she isn't there. She basically walks the neighbourhood picking up people's ironing all wrapped in material (table cloths?, sheets?). She then fills her iron with coal, which gets delivered (or maybe she picks it up) lights it up, lets it heat up, and voila! A non-electric iron that is good to go. I never used her services either, but I think it was 3-5 rupees per shirt (around 6-10 cents).

 Here are two cashiers at our local grocery store, Star Bazaar. What a busy place, and crammed from floor to ceiling. However, I can usually find everything I need, although they are often out of old cheddar cheese. Oh well, it is India! In any case, these guys are really sweet and never fail to say hello. Do you think I/m not too difficult to recognize because I am a westerner, tall, with grey hair and I'm in almost every day?

Finally, this is one of my yoga instructors at the yoga Ashram. Despite her size, she has a surprisingly strong and authoritative voice - watch out if you are a slacker! Just kidding.

So....these are some of the people in my neighbourhood. I am going to miss them all, plus many more. I've really, really enjoyed my time here and will always remember it with fond memories.

Namaste.

New Delhi, April 17, 2012: Traveling by train in India

With temperatures hovering near 40C, Jay and I planned a trip to Bandavgarh Tiger Reserve - well, to be honest, we planned it in January not really thinking that it would be this hot. In any case, we returned yesterday, hot but successful in spotting two tiger cubs in the last hour of our last safari. Even if we had not been successful with tiger spotting, we saw a lot of other wild life including a sloth bear (think Balou in the Jungle Book story by Rudyard Kipling) which is much rarer than a tiger sighting we were told.

As the Tiger Reserve is about 250 km from any airport, we decided is was cheaper and just as quick (a relative term) to take an overnight train from Delhi to a town close to the Reserve, and another on the return. While both trains were called "Express" trains, they were scheduled to take about 18 hrs (not including the delays) to cover a distance of some 879 km, which gives you an idea about the average train speed.

We booked the highest class we could, called 2AC sleeper, meaning each compartment has a set of two double berths, i.e. 4 berths per compartment in an AC coach with each compartment being screened off by curtains. This is in contrast to 3AC, which has triple berths and no curtains, or general sleeper class with no AC at all, or 3rd class with neither berths nor AC. We paid about $20 each for a one- way trip. A bargain by anyone's standards, although one must remember that these trains were likely built in the 1950s and haven't been upgraded (or given a good scrub) since then. Apparently, 2AC is the class that most middle class Indians travel so we were in similar company. I guess the upper class would drive, although I'm sure it would have taken as long or longer with the roads and traffic conditions I have encountered- see the blog called Indy(a) 500 in the Golden Triangle.

On our journey to the Reserve, we figured out what platform the train was scheduled to depart from (a feat in and of itself), found our assigned berths, and settled in to watch life go by in mostly rural India. A short while later, we were given a package wrapped in brown paper that contained two single sheets and a small hand towel. There was also a large heavy blanket and a rather grimy looking pillow whose case obviously hadn't been changed in a while. Although the compartment was coolish, I thought the blanket was overkill, but I was quite grateful later to have it!

Although we brought snacks with us, we needn't have worried about food, as throughout the trip, except in the wee hours of the morning, there was a constant stream of wallahs going up and down the aisles selling anything from chai to cold drinks to chips to sandwiches to God knows what else. It reminded me a bit of our neighbourhood fruit and vegetable wallahs, as they called out their wares in a similar nasal tone and it was just as incomprehensible to us. The chai wallah was pretty obvious however, as he carried a large metal canteen and paper cups, calling out "chai, chai, chai" as he walked through. But other wallahs carried trays with tinfoil wrapped containers and we had no idea what was in them. At one of the larger stations, a bunch of wallahs got on selling hot trays of food including biryanis and thalis. We risked it, and purchased a biryani, which was delicious, but a little spicy - I now know never to assume that a longish green vegetable is a green bean but rather could be a hot green chili! Later on, one of our cabin mates had a meal delivered to him, so we had obviously missed the wallah who takes orders for food that is made in the train canteen, or more likely didn't understand what was on offer. No great loss, as we figured it out on the way back, and managed to order a great vegetarian meal including dal, rice, chapatis, vegetable and paneer for only 60 rupees each (around $1.20).

At about 9 pm, our fellow passengers started making up their berths and we turned out the lights. Sleep was rather elusive, as the train often rocked violently back and forth, although I'm not sure why as we weren't exactly going at a very high speed. It got rather cold with the AC on, and I was very glad to have the heavy blanket after all. To make matters worse, our train was due to arrive at 6:30 am and we didn't want to miss the station, so we set our alarms for 5:30. No stations are announced, nor is it very obvious which station is which from the train windows, so you pretty well have to poke your head out the train door to figure out where you are. We managed to make it off the train during the allotted 2 minute stop without any hiccups, tired but successful. Thank God Jay had the foresight to bring the list of scheduled stops with us so we had a clue about when our station was coming up.

It was a similar experience on the way back, except we were in the upper berths and right by the main door of the compartment, so it was less comfortable and noisier. Fortunately, we were due to arrive in Delhi at 2pm, so I popped a few gravol and shoved in some earplugs and did my best to get some shut-eye. Never mind that the train was over 2 hours late.

So, while the train trips were perhaps not quite as luxurious as we would get in Canada ( an understatement), they got us from A to B for quite cheap, albeit in a fairly slow and laborious fashion. One thing I forgot to mention was the state of the toilets. Or perhaps I shouldn't. All I will say is that they were no worse than an average public toilet in India :)) and always bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer. However, I must say that the toilets were no better on my trip to Rishikesh on the Shatabdi Express in 1st class.

That's all for now. I will try and get one more blog done before we leave for Amritsar on the 29th. Between now and then, I will be finishing up some last minute shopping and applying to retain my job in Health Canada. So much for being care free and stressless while on leave. We know who to thank for that!

New Delhi, April 8, 2012: Ashram life in Rishikesh

I can't believe that we have less than one month left in India before we head to Europe for slightly less than two months, and then back to Canada. Where did all that time go? I have so many blog ideas left, but it is actually getting harder to write them, as I think I am becoming normalized here, and events/observations don't necessarily seem news-worthy or out of the ordinary anymore. The other factor is the weather -it is hitting 40C tomorrow, and I find myself spending more time poolside at the gym, and less time on the laptop at home beside the groaning AC that barely drops the temp below 30C. Of course, I have also had to devote some time for final shopping, particularly since I discovered that we are entitled to each bring 2 suitcases back because we purchased our tickets before the airlines decreased their luggage allowance. Yeah!!! Now I need to purchase another suitcase as well.

I thought I would devote one blog to our time in the Ashram, since it seems to be a much desired activity, but is often not possible for those who can only come for short stays of a couple of weeks.

I was a little concerned about going to stay in an Ashram, as all the travel books indicated that they are fairly austere, requiring you to follow their schedule of rising at 5:30, morning prayers followed by yoga Asanas all before breakfast/brunch of vegetarian fare. Often there is a requirement to do some "volunteer" activities - think "duties" that were required when staying at the Intenational Youth Hotels in the good old days. More meditations and such before evening Aarti's, followed by the second vegetarian meal of the day and lights out at 10pm. The hardships include: no coffee/tea, alcoholic beverages or meat of any kind.

After a fairly pleasant train ride of about 4 hours on the Shatabdi Express - minus the unpleasant departure time of 6:30am, the scams that some thieves try to pull on you at Delhi train station, and the almost invisible pre-paid taxi booth that almost resulted in us accepting a dodgy rickshaw ride from Haridwar to Rishikesh- we finally arrived at Parmarth Niketan Ashram and were shown to a very pleasant room with private bathroom and two comfortable beds. We arrived just at the end of lunch, but were ushered in in time to enjoy the most delicious vegetarian fare. Best of all, we learned that the only absolute requirement was to participate in the evening Aarti by the Gangas, that there were 3 meals a day and that we were free to come and go as we pleased, although we needed to respect the hours and quiet times of course. I knew it was going to be a very enjoyable experience!

Everything and everyone seemed very relaxed and accepting. There was no hard and fast schedule at the Ashram, so we took advanatage of our free afternoon to explore the town. It was very different than Varanasi or Jaipur, very laid back and felt very easy/safe to get about and walk around. I soon spotted a tiny staircase amongst the strip of stores that lead to an upstairs balcony restaurant which was to beocome my second home when not in the Ashram. It had a wonderful view of the Mother Ganga with a backdrop of the Himalayas, where one could sit and watch the water ferries weaving their way from one side of the river to the other, dropping off passengers and picking up more. Or watch the locals wash their laundry -or themselves- in the surprisingly blue waters. Many also come to worship at the Gangas, sometimes sprinkling themselves with water but often immersing themselves completely. Of course the cows were almost as numerous as the people and wandered at will up and down the streets and steps lining the Gangas.

While we were there, there was an Ayurvedic doctor visiting the Ashram who gave a multi-day workshop about healthy lifestyles and the like. While I agreed with many of her bottom line messages about healthy living, I felt a bit of an imposter sitting through her lectures when I didn't agree with some of her teachings, so I left my girlfriend to enjoy the workshop and struck out on my own, usually to my tiny balcony restaurant. I sat for long hours, mesmerized by the tranquility and peacefulness of the scene. They had wonderful lassi's and I discovered the most refreshing drink there involving fresh mint, lemon, sugar, and ice, all whirled up in a blender. It looked like a bright green slushie but was absolutely delicious. It was also here that I partook in my elicit cups of coffee after breakfast every day :)). Shhh! Don't tell!

Perhaps the most impressive scenes were those of the evening Aarti's by the Gangas, the celebration of the sun... so full of joy and peace. There were hundreds of people every day that came to participate, sitting on the steps, clapping and singing along to the music, and watching the huge orange ball of fire - the sun- sink behind the horizon. Once the sun had set, lamps were lit and passed from hand to hand, and the holder moved the lamp in a circular fashion in time with the music, before passing it on to someone else.

On our train trip back, we sat opposite a couple of thirty something males who had come to Haridwar for a day conference on taxes. They were bright and articulate and we had a very interesting chat, making our 4 hour trip fly by! We learned all about their work, families, living conditions, and even how they came to meet their spouse. One fellow, who was actually in his early 40s, was not married, and although he had been "introduced" to a dozen or more women, either one or the other, or their families, found the match not acceptable. He was now in a position where his choices were becoming extremely limited, and although he didn't come right out and admit it, his colleague (and cousin) said it was a touchy subject for him.

While I had reservations about going to Rishikesh, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it now. I found it to be a spiritual haven and retreat that is hard to experience anywhere else. Just watch where you walk, as there are a lot of cows around!

That's all for now.

Sue