How we've tired of Delhi


Some of Delhi's charm (did I ever say Delhi had charm?) has worn off and we're definitely itching to get to Kerala. We seem to sleep just fine with all of Delhi's urban noise, but the noise and intensity of experience when in a rickshaw or even just at a market is wearing us down. Today at Greater Kailash 1 M-block market we realized we were done with Delhi.

The GK 1 M-block market, like all the markets we've been to, has two rows of shops facing one another. There are narrow arcades in front of the stores, always with uneven sidewalk, if you can even call them that. Then there is usually a huge step off a curb, sometimes into a gutter, to the narrow street where cars are trying to find one of the nonexistent parking spaces. A narrow green area, sometimes with grass and some benches, separates the narrow strip of parking and shops on one side of the market from the narrow strip of parking and shops on the other side.

Cars constantly honking at pedestrians and each other provide the aural assault. At this particular market, every shop seems to have its gasoline-powered generator right out front, so you're also assaulted by the smell of gasoline. Since Claire usually wants to be held, and Luc has to be held, browsing is almost impossible. Then there is the getting there and back--whether by rickshaw or taxi, it's just not terribly pleasant.

The good news is that we have our flight to Thiruvananthapuram (henceforth Trivandrum or TVM) set for Friday and we have a place to live lined up. A colleague at USF put me in touch with a friend of his who is from Kerala. She lives in the Bay Area, but has an uncle in TVM. We got an email from Anne today saying to call her uncle as he had found a place for us to rent. I talked to him this morning and he called back tonight saying everything is all set.

So the remainder of our time in Delhi will go like this:
Tuesday we go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal--yes, touristy, but from what I have heard a transcendental experience that cannot be missed.
Wednesday we leave our flat and check into the Ashok Hotel for two nights. I have an interview lined up for the afternoon.
Thursday our good friend Maude, whom Marion met in Providence 8 or 9 years ago and who also was the inspiration for the idea of doing research in India, will be arriving. We hope to have dinner with Maude, and two of Maude's friends from Delhi, Manjula and Ethan, with whom Marion and I were fortunate enough to have dinner in Berkeley before we left (they were in Berkeley for an exhibit of Manjula's work). I also have another interview lined up for Thursday afternoon.
Friday we are on a 9 a.m. flight from Delhi to TVM.

Posted: Mon - December 12, 2005 at 08:03 AM          

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