I am officially the worst blogger ever – I can’t believe it has been four months since I updated it last! The good news is that the delay is because I have been busy and having an amazing time. These past months have been packed with traveling. (If you are interested in the progress of my research, please check out the recently updated 'Research' section).
In late January, I traveled to the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat to visit one of my best friends from CMC. I honestly did not see much of the city, as I spent the weekend visiting with my friend's family and friends. It was an amazing trip but it also would have been an interesting weekend to remain in Delhi because it was Republic Day, which honors the day on which the Constitution was introduced in 1950. The Delhi Republic Day Parade is held annually on January 26 and is meant to showcase India’s defense capability, and cultural and social heritage. Each year, India hosts the head of state from another country as the Guest of Honor at the parade. This year, President Obama was the Guest of Honor (the first U.S. president in the 66-year history of the parade). As I was headed to the airport on Friday afternoon, there were American flags lining the streets of Chanakyapuri (the embassy area) and military personnel on every corner. The security that weekend (especially on the day of the Parade) was more intense than any year before. They had 45,000 security personnel patrolling the capital and installed 15,000 new CCTV cameras on the routes where President Obama would travel. Needless to say, on a holiday that is already important, the visit of President Obama was a really big deal. Every person to whom I showed my American passport at the airport on my way to and from Ahmedabad would say, “Obama! He is here!!” I woke up to watch the Parade on Sunday, and it was quite a display. Numerous regiments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force marched, in addition to the Border Security Force, which is the only camel mounted military force in the world.
In late January, I traveled to the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat to visit one of my best friends from CMC. I honestly did not see much of the city, as I spent the weekend visiting with my friend's family and friends. It was an amazing trip but it also would have been an interesting weekend to remain in Delhi because it was Republic Day, which honors the day on which the Constitution was introduced in 1950. The Delhi Republic Day Parade is held annually on January 26 and is meant to showcase India’s defense capability, and cultural and social heritage. Each year, India hosts the head of state from another country as the Guest of Honor at the parade. This year, President Obama was the Guest of Honor (the first U.S. president in the 66-year history of the parade). As I was headed to the airport on Friday afternoon, there were American flags lining the streets of Chanakyapuri (the embassy area) and military personnel on every corner. The security that weekend (especially on the day of the Parade) was more intense than any year before. They had 45,000 security personnel patrolling the capital and installed 15,000 new CCTV cameras on the routes where President Obama would travel. Needless to say, on a holiday that is already important, the visit of President Obama was a really big deal. Every person to whom I showed my American passport at the airport on my way to and from Ahmedabad would say, “Obama! He is here!!” I woke up to watch the Parade on Sunday, and it was quite a display. Numerous regiments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force marched, in addition to the Border Security Force, which is the only camel mounted military force in the world.
In the beginning of March, I traveled to Hyderabad for the Fulbright conference (which I discuss at greater length in the ‘Research’ section). Unfortunately, because the three-day conference was packed with presentations, I was stuck in the hotel all day and I did not get to see much of Hyderabad. In addition to presenting my research at the conference, for some reason, Fulbright chose me to act as emcee for the performance evening. This was a hysterical experience because everything went wrong. The show started 45 minutes late because the hotel’s technical crew was having trouble with the light and sound system. There were swarms of mosquitoes so the hotel staff took a large leaf-blower-esque machine and sprayed bright green, pungent bug spray all over the guests and stage area. After Cameron (my fellow emcee) and I introduced the first act to the approximately 200-person crowd, the tabla player’s tabla broke and we had to awkwardly stand on stage until it was fixed ten minutes later. But overall, it was a really enjoyable night and conference, and it was inspiring to hear about the research that my fellow Fulbrighters have done so far.
After the conference, five of my friends and I traveled to Goa for a week. Goa is a small state on the western coast of India. Goa often doesn’t feel like India, as many of the beaches have become tourist destinations for backpacking Europeans (especially Russians). However, we were there for Holi, which is celebrated everywhere in India. My friend Dan and I rented skooters and spent the morning of Holi riding between different towns. Everyone was out on the streets, playing music, dancing, and throwing colored powder on each other. Dan and I were not neglected just because we were on skooters; people in every town would wait on either side of the road and trap us, throwing buckets of water and color on our skooters and us. By the time we returned to the beach where we were staying, we were completely covered. I jumped in the ocean to wash it off, only to get chased down by a group of kids who covered me in color once again. I was really excited to finally celebrate Holi in India (after years of celebrating it in Claremont) and my experience in Goa did not disappoint.
A few weeks after returning from Goa, I traveled to Shimla by bus for a short weekend. Shimla is the former summer capital of British India; when it got too hot in Delhi, the Viceroy and other government officials would relocate to this cool town in the mountains. I visited in late March when it was already starting to get hot in Delhi (now it is 105°F in April), so I definitely understand the reasoning behind creating a summer capital. While in Shimla, we visited a number of historical British buildings, including the Viceregal Lodge, which was the former residence of the Viceroy. The architecture and the grounds were stunning, and the building houses some of the oldest documents and photographs from the times of British rule in India. My friend Tausif and I hiked to Jakhoo Temple, which has a 108-foot statue of Hanuman (it is said to be the largest statue in the world, even taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro). Jakhoo Temple is on a mountain outside of Shimla. After hiking three kilometers up a consistently steep hill, Tausif and I sat down on some stairs next to the statue to catch our breath. All of a sudden, a monkey came out of nowhere and stole Tausif’s prescription glasses off of his face. Monkeys in India are notoriously vicious, but we had no idea how to get Tausif back down the mountain without vision, so I realized I was going to have to get the glasses back from the monkey. I started chasing after the monkey and a crowd of curious, friendly Indian onlookers began to form, who started helping me by throwing food at the monkey, hoping that it would drop the glasses. It eventually did, and I ran up to grab the glasses off the ground, but it growled/hissed at me. I backed up until another onlooker threw some bread a distance behind the monkey and it retreated long enough for me to grab the glasses (slightly chewed and bent) and return them to Tausif. As we headed back down the mountain, we saw an Indian man get his glasses stolen by a different monkey, but unfortunately for him, the monkey ran off into the forest and he probably never saw his glasses again.
Most recently, I traveled to Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). Three of my good friends from Fulbright have been living there, so Laura and I went to stay with them for a week. To be honest, my time there wasn’t all that different from my life in Delhi. We went to different cafes during the day to do research, and checked out restaurants at night. We also went to a street fair called the Lil Flea, which had shopping, street food, and live music (there was a West African drum circle and an artist named Krishna Marathe - her music was really interesting, so check out her page if you want to hear some Indian classical electronica: Krishna Marathe). Delhi has a very special place in my heart, but I have to admit that visiting Bombay almost made me wish I had proposed to live there for my Fulbright grant. It feels a lot more relaxed and easier to live in, particularly for women. We also traveled to Nashik, which is four hours away from Bombay by train. There are 36 vineyards in Nashik (it is the Napa of India), of which we visited three: Sula, Soma, and York.
In addition to all these travels, I have been having an AMAZING time in Delhi. I attended my first sangeet (one of the fun wedding events that involves music and dancing), I have been going to classical Hindustani music events around the city with one of my Fulbright advisors, I did a street food tour in Old Delhi during which I tried all sorts of delicious snacks and sweets that I am amazed I did not get sick from, I have been taking cooking classes with a friend's mom, I did a two-week yoga class at a center called Sivananda (a type of yoga that is very different than that which we have adopted in the States), I attended an international jazz festival, I had a picnic in Lodhi gardens, I have visited important religious sites such as Nizamuddin Dargah and Akshardham Temple, I attended a CMC alumni dinner, and much much more.
I cannot believe that I only have four months left – where has all the time gone? Delhi feels like home now and I am lucky to have so many amazing friends here. I am trying to enjoy my last four months (despite the awful heat) but I can’t help but think about how difficult it is going to be to leave in August. Some of my fellow CMC graduates settled down in San Francisco, some settled down in New York – they started their lives in those cities. I started my life in Delhi, and to be honest, the thought of leaving so soon is really hard to bear. But I am so incredibly grateful for the experiences I have had thus far, and really excited for the months to come.
I cannot believe that I only have four months left – where has all the time gone? Delhi feels like home now and I am lucky to have so many amazing friends here. I am trying to enjoy my last four months (despite the awful heat) but I can’t help but think about how difficult it is going to be to leave in August. Some of my fellow CMC graduates settled down in San Francisco, some settled down in New York – they started their lives in those cities. I started my life in Delhi, and to be honest, the thought of leaving so soon is really hard to bear. But I am so incredibly grateful for the experiences I have had thus far, and really excited for the months to come.