On Beauty

This post is a bit of an assortment of our lives over the last week.  When I tried to think of a broad theme, one that stuck was beauty.  There are some very beautiful pictures and some that might not necessarily qualify.  Perhaps you can find beauty in them all.  To begin, we ventured to Old Delhi this week.  Immediately after I stepped off the metro at Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi, I wanted to jump back on.  You see, Old Delhi, as compared to New Delhi, is more crowded, more polluted, more noisy, and more difficult for tourists (although there are fewer) to navigate.  Now that I have a baby strapped on me, I am (hopefully understandably) less adventurous.  Thankfully, Andy has more stamina in this department, finding Old Delhi still challenging but fascinating.  So, we walked around, took a cycle rickshaw, were intentionally taken to the wrong location, got into an argument with the rickshaw driver (all Andy in this instance!), browsed the famous book mart, had a late lunch, and returned home with mixed emotions.  There is so much more to see in Old Delhi, but this might have to wait a bit.  

Here is a panoramic shot taken at Chawri Bazaar, Old Delhi.

Looking into the mouth of the metro entrance.

Some of the many cycle rickshaw drivers in Old Delhi.

Ever wonder where all of your old National Geographics go?

Samantha and me at the book mart trying to like it.  See friend Dikki and daughter Nicole having fun in the pic?

I love this sari!

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Yesterday was the start of Diwali, the biggest holiday in India.  It's so popular, the guards at the markets and the rickshaw drivers even say Happy Diwali!  I joked as I bargained for my fare that the price was a "Diwali special" and I received a hearty laugh from the driver.  The holiday is the festival of lights and is (in)famous for its fireworks, but it's also a holiday where sweets and gifts are exchanged and cleaning of the home is encouraged.  Andy recorded the Diwali soundscape from the rooftop of our home.  This really can't capture how the whole city echoes with firework explosions, and it was also taken early in the night before things really got started!  

Because the air pollution is so bad, we decided to stay in for the night with the chunkster (that's our most recent pet name for her).  Andy and I also experienced Diwali in Mumbai in 2004 and found Delhi's version much milder! Maybe it is because we are on the second floor and don't have little kids throwing firecrackers in our windows. 

View from our rooftop, Defence Colony, New Delhi.

Diwali sweets at the Defence Bakery.

Marigold garlands are common Diwali decorations, South Extension II market.

Diwali decorations in South Extension II market.

I opted to get my hair cut and a pedicure on Diwali to beautify myself.  At the salon, about 14 young men cut hair, perform pedicures and facials.  The men in the background are apprenticing the junior and senior stylists.  Mine was a junior stylist.  Nice haircut, except he cut six inches instead of the requested two!  No problem, it's just hair, it'll grow back.

I noticed that the senior stylists didn't have to wear the customary black polo shirt and jeans that the junior stylists wore.  See the very cool senior stylist in the green shirt?

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Fulbrighters were invited to a Gender-Based Violence and Justice in South Asia Conference at the Habitat Center this past week.  The panelists were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the US, and India.  Samantha was the youngest one in attendance and drew a significant amount of attention.  Below are three new friends she made at the conference.  Everyone, including the panelists, wanted to hold her.  In fact, the two women below and even the chair of the conference offered to watch her while I attended other panel sessions.  I'm so attached to her that I can't have her out of my sight, but the offer was generous!

Samantha with new friends at the conference, Habitat Center, New Delhi.

Decorations outside the conference hall - I loved the colors.

This design matched the gift bags for the event.  As many of you already know, I love gift bags.  I even tried to convince Andy to get another one for us! 

Said gift bag (re-purposed a yoga bag).

One of the topics at the event was acid violence against women.  This is one of the paintings intended to symbolize this type of violence.
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Our living room is taking shape with the furniture our landlords have given us.

Typical breakfast.

Here's how we get beautiful Samantha to sleep every night.  Yes, we brought the fit ball all the way from LA.  She almost won't go to sleep without it. We measured her for height and she is still a big girl, in the 95th percentile! We don't have a scale to weigh her, but once we see the doctor for her four month immunizations we will let you know...

Photo-Shoot

Since I am still learning how to do this blog thing, there are a couple new features on the site that you can take advantage of.  If you want to be notified by email about new posts (i.e. receive pretty much the whole post in your email), just enter your email address into the "Follow by Email" box at the bottom of this page.  You can also subscribe to the blog and get it in a web reader, also at the bottom of the page. 

We did a photo shoot of Samantha this week with Andy's research camera.  Up until this point all photos of our sweet baby are from blackberrys and droid phones! 

Each day Samantha and I head out on an adventure and this week one of them was to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).  Our mission was to hear a Fulbright Senior Scholar (this means they are already a professor) give a talk on the United Nations and human rights.  Samantha was as well behaved as the other 50+ students in the room, although she did doze during a brief portion of the talk!

JNU is known for its political activism.  Below are just some of the graffitti/political murals we saw.

Sight-seeing

We spent some time this week exploring after we accomplished our first task - finding a place to live.  Traveling with a small baby in the Delhi heat (temperatures have been averaging 97) means that we are constantly on the lookout for cooler venues in the many outdoor markets and ruins.  Traveling with baby also means going out early, well before the city gets moving.  Delhi starts late, even later than LA!  Stores open around 11am.  So, as you will see from these photos, we are often among the first ones out and about at 8:30am.  

Samantha relaxing at Mocha Cafe in the Defence Colony.

My ideal refreshment in the heat, a fresh lime spritzer.

Entrance to Lodi Gardens, a short metro ride from our new home and the first "sight-seeing" trip we made this week. 

Tombs from the 15th and 16th centuries, and many (modern-day) amorous couples, dot the grounds of Lodi Gardens. 

Lodi Garden mosque.

What Samantha thought of our break in the shade at Lodi Gardens.

One of the many ways she and I travel, by auto-rickshaw.

She sleeps well on the the metro too. Samantha and I normally stick to the "women's car" on the metro as the others can get really crowded.  It's also nice to have other women around to offer their seat and smile at the baby.  After my first experience of getting pushed back onto the train while attempting to exit by a crowd of unruly office workers, we decided to always seek out the women's car...

We met new friends for coffee at 8am this week, well before Delhi comes alive, as you can see from the background.

Lajpat Nagar Market, one of my favorite markets near home that I REALLY just discovered today. 

Ceiling from one of the tombs in Hauz Khas. Hauz Khas was the "royal water tank" for the sultans of Delhi in the 13th century.  It is dotted with ruins and surrounded by modern apartments that make up Hauz Khas Village.  Both Andy and I remarked how cool it would be to have these views out your apartment windows!

Hauz Khas grounds.

View of the "water tank" at Hauz Khas.

A walkway between tombs at Hauz Khas.

Fulbright friends Dikki, daughter Nicole, and their ayah Rani, at the Delhi Zoo.

Delhi Zoo, photo courtesy of Dikki.

Back home, doing tummy time.

Video of Samantha talking & singing to us in the AM, really uploaded for the grandparents!

And here's how we end most days after being out and about.  This is what my yoga practice looks like right now.  I've been enjoying Elena Brower's online classes with Samantha.