Home safe. (Home being my mom's place north of NYC.) JW is en route or newly arrived on the west coast. So sad to leave Delhi. So happy to see my family. So exhausted.
Snow! Rain! Running water I can drink straight out of the tap!
More later when I'm a little more coherent post-nap.
S.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Morning all... Easing into the day. We're supposed to have lunch with MN's new in-laws. I am sick with a capital S. JW's cold has made its way to me. Am thinking the plane ride home won't be so great with all this congestion. Ah well. Maybe I'll magically heal in the next day-and-a-half.
We're staying in another part of town now, Jangpura. It's the artist area. A fantastic professional photographer (and brother-in-law to our previous hosts) is putting us up. We've completely taken over the house with all our stuff. You should have seen it when we were all getting our saris arranged! Anyway, the flat is filled with his color & black-and-white photographs taken in India, Myanmar, etc. I keep looking at the portraits, most of which are face-forward shots, trying to pick out my favorites. But I can't. They're all stunning. Every single one. I really want to learn how to capture personalities in an instant, to "make photos," but I figure that a good part of that comes naturally. Having "the eye" from the start.
Last night was the wedding reception at the Gymkhana Club. MN looked absolutely radiant in a red-and-gold sari. Her husband was dashing too. We all dressed up in saris, each of which took about a half-hour to put on. Thank god for MN's friend M, who helped us get them on. It's such an intricate process. You have to measure out how far from the floor the fabric falls, then tuck it into a petticoat, then pull it around to the front. Then you pleat the fabric back and forth in front, then you pull it up & over the shoulder, around the back & the rest of the fabric falls over the right arm. You wear this little short-sleeve shirt underneath too, which usually has colors that highlight the colors of the fabric. It's really hard to move around in all that fabric. You have to kick it out in front of you so you don't step on the fabric. But you feel slightly fabulous at the same time.
Anyway, we all huddled around the gas heaters. Met friends & a few extended family members & colleagues. The food was awesome. May I express my love for spicy palak paneer? All in all a good night. JW & AJ were staff photographers for the night. They took hundreds of shots. As MN's brother AN would say, they clicked everyone more than once.
Oh, AN took me & CH to the Taj Mahal (meh-HEHL') in Agra on Tuesday. We went out on four hours' sleep, drove about 3 hours to get there. The building is truly gorgeous. As close to perfect as I've ever seen. How is that possible? I was told that the man who had it built would cut off the arms of his artisans once they were done working on the building so that they could never recreate something so beautiful again.
We walked inside the Taj Mahal. It smelled slightly of death & decay. People were crowded up against the barrier, looking in at the raised graves. We all kind of caught our breath. Some folks were kneeling down & praying. It was definitely a place where you tiptoe. I couldn't help but think of Morgan, of her memorial bench. We went outside afterward, sat on a raised marble area & laid back. Our legs were in the sun, warmed just right. Our backs were on the cold marble. We looked up at the marble dome above us. I felt cut in two.
Time to jump in the shower before our lunch. (The SHOWER! Hot running water! I'm definitely getting soft in my old age.) I've got to get a duffel bag to carry all these gifts home. Hope to see my radio friend TR again. We want to go to Old Delhi, & tonight is Eid, so it should be interesting. Then JW & I leave tomorrow night for the States. Where did the time go?
Hasta luego.
S.
We're staying in another part of town now, Jangpura. It's the artist area. A fantastic professional photographer (and brother-in-law to our previous hosts) is putting us up. We've completely taken over the house with all our stuff. You should have seen it when we were all getting our saris arranged! Anyway, the flat is filled with his color & black-and-white photographs taken in India, Myanmar, etc. I keep looking at the portraits, most of which are face-forward shots, trying to pick out my favorites. But I can't. They're all stunning. Every single one. I really want to learn how to capture personalities in an instant, to "make photos," but I figure that a good part of that comes naturally. Having "the eye" from the start.
Last night was the wedding reception at the Gymkhana Club. MN looked absolutely radiant in a red-and-gold sari. Her husband was dashing too. We all dressed up in saris, each of which took about a half-hour to put on. Thank god for MN's friend M, who helped us get them on. It's such an intricate process. You have to measure out how far from the floor the fabric falls, then tuck it into a petticoat, then pull it around to the front. Then you pleat the fabric back and forth in front, then you pull it up & over the shoulder, around the back & the rest of the fabric falls over the right arm. You wear this little short-sleeve shirt underneath too, which usually has colors that highlight the colors of the fabric. It's really hard to move around in all that fabric. You have to kick it out in front of you so you don't step on the fabric. But you feel slightly fabulous at the same time.
Anyway, we all huddled around the gas heaters. Met friends & a few extended family members & colleagues. The food was awesome. May I express my love for spicy palak paneer? All in all a good night. JW & AJ were staff photographers for the night. They took hundreds of shots. As MN's brother AN would say, they clicked everyone more than once.
Oh, AN took me & CH to the Taj Mahal (meh-HEHL') in Agra on Tuesday. We went out on four hours' sleep, drove about 3 hours to get there. The building is truly gorgeous. As close to perfect as I've ever seen. How is that possible? I was told that the man who had it built would cut off the arms of his artisans once they were done working on the building so that they could never recreate something so beautiful again.
We walked inside the Taj Mahal. It smelled slightly of death & decay. People were crowded up against the barrier, looking in at the raised graves. We all kind of caught our breath. Some folks were kneeling down & praying. It was definitely a place where you tiptoe. I couldn't help but think of Morgan, of her memorial bench. We went outside afterward, sat on a raised marble area & laid back. Our legs were in the sun, warmed just right. Our backs were on the cold marble. We looked up at the marble dome above us. I felt cut in two.
Time to jump in the shower before our lunch. (The SHOWER! Hot running water! I'm definitely getting soft in my old age.) I've got to get a duffel bag to carry all these gifts home. Hope to see my radio friend TR again. We want to go to Old Delhi, & tonight is Eid, so it should be interesting. Then JW & I leave tomorrow night for the States. Where did the time go?
Hasta luego.
S.
Barefoot College, Tilonia (JW photos)
The hot air balloon ride (JW photos)
Barefoot College (JW photos)
With AJ at the Gymkhana Club (JW photo)
Neemrana Palace, MN's birthday (JW photos)
CH on the camel cart ride to the Taj Mahal
CH & AN at the Taj
Yours truly, sick of posing
CH at the Taj Mahal
Dilli Haat, Delhi
AJ at the marriage dinner celebration
MN & her brothers
Statues
AN just after JW's dirty joke in Hindi
AJ staying warm
JW's toast
Dinner at a South Indian restaurant, Delhi
CH & I try paan (betelnut)
MN & AJ at the courthouse
JW at the courthouse
Waiting for the magistrate
MN shows her "something blue"
Pronounced man & wife
Done!
Picnicking at Lodhi Gardens
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