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| On the way to Karol Bahg market - a giant statue of Hanuman (the Hindu monkey god that helped Rama defeat Ravana, the demon king, in the Holy text the Ramayana) |
Today we had an easy morning waiting until around 12:00 noon before we headed out to Karol Bahg Market to pick up a couple of garments that I had ordered before we left Delhi a few weeks prior. Once there, we made our way through the very crowded market (it was, after all, a Saturday) and returned to the shop where I had purchased lots of shirts, kurtas (long shirts), and a couple of jackets (I had them tailored to fit for only pennies!). The thing that got me so excited about finding this place a few weeks ago was that they carried Indian-style clothing in my size! I have been to India several times now and this is the fist time I have found a place that has shirts with chest sizes greater than 38 inches and pants longer than 30 inches! On our way back through the market we bought a cheap duffle bag for the additional bounty of inexpensive stuff we had acquired over the course of our time here (it was ugly as hell and had the Ferrari logo, no doubt illegally, embroidered on it – I thought it was humorously ironic… Emily hated it).
[I have been wanting to post a video of the Indian Driving experience for a while now
- so here you have it, not as bad as it gets, but reasonably representative of what it is like here.
Although this is in Delhi, it's pretty much like this everywhere
- in rural areas, just double the speed of the cars and you've got it!]
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| The insanely busy streets of Karol Bahg Market |
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| I don't think they get it... |
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| A delicious dinner (bottom to top): Naan and fresh puri (breads), raw vegetables, muttar panner (peas and cheese in sauce), dal makhani (lentils), rice, chana masala (spiced chickpeas), aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), rice pudding |
We returned to the hotel and prepared to head over to my guruji’s family’s home (about 30 minute drive from here) for our farewell dinner. The food was incredible and I encouraged Emily to talk Nasir’s sister, Parveena, out of some of the family recipes. We spent the evening laughing and enjoying our time together. Emily finally had a chance to spend some time with Nasir’s sisters, and got a few lessons in Indian women’s dress. I was so happy to see her whisked away by Zeena and Parveena to try on sari’s and jewelry in the other room!
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| Parveena (a wonderful cook) |
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| A giant puri made just for us (after we told Parveena that our attempts at making puri have been complete failures) |
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| Nasir eating dal and chana masala |
I helped Nasir set up a web-cam on his computer so we could Skype after I return back home (maybe some online music lessons!). We left around midnight and instead of saying “goodbye”, we all made a point of saying “until next time, Insh-Allah (God willing)” with lots of hugs and sad eyes.
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| Emily's Indian dressing tutors: Zeena and Parveena |
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| This is the first time I have played a sitar in 4 years - the pressure was only outweighed by the reverence to guruji and Nasir |
On the ride home I began trying to digest the last month here, a process that will churn and ferment in my subconscious long after the dissociation and culture shock of returning home has subsided. I was both sad and elated, of course, as such experiences in life tend to leave one; coming full circle after ten years of sidelining, distraction, and otherwise living a life a world apart from India, I have felt my heart light-up as if returning home – in a way, returning to reclaim a piece of it that remained here, that never left this magical place, 10 years ago. Ohm Namah Shivaya…Hare Ohm… and of course, Assalamu Alaikum...
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| "Until next time, Insh-Allah" |
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| (Zeena calls her dad, 'Queen Victoria,' when he wears this dashing hat!) |
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