like a fish needs a bicycle...

things i will...

things i will…

~ things i will miss about delhi ~

1. the lotus temple.

2. getting a really good indian meal for $2.

3. saying my daily hello to the sweet old aunty around the corner who sells me my yogurt.

4. seeing hundreds of heterosexual men unabashedly hold hands while walking down the street and incur absolutely no cultural or social stigma for it.

5. the beautiful visual array of indian women's clothes -- everywhere you go, women are wearing gorgeous fabrics, patterns, and colors. it's easy on the eyes.

6. being in a city with history. it's so nice to be surrounded by things that have been standing for 1,000 years -- it's a refreshing change when you grew up in shoddily constructed suburban sprawl.

7. walking at night and realizing that the moonlight is actually illuminating my surroundings.

~ things i will not miss about delhi ~

1. power cuts. they happen anywhere from 2 to 10 times a day (but never less than 2). sometimes they're 5 minutes long. sometimes they're over an hour long. and when the A/C and the fans go off, it's 103 degrees outside, and it feels like 118 with the humidity factored in, every minute seems like a suffocating eternity. ...although, i suppose it was kind of nice that one night that i went over to anna and nellie's and we lit candles and sat in the palpable heat of their living room, shamelessly engaged in girl talk. then, the power came back on and "dirty dancing" magically appeared on the TV screen in front of us. now, i've never seen that movie (shocking, i know), but i saw the most climactic 10 minutes apparently, since i got to see patrick swayzie and jennifer grey do their big dance in front of everyone at the end. soooo cheesy. (“nobody puts baby in a corner” – fabulous writing, stellar acting). and then, right as they were about to kiss, the power went out again -- i suppose the censorship gods intervened to prevent the scandal. so then we sat in the dark and in the heat for another 15 minutes until the power came on again. and then, as i walked home, dripping in sweat, i could see the whole neighborhood hanging out on their balconies, in their shops, and in the streets, chatting in the candlelight. i've never felt such a sense of community during a blackout. it was nice... but still, i hate the power cuts. :)

2. brushing my teeth with bottled water, closing my mouth as tight as i can in the shower, shuddering at the thought of tap water touching my lips.

3. soaking my clothes with sweat every day.

4. being a spectacle absolutely everywhere i go and feeling like every other person i walk past on the street is trying to swindle me.

5. the fact that no pharmacy sells, or has even heard of, pepto bismol or anything remotely like it (in india!).

6. breathing exhaust fumes everywhere i go.

7. the incessant, ubiquitous, needless honking – worse than anything i’ve ever heard in new york.

~ things i will... well, miss is a strong word -- things i grew accustomed to in delhi and whose absence i will have to grow re-accustomed to ~

1. waking up in the morning to the sound of the guys on bikes selling stuff on the street below. they yell out the name of whatever they're selling (e.g, "dahi," which is yogurt). no matter what they're selling, they all yell the syllables in the same musical interval, which i've determined is a minor 3rd.

2. being called "madam" everywhere i go.

3. seeing everyone in the neighborhood sitting or lying down on cots in their porches every evening and saying hi to passers by.

4. bargaining for every piece of clothing or accessory i wanna buy.

5. maneuvering around cows in the street.

*** also, since we're talking about india, maya has asked me to raise some awareness about recent web censorship by the indian government. you can read more about it on maya's live journal ****

Posted by naseem at July 19, 2006 11:31 AM