Going Solo in Delhi: March 12-15th

Sidenote: My hair is still slightly purple. Although Holi was on the 1st of March (it's March 13th now), I have pink water come out of my hair when I shower and there are certain parts of my hair that are purplish in good lighting.

Sidenote 2: I just realized through facebook that my homestay brother's name is Amrit. For the first couple of weeks I thought it was Ambik, then I realized I made an error and have been calling him Ambrit for the last three weeks.

This weekend is our second free weekend so far, however while the other free weekend was a "study weekend", this free weekend is a "travel weekend". This means that we were given a three day weekend (no school on Monday!) for independent travel. I'm really sick of feeling like I need to follow where ever the group wants to go so I decided to go somewhere by myself. This past week was fucking hell (Hindi written mid-term, Hindi oral mid-term, Orchha/Khujuraho presentation, ISP draft, ISP budget, ISP schedule and ISP Literature Review and 2 more Hindi assignments) and I didn't get my act together to travel outside of Delhi. I was going to go to a specactular old fort that was converted into a hotel called the Neemarana Fort (the fist of its kind, according to Guy-ji) in Manowar, which is said to be a cool place to go and it's only two hours outside Delhi (according to Dheeraj-ji). Because of this, I decided to stay in a New Delhi so explore it ON MY OWN, which I've been wanting to do since I got here! Although it would have been cool to go to Manowar, I'm still really happy that I'm staying in New Dehli because there is still SO much here that I haven't seen.

I'm staying in a guest house called Jarobagh 27. It's clean, simple, homey and in a great location; right across the street from Lodhi Gardens, with walking distance from Khan Market, right next to Defence Colony (BEST restaurant selections, you guys HAVE to go to a really popular South Indian restaurant called Sagar Ratna) and not too far from Connaught Place, Sarojini Nagar and Green Park Extn.

Last night I had my first rickshaw driver ask if I was married (this has happened to many other girls in the program). I said yes, but he's back in the U.S. (he didn't ask what my husband's name was but I decided that my pseudo-husband's name is Howard). He kept on winking at me and asked if I had any children, to which I said no. Then I asked him if he had children by saying "beta aur beti?" (means son and daughter?) and he said he had ek beta (one son). Once we found Jarobagh 27, the hotel manager talked me into using their car and driver (it was dark out so it was probably a good idea anyways). I don't remember the driver's name but he was young and cool and spoke almost perfect English! So we talked a lot and I asked him to play me Indian gangster music while he drove me to Defence Colony (where he brought me to that great South Indian restaurant). He also bought a "buttermilk" for me, him and his older brother who was there too. These buttermilks are small sealed plastic bags of DELICIOUS milk drink that you can get at any Mother Dairy stand (there's at least one Mother Dairy stand in every colony, and it's where everyone gets their milk products). The buttermilk was so cold and sweet and it tasted just like a lassi. When I looked to read the label on the bag, it said "lassi" on it, but I for some reason he called them buttermilks.

Saturday morning I walked around inside of Lodhi Gardens. I decided to venture off the the paved paths, into an area with lots of cool trees but as I kept walking I realized there were about 5 couples hanging out, if you know what I mean, so I had a pang of loneliness and quickly went back to the path. When I got out of the gardens I took a rickshaw to Aryuvedic treatment center in Green Park Extn. called Kerala Ayurveda. There, I was told to change into a pair of little, sheer disposable panties and a towel. For the next hour, I laid down, wearing NOTHING but my disposable panties, on a huge wooden platform while two women drizzled hot ayurvedic oil on my body from toe to shoulder and made small talk while they rubbed the oil all over my bare breasts and stomach.

Sunday I went to a great market called Sarojini Nagar where kurtas are only 100-150 rupees (2-3 U.S. dollars). This is my new favorite market for buying kurtas, and that's where I'd recommend going if you want to buy a sari- I bought two saris there! Also, I took a richshaw to New Delhi University, but I was dropped by South Campus and it was so huge and confusing that I didn't really get to see the campus or lots of students hanging out.

I spent a lot of time walking around GK-1 N Block and M Block as well. These are more upscale and organized markets. Go here for getting pierced in clean places and buying jewellry. This is also where you go for trendy Western clothes, some modest and some not. Good jean stores that tailor them for you right when you buy them. Henna wallahs will decorate both hands and/or feet for about 200 rupees.

This weekend was a crucial weekend for me. For three weeks prior to his weekend I thought that I didn't belong in India and didn't like it here in general. But being on my own in New Delhi for the weekend and exploring made me realize that I love India, it was just the stress of the S.I.T. program. I can tell people more about these feelings when I'm home, but I don't know what spew all over the internet.