Chandni Chowk

... translated meaning Moonlight Crossing. This is a very old area just outside the mosque. It is a maze of unbelievably narrow and winding streets. The houses seem to be leaning towards each other which only makes it feel tighter. One can stand and touch each side with their hands at points.Raj-nish explains that Delhi was under constant attack in it's earlier history and the tight architecture was designed to protect the city from being stormed on horseback or elephant. The thought alone is mind blowing to me! It was one of those precious moments of taking a glimpse back in time. Surreal! Part of me also felt like Indiana Jones!!!
Most of the stores were just a hole in the wall. Some a few steps up, others slightly below the ground. Barbershops, a taylor working an old fashioned petal operated sewing machine, jewelry, small soup kitchens with pans and pots of curries, a woman boiling a big pot of chaii, bags and bins full of different kinds of rice, flour, beans and spices. The atmosphere was fascinating! Electrifying! I want to go back there! I hope I can make it after my return from Agra...

Jama Masjid - Delhi's largest mosque

One of our stops today is in Old Delhi. Jama Masjid, a functioning mosque. 20.000 people can kneel outside the mosque in prayer.
We take our shoes off outside it's courtyard walls and Ananshree and I have to cover ourselves up in colorful robes. We were wearing long pants and had our shoulders covered, but it is about covering up western clothing. Interestingly enough, men's western clothing is not offensive. Then we enter through a gate into the open plaza in front of the mosque.
Once inside, the attention we got was startling at first. People would follow us and as soon as we would stand we were surrounded by them, starring, giggling and pointing at us. Some wanted to have their picture taken with Ananshree and me, others just used their cell phones to snap a photo unannounced. Raj-nish was quite irritated and would interrupt his explanation to escape the crouds.
We moved into the mosque. There were many small rugs laying in rows on the marble ground. I'm not sure if we were supposed to be there. I could sense tension and hyper alertness in Raj-nish. He didn't say anything but kept looking for someone or something to happen. Within a couple of minutes a man dressed in white appeared and vigilantly and assertively rushed us out. He was speaking loudly at us and used his outstretched arms to hurry us out of the mosque and then out of the plaza's gate together with other westerners. He seemed very impatient, like he couldn't get us out fast enough.
Raj-nish explained that it was their prayer time. I'm not sure that there wasn't a little more to that...

Elaborating

While showing me different sights in Delhi, Raj-nish tells me lots of history mixed with mythology. The difference is hard to discern, he tells me. This is part of the Indian culture - to elaborate. "We still do it every day" he states very matter of factly with his heavy Indian accent. "For instance, I think you are very beautiful" (he couldn't sound more sincere and innocent, in fact he belongs to a sub cast that has sworn off women). And because I would think so highly of your beauty and want others to really understand, I would be very elaborate in describing you. And to make my point even stronger, I would add that you look like the goddess Shiva!" He says that even though there may be many details in India's history that are not exactly truthful, they serve to amplify the point of the historic story. Well, he went on and on, but at that point I FELT like Shiva the goddess!

Raj-nish and Ananshree

I meet my guide Raj-nish in my hotel. He' young and very personable. I like him immediately! He asks me why I came to India? What interests me? I tell him my many different reasons (he's getting the long answer, I figure he can be a better guide that way) and add meditation and yoga. His eyes light up. Throughout the day he interjects his historic and cultural knowledge with his own beliefs. He studied philosophy and I feel like soaking up his intellect. He talks about India's change in culture. I can tell he is proud of his country and engulfed in it's history and at the same time he is a very critical thinker. He learned French in two years to the point of being primarily a guide to french tour groups now!
He brought a friend with him and asks me if I mind. Her name is Ananshree. She is curious about his presentation to me. She seems very friendly, maybe a little shy at first, but that first impression proves wrong during the day. She, too is very personable and really adds to my experience! I love the idea of getting to know her, a modern India woman and get to see Delhi through her eyes, too. It turns out she is an excellent source for talk about Indian fashion. The different styles of saries and how they are draped. The three piece Shalwar Kameez, that is more commonly found on young women. Partly because they don't know how to drape a sari. Plus, the top can be worn alone over jeans, thus making it more modern. The fabrics, of course are unbelievable!!! I could go on and on just about the fabrics!!! She points out young women wearing huge stack of bangles two thirds up to their elbows. These are newly weds, probably on their honeymoon, she says. She explains the different styles of Bindi compared to the powdery red dot between the eyebrows. She is very spiritual and says that both should really be worn higher up, in front of the petuatary gland. This way it would be calming, cooling. Especially women need it, because it balances their emotional state. Inside I am amused but also wonder if there may be something to it? I might just try it sometime while I'm here....

More about my sightseeing later.

My first morning

Delhi is giving me a very warm welcome this morning. It was a short night. Couldn't go to sleep until 5am and at 8:30am the hotel started waking noisily.
Breakfast looked interesting, but on my first day I am just too paranoid to be eating or drinking the 'wrong'  thing. So I stuck to toast and a Masala scrambled egg. Not very adventurous, but I'm worried there won't be any adventure at all if I catch something.
After breakfast I checked out the neighborhood. I didn't get too far.There is this beautiful park right across the hotel.
So, here I sit in this little oasis. The sun is shining on me. The air still crisp. It seems only Indians are here. Not too many though. I can see some exercising lightly, may are socializing with each other, some are tending flowers, one is pushing a wheelchair with an old man, others are sitting on benches like me, reading their newspaper.
I found a calm place for myself to observe the noisy life on the street right outside the park. Cars, bikes, rikshaws, carts, lots of hunking, people walking. They were definitely checking me out, out there and here in the park. I guess I stick out, despite dressing down.
I noticed that so far people don't smile at each other. They look curious, but they don't smile. My gut feeling is, that with 19 Million people living in Delhi, they are used to getting very close with each other physically. And the do! You have no idea! But smiling at each other I think is very private.
In a few minutes my guide will pick me up to explore Old Delhi.
I feel good.

About to land

I'm flying over Delhi. From above it looks like any other city at night, but I know, in a few moments I'll be entering a whole new world!

Over the Ocean

I'm on my way from Newark to Delhi.
I'm looking through my window. It is night outside. The full moon is illuminating the seemingly endless  sea of clouds. It's beautiful! I feels like forever is below me. Then, an interruption, ocean underneath reveals itself in the moons reflection.
Already I feel an unsettling sense of far, far away. Far, far away from home. Far, far away from the ones I'm closest to. Flying towards a foreign place.
People I don't know and don't know me. I won't mean anything to anybody there. I am nobody's mother, nobody's wife, nobody's daughter, nobody's friend, nobody's anything...
I know I will form connections. Still, I am starting from a place of nobody-ism. Or, more positively put, I'm starting from within me. From my core. Pure me without definition. Will it take me a while to find me? Will I find me?
That is the scariest aspect of this journey I chose for myself. And it is what I came her for.
Will I be more then my questions? Looking for answers?
Can I be just me?

And so the journey begins

The plane is pushing back. I'm looking against the snow-covered Rockies to the west and know, I'm heading towards uncharted territory.
I try to imagine my fellow passenger's varied reasons for being on this plane...But of course I know only mine. I like my reason...and still, this morning I woke with nervous energy. A feeling of "what am I doing and how did I get here?" A feeling of "who came up with this idea?!??"
Not that I lost touch of what drove me to this point, but the sensation and awareness of what I was leaving behind was momentarily overpowering. It still is. Part of it may also be some trepidation of the unknown lying ahead of me.
I compare it to sitting in a roller coaster. All buckled up. I'm feeling gravity pull me back as my wagon is being pushed up steep. The thought crosses my mind "what if I could get out right now?" driven by fear. But I know I can't. So I let the thought pass and just hold on. The first big drop is about to come. I feel completely awake!

Relief Riders International slideshow

From the Beginning

It all started when I lived in London 20 years ago. It was there that I developed a strong interest in the Indian culture. Particularly the Indian cuisine, the colors - whether it be saris, chalk painted elephants, embellished jewelry, it's ageold spirituality, different religions and traditions, the practice of yoga and meditation, all in all - the differences to our western civilization. India became my number one country I had to visit before I would die!

About 6 years ago several of my friends were nearing the big 4 0. I could sense some apprehension,  even anxiety about it. I asked my myself - could I come up with a plan to celebrate my 40th birthday that would be so meaningful and exciting that I could hardly wait to turn 40?

 Just as I was pondering that question I read an article in Oprah magazine about Voluntourism.  Relief Riders International, one of the featured organizations, immediately got my attention! They were organizing small groups to travel on horseback through the Rajasthani desert Thar to deliver school and medical supplies and milk goats to remote villages. Doctors were traveling along to conduct dental and cataract eye surgery clinics. What a way to experience a country and it's people! I felt like I had just given birth to a dream. Here it was... my vision for my 40th birthday some 6 years later. The plan worked immediatly - I could hardly wait!

Experiment

I don't consider myself a writer, really. On the other hand, do I have something to say? Yes! So to give myself some freedom I will call this blog an experiment...