Preparing to "Shift"

We are in the midst of preparations for moving ("shifting" as they say here).

The worker we've been subletting from is returning mid-February. There had been some question if she would return, but recently she confirmed her return. That meant we faced the ordeal of searching for another place - a daunting task here in Delhi. Most people hire an agent to search for them.

Fortunately, a friend knew of a place coming available in his building. We looked and leapt at the opportunity. It's a little closer to the Nizamuddin office/classroom site, but not as close as we had originally hoped. However, it is close enough to save us several thousand Rupees a month in transportation costs. Plus it will actually be less monthly rent.

Ironically, it is one floor directly over the flat we stayed in for a couple days during the summer of 2006. We're three blocks from the Main Market area in Malviya Nagar, and right on the edge of the area called Khirki Extension. This is an area that has an "old-world" feel about it. It was originally settled by the refugees from Pakistan at Partition in 1947. Partly as a result, it has a certain sprawling sense of barely organized chaos.

We have the keys, the contract is signed, Janis and a helper will be cleaning tomorrow (Wednesday), and we're scheduled to move things in Saturday.

Fortunately, we don't have a lot, having arrived here with just two suitcases each, and one each was a pretty small suitcase at that. Since then we've acquired a few things (refrigerator and washing machine from workers who had to return to the US) and are being loaned several pieces of furniture that belong to friends we met in Pasadena and who are now serving in Varanasi.

We'll be posting pictures soon.

An Ancient and Continuous Civilization

Antiquities abound here! Some are preserved, many are allowed to deteriorate or are just neglected. The nation known as "India," is a fairly recent creation following
the British colonial period, but the evidences of prior civilizations (British, Greek, Persian, Muslim, Christian, Buddhism...), and mixes of civilizations, abound.

The following are not really very ancient - dating from the late Mughal and British colonial periods...


These first two are from the "Bara Imambara," in Lucknow and date from the period of rivalry between the Muslim empires of the Mughals, headquartered in Delhi, and the Nawabs, headquartered in Lucknow.






These three are ruins of "The Residency," a compound built by one of the later Nawabs in Lucknow to house the British, who he had invited to occupy these grounds. Ironically, in 1857 this was the site for the beginning of the event variously known as, "The First War of Independence," or "the 1857 Mutiny," depending on one's bias.

Sights & Sounds of an Autorickshaw Ride

Since so much of our time is spent in autorickshaws, for your own experience here are some sights and sounds of travel by autorickshaw. Horns are used here not in anger but as a signal that someone is there, hence they are virtually non-stop. Sorry, we couldn't provide smell too!