Leaving Delhi

We're gone - not in Delhi any longer.  It is disorienting to know that we do not belong there now.  I am trying to imagine what the people who were so central to our lives will think as the days go by and we do not appear.  It felt awful to be ripped away, to be doing the ripping, to disrupt lives and patterns.  It's not that I think we were important just because we are who we were but because we were part of others' lives, economically, physically, emotionally.  We will survive somehow .. sadder, older, and richer from the lives that melded with us.  Farewell Delhi - we have left a piece of ourselves.

The Metro, The Metro at long last!

It has happened - we have ridden the Delhi Metro out to the end of the line in Gurgaon.  Having watched it being constructed for over 2 years, seeing it slowly, slowly emerge, driving along the roads below it, peering up to see what is happening above, it was fantastic to finally pay our fare, go through the scanner, use our Rs. 22 electronic token and walk down the stairs at the INA Market stop.  All chrome and marble with lots of light - like the D.C. Metro but newer, shinier.  We rode the Huda City Centre line out to the end and explored the Marriott Courtyard (yes, in India) where Shep will stay when he comes for the Northwestern admission trip.  The ride is underground until Saket (where the Max Hospital and the two huge shopping malls are located) then it goes above so we you can the Qutab (like the picture) and then stays above the tree tops, across The Ridge, through the country, the airport far in the distance, into downtown Gurgaon.  It is like being in the 21st Century - right here in Delhi.  Utterly amazing.

Handsome Mars

Marianne and John visited the Charles Schulz Museum in California last weekend ... and Mars was the star.

Dearest All,

I am being the domestic maven - there are 2 men trying to fix one of the split AC's which is making weird noises - still have to show them the one in the bedroom that is throwing water out the side and soaking the wall behind the bed.  Then Rout Senior is in the bathroom with 3 men reaming out the drain.  The kabadi wallah was here half an hour ago and paid me Rs. 50 for the paper, plastic and glass he took out of here.  Jack has arrived in Dehradun with Elissa and Jake and are on their way up to Winkie's.  Believe I got the short end of this deal. :-)   I keep checking with each group to see what is happening and why.  Hopefully all will be fixed and peaceful shortly.

News of the weeks varies widely -

Greeted the new Fulbright Scholars at  Monday night reception and met Stew Gilson and his girl friend Molly.  Stew is the son of our niece Cathy's best friends - we discovered the connection after Jack visited his brother Fritz in July.  He will be here all year teaching English in a school just off Lodhi Road (our neighborhood!).

Then Tuesday Mark Tully, the BBC correspondent and writer of several India books came to lecture our students. 

Francesca, Harini, Andrew, Jeri, Mark Tully, Hemanshu,

 

 

Everly, Lauren, Karissa, Evan, Sukrita

We had a "tea" that followed and then took Stew, Molly and 2 students ACSA for steak.
Last night was very busy here - Jack and I had gotten the biopsy slides and the after-chemo meds that our friend Cookie needed on Friday/Saturday.  Cookie and David then arrived from Mussoorie last night at 10:30 with a car fully packed with all their things - they are returning to the U.S. so Cookie can have her treatment there.  They said their farewell at Woodstock was tearful and a great and gracious send-off.  We hugged them good-bye at 4:30 am.
Then at 6 am Jack and Eliss and Jake left for Mussoorie.  We had a full house last night - never had 6 people here at a time before.  Now I have a have a houseful of workmen.
The news is full of the fact that we are having the wettest monsoon in 15 years - there are only 8 wetter on record.  It has rained torrentially every day this week - except today.  That means the water gets ankle deep out in front of the house and on multiple highways.  Almost all the stop lights immediately stop working.  Huge holes are opening up on various highways - on Kasturba Gandhi Marg just after we had been then a hole almost swallowed a car.  The work on the Common Wealth Games preparations is in complete chaos - bribery scandals are on-going.  Now they've appointed some kind of blue-ribbon panel to get everything done in 45 days that should have been done in 45 months to quote one of the editorials today.  (Update - the drain is open - the bathroom is soaking wet and one AC is fixed - so filthy inside it's hard to describe.)

In the category of most remarkable news of the week - Sunita, Subhadip and I saw the Metro running on the tracks I have watched being built from the ground up.  The train we saw was headed for my pet engineering project - the suspension bridge at the Moolchand Overpass.  It obviously worked because we passed there several minutes later and everything was intact.  Huzzah, hurray, etc.  The picture attached shows a) the metro train, b) the almost complete Lajpat Nagar stop), c) the traffic jam we were in for 45 minutes, d) rain drops on the wind shield from the latest down pour.  Almost too much reality in one shot.
And terrible news from Evanston including the death of two friends at church included dear, dear Jane falling and breaking her shoulder/arm in a compound fracture.  I talked with her on the phone before her appointment with the Illinois Bone and Joint doctor (the place the fixed my hip) so I don't know the plan for her recovery.  I will try her tomorrow morning (Sunday night) and hear the progress report.
It is also blessedly cool even if it is terrifingly humid - the high in Evanston yesterday was forecast for 93 and for here it was 89. :-)   The worm has turned or something like that.  It was actually only 78 outside we got up this morning at 4 am.
I've gone on long enough or longer than needed ... mom and dad, did you read this far?!?  We had a good if short talk on Skype last night.  They can't seem to hear us very well but we hear them beautifully - maybe one of my siblings, my tech brother Bob?, could check that out next time you're there.
This is the week for college to begin - Caroline is off to Kenyon, Aradhna Roberts is off to Goshen today from Woodstock ...wishing them both lots of adventures.

The rains game...

 Memories of the Monarch Lake hike on June 24, 2010

Now from Delhi ...
Hard to know what to lead with - several headlines would have been possible.  But lower temperatures and the lovely patter of rain on the awnings is the best news.  And knowing that the bushels of dust that Pramod, Pawan (before I came), Neesha and I have swept out of the house is far less likely to make its way back in now that it's wet!  The Met (the Meteorological Service of India) says that the southwest monsoon is not here yet (http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/Monsoon_frame.htm) BUT the BBC says it is and so do the clouds and rain.  The monsoons were such a preoccupation of the grown-ups around me when I was a child, would they fail? when would they start? would there be a good rice crop?  all matters of grave concern. Now I am always happy when it rains.  So rejoice with me!
The other headline is that the new terminal (called T3 being the 3rd terminal at Indira Gandhi Airport) was officially opened yesterday and the first international flights will arrive there on July 14 (according to TOI) or July 15 (according to IE).  Jack leaves the U.S. on the 14th and will arrive on the 15th - so he will either be on the first or second day that T3 is in use.  I will go out early and see what's what because all my students arrive on July 17 and we have to know what to tell them.  I'm attaching an article from the Times of India - if you don't read it at least scroll through to the last pages for the pictures.  Spectacular - seemingly the new India!
Another newsworthy item - yesterday I saw a subway car sitting on the tracks at the Lajpat Nagar station (it is above ground there).  There were men working on the overhead electrical too.  The system is electric and uses overhead lines not the third rail like the El in Chicago.  The newspaper also had a story about the line that will run out to the airport - 20 minutes from Connaught Place to IGA.
I've had two good days in the office.  The work is monumental but will keep my mind off Jack not being here with me.  Thank goodness we only have 12 students coming - the larger numbers look more impressive but require a lot more attention.  Yesterday I ran errands with a car for the whole day from Hardeep the taxi wallah.  Went to get groceries at Defence Colony Market - and found a huge construction project at the end of the market (two lines of stores with a garden in the middle is the market) - an old, maybe Muslim shrine being rebuilt - part of the great "spruce up" that is going on.  The piles of dirt where sidewalks are being replaced are twice as high as they were and there doesn't seem to be any progress that I can discern.  If they would just finish something it would be a reassurance that all of this is not simply futile - in fact, during the intercessory prayers this morning the woman praying asked God to please help all of those who had deadlines to meet so that India would not be disgraced!  So it's not just me that is getting anxious about all of these never ending projects.  We are trying our best (sent the two office boys again yesterday morning) to get tickets to the opening ceremony for the Games but even though the marketing people said they would be releasing more Rs. 1000 tickets yesterday they did not do it.  There are lots of Rs. 5000 available - but we can't spend that much on students.  As Shera the mascot told us in the paper today - 92 days to go. 
I went to ACSA and had a salad for lunch and swam, then went and had my hair cut at the Oberoi.  So my day was full and busy.  I had a great visit with mom and dad on Skype at our regular time.  They are off to Byron for the Whitcomb family reunion today (tonight for me) with Patty driving them up.  Jack had a great visit with his brother, sister-in-law and various nieces and great-nieces in Philadelphia and is back in Evanston now.
The worst news so far is that we have to fire the cook at the Residence today.  I am waiting for Hemanshu to call me and we will do it together.  Hemanshu caught the cook in his bedroom, inside the cupboard with the safe (which sadly he had left open) going through all the money and jewelry, with bags emptied on the floor.  Caught red handed as they say.  He had been with us for just 2 months -  with a wife and baby.  We will stay until he has all his things packed and is gone.  Traumatic for all of us.  And then we will have to find a new cook again ... cook number 4.  And we will probably be closing the Residence when I leave in December so this will be a short-term job for whoever we hire.  It is, as we say, India.
So - wonderful that we got to see many of you.  A month is hardly any time at all though.  Think of me making my way without Jack - it's  lonely but I'll manage.  Love to all,
Cate

Why We're Here

This isn't as profound as it sounds but maybe more so. We are in Evanston for graduations - Woody's, Caroline's, Noah's. Two high school and on middle school. Woody from Frances Parker and Caroline from New Trier. This is how we remember them ...grandpa and Woody as Nepalis, circa 1997.

They are beautiful children - almost grown and still growing. Caroline with go to Kenyon in the fall and Woody to Columbia to begin a theater major. It was special to be here - we are the absent aunt and uncle and grandma and grandpa. We worry about them becoming good, peaceful people. God bless us all.

The Moolchand Metro

Sun in the morning on Lake Michigan

Just a word about how serene and lovely it is beside the Lake this morning.  These are the flowers that I bought for our party on Sunday - the lawn service men have just arrived so the serenity is ended with the drone of the lawn mower.
We had an excellent visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art yesterday.  Arrived in mid-afternoon.  Saw a film by Smithson on Earthworks, a goofy exhibit of a screw that goes in and out of the wall, and an exhibit of the collection that was mind-expanding, funny, frustrating and lovely.  We were able to listen to the audio tour for various pieces by just calling a number on my cell phone.  We shared the ear buds and got a great tour.  Had a luxurious, cozy dinner at the RL dining room right off of Michigan Avenue. 

And here is the view outside of the front window this morning ...  Today we go on the River Tour of the city.  Praying the weather will hold.

Delh in Turmoil for Games

The whole Metro project, along with my favorite engineering project, is because the Commonwealth Games will be here in Delhi, Oct. 3-17. The city is in turmoil as every median, every curb and every sidewalk is being torn out and rebuilt. The dust pervades everything but there are thousands of villagers finding employment in the blazing sun to make this transformation come about. We will need to celebrate them when the time comes. There is a flame, called The Queen's Baton, being circulated through the Commonwealth countries - caught this ad in the newspaper.
There is one more thing about the games ... this being written from Evanston, but I have to finish this with a note about the suspension bridge at the Moolchand flyover - I took video, put it on YouTube but can't get it to post. Trying several options!

The Moolchand Metro Bridge

Of all the Metro construction this is by far and away the best thing - the Moolchand fly over bridge. There are 3 layers of highway at that point - one underpass, the ground level Mahatma Gandhi Inner Ring Road, and a flyover on the Lajpat Nagar road - so the Metro had to find a way to bridge all three. They began building the super-structure about 12 months ago. Then slowly they've progressed. In the past 3 months they've been adding the cables. I never saw them putting the cables in until about 2 weeks ago when Sunita was driving us home - we went over the flyover and we saw workers installing the 4th cable on the west side of the street. Very exciting. Here is an artists rendering ... I can't get a picture in the morning because I approach it from the east and it is only a hazy silhouette at best. Zindabad Metro!



And here is a link to a video view of the bridge almost complete - all the cables in place.

More thoughts on Sunday

This morning I went to church alone, in the clear, bright, hot light of late May in Delhi. My driver was Yashpal, back from Himachal. The word earlier was that Yashpal would not return from Himachal - that he was working for his brother who had a government job. But the lure of more money from driving in Delhi must have brought him back. He doesn't have his old mobile phone because he got one in Himachal that costs him roaming charges in Delhi. So I have to remember to call him on Pawan Sharma's number. Pretty confusing as I have 4 Pawan's on my phone.

Yashpal had apparently just heard of the accident from two weekends ago where 4 young men were killed right at the corner of Ansal Plaza, just past the taxi stand where the drivers wait for fares. He showed me where he said the car hit a pile of construction rubble and then flipped over the median. I had seen the broken class and debris left after the accident and it horrified Yaspal to tell me the story. The boys killed were all related, cousins and brothers, on their way to the bus terminal for 2 of them to return to the Punjab.

Sunday morning driving is bliss - no one else on the road at 7:30 am. We flew through South Extension and around the Jindal stainless steel installation, shiny outer space globes of stainless steel set in the middle of the spaghetti bowl of access entrance and exit roads. Going up Aurubindo Marg (where the elephant is waiting patiently at the light in the picture above) is no longer an unbroken tunnel of aqua, red and green signs saying DELHI METRO, but is opening up a highway again, with an elaborate green fence, and the construction of metro stations evident on either side. Further on the aqua sign board tunnel continues - I love reading the Hindi for METRO, the "m" being easily recalled but the "tr" being one of those seldom used, conjoined consonants and then the "o" also being easy. Four little sounds, m, tr, o.

I dread entering the church because when it's 100 outside it's 10-15 degrees hotter inside. The red sandstone absorbs the heat and holds it like a reliable oven but without anything to bake except us. There are several dozen fans placed strategically around the sanctuary. The trick is to find the best place to sit, not too close where you have to constantly get the hair out of your eyes or too far where you don't feel any benefit. We were all wiping our foreheads and necks. I pity the pastors in their long robes and vestments.

When I got home Lucy the street dog was waiting to say hello - I just saw her out of the corner of my eye and went back to give her a rub. She licked my chin and my toes ... her hello. When I left for church Lucky was there looking bright eyed and ready for a biscuit. I rubbed his neck and big clouds of dust came off of him - hazard of living on the street under the cars. As I went to close the door of the Wagon R, I looked down and found Lady sitting there waiting for her rub and pat. I hadn't seen them all week.

Now for packing and learning to Tweet.

Thouhgts on Sunday

Objectives for the day - learning how to Tweet, blogging, packing. I read the review of a favorite book recently, Dreaming in Hindi, that accused the writer, Kathy Russell Rich, of not revealing how she really feels. I know that is one of my problems, not being able to say how I feel because I haven't been able to analyze for myself how I feel. It's not that I don't feel - just that it is easier to react with vehemence but not with any greatly nuanced feeling. I'm going for the nuance.

It is Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was with us at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption; more or less in the form of poltergeists causing hymns to be announced too soon, almost forgetting to Pass the Peace, and people going for communion before their row was called. It was good to see error in a service that is usually flawlessly led by Pastor Dennis Lal.

I am going to quote a piece from The Chronicle, the Cathedral's newsletter:

A lifetime ago - or so it feels -Rev Kenneth Sharp conducted a retreat for young people at the School of Prayer in Rajpur, Dehradun. Like everyone else, I found some sessions especially meaningful, such as those built around meditation and reading, but chafed under others, such as the slightly dreary routine, or so at least it seemed to me, of organized prayer. I enjoyed however, the company of my new-found Prayer Partner, Jenny Hills from Nottingham. One after noon, when I was complaining of the vexations of a life of prayer she showed me a fragment of a poem that I learnt later was "Little Gidding," by T.S. Eliot. It read,
You are not here to verify
Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity
Or carry report. Your are here to kneel
Where prayers has been valid.
I enjoyed the poety - then as now - but decided Jenny was being a little over-enthusiastic about prayer.

Some years after that, when I was studying in Cambridge, I got a change to visit Little Gidding itself. It is a site in southeast England where prayer has been unbroken since an Anglican community first made its home there in the seventeenth century. This retreat was enjoyable because we were left to ourselves to wander down shabby muddy country lanes, exactly as in the poem, with the low, flat, featureless East Anglian countryside stretching as far a eye could see. We had a cheerfully austere Ploughman's Lunch of bread, cheese and fruit, the British notion of a ruralized meal no farmer has ever really eaten. Suddenly when we went in to pray, and my wrists hit the handrails, I remembered the phrase, "Your are here to kneel/Where prayer has been valid." I reaslized what Jenny had been trying to say long ago, that against the importance of the act of prayer none of the irritations of life such as stagnation, boredom or discouragement ought to matter. I still don't think I'm good enough to agree, but when I now teach the poem "Little Gidding," to my Masters students in Delhi University I think of the long and twisting route I've gone down, and wonder very much what lies ahead.
Christel R. Devadawson

Khajuraho and Winter in Delhi

Last weekend I took 18 students to Khajuraho in M.P. We traveled by train and bus. Here is the group shot just as we were getting on the bus. I thought I was taking a still shot but it turned out to be video. And a little boy decided to run right through the middle of the picture. The students this term come from all over once again - east coast (Harvard, Amherst, Johns Hopkins), west coast (USC, Pomona Claremount) and mid-west, Carelton, Drake. Some have been to India before which is different for a change. They had a good weekend - I got exhausted.