After my run in the early morning, Utsa and I drank our "bed tea" and went down for breakfast at the Delhi University Guest House; she was anxious to take me out to Delhi Haat, which seemed more like a street fair with vendors selling their wares in just the same way they do on the streets except that we had to pay 20 rupees to get into the place. As we were waiting for it to open, we encountered these kids doing some performance and learned that a bollywood movie was being filmed and I was warned not to upload any of my photos on social media/networks until the film comes out. I doubt very much my blog counts as a social network...
Utsa turns out to be the most extraordinary bargainer, and we played good cop-bad cop with the sellers. She got me these three paintings for HALF what the sellers asked of me!
We got back, sticky and hot, and this sweet man rode us on his rickshaw at 2:00, the most vicious heat of the day, to the metro station where we could catch an auto . I think I now understand towel heads; the towel must catch the sweat and keep the sun off, but it just isn't quite my style yet... Maybe once I get back to Doha...
I couldn't resist this fellow who had a gorgeous rig on his head, but as I tried to photograph him, he untied it so that I could get a full frontal, which I did; wasn't he accomodating?
This is Utsa at the beginning of our journey, so excited to be going home!
Sun is going down on this vast land that is India.
HERE is my "salad" for supper, and those of you who know me well, know that I eat a gigantic bowl of salad every night for my supper; this is as close to raw veggies as I've gotten while here. It is a sadness to SEE the veggies at the stands, but by the time they his my mouth, they have been over-salted, over-cooked and over-spiced! I mean, a carrot on its own is heavenly, and I did enjoy these few bites of vegetables in their close to raw state.
How cosy is this? Everybody snug in his or her little bunk, reading,sleeping or just day dreaming until we fell into our rhythms of sleep.
Morning sun rises over India, and the photographer is up and about to drink her "bed coffee" as I carried a little jar of instant coffee with me. Cheater!
Once we got near Kolcatta, Utsa beamed and said how she loved seeing all the colors of the trains stations again; Delhi's was so drab. These are some of the scenes on our taxi ride back to the apartment.
I forget to tell a lovely little piece of Utsa-ism. As we went to catch the train, we bought big bottles of cold, cold water, and as she took her first sip, she said, "I just LOVE water on a hot day!" I loved the simplicity, the earnestness and the ease with which she said it, and I realized that there really IS nothing finer than cold water on a hot day. But who takes the time and the words to express such a fundamental truism?
Over and out for one of my last few nights in Calcutta. It is decidedly cooler here than it is in Delhi, and I am looking forward to being home for awhile and helping Oona get ready for HER trip.
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