Delhi Diary

It seems to be all go here in Delhi at the moment, with lots of friends on the move.

After a wonderful weekend of polo, the Delhi season ended on a fun note yesterday afternoon.  Playing in the exhibition game were 3 good friends, Carine, Monica and Amer, so  we had lots of people to cheer for. (It was great to have 2 women playing, as well, as we head into International Womens Day).

The main game -  the last of the season -  took a while to warm up, but the final chukker was tense, and there was drama right through to the dying seconds – a missed 60 yard penalty in the last 7 seconds.  Can’t get much more of a nail-biting finish than that.

Now all the players move onto Mumbai for the next month.

In the evening, Lizzie and Carine came round, and we toasted polo, and India, and visiting friends over champagne on the roof.  We leave early tomorrow for Kaziranga, so last night I said goodbye to Lizzie, my substitute daughter of the past months, because when we get back, she will be heading back to the US.

So, this is the last day of urban India for a week.

Can’t wait to get to Kaziranga, and go out on game drives in the early morning. Bliss.  I think we have 2 elephant game drives booked, which is always the hugest fun (huge, I suppose, being the operative word).

There is just so much happening on the news front, too, that I hardly know where to start.

So, let’s see what’s what.

The Oscars are happening right now, as I blog.  No Indian blitz this year, unlike last year, when it was “Jai ho” all the way.

There have been column inches galore in the Indian press these last couple of days about International Womens Day tomorrow, and fittingly the big political news in India is that Parliament today will debate a bill to have 33% reservation for women in Parliament.

I have sifted through all the many articles about women today, which included many uplifting stories of women coping, and doing, and surviving, and from them all I settled on this nice story :
But you know what, I think the following is the catchiest headline today :

Just think.  Soon I can sit in a traffic jam at Moti bagh, sipping my tea and reading all about the dreadful state of Delhi traffic.  Love it.

And now for my photo of the day.  It just has to be of Monica and Carine, at the Jaipur Polo Ground yesterday afternoon.

Next blog, inshallah, will be from Assam. Can’t wait.

Oh, and please don’t forget to read my new pages about culture and the environment.

Today my getting back into shape régime has begun in earnest.  After a rather boring month of just walking round and round the roof “exercising”, I went to the club this morning, for the first time since my operation a month ago.  Carine picked me up at dawn, and while she rode, I walked in the cool, early morning mist – it was actually cool enough to require a fleece. What a pleasure.  3 slow kilometres around a misty polo field – not much by my previous standards -  but they were literally baby steps. Tea on the lawn,  a gossipy catch-up chat with friends, and then a quick dash home, before leaving to watch a 10 o’clock movie, “Invictus” with a South African friend, Pippa.  I talk about the film in my Culture Corner page, so please look there.

Pippa calmly announced that she had been at the memorable rugby game that is at the heart of the film, and that it was every bit as electrifying as in the film.  Am seriously impressed.

It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon, and I am off soon to watch the penultimate polo game of the season.  Talking to Amer and Deepankar over high tea after yesterday’s game (more on that in a mo) I was lamenting the end of the season, but as they both pointed out, there will now be much more time and many more ponies available for chukkers and stick and ball, which is quite true.

So, back to yesterday’s game, which was organised by the Army, and thus was a splendid affair, as only the Army can do.  A good 14-goal game, lots of pomp and ceremony, and the best trick riding I have ever seen – though I agree with both Bogey on Thursday, and Sharad yesterday, who said it should rather be called skilled riding.  Trick riding doesn’t do justice to the spectacle of riders triple tent-pegging, or, my all time favourite, hanky picking.  Yesterday’s hankies also came with gulal (coloured powder) so it really was a lovely sight.

Apart from all things sporty, what else has caught my attention ?  Well, actually, the hockey is still on here, but India’s dizzy euphoria over beating Pakistan in the opening game has fizzled out, after 2 successive losses.  They play England tonight,  who are at the top of their pool at the moment.

On a much more serious note, the casualty figures from the horrific stampede that I talked about yesterday have risen, and the head of the ashram where it happened -  a so-called “godman” – has seemingly done a runner.

My ranting and venting about the way women are harassed in Delhi isn’t over.  This report is in today’s papers – and please note the date of the incident.

1993.

Hats off to the High Court’s statement about the situation today – “an overwhelming majority of women in Delhi do not feel safe.”  Fine words, and I genuinely applaud them, but what is going to be done to rectify such a situation ?

While I am venting, let me let off steam about sycophancy.  I love India, don’t get me wrong.  I really do. But certain things get my goat, and a fawning article like the one below is one of them.  Some poor landless labourer lost his mother in the stampede, but hey, Rahul Gandhi gave him his mobile number.

What on earth are they talking about ?

Words fail me.

Don’t miss the telling phrase “VVIP pilgrimage”.

I think VVIP shall be my word of the day.  It certainly gets used a heck of a lot here.  Just like some hotels now style themselves 7 star, I wonder who will be the first Indian politician to become a VVVIP ?

I shall end on a happy note – my photo of the day is from yesterday’s rather splendid trick riding :

It’s all so wonderfully gorgeous, here’s another one of the standing salute :

One last thing.

I have added another page, which will cover “green” India -  the environment, wildlife, eco-issues.  Do, please, read it, and give feedback.

So, in almost as many days, it is Technology 2 Christine 0.

The blog went off air for the last 2 days, but Himmat, bless him, damaged controlled from Chhachhrauli.  Sitting on the farm, using his trusty old BSNL mobile, he called the people who host my website in Colorado , and sorted out the problem for me.  Technology is quite amazing (when it works). So, sighs of relief all round, and here I am again, blogging from sunny, summery-feeling Delhi.

A very dear friend from Johannesburg days, Sue Ollemans, arrived yesterday from London, where she now lives.  She had some choice words to offer on British weather, before choosing the sunniest spot on the terrace to sit and unwind.

I later took Sue to watch the Oxbridge vs the Army polo match at the club yesterday afternoon.  Not the greatest polo, I have to admit, but it’s the closing week of the season, so every last game is to be treasured – and it was very pleasant to sit in the sun, listening to Bogey commentating the match.

Gautam is in town for this week, from Dubai, so we had a group of Doscos over for dinner, which was loud and funny and full of school reminiscences.  But there has to be a better collective noun for Doscos than merely “a group”. Suggestions on a postcard please.  Handful springs to mind.

2 days off-line and the news I want to share with you certainly piles up.  There is good, bad and dotty news.  The bad, awful stuff first.  A horrific stampede took place in UP yesterday in which, as is tragically so often the case, it’s women and children who are the victims :

Usual sorry story of no effective policing, no crowd control.  Poor, poor people.

The  following combination of news from yesterday’s and today’s papers makes me angry beyond speech.  Perhaps this is the kind of thing Sanju meant when he asked me if my blog “makes a difference”…If holding the mirror up to the ugly side of Delhi and India, (whilst simultaneously celebrating its good side) makes any little difference, then I guess that this blog does have a purpose.  So, read this from today’s paper,  and marvel at the niceties of the law :

No aggravating circumstances.

How dare they say that ?

A man rapes a child he is tutoring, but there are no “aggravating” circumstances.  I am revolted.

As if to add salt to the wound, this bland piece of advertising (in a plug for International Womens day next week) irritated the hell out of me :

The exhortation “Let us make Delhi…” blah blah blah -  as if they were encouraging us not to litter, or to follow the traffic rules.  Let’s make Delhi safe, but let’s also let out child rapists.  Same newspaper, 2 pages apart.

Let’s rather have visible, effective policing, strict sentencing, and stop wasting the tax payer’s money on trite ads.

To round things off, this was in yesterday’s Times of India :

In case you hadn’t guessed, I am cross.

Right, now, from the bad and the ugly, to the good news.  Nay, it is beyond good news.  It is great, earth-shattering news, given that summer is now upon us :

No power cuts for 2 years.  If it were not for Lent, I would break open the champers and celebrate.  Yes, no power cuts.  You read it here first -  well, apart from the front page of the ToI yesterday, obviously.

And let me round off with the downright dotty news.  This is why I love India, despite the horror stories.

Love it.

I have a word of the day for you -  in fact I have 2, since I have been rather short-changing you on that score of late.

Delhi resembles a ginormous building site at the moment, with all the frantic preparations for the CWG.  One of my favourite signs is the one telling me that so and so road is having “upgradation” work done. If you think about it, though, in a country that makes “prepone” a logical counter to postpone, I suppose if you have degradation, logically you can have then have upgradation.

My second word is that marvellous word “deconcretization” :

I wonder whether these 2 were upgradating or deconcretizing ?

I lost only 2 blogging days due to unspecified tech troubles with my server, but yet lots seemed to have happened.

Since there is no newspaper today (it was Holi yesterday, a major public holiday) I shall concentrate on what’s been making news in my little world :  polo, dancing and lots of sunshine, pretty much in that order.

Yesterday, Jane and Michael headed back to chilly Blighty, after what I think was a good week here.  They had lots of great polo, which was one of their requests, and they have both become keen and knowledgeable fans.   Ask them both what a technical is, for example, and they can rattle off Sharad’s explanation word perfectly.

On Sunday morning, the day before Holi, two of my nieces had their Arangetram -  an important milestone in the life and career of a Bharat Natyam dancer, and they both put on a splendid performance.  I haven’t seen enough Indian classical dance to be able to speak with any authority, but Anam and Samaa both looked extremely good, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first ever Arangetram.  Jane and Michael went along, too, and Jane (who, like me, studied classical ballet for years) commented on some of the similarities in mime gestures.  She said that even though she didn’t know the precise story being told in Samaa’s solo, she managed to follow it easily, because so much of the mime was reminiscent of the recitatives in ballet.

The polo on Sunday was exciting, with lots of good play and a nail-biting finish.  As always with the high-profile games, the stands were packed, whereas when we went to the semis on Saturday, there was hardly anyone there.

Only one week of the season left.

Holi was celebrated yesterday and, true to lore, the weather has instantly hotted up. Holi traditionally heralds the beginning of the summer, and so far the tradition seems to be spot on.

On Sunday it was 31.6°, and it has been 31° ever since.  So hot so early in the year doesn’t bode well for the long summer ahead of us.  Jane and Michael had to borrow fleeces their first weekend here, so chilly were the evenings.  Just a week later, they were seeking the shade, so hot had it become.

It now definitely feels like summer, and even the quality of the light has changed, in just a few days.   The whole of the city seems to be in bloom right now, so for a few precious weeks, everything looks absolutely wonderful – Delhi as a whole, and my own little world of potted plants on my terrace and balconies.  I have nasturtiums (or is the plural nasturtia ?) cascading from pots on the roof terrace, and freesia beginning to bloom, and nice deep blue hyacinths, and it all looks beautiful.

Off to see a movie tonight with Lizzie and Eden – either “It’s Complicated” or “Up in the air”.  Meryl Streep or George Clooney.  What a delicious choice to have to make.

No daft news today (no papers, remember) so I’ll give you extra photos instead.  2 from the Arangetram, and one from the final, very tense moments of the wonderful polo match on Sunday.

Thank you to everyone who called/e-mailed/sent a message via Facebook/sms-ed/skyped me, to say that they couldn’t access my blog.  It has seemingly sprung back to life, just a few minutes ago.

I have no idea what happened, but for the last 2 days, as the administrator, even I couldn’t access it. Neither could you all.  And I had so much to chat about – polo, Holi, my nieces’ Arangetram.  Too bad, but I was secretly chuffed that so many of you complained.

I may well have to post a bumper blog tomorrow, with extra photos.

Now, though, I shall say goodnight, to the accompaniment of the cry of a very noisy lapwing who appears to be buzzing the house.  What he is doing making such a racket so late is anybody’s guess.

I begin today’s blog with a heartening story.  My sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Michael, are here on holiday. Last Monday, Michael lost his credit card.  He was 99% sure that it wasn’t pinched, but that he had inadvertently dropped it in a taxi.  So, the credit card was duly stopped, replacement cards ordered, and off they went on their travels to Madhya Pradesh.

Cut to this morning, when they went to C Block Market, to get a taxi to Khan Market.  A man walks up to them, and hands Michael his credit card.

Now, isn’t that a nice story ?

Last night, friends who are planning to climb Kilimanjaro this summer came round for drinks and to glean whatever advice I can give them.  I can hardly believe that it is 7 years since I first climbed Kili, and almost 5 years since Hari and I summited together in March 2005.  Sunil’s offer to join them in August was tempting, but I think I shall resist.  Their practice hike in May, however, is very much on my radar screen, knees permitting.

I am blogging early today, since we are off to the polo this afternoon.  Abhimanyu is playing in the semis, so fingers crossed.

Today’s news is inevitably dominated by analysis of yesterday’s budget, but I have sifted through the pages to bring you only the choicest morsels.

Firstly, there will be a direct impact on the CWG spending plans :

Struggling to find funds, huh ?  That sounds worrying.  Fascinating to see how this plays out.

The Times of India’s in-depth budget analysis was full of rather fun elephant analogies today, and they had lots of great photos of elephants (the kind I would have loved to have taken).  Why elephants ?  Read on :

Great stuff.  I just love the image of the elephant dancing.

My word of the day  – well, phrase of the day, more exactly – is also from a financial report, believe it or not :

Yellow sizzle = gold, of course.

But all of this pales into absolute insignificance, compared to my fabulous headline.

This may one day be in contention for my headline of 2010.

Once again, the mind truly boggles.

Now, after that, what on earth can I put as my photo of the day ?  No sizzling gold, no nude men…. then it had better be an elephant, albeit not a dancing one.  This beauty was in Namibia, just outside our camp in Etosha.

Yet another beautiful day is winding down, after a day of just enough sun and a perfect blue sky.  Though, as we approach Holi on Monday, the temperature is rising noticably, degree by degree every day. Actually, let me be Indian in my expression, and rather say “The mercury is rising.”

So, what’s been happening these last 2 days ?

Well, yesterday was a day of the Best Laid Plans syndrome.

Brandy and Will were due back yesterday morning from a week with tigers, and we had a plan to go a-wandering through Old Delhi.  I had envisaged a day shopping our way through Kinari Bazaar, perhaps stopping off to buy yet more deliciously coloured topaz from that shop near the pretty Jain Temple.  But it was not to be.

Fog.

Yes, can you believe it, there were early morning fog delays ?  First the snow in Texas delayed their arrival here, then the Delhi fog delayed them on their last day.

The fog most certainly caught Will and Brandy’s airline off guard.

Ah well, topaz shopping will just have to wait for my sister Jane – who was also seriously delayed driving back from Agra yesterday afternoon.  It’s clearly catching.

The delay meant Jane was be a no-show at book-club last night, which is sad because she had been looking forward to catching up with the ladies she had met this time last year.  Great evening, and a great book -  “Restless” by William Boyd.

On the serious news front, what do I have for you ?  The happy news of the last few days has been Sachin’s 200 runs, which have been analysed, and commented upon, and discussed with huge glee and great national pride.  Oh, there was also the Railway Budget, and then there is the Budget today.  I didn’t catch all the budget speech, but I know that there are no sops and that petrol is going up.

Today, Jane helped boost the Indian economy with a certain amount of retail therapy. I do enjoy accompanying decisive shoppers like Jane and Michael.

Jane and I zoomed into Shahpurjat and had tea with Sonam.  Can’t wait for his next show in late March.

Other people are also out and about clothes shopping at the moment :

But the real news I have for you is…

Makes you think, doesn’t it ?

What’s an FOB ?  A foot overbridge.  What did you think it was ?

My photo of the day was taken on the road from Shahpurjat, after visiting Sonam.  Jane bought a book from him, and a magazine from another.  I think she quite likes shopping at traffic lights.

I have included an article about M.F.Husain in the Culture Corner section.  Good for Qatar.

After a night of partying with the Bheemers last night, today has been lazier, giving me ample time to reflect on something Sanju said last night.  He had just promised to start following this blog on his return to London, when he asked me, “Does your blog make a difference ? Will it change the world ?”

And there was I, feeling quite proud of my 40,000 hits a month, and rising.

Who knows whether this blog will make a difference and/or change the world, but I am certainly having loads of fun writing it and enjoy all the feedback.  You have given me food for thought, Sanju.

Today was a day for doing chores – a word which, funnily enough, cropped up over dinner last night.  After much discussion last night, it would appear that only women have chores.

Anyway, Himmat gallantly accompanied me on my chores this afternoon, and we crisscrossed Delhi and sat in long traffic jams,  but essentially accomplished most of what we had set out to do. I had something to buy from one of the state emporia on Baba Kharak Singh Marg,  where I hadn’t been in years. There has been a certain amount of poshing up of the area -  certainly more marble than I had remembered – but there were still piles of marigolds for sale, and people snoozing on the pavement in the afternoon sun.

We also went to Greater Kailash I market, which was ( I have to admit this) a first for me.  Clean, loads of nice shops, no hassling and hustling -  all very nice.

Onto Nehru Place which was a completely different kettle of fish.  Could you get a tattier, more run-down looking pace if you tried ?  Rubbish, paan stains, noise, and huge crowds of men outside each and every shop with a TV, avidly watching Sachin Tendulkar at work in Gwalior.  But I will say one thing for Nehru Place – it was hectically busy.  People milling about, especially around makeshift stalls selling cheap clothes.  There were loads of young men hanging around outside computer shops, trying to persuade us to buy software, and (my Achilles heel this week) a group of the filthiest little beggars you could imagine.  They were rather half-heartedly grubbing around in the piles of rubbish everywhere, all the while keeping up an animated water-pistol fight.  The sight of these dirty little children -  they were really young – having fun with cheap Holi plastic water pistols, made me wonder yet again whether the government’s breezy plan to send them back to their home states will ever work.  I suspect that plan will be a complete waste of time.

Saw a great sign as we left Nehru Place. on the roof of a building :

If there is any incipient rehabilitation, I think it should start with those happy, filthy little children squirting water on each other.

Right.  What else ?  Nice headline :

Tell me, does anyone other than the Times of India really still use the word “groovy “?

Am now off to spend the evening finishing my book for book club tomorrow – “Restless” by William Boyd.  A great read.   Groovy.

Today has been another stunning, perfect day (weather-wise) and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the balmy weather holds out tonight, since we have all our fishing friends from Bheemeshwari coming round for dinner.

Drinks on the terrace, methinks.

The Bheem Team will be almost complete -  just a few people won’t be with us, because they are out of station.  Yes ! That’s the second time today I have contrived to use one of my favourite Indian-isms.  “Out of station” means “out of town”.

Because we have people for dinner, we went to buy some things at the grandly named (but rather crummy) Le Marché superette at Vasant Lok.  What a dump that place is, by the way.

Anyway, as usual, we were accosted by a group of children begging.  One little girl -  she couldn’t have been more than 4 years old -  was persistent, and probably thinking I wouldn’t understand her, latched onto Himmat. She wanted him to buy her a kulfi, and she skipped along, tugging at his arm, the filthiest dirtiest little thing you could imagine, with a wicked twinkle in her eye, a huge smile and red Holi paint already all over her face.  Truly heart-rending.

The sight of this little girl -  seemingly happy and naughty, despite her bare feet and filth – made me think about an article I saw in the Hindustan Times last week.  There are certain decisions I would really not like to have to make, such as one currently facing the city administrators (they do exist, right ?) in the run-up to our famous CWG.  To wit – what do you do about the many beggars who roam the city’s streets ?

Apparently the solution is to send them back to their so-called home states :

This must surely rank as the ultimate begging letter.  But seriously, I am sure this will never work, and I am not at all sure, actually, that it should be allowed to work.

Do you remember how I have blogged about the fragrant Chief Minster of UP, Mayawati ?  And about all her construction of statues ? The symbol of her political party is the elephant. Read on :

Ellies as a welcome symbol.  Well, why ever not ?

Since I am in party mood, my photo of the day is in the same festive vein. On Sunday, Himmat taught Lizzie how to “sabrer le champagne” – ie open a bottle of champagne with a sword.  They had to use a kitchen knife, admittedly, since there wasn’t a sword to hand.

She sabre-d it at the first go.  Beware of red-heads wielding kitchen knives.

I have added a link to an article of mine published this week in the “Asian Age.”  It’s about climbing Mount Kinabalu in September with Hari, which is the moment when I realised that my knees were long overdue for an overhaul…

So the first day of the last week of spring has been gorgeous.

Sunny, warm, flowers in bloom, a distinctly relaxed feel wherever we went – all of this tinged with the knowledge that this time next week, when it’s Holi, the heat will officially begin.

Main event of today, other than getting an injection in each knee, and (of course) being with Jane and Michael, was the visit of the London-based wife of one of Himmat’s 2nd cousins (still with me ?) and her beautiful  9 month old baby, Anjali.  Verena, who is German, is married to Siddharth, who is Himmat’s second cousin, so goodness knows what that makes my relationship with the baby, but what a little doll she is. Brought up with dogs -  2 Delhi pavement specials transported to London by her parents -  she naturally made a beeline for Yoda, who happily curled up next to her.

Tomorrow, at dawn, Jane and Michael head off for 3 days, to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.  Jhansi, Orchha, Gwalior and lots of other lovely places.  They had wanted to be in Gwalior tomorrow, but there isn’t a hotel to be had for love nor money, because of the cricket.

So, what news grabbed my eyeballs today ?  I love that expression  – it is so queasily descriptive…

One story is agricultural.  The other concerns the CWG.

Love the idea of solar-powered rickshaws – absolutely fabulous idea (except during the monsoons).  Can’t wait to ride in one.

And as for the alcoholic brinjals ?  That may well be the way round my Lenten resolution of giving up wine…let’s hear it for alcoholic veggie food.

But one of my favourite stories today, more for the language than the inherent content, comes from Bihar :

And finally – my soap-box. We went to Shanti Niketan this evening, and ( as the Indian papers would say) lo and behold, that same wretched uncovered manhole about which I blogged in October is…yes, you guessed correctly – still uncovered.

What does one do about civic apathy in this city, other than shrug one’s shoulders ?

I cannot, in all fairness, palm you off with a shot of an uncovered drain, so I will give you another photo of both Abhimanyu and Carine in full flow yesterday :

My word of the day is courtesy of my brother-in-law, Michael, who looked up from the Times of India this morning, and said somewhat incredulosuly “Shutterbug ? ” – I have become so Indian-ised that I didn’t even think it was an odd word.

I just hope that the photo that your faithful shutterbug took for you has grabbed your eyeballs.