| September 2007 In which I go to Greece and I don't write anything. In which I describe a July work trip to Ladakh. Photos included: Naro Photang temple, migrant labourers; Audio slide show: Drum dance In which I visit costume shops in Old Delhi. Photos included: rooftop mosque In which I look at some drains and meet a priest who tends a temple near the river Photos included: Najafgarh drain, Yamuna ghats; Video: On the river In which I take a boatride upon the Yamuna river and complain about Aeroflot's thieving ways. Photos included: Boatman (includes audio in Hindi) In which I spend a long time at the Moscow airport. Photos included: A bottle of vodka shaped like a Kalashnikov. In which I attend some godawful rock awards. Photos included: Rock band In which I hang out with puppeteers and wonder at my popularity with men at the Kumbh Mela. Photos included: Puppet neighborhoods, holy (?) men. In which I attend the first meeting of an informal bank savings scheme. Photos included: Mundka plastic recycling market. In which I describe a lovely trip to the Andamans and visit embroidery workers in Old Delhi with a friend. Photos included: Zari work. In which I write one entry making excuses for not writing and promising (insincerely) to write more. Photos included: Paranthas. October 2006 Nonexistent page as wrote even less, i.e. not at all, since was house moving. In which I write very little because I am house hunting. In which I am robbed in a Hare Krishna temple on Krishna's birthday. Photos included: Hare Krishna temple. In which I return from America and see a peacock spread its tail in our garden. Photos included: Shiva devotees, peacock. In which I return to America and admire the sky. Photos included: Sky, chicken bone; Illustration: man picking his nose. In which I return from a second work trip to Nepal, where I arrived just as the king decided to restore parliament, and visit Hong Kong. Photos included: Hong Kong race course and power plant beach; Video: pollution in Kathmandu. In which I visit slums that are being demolished to make Delhi a "world class" city and stumble upon a soft-porn movie house in Connaught Place. Photos included: Nangla Machi, movie posters. In which I have a minor car accident and try to pursue someone for the damages. Photos included: none. In which I visit Kathmandu, go to Go Go bar and remember a craft shop I visited in Kochi. Photos included: Nepali men, Kochi "handicraft"; Video: Groom's procession to my friend's wedding. In which I think about what I'd like to do this year and visit Hyderabad. Photos included: Bangle shop; Video: Hyderabad by day and night. In which I worry about benefiting from child labor, watch Miss Universe and visit Bhopal. Photos included: Tajul Masjid, Azadpur vegetable market, Santa Claus; Sketches: being waxed. In which I reflect on being a journalist in India, feel homesick and get invited to a few parties. Photos included: my dog, the Golden Dragon sign; Sketches: my surrogate grandmothers. In which I attend many fashion shows, briefly befriend Mr. India and visit a large temple on the shore of one of India's most polluted rivers. Photos included: models, Mr. India, Akshardham temple. In which I attend an opera, eat at McDonald's and begin driving in Delhi. Photos included: Government buildings and my red car. In which I find myself in the lap of luxury and ponder upon my karmic balance sheet. Photos included: Erratic power lines. In which I tire of traveling, pay a fine, am invited to a party by 55 British sailors in Kochi, return joyfully to Madras and long for the delights of Delhi, such as they are. Photos included: none. In which I am enamored of Madras/Chennai, become friends with a nice baby, do some sightseeing, feel disappointed by Pondicherry and think about the caste system and my own role in perpetuating its discriminations. Photos included: Madras airport, Santhome Cathedral, coffin shop sign and others. In which I have a relapse, wonder if I should throw away my guidebook, try to think of some things I like about Delhi, reflect on the servant situation and escape to the South. Photos included: My guidebook, a Gymkhana Club menu, a rava dosa and others. In which I risk life and limb being chauffered around Delhi, receive some low-wage job offers, encounter gigantic cockroaches and other creatures and ponder India's contribution to spiritual thinking. Photos included: The view from inside an Ambassador car, the driver's seatbelt and others. In which I lie in bed racked with a fever, take many pills, visit an Indian television news office, try to explain to my great-aunt why I am still not married and lament my atrophying muscles. Photos included: My first-aid kit, my great-aunt, a Delhi road and others. |