This is young Inabhat. She is Manzoors niece who lives in Delhi with her mother, Manzoors sister, and family. Many of the people I meet and develop a rapport with, seem to take fancy in grabbing the sunglasses off my head and wearing them. I don't mind, usually, because it becomes a great opportunity for a picture of the people. Well, she is in school now, and at the age of 6, her English is quite decent - well enough to hold small conversation with me, and also to get a good laugh from her, too. She smiles and laughs which makes me smile and laugh, and, I suppose, thats what makes it great!
A good friend, Jenna, and I met up for a day. She was flying out the next day, so I'm glad we were able to get to hang out even if just for a day. Jenna and I spent some time in Thailand together a few summers ago, so it was really nice and random meeting up with her in India, too. Well, this day, because it was Jenna's last day, we went to a market in Delhi where many vendors came from all over India to sell their products. From carpets in Kashmir, handbags in Rajasthan, and even food from all the different states, too. As tourists, as this was a great tourist destination for shopping, we felt very comfortable doing touristy things, such as trying on straw hats and taking pictures of oursevles. We also really likes these two seats that we both wanted to buy, but as they are kind of inconvenient to travel with, we just sat on them and took a picture of it, hoping we didnt piss the vendors off too much. Well, it was great seeing her as there are not too many familiar faces in India, but thats what travelling is all about. The challenge is not knowing people and simply meeting them and seeing where certain relationships with those people take you.
This relationship took me to the Lotus Temple in Delhi with Manzoor. It is very beautiful due to the architecture of the building - built in the shape of a flower lotus, hence, the Lotus Temple. This is a santuary for the people of the B'hai faith. A very interesting and modern faith. Basically, the premise is lets all love eachother and get along and help those in need regardless of faith. Peace and Love right!
This was my first week in India. Manzoor, on the right, and I rode on my first bicycle rickshaw. I felt bad for the guy biking because he had to lug us along at night back to Manzoors Delhi home. As my excitment rose, we ended up safe sound to enjoy the comforts of heat and a home cooked meal.
No comments:
Post a Comment