1st Day in Delhi

It’s 7:40 Pm here in Delhi, and only 95 Degrees out. Dinner is at 8, and then after that we plan on going to a bar that Noah and I discovered with our new friend Rahul. So much has happened since my last post, and our Internet access is limited to two very old and slow computers downstairs in the lobby here at the YWCA and our desire to pay for using them. As a result, I haven’t had the time or patience to deal with those things, nor have I gotten a power adapter to charge my out-of-battery computer.

I guess I should start at the beginning, when I got into Delhi. My flight from Taipei to Delhi was great – there were basically no people on the plane so I got an entire middle row of about 5 seats to myself, so I stretched out and took a nap for the duration of the plane ride. During the mad rush to get me on a plane to Delhi on time, Josh organized for me to stay with our family friends, the Lambas. Divij, who is around Josh’s age, was very kind to come pick me up from the airport, whereupon we drove to his house. Currently under construction, it bore almost no resemblance to the house my family and I stayed at in 2004 for the marriage of Dhruv and Mandi. The place was totally gutted, with rubble scattered everywhere. We took an elevator up to the 2nd floor, which remained intact and livable. Dhruv, Mandi, their son Arieh-Veer, and Divij all lived on this floor while the renovations were being done. Divij showed me the room that I was to stay in – it was the biggest room I’ve ever slept in! Huge bed, beautiful wood floors, private bathroom, a couch, and a porch. When I tried to get my bags from the car I was told to leave them, because the driver would bring them up. This concept is weird and uncomfortable for me, I feel weird having people do what I can do for myself. It seems apparent to me that my things mean that I deal with them.
Anyway, after a quick but luxurious shower, Divij took me to a hotel about 20 minutes from the house, which is technically in another state altogether, to meet his cousin and his fiancé for lunch. I enter the spacious and modern looking hotel, and we walk to the dining room, where my senses were instantly assaulted by the multiplicity of gourmet and multi-cultural foods. There was one table dedicated to cold cuts, which included a whole leg of porchutto, with a knife next to it for self-carving purposes, a plate of carpacio, several types of slami, jars of pickled vegetables, a wide variety of cheeses, and dozens of freshly baked breads.

That was just one table. There were other such tables dedicated to Chinese food, Indian food, appetizers, and desserts, all equally as impressive. When asked what I wanted to drink, and my response was “just water”, I was swiftly ordered a beer by Divij, who didn’t seem shy about repeating this act in the future. For the next 2 ½ hours, we nibbled here and there, until we were totally full – but India, being full isn’t enough. Good-old Indian hospitality kept the food and drinks coming long after I stopped eating. I definitely felt taken care of. A long nap preceded the long lunch, after-which we went next door to see ‘grandfather’.

Pashori Lamba was friends with my grandpa, and is the father of Sunil, who is around my Dad’s age. Sunil is the father of Divij (who’s around Josh’s age), Dhruv, and Divya. Divij, Dhruv, his wife Mandi and I walked to the house next door, and hung out with Pashori. Just sitting in the room with him, you can sense that he’s done great things with his life, and is a very intelligent man. After a while, Divij and I left to see the Karate Kid, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – Jackie Chan is the bomb. In India, regardless of the movie you’re watching, if you’re in a movie theater, there is an intermission. An employee also walks up and down the aisles, offering to bring you any food from the concessions stand. Needless to say, when we got back to the house, I slept soundly until the morning.

From around 12 pm to 1:30 Divij gave me a tour of the country club accessible to all of the members of his living community. Included is a pool, a bar, a restaurant, several card rooms, a gym, and a billiards room. To waste some time Divij taught me how to play Billiards. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so I let him win – next time we play though; I’m not going so easy. Next was Father’s Day lunch with Pashori, Sunil, Divij, Dhruv, Mandi, and I. There were 3 generations of fathers there, which I thought was kind of cool. We went to Hotel Oberoy for lunch, and ordered the Dim Sum Lunch. The Lambas seem to be very into Dim Sum – I don’t blame them. Lunch was incredible, and once again I was pushed to my limit of fullness by the ever-more famous Indian hospitality, “Benny, I thought you said you could eat a lot! Have a few more Dim Sum. Oh and you have to try these green beans. And of course the coconut ice cream, its divine here!”. (Insert Indian accent). They really take care of you, it’s very generous.