We are sorry for the previous brief and out-of-order post but our new digs do not have the most reliable internet. Here is the rest of the last post, which will catch you up to our transition from tourists to interns in India.
Jess and I spent our last two days seeing everything we could in Delhi. First we went to the hand crafts museum. The exhibits were amazing, both in their simplistic presentation – most were just in a case or hanging on the wall without any description or approximate date – and in the artisan's attention to detail. (We are learning that, here in India, most tasks are done by hand, with great care, even if subject to the minor imperfections of humanity. Not everything is done well, but everything is done slowly, with attention to details.) We saw a three-foot model boat carved out of what looked like an Elephant's tusk, the oars in the tiny hands of the oarsmen winnowed down to less than a centimeter. There were also hand-carved rooms, which attached to the outside of a house, to be used as a guest room. Some of the artisans lived in a little village next to the museum and made hand crafts for demonstration and sale. Jess and I were able to snap a few pictures of the village that the artisans lived in.
Jess and I spent our last two days seeing everything we could in Delhi. First we went to the hand crafts museum. The exhibits were amazing, both in their simplistic presentation – most were just in a case or hanging on the wall without any description or approximate date – and in the artisan's attention to detail. (We are learning that, here in India, most tasks are done by hand, with great care, even if subject to the minor imperfections of humanity. Not everything is done well, but everything is done slowly, with attention to details.) We saw a three-foot model boat carved out of what looked like an Elephant's tusk, the oars in the tiny hands of the oarsmen winnowed down to less than a centimeter. There were also hand-carved rooms, which attached to the outside of a house, to be used as a guest room. Some of the artisans lived in a little village next to the museum and made hand crafts for demonstration and sale. Jess and I were able to snap a few pictures of the village that the artisans lived in.
Jess and I ate lunch at a delicious restaurant our driver chose, Lazeez Affair. Our food was rich and very flavorful, but apparently not enough for Jess. She piled on the “green” sauce, leaving her to suffer the rest of the day from what is colloquially known as the Delhi belly. Her stomachache could not deter her from trying the markets again so we stopped at the bustling Cannaught Place. When a place gets crowded here it can be intense. Cannaught Place was crowded as you can see in our pictures. It is a testament to how quickly we are catching on that Jess and I managed to hard-haggle a street merchant down to a reasonable price for a shirt and a free pair of pants. Not bad.
It was about to rain so Jess and I asked our driver to take us to Gandhi’s Smriti. Mohandes Gandhi was an Indian patriot and one of the greatest human beings of the 20th century. On January 30th, 1948, Gandhi walked from his room at his house to a prayer meeting. When he reached the congregation, Nathuram Godse shot him 3 times. Gandhi would not recover. Gandhi’s Smriti was moving because you can literally walk in Gandhi’s final steps to the place where he was shot. Concrete footprints are raised in perfect measurement of his tread and gate. A simple marble monument marks where the great man was felled. You must take your shoes off to walk around the monument.
Gandhi’s memorial closed and Jess and I still had time left with our driver. So we went to a bar. A great bar. We went to Rick’s bar (sorry they do not have a website to link to) inside the majestic Taj Mahal Hotel. Security for the Taj was very tight and required a thorough inspection of all moving parts of our cab, and the passengers. We were not allowed to snap pictures while we were being examined but the guards saluted us so we didn’t hold it against them. Inside the hotel, Jess and I found a swanky upscale bar with a famous mixoligist, Maxime, from France, but with a British accent. It can be difficult when you are a foreigner trying to engage a native culture, and it is very difficult for Jess and I to make friends here. So we were eager to hear all about Maxime’s wild experiences with Makers Mark owner Bill Samual’s Jr. We didn’t know who that was either, but who cares. He was talking to us! And it only cost us 4 drinks and $75. Being with a talented and gregarious mixologist, Jess and I dug deep into our sophisticated selves to find a drink we desperately wanted to try. Jess ordered a Mojito and a beer and I had two vodka and sodas. Success.
We are moving south to Gurgaon now, and heading straight out to Mewat, the district we will be working in. We are transitioning from tourists to legal advocates. We apologize in advance for the lack of touristy pictures but we promise what we post from here on out will be just as interesting, if not more so.
The picture in the Gandhi memorial series of the window and the bed is where Gandhi lived for the last 45 days of his life. He left that room and walked his last steps to the where the monument marks his fatal encounter.
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