What’s Not to Love?

I love many things about India — the colors, the spices, the startling sights and moments, the living of lives (so many lives being lived!) — but, of course, there are also aspects I find challenging.  One of the reasons I love India so much is that these joys intermingle with the hardships, insisting upon reflection and self-reflection: Who am I in this world?

Generally, over a handful of extended visits, I have adapted to the ebb and flow of life in Delhi, a city of 18.6 million people (about 14 times the population of the entire state of Maine!), but I try not to become complacent or desensitized to either the joys or the challenges.  I remind myself to “keep the familiar strange and the strange familiar.”

But today, I must make mention of one of the things I very much don’t love about life in Delhi:  the smog.  Much of it apparently originates from the burning of crops in a different state altogether, the smoke carried on the air to sit in a stale holding pattern over Delhi.  But other factors add to the mix, such as vehicle and industry pollution, creating a thick, heavy, choking fog that feels almost apocalyptic.  Some days, the smog disperses, making way for beautifully-temperate sunshine, like yesterday.  Other days, like today, the smoky air fills lungs and eyes and throats. It has become a serious health crisis in Delhi, and a cause of great concern for those who live here all the time.

Today, I walked around the area near the President’s home, Parliament, and other government buildings.  You will see very few cars because this is a highly restricted area for travel, and heavily guarded.  The famous India Gate was just down a street, but completely invisible today due to the smog.  Here are a couple of photos from that area, showing the buildings as well as the thick smog.  The top one, at the center (where the road “vanishes”) shows ministry office buildings and — theoretically, somewhere behind the smoke — the President’s house.  The bottom one shows Parliament.

Ah, but remember, there is much to LOVE about India!  Meeting people, seeing monkeys, new babies…

We had an interview today with the Secretary of Education, Mr. Anil Swarup, who greeted us warmly.  The area around his building had LOADS of monkeys, including adorable babies! (No, kids, we cannot have a monkey!  And no, I’m not bringing one home.  Even a cute one.)

After the interview, we visited one of my LSR colleagues and friends, Deepika, who had a baby 4 months ago.  Her baby boy is a joy, and I got him laughing by tickling his nose with his foot.  (Click on the set to see each one in bigger format.)

After that visit, Priyanka and I traveled to a program that works with adults with developmental challenges to offer vocational supports and handicraft sheltered workshops (such as making candles, bags, or cookies to sell in their shop).  We presented the first of our week’s workshops and it went very well.  We drank tea and enjoyed their special homemade cookies — yum!

That’s it for today — time to head to bed!  Another full day tomorrow…