18 again

As if the vaginal whitener weren't bad enough, now we have...the vaginal tightener.

18 again: "India's first, most advanced, femininity restoration cream which helps tighten the vagina, cures vaginal dryness, vagina inflammation, etc."

Because that's what women want. 

Mountains

I'm on my first work trip for my new-ish job this week, in Pokhara, Nepal! This is the view I get to wake up to in the mornings.

Wah wah.

My bathroom is grossing me out. This is one of the things that comes along with living in India. No matter what I do, no matter how much I clean, no matter if I move to a new apartment in large part because my old bathroom was gross, my bathroom will always, apparently, make me want to vom.

Allow me to paint a picture. When anyone in my house flushes their toilet, I can hear the water gurgling past the two nearly open drains in my floor. I don't know why I say nearly...they're gaping holes about 4 inches in diameter, barely covered by flimsy, moveable, metal grates. There is a smell associated with this. The open drain phenomenon isn't just at my house - from what I can tell it is the norm.

Recently that drain became a breeding ground for what I've identified as 'bathroom flies'. There are like 30 of these things floating around my shower every morning. Of course bathroom flies are only one of the species of bugs to have invaded my bathroom. There are ants, too. Lots of them. And, perhaps even more cringe-inducing than ants in a bathroom, these things:

(Apologies for the poor quality photo. But then would you really want a better one?)

It's like a worm inside a concrete shell. Apparently it's called a 'plaster bagworm'. So far I have seen four. If I see more...I don't know. I hope I don't.

Maybe this wouldn't matter that much if I had hot water, which for some unidentifiable reason, I do not. It would matter even less if I had any stable water supply, really. Instead, we run out every evening owing to some ongoing feud between residents of my flat and the maintenance guy. So half of the day my bathroom serves only as a damp breeding ground for numerous species of bugs.

I really shouldn't complain. Before I moved to India, I'd never even had my own bathroom, like I do now. This one has a Western style shower and ample counter space (not to mention hilarious wall tiles depicting pink dolphins frolicking in pink waves). And half of the time I'm at TB's, with a brand new, spa-like, bug-free bathroom. All in all, I could do worse. But sometimes a girl wants to throw a pity party. Thanks for indulging. 

Cold Coffee

My latest obsession - Depaul's coffee. Apparently this cold coffee brand is a Delhi institution. It's bottled in central Delhi and then sold at the store there or in certain restaurants around the city. It probably wouldn't pass any safety inspections (bottle not sealed, cold chain unlikely), but omg it tastes so good I don't even care. 

p.s. A note about cold coffee: It's not iced coffee, it's not an iced latte, it's something altogether different and magical. It tastes like a milkshake and has the consistency of chocolate milk. You can get it at any coffee shop or restaurant in Delhi, not just Depaul's. I highly recommend trying it if you happen to be passing through.

Working from home

I'm working from home these days, which is a bit tricky for me. While I'm perfectly capable of completing most work-related tasks at home (e-mail, research, Excel magic), I simply cannot write. When I was writing my grad school application essays I had so much trouble writing at home that I snuck back into my undergrad library, three years after I graduated, in an effort to focus myself. Once I made it to grad school, I wrote papers at the library and coffee shops. Only once they all closed for the night would I move to my dining table, attention fueled by caffeine and the stress of impending deadlines.

It was crucial, then, that I find a good place to write in Delhi. When I'm at The Boy's apartment, I work in his home office, which is perfect. At my own place, though, I have yet to even purchase a suitable desk. And working in bed is never a good idea for someone who loves naps as much as I do.

As luck would have it, the market near my apartment is home to Spell & Bound, a delightful bookstore complete with a cafe. It reminds me of the bookstore in my hometown, an award-winning independent bookstore that I spend hours in on each visit home. At this little oasis in Delhi there's jazz playing softly in the background, delicious coffee to keep me going, and books to peruse when I need a break. I hope they don't mind if I become a permanent fixture. 

Hindi Word Highlight: Janam Din

Translation: Birthday!

As in, happy janam din to my wonderful mother, the woman who inspired (demanded?) this blog.

I love you.

Sometimes, when you live in India...

You pass camels in the street.

It's kind of like when you live in DC and see the presidential motorcade roll by.

You pretend it's no big thing - what, the motorcade? Whatevs. I see it all the time.

But secretly you're super excited.

Best. video. ever.

Turns out I was wrong. You can get another adult to show you what to do in the bathroom. Anything is possible on YouTube.

So in case you were wondering, here's how to use a squat toilet.

The Taj Mahal: a closer look

What struck me most when I was visiting the Taj Mahal was the realization that, prior to my visit, I'd had no idea what it looked like up close.  Exploring the intricate details of the design turned out to be my favorite part of the Taj visit. 

Here are some of the most interesting photos from the day (full disclosure: a couple are from the Red Fort, down the road from the Taj, but the Red Fort was also built in part by same ruler who built the Taj Mahal).

I finally visited the Taj Mahal.

It's big, it's pretty, it looks exactly like the pictures you've all seen.

Train ride to Agra 

Proof!

You can't wear shoes when you're walking on the white marble parts of the structure. Foreigners get to wear these booties, which are included in the (outrageous) price of a foreigner's ticket. Indian citizens just have to take their shoes off and hope they're still there when they get back.

So many lines.

Such a good idea - it was so hot.

Fellow tourists

Lunch

View from where we stopped for tea.

Agra train station

The end.

"I'm sick of Diwali"

Oh heeeeey. 

It has come to my attention that some people miss my blog. I miss my blog, too. So, I'm back.

We're just going to pretend I didn't disappear for a while, ok? The idea of three months worth of retrospective blog posts is too stressful. Instead, here are some highlights. During the last three months, I:

• Went to the Taj Mahal (looks like all the pictures);
• Experienced the Indian rail system (possibly as a stowaway – it’s unclear);
• Held Thanksgiving for nearly 20 people and cooked my first turkey (I'm a grown up!);
• Got a visa extension (thank god);
• Went to several weddings (so much glamour, so much fun!);
• Finally made food my coworkers liked (Christmas cookies. Genius.);
• Went to Mumbai (love. it.);
• Got a visit from one of my best friends (and now she’s gone and I’m sad);
• Hired a cook (best decision I have ever made); and
• Met a boy (right around Diwali. Correlation with my absence? Yes.)

From the first wedding I went to, with the boy :-) 

Thanksgiving! Turkey covered in butter for extra crispiness - moderately successful technique. 

Christmas cookies (with vanilla extract and Hershey's kisses flown in from the US)

Happy Diwali!

Yesterday was India's biggest Hindu holiday - Diwali!

As with all Hindu holidays, it seems, the backstory of Diwali depends on who you ask. In general, Diwali is the celebration of the triumph of good over evil. Also it has to do with the goddess of wealth, maybe. And it's also the new year, but only to certain people in certain parts of India. Oh Hinduism, you're so confusing to me.

In terms of scale, fervor and celebratory style, Diwali is to India what Christmas is to the U.S. People deck their houses with fairy lights (read: Christmas lights), stores bustle with shoppers buying gifts for family and friends, there are parties every night, and there's a big emphasis on sharing of dessert foods. Also like Christmas, it's very much a family holiday, celebrated in the home. Or on the street in front of the home, as it were...

Diwali being the festival of lights, and India being a country of relatively few safety regulations, the holiday is celebrated in part by lighting firecrackers. Gigantic, loud, terrifying firecrackers. I'm talking about massive fireworks worthy of 4th of July in DC, being shot off in front of every house. For the last several nights, it has sounded like a war zone in my neighborhood. What it does to the air quality is horrendous, but the fireworks really are quite beautiful.

My celebrations were pretty low key. I spent the day with the Ks, then in the evening went to a friend's apartment in a very tall building, where we had an amazing view of the fireworks being set off all across the city. When I got home, my roommate and I sat out on our balcony and lit the candles our neighbor had given us (along with a bottle of wine!) as a Diwali gift. It was a lovely way to spend my first Diwali in India.

Apartments decked out in Diwali lights.

Candles on my porch.

Hindi Word Highlight: Khanna (खाना)

Translation: food

At the office, we all eat lunch together at a big table in the conference room. Everyone brings his or her lunch (actually, we leave it in the kitchen and the 'office boy' sets it out, but that's a story for another day...) and passes it around for sharing.

I've stopped sending mine around. There's just no point. No one is willing to try non-Indian food (too bland, no spices, blah blah) and my Indian food isn't up to my coworkers' standards. I simply can't match the talent of the lifelong cooks each of them has working in their houses (no joke).

Back when I did send my food around, unsolicited critiques flowed freely. Some gems include:

"You didn't cook the mustard seeds long enough."

"What, you didn't put any salt in?"

And my all-time favorite..."You like this?"

So I stopped sharing. I think we were all grateful for that.

Considering these past experiences, I was a little stressed coming up with something to bring to yesterday's holiday (more on that tomorrow) potluck party. I clearly couldn't go Indian, but non-Indian wouldn't have gone over well, either. In the end, I found a compromise, using ingredients common to Indian cooking but in a non-Indian dish. I whipped up a fantastic homemade salsa.

I figured chips and salsa would be a safe bet - tomatoes, onions, cilantro, chilis and lime are in half of the things my coworkers eat anyway. I added extra onion, salt, and chili peppers to adapt it even more to their tastes. And yet, despite my cheerful, constant prompting, no one would eat the damn chips with the salsa. Everyone took the chips, but the few who took the salsa ate it as salad. As usual, the salsa was the only thing left of people's plates.

I officially give up.

Parantha Gali, or The Night I Gave In and Ate Street Food

Since arriving in Delhi almost 4 (!) months ago, I have been (obsessively?) meticulous about what I eat. No unpeeled, fresh fruits or vegetables, no ice in my drinks, and most definitely no street food. This has been rather frustrating, because Indian street food is my favorite kind of food. I adore pani puri, bhel puri, papri chaat, and all of their street snack siblings. But I adore not getting sick much, much more. And since I've seen the guys selling these snacks stick fingers up their noses and pick some deep, deep wedgies, it hasn't been, like, allll that difficult to just say no.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I finally succumbed. I was with some friends in Old Delhi after the Ramlila procession and one of them suggested we grab something to eat in this little alley that is famous for its paranthas, a pan-fried stuffed bread. Paranthas, which can also be found in more high-end establishments, happen to be my latest food obsession. So with just a little bit of peer pressure, I ended up on Parantha Lane.

We chose a place called Pandit Dayanand Shivcharan, which has been open for 6 generations. We got a brief history lesson from its proprietor, who then proceeded to give us a warm welcome by feedings us (yes, feeding us) all a spoonful of curry. From the same spoon. Our attempts at politely declining were met only by a forceful jab of his curry-laden welcome mat.

The paranthas did not disappoint. I had one stuffed with radish and another stuffed with potato. Maybe it's not technically street food, since there's sort of a three-walled building surrounding a small seating area. But I'd say it still counts for my street food initiation. Take a look at the photos and you'll understand why.

Radish-stuffed parantha with chutneys, pickled vegetables, and a curry. The sauce on the bottom left was made with banana and tamarind and it was fantastic.

View from my table of the street.

Our maitre d.

Making paranthas.

Leg hair adds extra flavor!

Hindi Word Highlight: Ghumana (घूमना)

Translation: to walk/to stroll
Pronunciation: ghoomana

Yesterday, a friend and I went on a guided walking tour of ruins in Hauz Khas Village. I wish I could convey to you the look and feel of this...enclave, if you will. I read a description somewhere that called it a 'faux bohemian' market and that strikes me as a fairly accurate representation. The place is crawling with expats (myself included) and well-to-do Delhiites who eat at the trendy cafes, drink at the hipster-esque bars and shop at the boutiques that sell expensive clothes and ironic Bollywood-themed home goods. I think of it as the Delhi equivalent to DC's U St.

More than just its trendy, modern incarnation, though, Hauz Khas Village is also the site of ruins dating back to the 13th century. The name comes from the large reservoir that the ruins surround - Hauz Khas means Royal Tank. The main building houses a tomb and a madrasa (aka school) and is situated in the middle of a park where kids play soccer, families have picnics, and couples display a surprising amount of affection. It was lovely strolling around the ruins in late afternoon, my favorite time of day. I'm looking forward to going back for a picnic once the weather has cooled down a bit more.

The tank, part of the ruin, and some modern buildings in the background. 

A little music for your Friday

This is Chammak Challo, the song of the moment over here. According to S, my coworker/adviser on all things Indian, 'chammak challo' is slang for 'a girl who is beautiful and always well-dressed, with lots of make-up and jewelry, even at small gatherings.'  

The popular music industry in India is driven by Bollywood; all of the major movies are released with original soundtracks. Chammak Challo comes from a new movie starring King of Bollywood/maybe the world, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK). In the movie, Ra.One, he plays some sort of superhero. I don't know. I find him intensely irritating, so I don't plan to watch it. But I do love the song!

Oh, and in case you're wondering why SRK doesn't sound exactly, um, Indian in the song, that'd be because he's not actually singing. Bollywood singers don't do their own signing - pretty much every song is dubbed. In this case, they've added an international twist - much like the ever popular "Smack That," this is an Akon song.

Ramlila

It's festival time here in Delhi, folks! We're in the middle of the Hindu holiday Navratri. To the outsider like me it's a rather confusing holiday, so I'm not going to even begin to try to explain it (Wikipedia can handle that). Suffice it to say that it's a big holiday celebrated differently in different regions of India. Because Delhi draws people from across the country, there are a lot of different celebrations going on. And this means that there are a TON of fun goings-on to check out.

Tonight I ventured into Old Delhi to see a procession of floats depicting the gods/characters from the story of Lord Ram, one of the Hindu gods. His story is important to (the basis of?) the holiday (and back to our trusty online resource for a more extensive explanation). It was a festive experience filled with music and lights. It was not dissimilar from a parade in the U.S., though the floats were all trailed by noisy generators to power the lights and at least one float was towed by an ox. Because we're not as familiar with the story of Ram as we clearly should be, my friends and I didn't always know what was going on. Luckily, the friendly people standing around us offered explanations for each new float.

I tried to take capture some photos of the parade but I clearly haven't figured out night photography yet. Regardless, here are a few shots from the evening.

Either the good guy or the bad guy. The bad guy, maybe?

What is jalebi, you ask?

It appears that in my recent post about Dilli Haat and jalebi, I failed to explain what jalebi is, exactly. My b.

Jalebi is an Indian sweet made by drizzling a basic batter into a pan of hot ghee (clarified butter), where it deep-fries until crispy. Once fried, it is then immediately soaked in a sugary syrup that is usually flavored with cardamom or rose water. Jalebi is best eaten while piping hot. It's crispy but delicate and practically melts away. It's like heaven in your mouth. 

For a recipe and step-by-step video, check out Manjula's Kitchen. (Note: Manjula doesn't use ghee in this recipe. You should.)

New movie, yay!

Have you seen the trailer for this new movie called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?

Spot-on portrayal of the shock (and wonder) that is adjusting to India as an outsider. Less spot-on is (British-born) Dev Patel's accent. What is that? I could do it better.

Can't wait to see it!

Dilli Haat

There is a surreal little market in Delhi called Dilli Haat. Part tourist attraction, part market, it's a place where artists (or middlemen?) from all across the country come to sell their regional art, jewelry, and textiles. For Rs. 20, you can spend an afternoon perusing the stalls and enjoying food from all parts of India. The craft vendors rotate out every couple of weeks, so it's worth going back every once in a while. I first went with Mrs. K, who was in search of a certain type of sari that isn't traditional to North India. We did some shopping (she bought saris, I bought a shawl, we both bought colorful wooden bangles) and stopped for some chai and jalebi. I returned a few weeks later with my roommate, F, who wanted to explore. I wanted more jalebi. Below, some photos of our jalebi-fest (most taken with my camera by F).

I'm super excited about jalebi, less excited about the 95+ degree heat.

He doesn't seem to be as excited about making the jalebi. Maybe it was the hot oil and 95+ degree heat. 

Post-jalebi chai in the original disposable cup - terra cotta.