Safe and sound

As most of you know by now, there was a bombing in Delhi today. The bombing happened at the Delhi High Court as people were waiting to enter; more than 10 people have died and more than 70 were injured. I was less than a mile away at the time but am completely safe and sound.

Bombings aren't frequent in Delhi but they're not necessarily rare. A bomb actually went off near the High Court this spring but didn't injure anyone. The last Delhi bombing with significant loss of life was actually right around the time when I was here last, in 2008, when several markets were bombed and many people died.

Here's an article about today's blast in the Hindu, one of the better Indian news sources. Word of warning - the photo on the main page is graphic if you look up close.

To top things off, Delhi was hit by an earthquake tonight. I was about one sentence into this post when my house began to shake. Nothing fell off the walls or tables and the news isn't reporting any injuries, thank goodness. But after a day in which my nerves were already a little fried, experiencing my first earthquake didn't help. Time for bed now. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day for Delhi.

Scenes From My Commute: Part 3

An international chain. Who knew? 

My apartment is decked out with this furniture. Chairs and tables outside, bookshelf inside. They're sold just like this, by a guy on a bike.

I have no explanation for this. I can only hope the stickers are not indicative of the vehicle's true purpose. 

A gay-friendly sandwich!

Photo courtesy of my roommate, K. 

A sandwich for sale at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, my second favorite coffee shop (because though it doesn't have as much character as Mocha, it does have unlimited wifi).

Happy weekend!

I'm back to a two-day weekend, but that's ok. Nothing can get me down tonight because I now know that I get 30 Rock on cable. My life is complete.

I hope you all have a lovely, natural disaster-free weekend. I'll be working a lot in preparation for a very busy upcoming three weeks, but I'll be sure to find time for some fun and dancing, Lemon style:

I've succumbed...

When I started this blog, I joked that I'd keep it up until jet lag wore off and I got cable. Well, jet lag wore off around day five aaaand I just got cable. Only $7 a month - split three ways - for 150 channels! How could I pass up a deal like that?!

I actually debated the merits of ending my TV viewing hiatus. I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I've enjoyed being detached from TV (and, gasp, Hulu) since early July. In the end, though, I've felt too disconnected from everyday Indian life without television. In all my travels I've found that I learn a lot about a culture through TV shows and commercials - not necessarily by how life is portrayed but by what is shown (or not), how things are advertised, what sort of programming is popular. And TV is big in India. Even among in urban slums, where my work is focused, most people are exposed to TV. By not watching TV, I felt as though I was missing out on a part of every day life. Plus, watching Indian TV will help my Hindi, right? 

But don't panic - I won't actually disappear from the blogosphere. I've created a rule for myself whereby if I watch TV, I must also blog or do several sets of crunches. Considering that my exercise hiatus is reaching the 18 month mark, I think it's clear how this will go. 

Day Off

Monday was Krishna Janmashtami, a Hindu holiday celebrating the birth of Krishna. My roommates had to work (poor things) but my office was closed, making this my second three-day weekend in a row. After determining that there were no major public celebrations of the holiday in my area (a coworker told me that she just celebrates with a small prayer ceremony at home, if at all), I decided to celebrate the day by being lazy. I woke up late, made some French toast, and lounged on my couch reading a book. I love the view from my couch - through the French doors to the balcony I can see our pretty potted plants, the colorful houses across the street and lots of leafy trees. With the ceiling fan providing me a cool breeze, the peaceful view, and a good book, I had a wonderfully relaxing morning.

Eventually I decided I should leave the house, though, so I continued my day of relaxation and went to get a manicure at Lakmé, a chain of salons found all across India. 'Twas a lovely experience, complete with a complimentary coffee. Though my three-day weekend is now over, it's not so bad going back to work when I have ruby red nails to admire as I type my reports.

First Long Weekend and Lodi Garden

Last Monday was Indian Independence Day, so I had the day off. I spent the three-day weekend relaxing at the Ks house, a wonderful respite from my usual routine. We did some shopping, went out to eat, watched TV, and rested.

Independence Day is marked by a speech given by the Prime Minister at the Red Fort, a famous Delhi monument. Not realizing that this happens at the crack of dawn, I slept right through the television broadcast. But I did attend the "flag hoisting" at the Ks apartment complex. My own neighborhood held a flag hoisting in the park, so I'm guessing this is something most neighborhood associations do to honor the day. It was windy and drizzling that morning (this is monsoon, after all), but we went down at the appointed time and watched as the little children from the complex raised the flag, which unfurled and released flowers as it hit the top of the pole. An elderly man gave a speech, the national anthem was sung, and then we headed back in for some chai.

The day before, we spent the morning in Lodi Garden, one of my favorite places in all of Delhi. I'd equate it to Central Park in New York, though it's much smaller and I actually find it to be more peaceful. In addition to the beautiful flora and fauna, jogging paths and green lawns, it has several old tombs and ruins - that you're allowed to climb all over. Below, a few photos from the day.

Pretty petals that I found on the ground. 

A tomb from the 15th century.

Photo credit goes to my 8 year old friend M, who loved the geese. 

So gross, so cool.