So, we finally arrived in Delhi today at around 10:00 and went back to the place we stayed the first time, IDSA. After unloading all of our luggage again and having it brought upstairs, we basically had to regroup and meet in the lobby as we would be having yet another excursion. Whee. Yeah. Not really.
This time to a market area called Chandni Chowk, a loud, bustling market that has existed in some form for decades, maybe even centuries. We met our tour guide and his assistant at the IDSA cafeteria, and soon we were off, not really knowing what to expect. When we first arrived, it was chaotic, to say the least. I suppose it’s hard to keep a group as large as ours coordinated while trying to provide information, especially in a place like Chandni Chowk.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t that impressed, and I wasn’t having a lot of fun, initially…it was warm, we were tired and we had no idea what we were doing or where we were going.
But I warmed up to Chandni Chowk quickly as we made our way through the crowded and noisy stores! There are so many random alley ways at Chandni Chowk that it’s remarkably easy to get lost, but each alley way serves a different function, and it was so much fun to see.
We went through the “spice district” of the market, and got to see workers and laborers hauling spices and seeds in large gunny sacks while sellers marketed and distributed their wares in such unique ways.
We went into a shop where one shopkeeper essentially only kept samples of his goods and conducted all of his business over the phone! It was so interesting to see the dichotomy of how Chandni Chowk functioned – most store keepers kept track of inventory or made sales pitches the way their fathers had and their fathers before them – many still had pictures of their ancestors on the wall as a sign of respect, perhaps even to garner their blessings. And yet, you would see shopkeepers sealing deals on cellphones or keeping track of accounting records on Microsoft Excel. I loved it!
We had the chance to walk down an alley where shops only sold materials for saris, and needless to say, I was blown away. I’ve basically decided that I’m going to get married in a traditional wedding sari and have an Indian wedding...it looks like too much fun not to. We were told that traditional wedding saris oftentimes have gold embroidered onto them and that bright colors are encouraged and enjoyed and I love this.
We also had the chance to try an Indian version of lemonade with spices. Not everyone enjoyed it and I can’t say it was my cup of tea, but what is life without experience, right?
We went to a traditional flower market within Chandni Chowk towards the end, where people can still go and purchase fresh flowers for the day – how wonderful is that? To get to the flower market though, we had to climb a flight of very steep stairs where apparently an important figure had slipped and fell and died, so that was not particularly encouraging…but once we got to the market, it was such an eye opening experience. The space for the market was tiny, and yet, it has been a steady provider of flowers for longer than anyone can remember and is a trade that is passed down from generation to generation…an aspect of culture I hope that India never loses.
We climbed even further up and got to the roof of the flower market and the view took my breath away. No beautiful scenery like that of Kabini or Corbett, but to have a bird’s eye view of Chandni Chowk and the thousands of people walking or driving or cycling around to get their business taken care of was incredible.
Being up there reminded me of how much I absolutely love this country! I enjoy so much that Indians have found ways to make their lives work regardless of how inefficient or ineffective outsiders may think it is. It’s so refreshing.
After leaving the flower market, we headed to get some food at a fast food restaurant called Haldiram’s.
The way you order food there is so different than a typical restaurant in America – you order your food at a counter and pay for it there, then you take it to a certain part of the restaurant, hand in your receipt and wait for your number to be called. Indians aren’t too fond of lines though, so you have to be willing to fight your way to your food! Scary! It was awesome though – I feel most alive when there’s a lot of noise and hustle and bustle around me. A lack of personal space is not a problem for me at all.
It would appear the lack of personal space apparently was a problem for a few people though, who ended up crying because they were so overwhelmed. I felt bad for them…different strokes for different folks, I suppose. Oh, and we lost a few of our students somewhere along the way, which sent everyone into panic mode. We lost them when we went down an alleyway away from the main road…but what I didn’t understand was why we didn’t just go back to the main road. I mean, if I’m lost, I’m not going to go down alleyways looking for my group – I’m going to stay on the main road where there’s the most visibility, or I’m going to go back to a point where we had already been and wait there. But we weren’t allowed to do either…so we just stayed in the alleyway until we found the lost people.
Our tour guide was a little overzealous though, methinks – even after making people cry AND having to deal with the lost people fiasco, he still wanted to continue on the tour, which resulted in even more people crying. It was simultaneously sad and comical. So, a few people ended up staying right where they were, while the rest of us followed our tour guide down yet another random alleyway before we finally made our way back to IDSA.
After getting to IDSA, we had 15 minutes to get ready to head to FIIB for our reception. Out of control. We showed up and listened to a few speeches, and watched some performances by the FIIB students which were wonderful. We soon ate dinner and did our best to talk with some of the FIIB students without coming off as too weird, and eventually we went back to IDSA completely exhausted.
This time to a market area called Chandni Chowk, a loud, bustling market that has existed in some form for decades, maybe even centuries. We met our tour guide and his assistant at the IDSA cafeteria, and soon we were off, not really knowing what to expect. When we first arrived, it was chaotic, to say the least. I suppose it’s hard to keep a group as large as ours coordinated while trying to provide information, especially in a place like Chandni Chowk.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t that impressed, and I wasn’t having a lot of fun, initially…it was warm, we were tired and we had no idea what we were doing or where we were going.
But I warmed up to Chandni Chowk quickly as we made our way through the crowded and noisy stores! There are so many random alley ways at Chandni Chowk that it’s remarkably easy to get lost, but each alley way serves a different function, and it was so much fun to see.
We went through the “spice district” of the market, and got to see workers and laborers hauling spices and seeds in large gunny sacks while sellers marketed and distributed their wares in such unique ways.
We had the chance to walk down an alley where shops only sold materials for saris, and needless to say, I was blown away. I’ve basically decided that I’m going to get married in a traditional wedding sari and have an Indian wedding...it looks like too much fun not to. We were told that traditional wedding saris oftentimes have gold embroidered onto them and that bright colors are encouraged and enjoyed and I love this.
We also had the chance to try an Indian version of lemonade with spices. Not everyone enjoyed it and I can’t say it was my cup of tea, but what is life without experience, right?
 |
| Being adventurous! Pree, Afshar, Me, Senad. |
We went to a traditional flower market within Chandni Chowk towards the end, where people can still go and purchase fresh flowers for the day – how wonderful is that? To get to the flower market though, we had to climb a flight of very steep stairs where apparently an important figure had slipped and fell and died, so that was not particularly encouraging…but once we got to the market, it was such an eye opening experience. The space for the market was tiny, and yet, it has been a steady provider of flowers for longer than anyone can remember and is a trade that is passed down from generation to generation…an aspect of culture I hope that India never loses.
We climbed even further up and got to the roof of the flower market and the view took my breath away. No beautiful scenery like that of Kabini or Corbett, but to have a bird’s eye view of Chandni Chowk and the thousands of people walking or driving or cycling around to get their business taken care of was incredible.
 |
| View from the top. |
Being up there reminded me of how much I absolutely love this country! I enjoy so much that Indians have found ways to make their lives work regardless of how inefficient or ineffective outsiders may think it is. It’s so refreshing.
After leaving the flower market, we headed to get some food at a fast food restaurant called Haldiram’s.
The way you order food there is so different than a typical restaurant in America – you order your food at a counter and pay for it there, then you take it to a certain part of the restaurant, hand in your receipt and wait for your number to be called. Indians aren’t too fond of lines though, so you have to be willing to fight your way to your food! Scary! It was awesome though – I feel most alive when there’s a lot of noise and hustle and bustle around me. A lack of personal space is not a problem for me at all.
 |
| Especially when you see beautiful people everywhere. |
It would appear the lack of personal space apparently was a problem for a few people though, who ended up crying because they were so overwhelmed. I felt bad for them…different strokes for different folks, I suppose. Oh, and we lost a few of our students somewhere along the way, which sent everyone into panic mode. We lost them when we went down an alleyway away from the main road…but what I didn’t understand was why we didn’t just go back to the main road. I mean, if I’m lost, I’m not going to go down alleyways looking for my group – I’m going to stay on the main road where there’s the most visibility, or I’m going to go back to a point where we had already been and wait there. But we weren’t allowed to do either…so we just stayed in the alleyway until we found the lost people.
 |
| The alleyway was super badass though. |
Our tour guide was a little overzealous though, methinks – even after making people cry AND having to deal with the lost people fiasco, he still wanted to continue on the tour, which resulted in even more people crying. It was simultaneously sad and comical. So, a few people ended up staying right where they were, while the rest of us followed our tour guide down yet another random alleyway before we finally made our way back to IDSA.
 |
| Bye, Chandni Chowk! |
After getting to IDSA, we had 15 minutes to get ready to head to FIIB for our reception. Out of control. We showed up and listened to a few speeches, and watched some performances by the FIIB students which were wonderful. We soon ate dinner and did our best to talk with some of the FIIB students without coming off as too weird, and eventually we went back to IDSA completely exhausted.
No comments:
Post a Comment