everything's relative...

danger seems to be a relative concept in this country. no one wears seat belts and everyone tailgates (even on motorcylces and other 2-wheelers). entire 5 person families pile onto moped without helmets, the women riding side-saddle with their bright saris and dupatas fluttering behind them in the wind while they keep hold of their tiny children with one arm across their laps.




the other day, i marveled at a little girl, no older than 2 or 3, sitting languidly on her mother's thigh, expressionless as her father darted madly around enormous trucks and hard breaking cars. by the age of 5, these children must be completely desensitized. the dangers of traffic here make that of the 405 and socal totally benign in comparison...especially after you witness a man standing on the bumper of an SUV, the inside packed with 8 or 9 other passengers, while he hangs onto the open back door as the entire contraption speeds down the insane highway.


or similarly as a small child of 5 or 6 crosses a busy street with her parents, weaving in and out off the cars with an arm outstretched to stop traffic, emulating what she's seen her parents do a thousand times. it's truly an amazing contrast to the overprotective leanings of american parents and their absolute preoccupation with what now seems to be a ludicrous level of concern.

the taj mahal...labor of love in more ways than one...

out trip to see the greatest monument to love proved laborious at best, but in the end, we surmised that it was well worth it, if only to be able to cross it off the proberbial "things to see before i die" list.

we set out at the crack of dawn, awakening at the brutal hour of 4:30am to get to the train station by 5:15ish or so to buy tickets on the shatabdi express (2 hour train ride) to agra, home of the taj. hurtling along in our taxi on the strangely empty and peaceful delhi streets was in no way an indicator of what awaited us at the station. we arrived before sunrise and the chaos of the place was entirely disorienting. leery of any good samaritans (we're not even sure if they really exist in train stations) based on the scam warnings in our lonely planet book, we resisted everyone's counsel about buying tickets anywhere other than the box office windows (which of course had lines 50 people deep, proving catastrophic to our timing).

with only 5 minutes to spare we rushed from this office to that, through throngs of travelers, over the sleeping, emaciated bodies (some children) and campfires littering the filthy platform floors and passed countless "friends" all trying to get us to part with our money in one way or another. it was recommended that we only buy our tickets upstairs at the foreign nationals window, but of course the book mentioned nothing about it NOT being open at that hour.

i knew from the very beginning that we were not going to make it...the instant i saw the mayhem of the station, i knew we were goners. we were forced to finally head back to the hotel and hire a car to make the trip. on the way, we saw the sun rise over delhi gate and watched as delhiites practiced yoga on the dewy grass.

as disappointed as we were at missing the train, the car proved better in the long run for the daytrip as we soon realized in hindsight.




we drove deep into the countryside, past agricultural fields of what appeared to be sugarcane, dotted with the circular grass huts occasionally overgrown with yellow flowering vines that i love so much. we zipped past flood plain villages and buildings surrounded by lush marsh vegetation and shallow waters. the roads leave something to be desired as we were jostled and jolted over every pothole as if the driver was aiming for them.

we took a detour deeper into the country to visit fatepuhr sikri...a now deserted city built by akhbar the great in the 15th century that in many ways looks a lot like the amber palace in jaipur.














we got suckered into paying for a guide and resolved then and there to never fall prey again. they only prove entertaining for a short while before becoming completely annoying as we attempt to shoot through their narration.










we were assaulted by throngs of children (we therefore dubbed the place, 'city of lost children') as it seemed they were all in cahoots to try and get us to part with as many rupees as possible before leaving. we finally had to toughen our skin and start denying them brusquely to get our point across.


as we made our way towards agra and the taj, we came upon the first drive-thru mcdonald's to grace india.

as we approached agra, i noted a truly bizarre trend. the closer we came, the more signs we saw for amusement and water theme parks, such as "the Dolphin...wet fun for the whole family"! i don't know about you, but personally when i think of the great taj, i think...water slides, cotton candy and sunburns. an alarming development if you ask me, but the lonely planet did peg this one...it described the taj as something that once used to be enjoyable and now must be endured.

after the constant onslaught of beggars and hawkers at fatehpur sikri, we had become thoroughly impatient and disenchanted with anyone who approached us. i began barking definitive "nai's" (translation: short for no) at everyone, refusing to make eyecontact and pretending not to speak any english. jake saved the day by intervening whenever possible by saying, 'why are you talking to my wife? do you think she has the money? talk to me!' and while this would have set off a 3 alarm feminist fire 4 or 5 years ago, i was supremely grateful for our unspoken agreement and ruse. i was delighted to defer to him in all matters as it got me completely off the hook and left me to take pictures in peace.

at the gates of the taj we were again approached by guides who jaked teased mercilessly by saying, "hey, i've got an idea...why don't YOU give ME 250 rupees to hang out with me and listen to me talk?" they were confused at his counter offer and we had a good laugh about it. we got on a (miraculously) free shuttle and were soon joined by 30 or 40 japanese tourists. it was completely surreal. going through security was equally strange. after being searched, we were ordered to surrender our granola bars to the visitors' lockers before gaining entrance. we were so harried by the time we got inside the gates that we followed the lead of some other tourists and plopped down on the grass, closing our eyes...grateful for a few moments of rest. we awoke to worker donkeys grazing quietly beside us.






we went inside the taj complex and it was truly spectacular in scale. i have to admit however at the risk of sounding cynical, that i expected to have a more profound reaction. in comparison to humayun's tomb, the taj was overrun by camera happy tourists (ah, the irony in that statement) posing in some of the most hilarious ways in front of the tomb.








we took off our shoes and went inside the tomb itself. there is something so terrific about being barefoot and feeling the smooth inlaid marble designs that have been worn down through the centuries. we marveled at the amazing acoustics of the full dome overhead and the beautifully golden westward light filtering through the marble screens as the sun was setting.

i commented on the strange rules observed inside the tomb prohibiting pictures and videotaping. and yet throngs of indians clustered around a grate-covered stairwell leading down to the actual burial site and pitched coins competitively down the stairs. those with coins closest to the hallway down below were rewarded with whoops from the crowd. the signs listing the prohibitive rules cited archaelogical preservation and i noted sarcastically that pictures and video were definitely more destructive than the coins that were surely chipping slowly away at the marble staircase. jake teased me for my emerging cynicism. i like to think it was the sheer exhaustion of the day that got the best of me.






so after making a bunch of stupid and irreverent jokes ("seen one 15th century tomb, seen 'em all"), we left the taj. but not before taking our own tourist snapshots...







outside we were assaulted by the usual pedicabs and horse drawn carraiges and just out of spite, i asked jake if we could please walk the mile and a half back to the car. we felt triumphant despite our fatigue as we left them all behind.


we climbed wearily into our car and the driver turned to us expectantly and asked, "we go to delhi?". we affirmed and jake said, "no more tourists, no more guides!" and even through the language barrier, we all shared a laugh.



the ride back was borderline terrifying, the village air pregnant with smoke and exhaust making the road virtually invisible as our driver dodged (often by inches) the throngs of motorcylces, scooters, bikes, overloaded trucks and passenger tractors (yes, tractors). it was mayhem and quite clear that our driver had an agenda to get us all home at breakneck speed. we giggled at the ridiculous road signs that merely requested, "please do not drive in the wrong direction". we laughed until we saw oncoming headlights through the smoke in our lane, despite the divided 4-lane highway. the road signs are suggestion and not mandate. we suffered through a couple of close calls and commented on what it would be like to nail one of the many darting pedestrians at 90km/hr.

finally home safe and sound, albeit righteously exhaustednby the events of the day, we enjoyed the indian version of very spicy combination pizza hut pizza (fresh-izza) and the movie 'contact' on hbo. sometimes it's the little things here that offer such comfort.

excursion in south central

there's nothing like waking up in the morning to the cacophony of screeching parakeets, taking a blisteringly cold shower (apparently hot's not necessary in india) and stepping out into the onslaught of the morning rush hour in delhi. dust clouds swirling around the countless motorbikes, autorickshaws, bicycles, cars and mopeds. if the heat isn't enough to stop you dead in your tracks, then the overwhelming jumble of people, traffic and noise most certainly will.

today we took an excursion to south central delhi to the lodhi gardens...a veritable oasis within the maddening chaos of this great city. the surrounding streets keep their frenetic pace, but inside the shelter of the garden walls, all the peace and tranquility you could possibly want awaits. even the most haggard traveler can find respite under the lush canopy of trees. lodhi is also the 'canoodling' capital of delhi. in a land where pda's are stictly forbidden, lodhi gardens is a haven for lovesick couples who are just dying to cuddle on a park bench or under an overgrown bush.










after walking the gardens and exploring the tombs, jake and i enjoyed an incredible meal on the terrace at the garden's restaurant, shaded by gorgeous trees and serenaded by some hip buddha bar tunes. we kept forgetting that we were indeed still in delhi and that just beyond the sanctity of the garden perimeter, the insanity of traffic and noise and pollution awaited us.



we walked a little further into south central to a marketplace on the hunt for saffron. we found chocolate! and stocked up since the simplest things are often the most revered when nothing is familiar (orange soda is still holding strong in my top 3 essentials while traveling in strange lands). we hopped in an auto and sped back to the studio to pick up some money for our trip to agra tomorrow.

india's rush hour is something to behold. the pollution is suffocating and almost requires some kind of mask. my throat is raw from the fumes and dust and smoke of the grossly polluting cars combined with the small trash fires that alight every passing corner.

we had some chai at the studio with the guys and watched as tarun's 3-d animator rendered a mind-boggling board room that was totally digital and so realistic. the conversation revolved around the obvious threat the technology poses to photographers, and yet tarun's humor had us in stitches. the similarities between him and jake are eery to be sure.

we then tried to find a cybercafe i had spied last night. i can safely say that this was the most hair-raising auto ride yet. our driver was the cabbie from hell and definitely on steroids...he had absolutely no qualms whatsoever about swerving in and out of oncoming traffic in an effort to get nowhere. the thing about the auto (and taxi) drivers is, they rarely know where they're going. every so often they stop and ask someone on the street for directions.


they hold up traffic as they consult with their fellow auto drivers and completely ignore the beeping protestations of traffic behind them. 9 times out of 10 you end up having to tell them where to go if you plan on getting anywhere. i'm no help whatsoever as everything pretty much looks the same to me. especially since the neighborhood streets radiate in all directions from their circular centers. if there is any kind of a grid system to the roadways, it's not evident to me but it sure does make getting around an adventure.

after driving around in circles and stopping for directions at least four times, we ended up right in front of GK-1 market. we finally surrendered and just got out. we paid far too many rupees for the ride but were too weary to complain. by dumb luck we found ourselves standing in front of a subterranean cybercafe where i now sit in my periwinkle blue and orange cubicle as a bunch of indian men hunt and peck on their emails, send out resumes and chat with hot babes. no really.

tomorrow we're off to agra to see the great taj mahal on a 6am train arriving just in time to still take advantage of the good morning light and departing at 8pm so we'll be able to also catch the sunset. i can't wait. life is good...very good.

rules of thumb...

as much as india is an amazingly beautiful place full of wonder and magic, it is also starkly contrasted by poverty and desperation. it's a challenge to look past the street beggars, especially the starving children with oft bloody stumps for limbs and matted filthy hair. even hidden behind the illusionary safety of our huge 'american' sunglasses (a tourist's dead give away) their pleading eyes are nearly impossible to avoid as they hobble up to the autorickshaw while stopped at a red light. we've started carrying extra granola bars and fruit leathers with us and have often handed over our nearly empty soda bottles which serve to provide both a cold drink and a few rupees when redeemed.


(this passing boy was the happy recipient of an oats 'n' honey granola bar as we waited on the roadside while our cabbie changed a flat...i just wanted to give him a hug)

the animals also tug at my heartstrings...the starving dogs on every corner that the residents often throw rocks at to keep their driveways clear...the donkeys carrying loads of rock that are rewarded for their labors with the sharp strokes of a stick to work even faster...the sad-eyed elephants along the roadside who pull fruitlessly with their trunks at the shackles around their ankles while their handlers roughly grab roughly their necks for our photos.



you have to develop a kind of temporary resistance. i'm relieved that we won't have enough time here to build up a true indifference. for all the faults i often find in the gool ol' united states, i'm solemnly aware of the priveleges and convenience of a developed nation. and yet conversely, there is something so pure and unadulterated about the rawness of india...something more soulful, something that doesn't try to hide fault under a perfect veneer of blinking neon lights and strip malls. long live the contrast and disparity between the two. it makes things so much more interesting.

india, oh india!

so much has happened in the past week, but i'll review some of the highlights. general prognosis...india is schuper schweet!




















day 1 was a blur of sights, sounds and smells of old delhi. chandi chowk is a maze of a marketplace, spanning throughout old delhi with crowded alley ways and vendors. incense burning everywhere, i assumed to mask the oftentimes incredible stench of urine and cow shit. speaking of cows...they are everywhere and manage to survive on roadside foliage, garbage and food left out by the residents. all of the cars, motos and autorickshaws avoid them as they meander through traffic. jake and i went on a 4 hour expedition through old delhi, snapping hundreds of amazing photos and temporarily getting lost in a dead end through the maze of alleyways. it was like stepping back in time and everything was worth photographing.











we then went to humayun's tomb at sunset and marveled in the architecture that served as a template for the taj mahal.

the next day we hired a driver and went south to the state of rajisthan where jake surprised me for my birthday with 3 nights and 4 days at the most amazing place i have ever seen...the 15th century neem rana fort palace. restored between 1998 and 2001, the palace is set into the red hillside over looking the valley floor where the village nestles into the base of the mountain and countless minarets rise skyward across the plane. smoke plumes and dust storms circle over encampments and the palace catches all of the breezes that the valley floor misses. the palace itself was absolutely incredible. i know for certain that i could never do it justice by trying to describe it, so i won't even try. i'll let some of the pictures do the talking...




















but i will say that the food was terrific, the service impeccable, the horizon pool refreshing in the often oppressive heat and the peace of the place (before the corporate mid-week crowd descended upon us) was an amazing contrast to the busy streets of new and old delhi.

for the first night we stayed in kath mahal (the wooden palace)...a beautiful multi-level room with rich dark wood screens and a private balcony with an expansive view of the valley (we giggled maniacally at our good fortune as we shared a bottle of wine later that evening). we agreed that we could be perfectly happy just sitting on the balcony all night after watching the sun set over the small range of westward mountains. but we meandered down to the bar where we watched a local family perform traditional music and dance on the patio while we kicked ourselves for not being able to take pictures (my camera did not want to cooperate with my batteries and jake underwent a major tragedy when he found a small crack in his lens). we were entranced by the young dancing boy who wore black kohl around his eyes and badly applied red lipstick that matched his traditional rajputhani costume making him look like a young maharaja. we enjoyed a sumptious dinner on the uppermost terrace overlooking the pool, surrounded by white lights, the soft breezes and the tinkling of silver on china.

the next day we went to amer palace in jaipur, about 3 hours south from neem rana. more great pictures but disappointment that the elephant rides had been suspended due to a recent squashing that occured when a bad handler pissed off his gigantic keep.


but at least we found this snake charmer who diligently lured his cobra from the requisite basket as you would expect. despite his gaurantees of safety, we were happy to shoot from a distance with the zoom.
























on our way back to neem rana, we drove through the pink city, jaipur. frustrated as we were shooting from a moving vehicle, we couldn't take our eyes away from the city's colors, textures and faces. jaipur embodied the 'india' we came looking for and it was positively beautiful during the golden hour. if we hadn't been so determined to race the clock and get back to the palace for dinner, we would've been happy spending a few hours wandering the streets.











the following day we went down into the village and visited the bowery step well that is dug 7 stories into the earth with countless steps and arches. the well is rumored to be haunted at night. on our way, a crowd of locals followed us out of curiousity and perhaps the hope of a few rupees.











we made the acquaintance of a gypsy named santos who accompanied us on our walk and entertained us with stories of her life. a small boy bearing an uncanny resemblance to the dancer from the night before approached us and took interest in my camera. santos introduced him as her nephew and then invited us into her tent encampment to visit with her family.




as our amazing luck would have it, santos' nephew was the younger brother of the boy who dances at neem rana every night and he soon came running up to us grinning widely. we took some amazing pictures and felt so fortunate to be spending time in their home surrounded by the doe eyed children and skinny dogs, watching our own private performance.







we spent one day meandering through the village, laying out by the pool and just enjoying the luxury of the palace.












while we were in no way ready to leave, the corporate crowd that filled the palace for a conference wore on our nerves as they barked into their cell phones during the normally peaceful breakfast hour, consistently snagged our favorite table in the corner and discussed management techniques. so we got back into our hired car and returned to delhi yesterday and ordered mcdonald's to be delivered. they call it 'mcdelivery' and it comes on a little red motoscooter. we had the McAloo Tiki burger...a veg burger made of potato, veggies and spices that kicks ass over anything that mcdonald's serves in the US.

soon we'll be off to agra to see the great taj mahal and hopefully back to jaipur for the amazing shopping and photo opportunities. we're hoping to get to pushkar to see the camels in the desert if we have the time.

namaste....