September 17, 2010

Friday September 17, our group went on another Cities of Delhi field trip. This time it was to Shajahanabad, Old Delhi. This was my fourth time, and even though I have been here four times I love Old Delhi. I love the business of the city and the fact that there are religious sites for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jains and probably other religions. Me, Everly, Harold, and Karissa took the Metro while the rest of the group took taxis. I love taking the metro because I have been on subways and metros in D.C. and New York so taking the metro wasn't new for me. We walked around for a little bit and then we met our group. We walked around and had really good food. The aloo puri was so good but nothing beat the jalebi which was amazing. I love jalebi and having it for breakfast made it all the better. The street where we ate has many of the dhaba which are fast food stands. There are all over India and I like eating at them more than restaurants because you can usually get real spicy food for a good price.

After eating breakfast we went to a Jain temple. It was small but really pretty and peaceful. I've been to a Jain temple in Rajasthan but that was much bigger and not in the middle of a city. After the Jain temple we went to a man's house who lives in a haveli that goes back 200 years. An haveli would have a big courtyard surrounded on four sides by spacious rooms and often another walled courtyard around the exterior as well. The man was nice of us to show us his haveli. Our teacher has taken past students to his house. We tried flying one of our kites however there wasn't much wind. Many houses in Old Delhi are so close together that you can jump from one rooftop to the next. Many children play cricket on the rooftops and fly kites. We had tea at his house and he talked about the house and his family.

After that we looked around and some people got parathas, which are unleavened flat-breads made by pan frying whole-weat flour. They are usually stuffed with some kind of vegetables like potatoes or onions. They are good and usually served for breakfast. After that we went to the spice market. We went on the roof overlooking the Fatehpuri Masjid so we could see the Spice Market better as well as other parts of Old Delhi. We could see Chandni Chowk which is the main bazaar in Old Delhi. After spending some time on the roof we went home. I think I am going to do my Cities of Delhi final assignment on Old Delhi because I really like the area.

September 11, 2010

Saturday, we decided that we would wear our saris and the men would wear Sherwani, which is what Indian men wear during weddings for special occasions when we visited the Taj Mahal. So we got up really early yo get dressed. We were going to the Taj from 6-8am since at 8am admission is free and there are also prayers at the mosque. Since admission is free from 8-10am everyone starts showing up so we decided to go earlier and avoid the huge crowds. It was so nice going when it wasn't crowded. It was nice to be there again because no matter how many times you see it, it is still beautiful. Also, this time I didn't take as many pictures and I was able to enjoy it more. After the Taj we went back to the hotel to eat breakfast. After breakfast four of us went shopping since we had two & 1/2 hours of relaxing. I got 8 sets of bangles for friends. The guy wanted 200 Rupees for a set of 12 bangles & I bargained with him and only paid 40 Rupees for each set. After that we came back & I took a nap for an hour and then packed up my stuff.

We left the hotel around 12:30 and we went to the Agra Fort. This was another place I visited before. The Agra Fort was built by Akbar between 1565 and 1573. Akbar's son Jehangir built a building also in the Fort, and Shah Jahan (had the Taj built for his wife) also had his own building in the Fort. Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the fort. However the building he stayed in was made out of marble, so it wasn't much of a prison. It is rumored that he died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj. All around the Fort you can see the Taj across the Yumana River.

After the Agra Fort we went to eat lunch at a nice South Indian Restaurant. Then we went to Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb. The tomb was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir, for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg. The Tomb is made of marble and it is sometimes called the "Baby Taj" since both are made out of marble. The Tomb it beautiful and behind it is the Yumana River. After the Tomb we went to the Mehtab Bagh or Moonlight Garden. The garden is north of the Taj across from the Yumana River. You can see great shots of the back of the Taj and the Yumana River. It is also peaceful, however when we were there, there were a lot of locals because it was Id. After that we went to the train station and our train left around 8:30 and we got to Delhi around 10:40pm. It was a tiring but great weekend.

September 10, 2010

Friday, After getting up at 5am we went to the New Delhi Train Station to catch a 6:15 train to Agra. After two hours on the train we reached Agra and went on a bus that would drive us around. The first place we went to was Fatephihur Sikri which is city built by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570 and served as the empire's capital from 1571-1585. It was abandoned after 1585 and there are many rumors as to why it was abandoned. We went to the sufi mosque that Akbar built, even though he was Muslim. The mosque was really beautiful. In the courtyard on the way to the mosque there were many people getting ready for Id, since it was the day before Id. Id marks the end of Ramadan. I have been here three years ago but it was still nice to see it again. I enjoyed it because it is a very peaceful place.

After Fatephihur Sikri, we drove 40 minutes to Sikandra which is the tomb of Akbar. It was a very beautiful and peaceful place. After spending some time there we went back to Agra, Fatephihur Sikri & Sikandra are in neighboring towns of Agra. On the way to Sikandra there was a lot of traffic, which is common in India. However, there was a certain reason for this traffic, there was a protest against Terry Jones. Terry Jones is the idiot who wanted to burn Qurans on September 11. We had to pull the blinds on the bus since the Muslims protesting saw the bus and they pointed to us, luckily they did not come near the bus.

When we got to Agra we went to our nice hotel and some of us decided to go on this nature walk. The nature walk is new and you can see the Taj along the walk. Even though it was raining I am glad I went because we saw really pretty views of the Taj and it was a nice walk. After the walk we met up with the rest of the group to eat dinner and then went back to the hotel and went to bed.

September 3, 4, & 5, 2010

Friday, September 3

I was supposed to meet Andrew, his family, and some of the other students to go to Chandhi Chowk (in Old Delhi) to go shopping but I wasn't feeling well so I went to the doctors. I got medicine and rested. I also did a lot of my homework and caught up on my reading.

Saturday, September 4

Since I was feeling better Karissa and I went to Haus Kauz Market to look for Kurtas. Melody (another student) bought really nice and cheap Kurtas at a store in Haus Kauz. Well, there is a Haus Kauz Market and a Haus Kauz Village which has shops as well as ruins left by rulers before the Mughals came to India. We thought they were in the Market so after looking around and asking people we asked Melody and she told us the shop was in the Village. We were able to walk to the Village from the Market. However, after walking around we didn't find it and since I was still sick I was getting tired so we headed back. The rest of the say I did more reading and relaxed.

Sunday, September 5

Everly, Karissa, and I went to Sirogni Nagar (Nagar means city or town) to pick up our saris since we had to get the blouses tailored. We went early to look around and we were going to meet Andrew and his family since they have been going to the sari shop for over 30 years and knew the people there. I bought another sari. It's silk, black and has a dark red lining. I got it for my mom's memorial service. Some other students came and they bought some saris since they were not with us last week when we picked ours. After trying on the blouses they need to be let loose a little and hopefully we get them before we go to the Taj this weekend, because on Saturday we want to get our pictures taken wearing our saris in front of the Taj. The rest of the day, I relaxed and studied my Hindi.

September 2, 2010

Thursday, I had my classes and then the home stay students went to Cate's (director) house for a dinner to talk about our host families. Some of us decided to take the bus because it was cheaper and we didn't have to be at Cate's until 6:00 and we wanted to hang out at the residence (where we stayed the first week). The bus ride wasn't as bad as I thought. I have heard stories of busses taking 2 & 1/2 hours instead of 40 minutes. On the way to Neeti Bagh (where the residence is and where Cate lives) we saw a camel which was really cool. After hanging out at the residence for about an hour we walked to Cate's house. Cate asked us what we wanted for our dinner and people had a mexican food craving so we had nachos, salsa, and bean burritos. Unfortunately, I was sick so I could only taste the salsa. There is a store in one of the markets that has American foods, but it's the same price as they would be in the states. After that we met the rest of the group at my home stay and my home stay's driver took us to two temples because Thursday was Krishna Janmashtami which is the celebration of the birth of Krishna. It was really cool seeing dancing and singing at the temples. At midnight temples are crowded with people who come in to do the puja (prayer), because Hindus believe Krishna was born at midnight. We did not stay for that because the temples are so crowded it is hard to move. After we visited the two temples we came back and everyone went home.

August 28, 2010, & August 29, 2010

Saturday August 28- Yesterday was Karissa's birthday and earlier in the week was the birthday of Andrew's host dad (another IES student), so we went to Vasant Kunj (where Andrew lives) to celebrate the birthdays. It was a lot of fun and as usual Andrew's host mom made us excellent Indian food. She also gave each of the girls a set bangles! Some of stayed later, while others left. Those of us that stayed later, Andrew's mom showed us her huge collection of bangles, she has two drawers full of bangles. She gave us more bangles and I got two sets. One is red while the other is green, orange, & white.

After that, Everly, Anisha, Paramita, & I went to a club near our house. Anisha and Paramita are two Indian girls (both working) staying with us. The club was a bit expensive, really crowded, and they played ok music, we didn't stay long but had a fun time.

Sunday August 30- Everly, Me, Karissa met Andrew, his host parents and his brother, Abhisek, at a market to look for saris and bangles. I bought two classy saris. One is red and black, while the other one is blue and a tinted brown. We had to get the blouses tailored so we will not get them for a week. I am really excited about them, because I got a good price on them and they are not too flashy or heavy!

August 27, 2010

Friday August 27: I went on two field trips today. The first one was to Teen Murti Bhavan for my India since Independence class. It housed the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, now it is a museum about Nehru and the fight for India's independence. There is also a nice library and planetarium. I really liked reading information about Nehru's life, as well as his daughter's life (Indira Gandhi- she was also prime minister of India at one time). There was also information about the creation of India once it became independent as well as information about other people in the fight for independence such as Gandhiji and Bhagat Singh. We also saw his office, the room that he died in and Indira Gandhi's bedroom.

After eating lunch at the cafeteria, which was really good food, as always, we went to Tughlaqabad Fort for my Cities of Delhi class. Tughlaqabad is a ruined fort in Delhi, stretching across 6.5 km, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321, which was later abandoned in 1327. Ghias-ud-din was so passionate about his dream fort that he issued a dictate that all labourers in Delhi must work on his fort. Saint Nizamuddin Auliya, a Sufi mystic, got incensed as the work on his well was stopped. The saint uttered a curse which was to resonate throughout history right until today: may it [the fort] remain unoccupied/infertile, or else the herdsmen may live here). This is why there a lot of cows and hardly any people at the Fort and surrounding area. Ghias-ud-din's tomb is also near the Fort. There was a pathway that connected the tomb and the fort but it was broken apart because there is a major highway that one has to cross to get to the Tomb from the Fort.

August 22, 2010

Sunday August 22, 2010: After catching up on my sleep, me, Everly (another IES student who is living at my home stay now since her first home stay experience did not go well) and Anisha (another Indian living with us. She works at some government office) we went shopping at GK-1 M Block and N Block Market. I got a really cute skirt and a Kurta (a traditional indian shirt that is good with Indian pants or jeans). After shopping we came back and relaxed and then Everly and I went with Karissa (another IES student who lives down the street from us) to Old Delhi for a food walk. One of our teachers Hemanshu has a food blog and he and his friends go around Delhi and eat at different restaurants and write about it. There was about 30 of us so we had to split up since we were going to Jama Masjid (biggest mosque in India) to break the fast for Ramadan. There were about 15 of us that went into the mosque and we sat 1000s of Muslims preparing food to break the fast once the sun set. When a guy came on the loud speaker everyone started to eat. Even though out group was not keeping the fast we eat some of the food we got and it was really cool to be there while people were praying and eating. However, we heard firecrackers but they were so loud that some people (including me) thought they were bombs but Hemanshu said they were just fire crackers.

Then it started raining! So those of us that were not praying (our group) & other Muslims left while Muslims praying were entering the Mosque that was a bit hectic getting out of the mosque as people were trying to come in. Our group walked to a restaurant to eat dinner. Since the area is mostly Muslims there was meat served. Most of the group ate meat except for five of us (including me) so we were able to eat some veg dishes. The food was ok, not the greatest. After that we went to a place that served Kulfi (Indian ice cream). We had the guy open the shop since he closed it early. It was really good. After that, me, Everly, and karissa went back home since we had to get up early for school.