Thepopularcasecentre, living in Delhi, India

Bizarre.

2011-10-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

Tigers, they're grrrrrrrrreat!

2011-07-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

For our joint 30th birthday present, my amazing family got Dan and I a trip to the Indian jungle to find ourselves a tiger. What an unbelievable gift, an experience we will treasure! This is how it went:

We flew from Delhi to Nagpur and then were driven to Kahna National Park where we checked into Banjaar Tola, a property run by &Beyond and the Taj group.
The rooms were beautifully done, the circular bed leading onto a massive bathroom and a private balcony with a serene view of the river and jungle. Everything was finished in natural materials, which gave a overall earthy feel.

At the crack of dawn, we climbed on board an open range rover, exactly like the South African ones, and met our naturalist (a game ranger). We collected our guide at the park entrance and as we drove through the gates for the first game drive, I was taken by the sunrise at the beauty of the jungle, being used to the dry African bush, the dense beauty and the way the light filtered through the trees was totally unexpected.
It really felt like something out of the jungle book. Khana is actually the forest which inspired Rudyard Kipling; his story was apparently based on a real boy who was found near a wolf’s den.

The first thing we came across was a tree full of Langur monkeys. They were all sitting on branches, checking us out while dangling their legs. We saw many more trees full of monkeys and could not help but stop and laugh at their funny monkey ways.

We saw Barasingha (a species of swamp deer that was brought back from the brink of extinction), wild dog, jackal, a million spotted deer and lots of gaur (really big bison).
There are no radios allowed in the Indian parks, so the naturalists have to use the old school method of stopping and asking each other what they’ve seen. By our third drive we still had not seen the elusive tiger and the game drives felt like thrilling hunting trips - listening for alarm calls, shouting stop at every orange bush and putting out tiger vibes.
When we finally saw a massive tigress coming over a small hill, our stomachs flipped, our heart leapt and everyone ignored the rules and stood up to get a better view.
Even though she was quite far away and it was hard to get a great photo without a hard-core camera lense, it really was quite a thrilling encounter.

In the early mornings, the tame elephants and their riders track the tigers and when they find one, they allow the guests to view the tiger from the back of the elephant. We broke my number one ‘bush rule’ - never ever miss a game drive - and slept in, missing out on this amazing opportunity.

After two nights at Khana and one tiger viewing, we drove to Pench National Park and checked into Baghvan camp. Even though this lodge is also run by &Beyond and the Taj Group, it is completely different to Banjaar Tola. The rooms have a modern Indian style with magnificent pieces of furniture and the bathroom is separated by a stairway leading to a private, outdoor, king size bed where you can sleep when the weather is manageable. The rooms have an outdoor shower area and are surrounded by a tall dense teak forest. There is a feeling of complete solitude with hardly a building in sight.

Even though it is only a few hours away from Khana, the Pench forest might as well be in a different country. The forest is less dense and is intersected by the massive Pench river. When we saw the river for the first time is was hard not to compare the landscape to a golf course. It looked so picturesque and manicured, that only the huge herd of spotted deer made it feel like we were in ‘the wild’. We had two tiger sightings at Pench, which were just as thrilling as the first one.

On our last evening, we were having a drink in the lodge lounge when the naturalist told us that there were flying squirrels outside our room. We raced back to our room to find a romantic dinner set up on our balcony instead. It was beautiful and wonderful, but not as exciting as a flying squirrel. We were enjoying our meal when a large black animal the size of a house cat scrambled up the tree about 2 meters away from us. We jumped up, got a flash-light and watched this animal teetering on the top of the narrow tree. And then… it jumped… and glided across the clearing to the top of another tree. It was a flying squirrel. Possibly one of the most exciting moments of my game viewing life.

This is the thank you card I made for my wonderful family (my married name is Berkowitz, Berk for short):

Traveling around our adopted country

2011-07-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

Where have we been?

*deep breath*

Leh, Manali, Shimla, Delhi, Agra, Samode, Jaipur, Udaipur, Khana National Park, Pench National Park, Varanasi, Mumbai, Goa, Kerala, Chennai & Pondicherry.

Lucky us

Dinner party

2011-07-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

The first time I made dinner for my new friends. The conversation was pretty one sided.

Who died in the kitchen?

2011-07-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

When I asked Ganga to get some washing up gloves from INA for me, she returned with these.
Post Mortem Gloves.
So, post mortem gloves are readily available? Good to know the next time I want to practice CSI at home, or maybe feed sum wun who pissed me off to da peegs.
When I wash up the dishes, I give them the evil eye and let them know that I'm gonna give em a good scrubbin, before I tear em limb by limb and bury em in mi pot plants.

Love the music. Love the dance

2011-06-02T01:06:00.000-07:00

Mannequins are creepy...

2011-05-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

...especially when they are kept in a deep dark basement.
I needed to buy a dress form and my hunt lead me to a hole in the ground filled with plastic people.
Totally creepy.

Chicken for dinner

2011-05-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Kristin sets off for Bagsu

2011-05-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

An awesome Indie party in Delhi - FINALLY!

2011-05-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

Spinns in Kailash Colony have an indie music night, every second Tuesday. Annalisa told me about it and so, Kristin and I met her there, not sure what to expect. (I have never had a truly great dance evening out in Delhi.)
Well the music turned out to be epic and we danced danced danced. The bar is cool. Decently priced drinks which is wonderful. Friendly owner. And most importantly, totally wicked flashing lights which make for great photos.
Thanks Kris and Nalis for a totally kiff evening.

D100

2011-05-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

We have been living in our apartment for 2 years and it is finally starting to look full. We have picked up some truly beautiful things which, one day, are going to have to be packed up and shipped off to Cape Town.

An alternative reality

2011-05-07T06:27:00.001-07:00

We have been in Delhi for 2 and a half years. It is a completely surreal feeling to think about what has happened since we have been here. It feels like I have been living in an alternative reality and the other Casey, the real Casey, is still in Cape Town going along as normal, and I am writing this blog for her.
I wonder how she is doing...

Trees and birds

2011-05-07T04:06:00.000-07:00

When my darling mother came to visit me, we explored the nurseries of Delhi and turned our little balcony into a piece of paradise. We found some beautiful big Bonzai trees. They were Rs1000 each which is like R150. Imagine a Bonzai costing R150 in Cape Town?

We also planted some basil, coriander, peppers and tomatoes which are coming along nicely.
The tea boxes were a little more of a challenge - it was the hardest I have ever had to work for something free, but they were totally worth it.

Let's hope everything survives the summer, coz I'm not sure I will.

All of this beautiful greenery has been attracting a few friends. After yoga in the morning, I have a coffee and see who's coming to visit.

Learning how to cook lesson 1

2011-05-07T02:41:00.000-07:00

South Indian steamed fish and chickpea salad.

There is an excellent South Indian restaurant round the corner from us, they make the most delicious, spicy fish steamed in a banana leaf. Each time we eat there, I try sneakily find out another ingredient from them. I kind of pieced the recipe together in conjunction with internet research and thought it was a time to give it a try.

It turned out pretty well, not nearly as spicy and yummy as the original, but delicious none the less.

I made it with a chickpea salad.

White fish fillets- 2 x 200gms (I used sole because of what's available in Delhi, but I think other fishies would work too).

FISH MARINADE

Half tsp chili powder

1 tsp yoghurt

Half tsp lime juice

Quarter tsp cumin powder

Half tsp coriander powder

Salt- to taste

SAUCE

Onions- 1 large, roughly chopped

Ginger- 1 tbsp

Garlic- 1 tbsp

Quarter tsp Fenugreek powder

Half teaspoon Turmeric powder

Pepper

1 tsp Vinegar

Quarter cup Coconut milk

1 tsp mustard seedsMustard seeds

Curry leaves- a few sprigs

Salt- to taste

1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)

Wash and clean the fish fillets and marinate with all the ingredients in the 'to marinate' section. Keep aside for about 15 to 20 minutes. (I think even more chili powder can be added to the marinade if you like spicy).

Heat some oil and add the mustard seeds. When they are popping, add the curry leaves and onions and cook on low heat, till the onions are see through.

Add the chopped ginger and garlic for a few more minutes

Add the turmeric, pepper and fenugreek powder and mix well. Add the vinegar.

Increase the heat to high and when the gravy starts to simmer, and its somewhat thick in consistency, reduce the heat and add the coconut milk. Check for salt, add more if required. Mix well, take it off the heat and transfer to a bowl.

Sear the fish for a few seconds on either side.

WRAPPING IT UP:

Cut the banana leaf to a good size so you can wrap it round the fish. Add half of the gravy at the bottom, place the fish fillets on top and cover with the rest of the gravy. Fold the banana leaf around the fish like a little parcel.

I added tomatoes, which was a mistake as it created a lot of water.

CHICKPEA SALAD:

Can of chickpeas, carrots, radishes, feta cheese, parsley. Chop all this up and stick it in a bowl, pour some olive oil, lots of lemon juice over it. Also add cumin powder and paprika for an extra little spice.

How to get Holi out your hair

2011-03-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

Once again, I came out of Holi with a hangover and multi coloured hair. This festival would never take off in Europe.

I turned my bathroom into a chemistry lab and tried every cure I could find on the internet.
Here are my findings:
Lemon juice - removes maybe 2% of the colour
Mayonnaise - useless and smelly
Ketchup / tomatoe paste - Kinda works, but I think you would have to repeat the process 10 times to get rid of everything.
Baking Soda - Didn't do anything
Vinegar - Not much difference, but my hair did feel good after.
Baking soda and then add vinegar on top - AMAZING. It took 90% of the colour out my hair. When I added the vinegar, the baking soda literally fizzled and I think this reaction is what sucked out all the green.

Note: This worked for me, but please be careful if you try anything I have suggested as I was fully aware that my hair might all fall out and am kinda thanking my lucky stars at the moment.

Animals are funny

2011-03-22T05:55:00.001-07:00

I brought my umbrella just in case it rains.

These are MY fish.

Rickshaw wisedom

2011-03-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

Kerala, well, if God lives there...

2011-03-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

Dan and I have been fortunate enough to have a long train of visitors over the past 5 months and as they have been close friends and family I happily tagged along to their travels around India.
The most interesting part of all these trips, is which places have garnered the most interest and in which order they are seen.
Everyone wants to first see Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Varanasi. This is usually done in 10 days. The second tier of desired destinations are Kerala, Goa & Manali.

The only down side of this is that when the visitors started arriving, I found a few destinations repeating on me.

So when my parents planned their second trip to India, my excitement to see them was slightly tainted by having to see Chinese fishing nets, Kathakali (local dance) and Vasco Da Gama's grave... for the third time. They wanted to go to God's Own Country - Kerala.

My first trip to Kerala was wild. Lior and I found a fabulous rickshaw driver - Rinu (09895167727 / 08907999904) who raced us around town to show us all the usual things (even let us drive his auto) and then took us to a restaurant in the back of a house in the middle of nowhere, I was tentative to say the least. We sat under a coconut tree, drank palm wine and ate the tastiest fish covered in curry powder. I am a fussy eater so I had to put my brave face on to handle this and it was more than worth it. The tastiest dish of 2010. Actually it draws with the french toast and fruit breakfast we had at The Kashi Art Cafe.

The second trip with Dan and his parents was a completely different experience. We were traveling in a little bit more style. The Malabar House in Cochin and The Raheem Residency in Allepey. Both were beautiful and really showed off the high end of travel in Kerala.

When my parents arrived, I packed my bags with a sigh, wishing we were going to Darjeeling or Pondicherry or some other unexplored (by me) destination.
But Kerala would have none of my bullshit. It made me swallow my sigh and realise how little I knew. The place was still fascinating, third time round.
Our guide told us that The Trade Winds get their name from a course along which the winds can be expected to blow in the direction of travel. The winds blow from the Cape up to India, around and back down to the Cape. This is the path the Portuguese used to get to India in the 15th Century.
The highlight of this trip was the Kerala style cooking evening we did at The Marari Beach Lodge (part of CGH Earth, an amazing group dedicated to ecologically responsible travel). The single table restaurant is in the center of a thriving organic garden, filled with every sort of veggie, herb (and snake) one could imagine. We picked our own ingredients and were taught how to crackle mustard seeds and what on earth a gourde is. The food was delicious and we were sent home with a recipe book - which has found a very comfortable home in my kitchen.

When I left, I knew I would probably never go back to God's own country and I was pretty sad to say goodbye. Then again, we have a few people coming to visit us this year...

Beach bums in Goa

2011-03-07T02:22:00.001-08:00

These 2 walked along a packed Goan beach for approx 1.5km.

Eating away at a weekend

2011-03-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Goa with a list - not of beaches, or sights, or parties, but of food spots.
And we did a good job of plowing through the list as well as what was put on our plates.

North Goa is a mine field of kiff restaurants. There is a great mix between beach bum hangouts and wear a pretty dress spots.
We ate at pretty much all of them. Here they are:

Sublime, Anjuna (it's on google maps) - beautiful setting, great at night, excellent food - lots of beef, delicious cocktails. I ate baked fish in a tomatoe, baby potatoe and caper sauce, along with 5 lime martinis. Mmmm mmmm.

La Plage, Morjim Beach (there's good signage along the road) - On a beautiful beach, with great seafood. A mixed salad and mussels in cream and white wine sauce were on my plate.

Thalassa, Vagator Beach - Big fat Greek restaurant. Really nice vibe, might need a booking. Consumption: Suflaki - pita filled with beef, tzatziki, feta and salad.

Lilas, (to the right after Baga bridge) - Breakfast spot, owned by a German who knows all about sausages. We had straight up eggs and French baguette for brekkie, although the menu was extensive, we needed something to soak up those martinis.

Baba Au Rum, Anjuna (on the road between Canlangute and the Saturday night market) - Delicious pastries. Croissant for me.

Bean me up - Vegan dining. I had a plate full of every legume in the world.

Brittos - Local food (Baga Beach) - it's a busy spot on Baga Beach. Goan food and yummy sea food. I had grilled fish and hot chips. There were also a lot of fockin prawns.

I love lamp

2010-10-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

I bought 2 of these today. They are cool. They are also from a cool place.
The light market!
Light Market: A market with light shops, only light shops and lots of light shops. With so many lovely lights.

Will transport anything Walla.

2010-08-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

the Holi effect

2010-08-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

A little old lady with purple hair.

Elephant trafficing

2010-08-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

I realise it's a little cliched showing elephants on main roads in India, but even after 2 years, it still blows my mind. This ellie was sitting in traffic like the rest of us.

New bench, I love you

2010-08-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

Our new balcony bench. How beautiful is it?
In a city where barker lounges are still cool, a furniture and wood lover needs a little trick to make home, well, home. This is from one of my favourite place in Delhi. It seems to be the 'source of the Nile' (as my dad calls it) for all the antique furniture shops around the world.

The coolest cats on the promenade

2010-08-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

I HAD to post this photo. Even though it's not in Delhi, it kinda has an Indian comfort-ability about it. 'I am me and I will do what I want, even if it's going for a walk in my boxers on the Cape town promenade with a big brown umbrella.'

I respect Pedestrian's right

2010-08-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

I love this sign.

Firstly, only one right? Which right? the right to freedom of speech? The right to cross the road to get to the other side? The right to be knocked over? Anyway, it doesn't matter which it is, there is still only one of them. And I respect it too.

Secondly, in Delhi respecting pedestrians is unusual. I think this might be because of the huge population and the seeming little respect for life in Delhi. I have personally almost be knocked over a lot of times.

Party time.

2010-08-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

The cat threw a party. No one came

Dawgs

2010-08-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

Let them lie.

Let them swim.

One day...

2010-08-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

I love how people recycle things, give them a new use that I would never expect. This photo was taken on MG road - from Delhi to Gurgain - a crappy road, under the new metro, which isn't crappy. One day, I will have this in my house.

What a shirt!

2010-08-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

Mighty

2010-07-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have just launched my brand Mighty - Handbags and other awesome things.
The launch event and Pop-up shop is in Cape Town this week.
See flyer!
& blog and website.

www.mighty.withtank.com/

www.mighty-popularcasecentre.blogspot.com

Handbags

2010-04-11T00:38:00.000-07:00

I have been designing a range of handbags and here are 3 of the prototypes. More exciting stuff to come. ALL THESE DESIGNS ARE COPYRIGHT, SO BEWARE COPYCATS.

Meh.

2010-03-29T04:21:00.000-07:00

It's interesting how a year ago, these things were amazing and now... just ordinary.

The Holi war

2010-03-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

By 8pm Monday the first of March 2010, Elite Squadron D100 declared a defeat in the war and retreated from the battlefield. No lives were lots, but soldiers went home without their dignity and there were many multicoloured injuries.

...if it wasn't for those meddling kids

2010-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Sergeant Adam's amazing tactics for winning the Holi war:

how-to-win-a-fight-against-twenty-children

MAYDAY MAYDAY

2010-02-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

Captains log: 1300 hours. 26.02.2010

*csh*
Mayday Mayday, this is Captain van Embden Berkowitz. Position Saket, New Delhi, India.
I believe I am in grave and imminent danger and require immediate assistance.

I have been abandoned by Lieutenant Dan Berk who has been relocated on a special mission in London for the duration of Holi*. I am now manning the Indian Home Front Barricks alone, which has taken numerous hits.

I am surrounded by hostile neighbourhood children, armed with an artillery of water balloons.
I am doing all that I can, but the junior hostiles have infiltrated the precautionary barriers. I am being attacked from all sides, the roof tops have been over run and all balconies are occupied by the enemy.

I am running low on supplies and leopard crawling through the backstreets to the local market is getting too dangerous.

Private Annalisa and Sargeant Adam are expected to report for duty to head up the counter attack on Monday.
But the battle rages on and additional re-enforcements and artillery are required.
As a matter of urgency, wire a defensive strategy, and a plan for a counter attack.
I am surrounded, repeat, surrounded. Emergency, evasive tactics need to be employed.

OVER AND OUT
*csh*

Holi also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival. The main day is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other.

Wedding Dancing

2009-12-06T05:46:00.000-08:00

Ganga's wedding

2009-12-06T05:06:00.000-08:00

Ganga (more about her and the awesome food she cooks still coming) invited Laura, Dan and I to her brother in law's wedding.
Unfortunately Laura was in London and Dan had to work, so I nervously ventured over on my lonesome.
I went to Ganga's home before the ceremony to watch the family's preparations. I arrived at 7 and watched everyone get ready. The groom dressed without letting his feet touch the floor, his sisters adorned him with money wreaths, there was a walking band and there was dancing and dancing and dancing.
We were meant to arrive at the Bride's house at 8:30 for the ceremony, but 11:30 rolls around and we are still in the street, groom waiting patiently in his horse drawn carriage, lights lining the road and still half a kilometer to go.
I was advised that the bride and groom would only meet (and this meeting would be the meeting for the first time) in 3 hours, which was just too long for me after 4 and a half hours of celebrating. I'd had my fun and my dancing shoes needed to return to the cupboard.

What I took from my small participation in this wedding was the realisation that I have never truly celebrated. The colours, the dancing, the laughing and the effort put towards making a mad procession out of the whole thing was mind blowing. The family was dancing for hours and went on dancing long after I dragged myself home. And then 2 more days after that. The stamina...

Here are some photos.

Michael Jackson moment

2009-12-06T04:37:00.000-08:00

This was the view from the back of my apartment a few days ago.
He does not drop the child, to put your minds at rest, but WTF? Who does stuff like this? And with a broken arm. This went on for about 10 minutes. Madness I tell you.

The Zoot Scoot

2009-12-06T04:15:00.000-08:00

This has really been a month of firsts for me.
The first time I have negelected my blog, the first time I went to an Indian wedding (post to follow) the first time Dan bought a scooter, the first time I rode on the back of a scooter and the first time Dan and I rode a scooter together... AND all of this took place on the streets of Delhi.

Dan decided it was time to get a little bit of independence from the auto drivers and bought himself a scooter, which I dubbed the Zoot Scoot.
Now, a scooter in Cape Town is cool, but a 6 foot 2 working man in Delhi is usually seen in the back of a black 4x4 reading the paper. Not dodging lunatic drivers on a scooter. Then you add a blonde girl on the back and you have a freak show.

But, it is easy and a bucket load of fun. The only thing that I really have to worry about is losing my knee caps to the on coming traffic.

My First hindi Movie

2009-08-31T03:05:00.000-07:00

I was working on a movie theater client, so we got treated to a PVR gold class movie to introduce the gora in the office to the Indian cinema.
I was pretty frikkin amped. An afternoon out of the office, a promise of 'better than first class' movie seats with a waiter bringing you nachos and cocktails AND my first Hindi movie.

The only movie showing on the day was Kal Kisne Dekha.
From the movie poster it looked like a Bollywood version of high School Musical but with college students. It pretty much was.
I had to keep my hand over my mouth to prevent the outbursts of laughter.
My favourite scene was when the 'hero' beats up the college bullies with a soccer ball. He kicks the ball into their chests, they fall down and the ball having bounced off them returns directly back to his foot so that he can get the next guy.
It was hysterical. Hysterically bad.
The copywriter I went with was cowering in embarassment. I'm not sure if it was because of my laughter or because of the movie, I'm guessing the movie as there were only 4 other people in the theater.
Even though there were no English subtitles and the entire dialogue was in Hindi, I could totally follow the story: Poor and lazy guy leaves his mother's village to go to college, makes friends with the 'cool nerds', falls in love with the prettiest girl in the class, sings a song, beats up the bullies (with a soccer ball), prettiest girl in the class falls in love with him after realising how masculine he is with a soccer ball, he realises there's a plot to blow something up, develops a gift to see into the future, stops the bomb while saving the heroine, beats up the bad guy, saves the day, leaves with the prettiest girl in the class to enjoy the rest of his life.

Even though it was an awful movie, I love it. I have never seen such a mix of movie genres. Just like the music playlists in India, a movie has no specific genre, it is not a drama or a romantic comedy or an action movie or a sci-fi, or a thriller, it is all of the above. A mad mixture where there is space for everything.
A dramatic sci-fi-rom-com-action-thriller. Fabulous!

The other thing that I loved was that part of it was shot in Cape Town. About 15% of the movie was shot on Jammie Steps at The University of Cape Town and there was a long scene on Glen Beach with the 12 apostles in the background. I was jumping out of my seat in excitement to see my home on the Indian Cinema screen.

All in all a fantastic experience.

I have now watched a bunch of excellent hindi movies and am glad to report that it competes with Hollywood in the best of movies as well as the worst.

The language barrier

2009-08-28T02:26:00.000-07:00

Not having put effort into learning Hindi after living in Delhi for almost 8 months is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever done. I mean I went to Spain for 1 month and did a 2 month long Spanish course after hours. I move to a foreign country and don't prepare at all. What was I thinking?
It really is an unnecessary burden to put on oneself.
The basic things are fine, I get by, as English is very widely spoken in India, but a few circumstances cause a major problem:

1. Calling a taxi: I have to rely on colleagues to give taxi drivers my office address. Everyday I apologetically ask someone to speak to the person coming to pick me up.
2. I often get phone calls from companies or people offering a service and they rattle off to me in Hindi and I have to say: Sorry, no Hindi, only English. Usually what happens is that I get the phone put down on me the moment the words have left my mouth.
3. I work in an all Indian office, and when sitting around after a meeting or during lunch, the natural tendency is to slip into the language they are most comfortable with. Countless times I have been in a client meeting where everyone else is laughing and making jokes in Hindi and I sit there with a half goofy smile on my face, having no idea what's going on, and then afterwards having to ask for an explanation of the joke. At first I assumed that everyone was talking about me in Hindi, ridiculous, I know, but it's a natural thing to feel when you are completely left out of something.

This has really been a huge mistake on my behalf and I am writing this post to publicly state that I am an idiot. And hopefully by publicly stating it, I will be held to the promise that I am going to learn some conversational Hindi.
Challenge accepted!

Traveling through time via an Indian playlist

2009-08-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

My understanding of how a DJ does their job is that they would pick a genre, or a style or an era that will set the tone for the evening. Not in India...

A few nights ago, Laura (our new house mate from the W&K office in London) and I went for a drink to Magique (a fantastic restaurant in the Garden of 5 Senses).
Our one drink turned into many and the music started getting loud enough to notice.
The songs went directly from Dolly Parton to Vanilla Ice to Tom Jones to Bob Marley... All great songs, sure, but what is the genre, what is the tone, what is the era?
On asking the DJ what was up, he told us in shock that of course he had a theme for the evening. He plays everything that is old!

After this experience I started taking note of playlists wherever I went.
In a coffee shop over lunch hour, reading my book this was the playlist:
1. Hindi song.
2. My Milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.
3. Foo Fighters, The best of you.
4. Enrique Iglesias, unknown song name
5. Will Smith, Getting Jiggy with it
Each song had a different era, a different beat, a different tone. I would guess that if I asked, I would get the response: Of course there's a theme, music that people like.

Once again, I learn that India does not function like anywhere else in the world. It has its own style, its own unique way, which seems to be what ever it wants at the time. Gotta love that!

SA vs INDIA in PDI (power distance index)

2009-08-26T01:51:00.000-07:00

I have just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's third book: Outliers.
A very interesting look at the story of success. My favourite part was about the PDI (power Distance Index) of different countries. I am going to very basically try and describe what was said in this part of the book for the sake of my point.
PDI basically describes how a person views their superior. In some cultures like America, a superior and a subordinate are seen relatively equally and if a subordinate thinks their superior is making a mistake they will generally inform them of this (low PDI), where as in other countries where a superior is revered and respected beyond ordinary levels of behaviour this will not be the case (high PDI).
From my experience of being a South African (which is third on the lists of countries with a low PDI) working in India (which has a high PDI), this section of the book was a revelation.
When I first started working here, I obviously had no idea of the cultural norms in terms of hierarchy and superior vs subordinates. I arrived behaving as I would in a South African office. This could have been a mistake on my part as I think you should try and fit in with the culture you are living in to some extent, but I now realise how long it actually takes to even have a small understanding of a culture as complex as India's.
My natural way of functioning in an ad agency is to argue the merits of something I believed in. When presenting work to a superior I would express my opinion. I even got into a couple of heated discussions with a superior when I disagreed with them.
Most of the time I was met with a look of shock. Not angry shock, but disbelieving shock.
How could this 'little girl' be questioning what her superior is saying instead of nodding in acceptance and appreciation for the opinions given. I noticed that most people around me would never argue with their boss, never mind their bosses boss.
This situation really aggravated and upset me. Until I read Outliers. It was not a personal attack, it was just my culture conflicting with theirs. I was doing something unusual.
I think that as time has gone by I have been accepted and am appreciated for my attitude and contribution just as much as I have learnt to show even more respect to superiority than I normally would.
Thanks for clearing that up for me Mr Gladwell!

Tips on living in Delhi, India

2009-08-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a copy of the emails I sent to a friend before she moved here. If you are moving to India any time soon, they will be helpful. There is a lot to do and figure out. Things seem complicated. The more you know, the easier it will be.
We have looked for apartments twice and both times landed up spending more than we expected.
The following is for a 3 bedroom apartment:
For a basically furnished or an 'Indian' style furnished place, you are looking to spend between Rs40 000 - Rs100 000
For a high standard of western style furnishings, you are looking at spending above Rs80 000 depending on the area.
For about Rs150 000 you can get an amazing apartment that is furnished beautifully. There is also the option of looking into serviced apartments. This means that they provide maid, linen service, internet, tv... all inclusive. I am not sure the costs of this but would imagine it is expensive, but probably worth it, as it will save you a lot of admin. We have consistent problems with Tata Sky, Airtel and even had our electricity cut off when we had never received a bill. And a last option is to look into a farm house. These are about 30 mins out of central delhi, but if you can afford it, they are amazing. Big houses on a large piece of land. Again, this all depends on the area. A 2 bedroom apartment was very difficult to find. Be very very clear what you want when speaking to an agent. I have seen some of the most awful apartments as I was not sure what I wanted. We saw 35 apartments the first time and 20 the second. Name you budget clearly (maybe even state your budget a bit lower than the real one, as you will usually be shown stuff for 10 to 20 thousand more than you said) and say that you don’t want to see anything that is old and run down. A good thing I did was take photos and notes of each place so that we could remember and make the decision after. I am a little crazy like that, but it did help a lot with the decision.
The first apartment we got had huge windows and a lot of light. This was wonderful until it got hot. The AC’s could barely cool the apartment during the day. Make sure the apartment is not near a school. Our first one was and the schools start early and they are noisy. There are a lot of schools and they are hard to spot. Schools are also often open on Saturdays. And closed windows do not keep the sound out. A lot of apartments are not built as brilliantly as you would hope, so check for gaps in the doors.
Also try get one road away from a busy intersection. Visit your potential apartment in the morning as well as the evening to see what the noise, traffic, safety… is like. We were living in Defence Colony for 4 months. It is very nice and the market is great.
Other areas to look at are Safdarjung enclave, Hauz Khas, Panscheel Park, GK 1, GK2, SDA, Saket, Souh Extension 1, South Extension 2. All in South Delhi
Proximity to where you work is very important. If you are traveling a lot, it might be a good idea to look at something that isn;t too far from the domestic airport. This is the lady who helped us with looking at apartments and with the FRRO when we first arrived: Doris Delessard: +91 987331445 She is a relocation agent and can help you with a lot of other things as well. The second time we looked for apartments we found a place through Abhi: +91 99 99 606901 Most estate agents charge a 1 month finders fee and you will probably have to put down a 1-2 month deposit.
Be careful if you are here temporarily, most landlords want a lock in period of minimum 6 months. We have refused this as we were on a trial period with the company. I would highly advise buying a car and finding a driver if you can. Taxis are expensive and a pain to organise. Autos are almost unbearable in the heat. Easycabs is a taxi I use, their number is 011 43434343. Also Megacab are reliable: 011 41 41 41 41 I would definitely bring stuff with you. Creams are only a bit more expensive than SA, but because of the heat you often find that they have curdled and can't be used. Things like make up remover wipes are hard to find unless you like mint and orange scented ones. I brought with me: sunscreen, facewash, moisturiser, shampoo & conditioner, perfume, medicine (very hard to find the things you are used to - Corenza C, myprodol...) Your ordinary things like lux, pantene, hand soap, washing powder, deoderant... are readily available. Most things are actually available, but it takes long to figure out where to get what and how. If you have a driver and a cleaning/cooking person they are usually very helpful. It is very hot here at the moment and because you are going to be in and out of a car looking at apartments I would bring very, very light clothes that aren't revealing. We had to get a lot of shots before we came. If you go to a travel clinic they will tell you what you need. You will usually need booster shots after being here for a few months. We stupidly forgot. Most private hospitals will be able to do this for you. Max Hospital in Saket, near the Select City Walk mall is good. When you get here, don't eat anything raw at all. Especially in 5 star restaurants. Dan and I both got Delhi Belly from eating salads in 5 star restaurants. We slowly weaned ourselves onto raw food. I only ate fruit with skin for the first while. Wash other fruit in salted water. Cooked stuff is all fine. Don't drink the tap water (obviously). If you are in the sun a lot apparently you should put a bit of sugar, salt and lemon juice in your water bottle.
Basic beginner words:
Hello: Namaste
Thank you: Dha-nia-vad
Sir: Gee
Water: Paanee
Food: Chapatee
Let's go: Chalo
Tea: Chai
Goodbye: Alvi-dah
All the spelling is incorrect, but should help you pronounce the words.
If you get an unfurnished apartment, there are only a few immediate necessities. A fridge: In Gurgaon at the Ambience mall on the top floor is an excellent electronic shop. They have everything you will need. A bed: You can get cheap beds made in seven days at Amar colony, furniture market. They do not look great, but work fine. Sharma Farm in Chattarpur will also make bed for you in 1-2 weeks. They are excellent quality and medium priced. Yuninet and Dillinet are excellent places to get second hand furniture. It is an expat community group on Yahoo, once joining you will receive an email a day with requests and offers from other ex pats about furniture sales, drivers and house keepers to recommend and a lot of other important stuff. You will also be able to post your own requests and offers. I have found Hindi teachers, yoga teachers, furniture… through these sites. Springwell make really good mattresses and you can get a basic one for about Rs12 000. Springwell outlets are all over the place. Just driving around you will see mattresses for sale everywhere. I bought mine in a mall in Gurgaon, but they are standard sizes, qualities and prices. A water filter or large 20 litre bottled water: In Gurgaon at the Ambience mall on the top floor is an excellent electronic shop. They have everything you will need. For Bottled water, you will need to find the local person in the area you are living in. A simple dispenser can be found in market all purpose shops. The best one of these that I have been to is The Defence Store in the Defence Colony Market. AC’s: In Gurgaon at the Ambience mall on the top floor is an excellent electronic shop. They have everything you will need. We have window AC’s which are decent, but take a bit longer to cool the room and are noisy, but the price difference is huge. You can get them for between Rs12 000 and Rs 25 000. The next most important thing you will need to do, if you have not done it yet is hire someone to cook and clean for you. We have a woman who comes three times a week and does laundry, cooking cleaning, shopping. It makes living in this crazy place a lot easier as it takes time to figure out where to get what and what is safe to eat and how to get water... Yuninet is the best place to get a recommended person. I found an excellent woman via Yuninet. The people that come recommended speak English and are used to working with foreigners. English is essential, but it does come at a cost. Local people will think you are crazy for paying someone more that Rs4000 - Rs5000 per month for 6 days a week. I found it impossible to find someone this cheap. I also am not used to having someone in my apartment all the time, so I prefer to go part time. I think the average you should be looking to pay a permanent person is about Rs7000 – Rs8000 per month. The best thing you can do on arrival is find the local market, they can normally be found in most areas. Having an apartment close to one is useful. Spend some time finding out where everything is. Where to get fresh milk (a Mother Dairy store), where to get mobile airtime, where to get fruit, where to get groceries, if there’s a 24 hour shop… most of your basics are usually there.
Otherwise a lot can be found in the malls. The one I like the most is Select City Walk in Saket. The prices are higher than markets. Anything imported is very expensive, anything local is cheap. Alcohol is very expensive. When in a restaurant or bar add on 20% tax to the price in the menu. Buying alcohol yourself is cheaper. There is usually a alcohol shop near the markets.
Hope that helps!

A marble bed

2009-08-18T02:07:00.001-07:00

For approximately 30 to 60 minutes a day this is where I lie:Load shedding in India puts South Africa's electrical issues to shame.
About 5 times a week, the power goes off in my apartment for about 45 minutes to an hour. This usually happens at 8 in the evening, soon after I've arrived home to a steaming apartment which has been deprived of AC all day. About 10 minutes after I have settled in front of the TV, there is a power surge - the TV, lights and my heart flicker.
Then, black.
A unanimous groan can be heard from all the residents of our colony. Once my own personal groan has been expelled, I get up, fetch my pillow and plonk myself flat down on the marble floor and wait. I have grown to love my marble floor. It is cool even on 45 degree days and just like it retains the cool, it helps me retain the little bit of sanity I have left after a crazy day in Delhi.

The quintessential Indian moment

2009-08-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was swimming lengths in the pool where I have a membership. The pool is 25 meters long and about 3 lanes wide.
With me were 2 other length swimmers. For 15 minutes the three of us were harmoniously swimming lengths together. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fourth man approaching the pool. I thought: Damn, now I will have to swim closer to the wall, but no matter, we are all friend here, and I moved over.
This relatively fit looking 45ish year old man, gets in the pool and without a glance in anyone's direction and without a regard for the 'You were here first, so I'll do it your way' rule, starts swimming widths.
The pool is only about 8 meters wide, so how could he think of this as worth while exercise? I might have forgiven him if he was an incompetent swimmer, but he was doing alright from what I could see.
Every time I got to the point when I'd just done a tumble turn, my trajectory was disturbed by a pair of very hairy men's legs and I had to break the surface earlier than expected and gasp for air and in exasperation.

Please, please, please will someone explain this behavior to me.
Why do people in India do things like this? I am desperate to know. Maybe once I understand the thinking, I will be able to accept it and not get so annoyed. I mean it, you will be doing me a BIG favour if you can answer this question.

The Ghats of Ganga Ji

2009-08-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

Creative Parking

2009-08-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

Angelina jolie endorses Lipo-Sculpture in India

2009-08-04T01:06:00.001-07:00

When I tore this out of the newspaper this morning, a few things crossed my mind:

1. If Angie is doing it, it must work.
2. Does she really need the cash that bad? Maybe the cost of looking after 6 kids is taking it's toll.
3. Did she even make a buck out of this endorsement?
5. Didn't I see Jennifer Aniston's face on a hair removal cream ad the other day?
4. How do people get away with putting a person's face in their ad without permission.
5. This is India.

Titles to blow your undergarments off.

2009-08-03T11:08:00.001-07:00

These are the most extravagant, reaching for the stars, titles of books I have ever seen.
They can be found all over Delhi in tiny second hand bookstores with millions of books. Books you never imagined existed. Books packed from floor to ceiling. Books to fill a life time. And with titles like these... what a life time!

In case you can't read them, here they are:

1. The Greek Tycoon's Disobedient Bride
2. The Ruthless Magnate's Virgin Mistress
3. The Mediterranean Billionaire's Blackmail Bargain
4. Ruthlessly bedded my the Italian Billionaire
5. The Billionaire Boss's Secretary Bride
6. Virgin Mistress, Scandalous Love Child
7. Pregnant: Father Wanted
And my favourite
8. Taken for Revenge, Bedded for Pleasure

The jacket of 'The Greek Tycoon's Disobedient Bride' reads:

Bought: one house, one wife!
It amazed Ophelia that Lysander Metaxis - a Greek billionaire notorious for his harem of adoring women - wanted to marry her, a humble gardener with a crumbling old manor house and debt up to her ears...
But soon she realised Lysander didn't want her - he wanted her property and her body. But marry him she would - because she had no choice if she wanted to keep what she cherished most... And disobedient she would be - because her new husband had no intention of loving her.

It's a sign!

2009-08-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

As previously demonstrated in The Himalayan Road Signs post, there seems to be a really cool underground cult of 'sign humour' in India. I have started a little collection. Some of the humour seems intentional, some not, or maybe they just want you to think it's unintentional, or maybe they just want you to think it's intentional as they never realised how funny it was when they wrote it... hmmm. There shall be more of this to come.

DO NOT SPIT

2009-08-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Spitting.
I never thought this topic would be of any interest to me. But, here I am thinking about it. Where does the need to spit come from? Do the plants need watering? Do the roads look too dry? Is there a bad taste in your mouth? Are you just angry? Would I also spit constantly if I didn't think it was un-lady like and gross?

People spit in India. They spit freely, and with surprisingly accurate aim. They spit out the window of their cars, they spit at the bus stop, they spit on do not spit signs, I assume they spit in their homes, possibly in a designated spittoon, they spit next to each others feet, they spit and they spit and they spit as if it were a contest of who could spit the most over a life time.

Most of the spitting seems to happen while chewing paan. I have had paan. The non tobacco kind, and it is pretty nice. Sweet. And it keeps the mouth occupied, maybe preventing bad conversation. But to my surprise, I am not a spitter of paan, I am a swollower. I just could not bring myself to do it. I could not publicly spit. Because, I am a lady.

Sam on the other hand is not a lady. He freely spat his paan all over the place for my photographing pleasure.

What is paan made of? Find out here.

The suicide cow

2009-08-03T05:53:00.000-07:00

The prayer flags of Ladahk

2009-07-30T01:14:00.001-07:00

The cool cool mountains

2009-07-29T23:38:00.001-07:00

So, I finally caught up with my cool. It had traveled pretty far (about a 30 hour drive North from Delhi). But I think I have it back now. I often see it trying to sneak out the back door when it thinks I'm not looking, but I'm keeping a pretty tight leash on it.
I roped my brother Sam into coming with me on the 'cool quest'. He was an excellent choice, being pretty cool himself.

We flew up to Leh, Ladahk in the Himalayas. As the plane approaches, the landscape rises into peaks of snow, then the pilot magically navigates his was down to the airstrip, almost nicking the wings on the mountains. Hair raising.
Leh is nicknamed Little Tibet. It is mostly a Bhuddist community and is filled with prayer bells, prayer flags, monestaries and palaces. The goods for sale in Leh are a trans bunny's dream. All the clothes look like they came straight off a sunrise set.

We then drove to Pangong Lake.
When the temperature is 45 degrees in Delhi, there is snow on these massive, majestic, magical mountains. This place is breath taking (and not only because of the altitude). Every moment, the terrain changes and even though the air is thin, it is crisp and fresh.

We travelled over a pass which is 5360 meters above sea level and both promptly almost passed out. (Kilimanjaro is 5900 meters.) Walking to the toilet was like running a marathon.

Pangong Lake is certainly the most magnificent place I have seen. The water is bluer than blue.

We stayed over night in tents next to the lake. The gate made it look like a tent camp from hell, but it was pretty decent and the food was amazing. We even got to taste the local butter tea and home brewed beer with a local family. The beer was great, but one sip of the butter tea was enough to pile on 5 kilos and make me throw up.

The Himalayan Road signs

2009-07-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

On the drive from Leh to Pangong Lake, I spent the full 4 hour trip hanging out the window with my camera, trying to capture the awesome road signs while we raced past them at sound barrier speeds.

I unfortunately missed 2 of my favourites:
Speed is the knife that cuts life.
I love you, but not so fast.

Have you seen my cool?

2009-06-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

It's official.
I have lost my cool.

You'll ask: How the hell do you misplace such an important thing, where could it have gone?
And I'll tell you: It was easy and It's probably in the same place as all my bobby pins and socks.

It could have all been prevented if I had just not stepped off the plane on the 15th of Jan 2009. I could have just stayed on the plane and gone somewhere else. But at that point, I never thought I could be so careless.

So anyway, here I am 6 months later and I look at myself in the mirror and I can see behind my eyes, there is no more cool. There is only heat.
Who the hell am I? I don't raise my voice. I don't demand things. I don't crap on people.
Well, I never used to. Now I do it all the time.
All of you who know me, imagine I get in a taxi in South Africa and the driver doesn't know where my destination is. I flip out. My voice is raised, my face is red, I'm threatening to take the cab company to the consumer court. I'm giving it to this guy like he has never had it before. Behaviour to make my parents proud.

I'm not trying to make excuses, but Dehli is an aggressive city. It has one of the most extreme climates (below 3 degrees to above 45 degrees) and historically it was the first place to be invaded every time India was at war. These things and I'm sure others have given it a really hard edge.
So I jumped on the band wagon. I got aggressive. I got angry. I got furious. After exercising my virgin vocal chords for a few months, I realised that I had raced way ahead of the band wagon. Delhi is not furious or angry. It just knows what it wants and it does whatever it wants, which is pretty admirable. So unlike me, Delhi has a cool heat.

Now I am stuck with a heat I want less of and a lost cool. I've tried yoga, I've tried swimming, I've tried meditation. Still no cool.

So I ask again. Anyone seen my cool?

Mix colour with a heap of amazing...

2009-06-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

DIR 69.

Being on your own in Delhi with nothing to do is the best way to discover new things.

One Wednesday morning, while losing myself in wondering around, I noticed a small display cabinet at the bottom of a tiny staircase. What had caught my eye was one of the most unique, exciting, outrageous handbags that had ever caught my eye.
My heart skipped a beat.
Trying to control the pace of my breathing I walked up the staircase and entered an explosion of perfectly matched vibrant patterns and colour. I knew I was in trouble.

Every bag and piece of clothing looked like something I imagine coming out of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Amazing, beautiful, wild.
I tried on everything that fit me.

Tanu, (the owner and designer) puts together material, patterns and colour in a way that is truly cool, and when putting on one of her garments, you feel like you are meeting a new friend - a friend who is going to show you that you’ve never really had fun before right now.

If you love colour and personality in your wardrobe this is the place for you.
If you’re a ‘charcoal is the new black’ kinda gal, you need to visit DIR 69 and get educated.

DIR 69 can be found in Hauz Khas village. If you walk past The Living Room on your right you will almost get to the end of the road and on your left there is a colourful sign and the tiny staircase.

cutting key craft

2009-06-09T01:07:00.000-07:00

Keys are still cut by hand in Gurgaon.

ayee ayeeeeee ah! Holler man.

2009-06-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

This video was taken at 8am on the road outside my apartment.
This guy is selling something, I'm still trying to figure out what...
He sings/shouts/calls/hollers/?!?!?!?!?!? to let everyone know he is there.
Notice how he turns around to do another lap.

Frolicking birdies

2009-06-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

Taken in Stellenbosch while on holiday.

Indian-Loreal Hair treatment

2009-06-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

Kristin and I arrived at the salon/ parlor I had previously been to, looking for Indian head massages - only to to find it closed. So we ventured into the one next door. The entrance looked pretty fancy so we excitedly climbed the stairs. Only to find a grimy, dingy room filled with 20 employees and no customers. I asked, wide eyed, for 2 Indian head massages and we were told that we were both in dire need of an India-Loreal hair treatment. Throwing caution down the sink we dropped our heads into the basins.
After our wash we were placed on chairs where the entire staff could keep an eye on us. They positioned themselves along the side of the room as if they were in front of a TV or maybe in this case, a freak show. I asked if we could move to another corner. Our entourage came with us.
It took 2 of them a good half an hour to remove the birds nest they created on Kristin's head.
But our hair looked pretty good after.
Indian-Loreal Hair Treatment - Because we're worth it!

Here's Kristin back in Delhi after a month long trip up to Dharamsala.

Nat & Mike come to India

2009-06-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

My amazing, creative, crazy, wonderful friends managed to fit themselves in my bag when I left Cape Town. They really like India.

Beauty in the Gurgaon beast.

2009-06-08T05:52:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my desk.
And if you look a little closer...Nice.

Taking it home.

2009-06-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

The family all dressed up in their Kurta Pajamas.

Passing the time

2009-06-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

I have slowly been teaching myself to read in the car to pass the time on my commute to work. The roads and traffic are so bad that car sickness is a hard beast to tame. I was pretty damn impressed this lady was not vomiting over her husbands shoulder. Maybe she's had more practice than me.

Beautiful Design where you wouldn't expect it

2009-06-08T04:39:00.000-07:00

Sleeping on the job or the only place to sleep?

2009-06-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a really interesting article with a lot of details regarding the laws and usage of cycle Rickshaws.

Said things

2009-06-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

'Just do one thing.'
This is normally used when you are being requested to do a million things.

'Too much of work.'
In Delhi, there really is way too much of work. People work 6-7 days a week and 9 - 12 hours a day. In my opinion, it's either because people are hugely driven or because things are so disorganised that the work load is doubled.

'Namaste Madam Gi'
'Gi' is the Hindi word for 'Sir'. The above sentence translates to 'Hello Madam Sir'. It's weird being a woman man...

'What are you saying?'
This is used as an outraged statement when I ask questions about Indian history or Bollywood stars or the Epics. I'm considered 'uneducated' for not knowing these things. Then I ask if they know who Shaka Zulu is and prove my point.

Pairidaéza...!

2009-06-03T02:39:00.000-07:00

The old Iranian language Avestan had a noun pairidaēza-, “a wall enclosing a garden or orchard,”
Along came the Greeks and then the English, they tinkered around a bit and we have the word Paradise.
The origin of this word is beautifully demonstrated by Samode Bagh.
It is a tented hotel in a walled garden. Along with a pool, old buildings with bats, camels, peacocks, horses, trees, green grass, delicious food, shady outdoor day beds...
it's a little piece of pairidaēza in the Rajasthani desert.

Our journey started on Friday... 7 of us and driver, sardined into a Toyota Innova for a 5 hour drive into the desert.
I once again had to deal with my destiny of sitting in the middle. We even came up with a genius idea of how to fit in better... by spooning.

During our toilet-paper-free toilet stop (what's new?) there was a really long wait, so a desperate mother expertly aimed her sons pee into the basin next to me. I only noticed this half way through my hand washing. Thank goodness for Hygienic Hand Gel! My only real regret is being too polite and not having the guts to take a photo.

That evening we dined at Samode Palace which lit up and broke into song as we walked between horses and camels, into a shower of leaves and up stairs of flowers. Wel Come.

On day one, Emilia and I walked up 376 stairs in the mid day heat, to the fort. I helped a woman carrying a million sticks on her head unstick her load from the surrounding thorns. A lady under an umbrella sold us flower garlands for a fortune and a guide adopted us on the way down. Our guide showed us the highlights of the local village.

A family who has been making bangles for generations showed us how they use tree resin to make Indian bangles. Seeing the energy and knowledge put into making something that seems simple was awesome enough to get me to purchase an armful. Good marketing tactics.

We then went on a sunset camel ride.

Our beautiful ride took a dark turn when we went past a very disturbing site. A family was trying to get their male buffalo to mate with their female buffalo. The female was pretty much being set up for rape. Her front and back legs were tied together and she was again tied with the side of her face pressed against a tree - she was freaking out. Luckily the male did not seem that interested in her and then we turned the corner and I don't know how the story ends.

Rob and Dan met Ram on their village walk about. Ram organised a dune party for us. It was more of a dune get together, but wonderful none the less. We sat on a hill, under the moon, drinking and singing, with Dan playing his guitar in the background.

Thanks Rob and Emilia for 'lending' some photos to a camera-less girl.

This blog post is dedicatred to my Finch (fiance) who took me on this beautiful holiday. Thank you Spoon!

Taxi Drivers

2009-05-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

Arriving back in India from a 'normal' place like Cape Town is a bit of a shell shock.
Besides for the weather and the traffic, you realise that there are actually a lot of other people in the world and that the universe does not center around you and the people you love.

1,147,995,904 people can really make you feel small and insignificant and lonely and humble.

In India, I interact with or walk past at least 40 people per day (not including work). In Cape Town this would be about 5 if I'm unlucky. You really get a sense of all these little universes around you. People doing what they do... which, in Delhi, generally means not caring what anyone else thinks about what they're doing.

Example... taxi drivers. I take a taxi to and from work every morning - it takes me 45mins to 1 hour each way and every day I have a different universe driving me.

Driver number 1: Spoke to his friend on loud speaker from the minute he picked me up until the minute I handed him cash. This totaled about 45 minutes. Despite how much this obviously killed me, how does he afford to chat for so long? He spent a fifth of what I paid for the ride on his call.

Driver number 2: Sang Hindi songs. Quite well. Nice.

Driver number 3: Kept me waiting for an hour and then drove in circles looking for a non existent turn off while he was getting directions to do another U turn from the head office.

Driver number 4: Took me through his favourite CD compilation. It sounded like the best of all the NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC albums. You know, all those songs that don't have actual words or just don't make sense:
Da da wee oo da da wee oo here we come.
I'm blue, if I were green I would die???
La da da di da da da da wanna be my lover.
Boom boom boom I want you in my room.
Even a little big of Shaggy and the Pussy cat dolls' version of Jai-Ho.
If I was drunk I would have been dancing!

People doing what they do. Being the best version of themselves they can be.

My best version of myself lands up letting driver 1 speak to his friend even though I'm squirming in my seat with irritation, not huming along to Driver 2's Hindi songs, getting out of Driver 3's taxi and taking an auto home instead and not asking Driver 4 for a copy of his CD.
I sucks, ha ha.

Passport photos

2009-05-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

I went back to South Africa last week to apply for a new Indian visa.
For the application I needed 4 passport photos.
So, before I left, I went to a store in the Defence Colony market (New Delhi), had my photos taken and was told to come back in 10 minutes.

When I arrived to fetch the photos, the 'photographer' handed the envelope over together with a very unusual smile. I opened the envelope and inside were, to my horror, 4 beautifully airbrushed photographs of myself. My skin was perfect, I think he even put a twinkle in my eye.

I told him how beautiful he made me look.
He grinned and gave me a thumbs up sign.

Early birthday card

2009-04-22T00:52:00.001-07:00

Thanks for my super cool birthday card family!

Matrimonial ads

2009-04-21T23:44:00.001-07:00

The matrimonial section of the newspaper was one of the first things I came across when I arrived in Delhi.
At first I thought it was very funny, (the Love Important one is GREAT), then I felt a little outraged at the arranged marriage concept. After learning a little more about it, I feel a little less outraged.
The main factors taken into account when arranging a marriage are age, height, personal values and tastes, the backgrounds of their families (wealth, social standing) and their casts and the astrological compatibility of the couples' horoscopes.
A marriage in India is about the marrying of the families as well as the 2 individuals.
Normally the wife lives with the husbands family, which is another relevant reason why they need to get on with each other.
In India, 1.1% of marriages result in a divorce compared with over 45.8% for the USA. This is most likely because divorce is frowned upon, but that can't explain such an enormous difference.
Many young, westernised Indians would actually prefer their mothers to pick their wives.

My softening towards arranged marriage has come from the simple reason that having similar backgrounds and values makes life a little easier and the relationship a little less complicated - there are less contentious issues.
I think that if Dan and my parents were into arranging marriages , there's a good chance we would have landed up together anyway (except that Dan is a month and 5 days younger than me - yikes).

Wikipedia has some interesting points on the subject.

Mosquito decoy

2009-04-21T23:13:00.001-07:00

I made fake blood for a shoot at work the other day.
After half an hour a mosquito got curious and came to check out the little droplets.
He hung around for about 15 minutes, tasting and checking out my concoction.
I don't know if this shows how tenacious the Indian mosquitoes are or how good I am at making fake blood...
...as long as they're not biting me!

My fake blood mixture consisted of:

Heiz Ketchup - no All Gold in India - boo
Marmite
Red and Blue food colouring
Honey

My Indian mosquito bites thus far: 47 in three months and counting.
I left the office window open for 1 hour as the AC wasn't working and we now have a colony living with us.
I use Peaceful Sleep everyday, but still, they bite me. A colleague reckons the Indian mosquitoes dig my repellent.

I love India

2009-04-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

This place is a photographers dream.

I see at least 10 things every day that could make incredible photos (if I stopped to take them).

Here are some I did stop to take.

How to negotiate like an Indian

2009-04-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

Negotiating in India is a necessity. I am VERY bad at it.
The people I deal with always leave smiling.
Hopefully these tips will be helpful.

Talent or exploitation?

2009-04-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Four Year Old who Ran Forty Miles

I'd vote for exploitation.
And it turned out I'd be right.
Here's what happen next.

My first Hindi words

2009-04-14T01:49:00.001-07:00

And according to Nusrat, the Hindi translation for 'Excuse me' is 'Hello!'

Indian Summer It's the beginning...

2009-04-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

39 degrees in April. WTF!

HOW TO BEAT THE INDIAN HEAT (before it beats the crap out of you):

- Wear loose, light cottons
- Wear light colours
- Don't wear make up
- Always carry water
- Be all old school and carry a hankerchief
- Drink nimbu pani or coconut water or other cooling drinks

- Use a parasol... mmm, parasol, great word

- Abuse your AC (but always keep a big bowl of water in the room)
- Keep a spray bottle of water in the fridge, (this can double up as a cruel joke).
- Swim swim swim - most hotels have memberships for their pools.
I'm down with The Qutab Hotel.

- Wear a hat. Especially a stylin one like I bought for my brother at KM toilet.

- Go on holiday to one of these places
- Stay inside and play abusive games
- Stay inside and google Indian Summer

Sure, we can fit a couple more!

2009-04-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

This is a tame example of the motorbikes in Delhi.

Panicker's Travel Company

2009-04-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Imagine... an Indian travel company tailored for people who panic(k)...
Tranquilizers, airbags on every seat, airplane vomit bags, itinerary where every minute of every day is organised, double flights are booked just in case, the guide is also a trained psychologist... Genius.
Unfortunately their site doesn't demonstrate such a cool sense of humour.

Be kind to animals

2009-03-30T03:36:00.000-07:00

It's a good deed to feed pigeons and cows are sacred.

Weird right? And causing a truck load of issues in the cities. Cows randomly walk across streets, pigeons randomly live on my balcony and nest on top of my extractor fans.

The short version of why cows are sacred is:
Milk. Work (used for farming). Reincarnation (someone you knew could now be a cow). The Hindu God, Lord Shiva rides an Ox. At one point the cow asked the Gods to save the earth. A little bit of tradition and superstition. Here is the long version.
Here is an interesting article on the legal issues of 'cows and the city'.

When I searched how many pigeons there are in Delhi, this answer came up:
18 326 038
This can't be right as about a quarter of this live on my balcony.
Despite an hour wasted on Google, I still have no idea why it's a good deed to feed them.

Wildlife

2009-03-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

Without thinking and probably just to make conversation, I asked someone if there was wildlife around Delhi. I really felt like an idiot after they stared at me long and hard until I realised the stupidity of my question. To my defense, most of these guys are pretty tame... except for the monkeys.
I borrowed the cow image as I didn't have one of my own.

Things I'll never get used to

2009-03-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

I guess there had to come a point when I needed to complain.

1. Hooting.
There are 2 points to this complaint.
Firstly, here they call it horning and I just can't get used to saying: Stop horning. OR I can't bear all the horning. OR He horned at me.
The American guys working with Dan think it's hysterical that I call it Hooting coz hooters means a whole other thing...
I said: When I stopped at the robot, he hooted at me and I gave him a zap sign. This was met with a lot of confusion and laughter.
The second part of this complaint is that people 'horn' as freely as they breathe. The time it takes for people to start 'horning' when a traffic light turns green is approximately minus 10 seconds. Then you get 'horned' at to warn you they are driving past you, 'horned' at to let you know they have passed you, 'horned' at to say hi... I could go on. They're very very 'horny' round here.

2. Scooters.
When I first saw a man, his wife and their kid crammed onto a scooter I thought I'd seen it all. Then I realised that the wife had no helmet and was sitting side saddle. This was too much for me. Then I saw a man, his wife (side saddle no helmet), his 2 kids (one on the handle bars, no helmet) and his friend all on one scooter. I think there must still be a surprise for me around the corner, what about his parents and her sisters?!?

3. Visitors.
I'm so used to living my private Cape Town life where no one rings your doorbell unless you're expecting them to. Before I started working I would get summmoned out of my bed at 8 by the buzzing. It would begin with a cleaning lady looking for work, then a man who wants to put up blinds, then the guy collecting the trash, then a guy who wants to install gas, then the landlords driver with an extra piece of crappy furniture, then the guard asking for money and then and then and then.

4. Aaaaaayeeeeeee-aaaaaahhhhhh
Ok, there's this guy... I don't know what he's selling, but I'm sure it's nothing that I want. He begins his work day at about 7:15. He cycles past my apartment about 6 times an hour. How he lets everyone know he is there is by 'singing', loudly, in a very nasal voice this one word, which will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life: Aaaayeeeeee-aaaaahhhh.

5. Driving to Gurgaon. This fabulous place is where I work. Uglier and dustier than sin. Worst part is that it's an hour commute each way in heavy traffic. Only bonus about this is that I get a lift with a super entertaining and interesting guy.

Holi dance

2009-03-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

3 guys with Indian style drums moved around the party all day creating little dance hubs.
Rocking.

I got to do some Indian circle dancing??? with a bunch of crazy, drunk, high on bhang people (most of whom had forgotten to do up their flies). (Obviously not referring to the people in the vid).

Barbie's coming to our place in her princess chopper.

2009-03-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Huge roof terrace + left over Holi paint = totally camp Helipad.

I wish you could smell this...!

2009-03-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

1. A group of young Indian men on a Friday night smells similar to the perfume area in a British department store, but on steroids. Imagine a quarter of a bottle of aftershave per person and there's a group of 30. It's actually pretty refreshing after some of the other smells... see below.

2. The Nala... This is a shit river. Literally. It is an open air sewerage system, pretty common in Delhi. I walk/ drive over it on the way to the market every day. The smell feels like a very personal and insightful insult, or being slapped in the face with a porcupine and most of the spikes go up your nose.

3. The spice market: Cumin, saffron, tumeric, tamarind,cardamon, pepper, ginger, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, all in one sniff.

4. Meat market. This is not a smelling experience I can put into words. If you are ever in New Delhi, go to the INA market and find the meat section. Make sure you enter from the far side for full effect.

5. Car fumes. Delhi traffic is intense. It used to be so bad that they converted all public transport to CNG (compressed natural gas). This apparently improved the 'choking of Delhi', but it has not improved the 'choking of Casey'.

6. Masala tea. 3 times a day, I receive a mug of steaming masala tea on my desk. I don't ask for it, it's just assumed I want it (which I do). It's made from masala spices, full cream milk, normal tea and about 6 spoons of sugar. Mmmm... when's the next one coming

7. Arriving home to food. We recently hired a woman to cook and clean for us. After 2 months of take aways, opening the front door to home cooking is a knee weakening experience.

8. The sea. Ok, so there is no sea in Delhi, but there is a sea in Cape Town and at the moment, home sickness smells just like the ocean.

Name calling

2009-03-17T03:07:00.000-07:00

click here for a site of creative name calling

My best are Bumloaf and Lumpmunch.
Here's what I think a Bumloaf would look like:

One of the best movies uploaded to youtube of all time

2009-03-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

The Evolution of Dance

Cool iphone app

2009-03-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

The iphone camera truely sucks.
It is saved by some interesting apps like Quadcamera and Camerabag.

?????????

2009-03-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Now, this is someone I would vote for... so youthful.

Dusty oh dusty

2009-03-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

The air I breath is full of dust.
Apparently living in Delhi is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
This should have been a sad face.

Basic conversation with an auto driver, converterd to Rands

2009-03-16T03:23:00.001-07:00

Casey: Namaste Gi

Auto Driver: Namaste

Casey: Defence Colony Market...?

Auto Driver: *undistinguishable head gesture*

Casey: Bhaiyaa Kitna - means how much, but probably not how I pronounce it.

Auto Driver: ?????

Casey: How much?

Auto Driver: Twenty Rand.

Casey: WHAT???!!!??? That's too much. You're trying to rip me off! I'm not a tourist, I live here, I'll give you R10

Auto Driver: No no, R16.

Casey: But it cost me R12 on the way here!!@#%!!!!!

Auto Driver: Ok, ok... R14

Casey: You're crazy, I'll go find someone else. *Looks around at deserted street*

Auto Driver: R14

Casey: *Looks at him suspiciously*

Auto Driver: *Smiles and spits a stream of paan on the pavement*

Casey: Fine.

A brief summary:

2009-03-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

Got on plane, had to sit between Ivan & Dan
Ivan took sleeping pill before dinner and ate plastic around cheese, messed all over the place, ate my and Dan's dinners as well.
Arrived
Fought off 10 people trying to carry my 1 bag
Went to a party at Spanish embassy
Dan and Ivan started work
Dan got Alcohol poisoning, Ivan had to carry him home
I got stared at
I got sick (Delhi Belly)
Made good friends with the bathroom floor.
Ivan got sick (Delhi Belly)
Moved out of hotel and into apartment - loved apartment, has roof terrace and secret store room behind cupboard
I got stared at
Argued with Auto Rickshaw driver about equivalent of R4
Got bored at home with nothing to do, started looking for job
My parents and Jac arrived, went to awesome awesome places, saw beautiful things like Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Lake Palace, rode elephants, watched elephant polo match, saw more palaces, saw lots and lots of temples, loved having family around, went to Jane Temple, thought we were going to die on the way.
Argued with Auto Rickshaw driver over R2
Decided to try cook, went to market, stepped over live chickens through a river of blood and looked at lambs with genitals still attached. Bought a chicken, had to remove parts of the chicken I never knew they had. Psyched myself up for 30 mins. Made a decent roast chicken. Not sure if I'll ever do it again.
Bought amazing linen, Indian ornament things, singing tibetan monk bowls, beautiful bag, crazy loud Indian dress, silk dressing gown, old Bollywood posters.
Marveled at how cheap everything is.
Went to Hindi wedding, should have worn a sari, but don't have one yet - really want one.
Afghan man tried to get me to organise a party for him ??????????
Dan got sick (Delhi Belly)
Temperature reached 32 degrees, started getting worried about my wardrobe.
Started missing home.
Went to stand up comedian - a gay Indian living in New York, dating a Jewish gay American.
Talked about moving apartments (Dust blows into house from roof terrace, dunno what to do with secret room)
Things started hitting the fan, thought about coming home
Instructed to give a man a 'treat' in exchange for his help
Started new job at M&C Saatchi.
It's a 50 minute commute from our apartment.
Waiting for the next weird/ crazy thing to happen to me.

Awesome videos

2009-03-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

2 of my all time favourite things to watch... over and over and over...

Nakka Mukka

Benny Lava

My new business card

2009-03-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

A brand new, neatly packed box of business cards was the first thing I was given as I entered the door on my first day of work. I'm so excited, I've been handing them out all over the place... been getting some funny phone calls...

Things I think are cool... lately

2009-03-13T10:25:00.000-07:00