I'm spending a couple of days at Nathan and Alisa's and last night, we also started watching Dev D:
I'm excited to finish watching it. The second vignette, I was told, was inspired by a news story where a school girl from Delhi was video taped performing fellatio on her boyfriend. The video was, of course, posted all over the place. I'm trying to track down the news stories to make the comparison between the film and the actual event.
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Alisa and I went to the Lodi Gardens Restaurant for a posh power lunch last week. The gardens are just spectacular with two tombs: Muhammad Shah's Tomb and Sikander Lodi's tomb. Muhammad Shah (1434 - 44) was the third ruler of Sayyid dynasty. There is a nice, if slightly neglected, bonsai garden. It was the first day of the rains while we were there, so I'm anxious to go back and check out the entire space. There are beautiful paths going throughout the garden - it's supposed to be a jogger's paradise. The restaurant is beautiful with glassless windows that give people eating there great views of the gardens. There is also an amazing outdoor seating area. It might be a great place to read. The food was so-so and pretty expensive, pretty much the same price you'd pay for a good lunch in the U.S. But, I really needed something like that to kick-start my time here. One of the gates to the gardens leads to Khan Market, which is basically a mall for the ex-pat communities. Shops are expensive and beautiful. You can buy just about anything you need there, especially imported products. There are three or four really good bookstores (Bahrisons is probably my favorite). Also, some coffee shops, if you're into that sort of thing. I like walking around there just because of all the different languages I can hear. It makes me a wee less homesick too.
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Indian Bureaucracy -
So, because of my Research visa, I had to go to the FRRO (heck, I don't know what that stands for, but man, everything here is all about initials -- no one calls anything by its full name) to register. There's also AFRRO (I'd rather have that). This was quite an ordeal, spanning three days. So, the first day I get there and after waiting in line for about 2.5 hours, I was told by the reception guy that I didn't have the right paperwork! It was quite annoying since I did bring everything that the USIEF folks told me to. He was extremely rude to me and I left there in tears. Apparently, I needed the original Affiliation letter, which is sent to the U.S. Consulate. Then, they want a proof of residence (lease) and a copy of a utility bill (which is strange since you have to register within 14 days of arrival in the country and who gets a bill in that short amount of time?). Since I'm not renting and have no utilities, my uncle wrote a letter, with everything but the utility bill attached. Second day: I get there a little bit earlier, hoping not to have to wait in line for too long. The office opens at 9:30 (10, according to IST - Indian Standard Time). Again, I'm there for several hours. They did let me get to the next step but the utility bill was an issue, even though I had everything else they required. That was the day of my power lunch. So, I had to go back a third time with a bill. Last night, I was told that so much of how things will go there depends on the mood of the folks who work there. That was pretty apparent to me. I really can't deal with this kind of bureaucracy.
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Last night, there was a dinner at Fulbright house. Fun and nice. I drank four drinks! Here are a couple of photos. The first is of Nathan and Alisa and the second of Alisa and me.
Still to come... joining a gym in Delhi :)
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