Goal Number One: Don’t get run over!

Parrots at Tomb Site

Walking pathway around Humayan's Tomb

I would like to discuss two major things in this blog post. 1) The driving in Delhi and 2) the activities of the day that include the IES orientation, Humayan’s Tomb, and the Andhra Bhavan Canteen.
The way people drive in Delhi is like nowhere else in the entire world, at least I have to believe so. Driving in the back of a taxi here is similar to riding in a roller coaster—the kind that swirls upside down and jags to the right and left. It seems there a two styles of roads in Delhi: the main streets, which would be equivalent to Poplar or Broadway, and the one lane “neighborhood” roads, which would be like driving down a long extended driveway, or enlarged sidewalk.

One of the beautiful tombs

Let me elaborate on the first “main” type of road. There are three drawn lanes of traffic, that is the white dotted lines that distinguish the paths that cars should drive while on the road. However, there are four lanes of moving traffic. It is literally like bumper cars but for real. The main road is shared by pedestrians, bicycles, moped, rickshaws (the ones on the streets are motorized and resembled a three wheel motorcycle with a tarp covering), motorcycles, and cars of all sizes. There are crosswalks, but seeing as how India has the highest pedestrian crossing death rate, it’s obvious cars don’t slowdown in front of them. There are stoplights, which seem to be the only steadfast law of the road, and the only time cars stop. There are, however, plenty of intersections without lights, and at these cars slowly trek across the intersection and try to force their way through. The motorcyclist and bike riders have to edge themselves into whichever lane of traffic they aspire to be in. Often times they will be sandwiched so tightly in-between two cars that I feel as if I could stick my hand out the window of my taxi and touch them. I have been told that there are “unspoken” rules of the road, such as “the biggest car has right of way.” I have seen this in action, such as when a large construction truck merged into a lane without even yielding and the smaller (tiny tiny tiny) car behind him just let him do it. During these exhilarating taxi rides, I think back to Memphis and how, really, our driving and drivers aren’t that bad. And hey, if I can drive in Memphis, just maybe, I might be able to drive in Delhi…

Then there are the “enlarged sidewalks/ long driveway” roads. These roads are what cars take through the neighborhoods (of nice beautiful houses) and is the kind of road my hotel is off of. This road is shared by everything mentioned on the above road, though, I would say it’s mostly pedestrian with a few cars and motorcycles. I would also say the risk of actually being run over by the occasionally car or bike/motorcycle that comes by is relatively low, seeing as how the vehicle will honk incessantly at you until you move. These “calmer” roads are lined with people. Some people are standing around and chatting, some are cooking around a fire or food stand, and some are working on construction, such as digging or working on houses.

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In the IES orientation part of the day, an American born-Delhi citizen psychotherapist came to speak with us. (IES offers counseling for those individuals suffering greatly form culture shock.) More than anything, this woman talked to us about differences between American social customs and Delhi social customs. She stated that India seemed to draw people that were seeking something larger—that were searching for something. She compared Indian to Thailand, saying that people will seek Thailand for pleasure; they will seek Thailand’s beautiful beaches and warm climate. But that people coming to India were, essentially, adventure-bound.  This same woman also touched upon the problems of children beggars. I had just watched Slumdog Millionaire on the plane ride over to Delhi, a movie about a boy, Jamal, from the slums of Mumbai and his winnings of a million dollars. In this movie, there is a scene where Jamal, his brother, and their friend end up in the hands of what seems like a saintly man but it turns out he mutilates children (cuts of limbs, takes out eyes/blind children) because such deformities cause people to give more money to the children beggars. As it turns out, this is a very real problem in India, which is grossly sad especially since often times the children must hand over all their earnings to the “racketeers” that deform them. I have been advised to formulate my own opinions on whether to donate to these children or not, though it is strongly advised I not donate to them because I would only be supporting the sinister racketeers. However, if I do donate to these children, it is much more advised that I give them biscuits (that I can purchase inexpensively) or fruit.

(Check Back later for photos of Humayan's Tomb. My battery is about to die!!)

After our orientation, the entire IES group of students, which is about 20 students from all over the USA and one from Spain, took a field trip to Humayan’s Tomb. This tomb site was beyond beautiful, with parrots flying in trees, and vibrant blue tiles still clinging to the ancient tombs.

Then, the IES group went to this amazing café called Andhra Bhavan! We first had to go through this gate and outdoor corridor (to get to the café). Going through the gate we had to have our bags checked/searched and there was this policeman/guard with this huge firearm/rifle standing there keeping the peace. (I really wanted to take a picture of the guard but I finally decided that was a slightly bad idea, especially if he got angry…) When all 20 of us (plus our 4 supervisors) entered the café it was incredible! It was like this huge room with tables everywhere and the place was so crowded that there was one man directing customers in, and one man directing customers out. Of course I had to use the bathroom, which was a very similar experience to my bathroom experience at the airport minus a cleanly sink area and soap. But hey, all is well that ends well. (Hand sanitizer!) The food at this place was amazing! I ate a couple of hours ago and my stomach is still warm from the fresh spiciness of the food. Here is how it works. The “waiters” bring you a tray with yogurt and sweetened rice. Then they continually come around and bring you entrees, rice, and bread. Every time I would finish one “side dish” a man would come with more food and plop it onto my plate! So amazing.