Just Another Day in the Big City

Three Ladies on a Bench

 Today, I came to the realization that the last four weeks have been the most relaxing four weeks in Academia that I have had since somewhere mid-high school. It is strange to think that I found relaxation in what was and is supposed to be very difficult and stressful adjustment for me. Perhaps, as the saying goes, I simply needed to get away from everything—everything being that of my life in America. Life is different here, mostly within the day’s routines. I wake up early—very early—six in the morning. Sometimes I rustle awake around five and wake to the man out in the darkness singing “the call to prayer.” Sometimes I wake in the passing hours of the night to the watchmen that works the late shift in our gated community. I will here him walking with his stick, tapping the ground like a night-creature, one that I need not fear.

Qutb Minar-in It

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Yesterday my friend and I wondered through Hauz Khas Village, a touristy area of little shops and knick knacks. Très Chic—Très expensive.

Today, though I had no formal class, I woke early for a class field trip to the Qutb Minar—a mosque built in the middle ages by Qutb-ud-din Aibak. A beautiful site in both topography and archeology, I really enjoyed my visit. Delhi is the great mix of a city; It’s a city rooted in culture and history, and a city growing to become a nouveau metropolis.

After my field trip to the Qutb Minar, my friend and I went to Select City Mall and window shopped. Malls in Delhi feel very much like the malls back home. If you are not careful, you almost feel surprised to still be in India when you finally step back out onto the hectic streets of Delhi.


Photos of Hauz Khas and Qutab Minar:

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