Ah….la vie en vacances!
Got up late today, perhaps because I was soooo busy the day before. Found a place to rent a car for a day ($20), so I booked one for tomorrow and proceeded on my plan for the day. When I was in Delhi ten years ago, I bought a couple of large watercolors from an artist, and I still owed him some money for them. I had contacted him from the US, and I called him when I got to Delhi so I could meet him at his gallery to give him the balance. Was he surprised! Unfortunately, he had to go back to Rajastan for some family emergency, so I just dropped off an envelope for him at the gallery. However, I took advantage of that time to talk to the gallery owner about photography and got the contact information from a couple of photographers here. I plan to stop by to see them tomorrow, when I have the car.
Unbelievably, it was lunch time by then. I went to a nearby restaurant that looked dark and cool, and I had a pretty nice lunch there – my second stuffed potato. It’ll be hard to go back to cheese stuffed potatoes after this. Here, the potato is baked and prepared with lots of different spices and vegetables. At this particular restaurant, they used what I call the “sweat spice.” I don’t know what it is, but there’s some spice here that doesn’t taste hot but makes me sweat like a….drowned rat. So there I was in my cool, dark restaurant with my Dollar Store hankie, dripping like a leaky shower. But that potato was so good I’d do it again without a moment’s hesitation.
Of course, it was then nap time. Then café time. I got a newspaper and headed down the road to my usual café.
The news here is always interesting to me. It’s hard to pick out the major stories, but here are a few:
Pepsi bottle explosion – A guy opened a bottle of Pepsi, and the bottle exploded, injuring the man’s arm, chest, neck, shoulder and jaw. He sued and got nearly $400. I have to think this is India’s version of the hot coffee suit against McDonald’s, but at least it’s finally some bad publicity for a Coke competitor.
Serial killer – A guy was arrested for killing six men. He decapitated them and removed their limbs. He threw the heads in the Yamuna and the limbs in the garbage, and then he dumped the torsos near a local police station. He said his motives were that one of the guys ate too much meat, another spent too much time talking to women, and another smoked too much. This is creepy, but it’s interesting to see that psychosis takes a cultural expression. That hadn’t occurred to me.
Punjab unrest – The situation with the Sikh religious leader is still in flux, and now there are rumors that Pakistan is trying to incite the conservative Sikh establishment to riot against the “moderates.” However, I have to say that, every time anything bad happens here, the press seems to say Pakistan did it. And the only news I see from the US here (outside of movies) is related to American relations with Pakistan.
The Sikh thing has brought up an interesting law here in India – it’s illegal to insult or disrespect a religion (this new guy is being charged with disrespecting the Sikh religion and its 10 gurus because he dressed up in imitation of them and postured himself in their mode). Given my incredibly low opinion of religion, you might expect that I’d dislike this law, but it’s interesting that here, in a very pluralistic state, it’s illegal for one religion to promote itself over another one. Proselytizing, for example, is illegal because it’s showing a lack of respect for another faith. Of course, when an artist here recently did an exhibit that showed genitalia on Shiva, he was charged under this statute, and so would be people who drew images of Mohammed (like in Denmark). But I have to say that a statute like this, a statute that says to leave people alone and let them live their own beliefs has a certain appeal. I’m not sure I have a problem with a law that essentially says to respect the beliefs of others. And it clearly helps ensure a bit more peace in a diverse country.
Election – The party of the Dalit caste (untouchables) won a flat out victory in the Uttar Pradesh state elections, which is pretty much unheard of. With 18 parties in the election, they still won well over 50%, and the country is waiting with bated breath to see the implications in the rest of the country.
CEO compensation – Prime Minister of India (kind of a laissez-faire economist) called on Indian CEOs to limit their pay so as not to make the underpaid, lower classes resentful and thus destabilize the state.
AND – last night, a frontloader operator was working on an overpass in Delhi and accidently dropped a huge block of cement over the side. The block landed on two people sleeping there (because of the heat), killing them instantly, and then bounced onto two others, killing them, too. Sometimes, events in this country are so terribly poignant.
Got up late today, perhaps because I was soooo busy the day before. Found a place to rent a car for a day ($20), so I booked one for tomorrow and proceeded on my plan for the day. When I was in Delhi ten years ago, I bought a couple of large watercolors from an artist, and I still owed him some money for them. I had contacted him from the US, and I called him when I got to Delhi so I could meet him at his gallery to give him the balance. Was he surprised! Unfortunately, he had to go back to Rajastan for some family emergency, so I just dropped off an envelope for him at the gallery. However, I took advantage of that time to talk to the gallery owner about photography and got the contact information from a couple of photographers here. I plan to stop by to see them tomorrow, when I have the car.
Unbelievably, it was lunch time by then. I went to a nearby restaurant that looked dark and cool, and I had a pretty nice lunch there – my second stuffed potato. It’ll be hard to go back to cheese stuffed potatoes after this. Here, the potato is baked and prepared with lots of different spices and vegetables. At this particular restaurant, they used what I call the “sweat spice.” I don’t know what it is, but there’s some spice here that doesn’t taste hot but makes me sweat like a….drowned rat. So there I was in my cool, dark restaurant with my Dollar Store hankie, dripping like a leaky shower. But that potato was so good I’d do it again without a moment’s hesitation.
Of course, it was then nap time. Then café time. I got a newspaper and headed down the road to my usual café.
The news here is always interesting to me. It’s hard to pick out the major stories, but here are a few:
Pepsi bottle explosion – A guy opened a bottle of Pepsi, and the bottle exploded, injuring the man’s arm, chest, neck, shoulder and jaw. He sued and got nearly $400. I have to think this is India’s version of the hot coffee suit against McDonald’s, but at least it’s finally some bad publicity for a Coke competitor.
Serial killer – A guy was arrested for killing six men. He decapitated them and removed their limbs. He threw the heads in the Yamuna and the limbs in the garbage, and then he dumped the torsos near a local police station. He said his motives were that one of the guys ate too much meat, another spent too much time talking to women, and another smoked too much. This is creepy, but it’s interesting to see that psychosis takes a cultural expression. That hadn’t occurred to me.
Punjab unrest – The situation with the Sikh religious leader is still in flux, and now there are rumors that Pakistan is trying to incite the conservative Sikh establishment to riot against the “moderates.” However, I have to say that, every time anything bad happens here, the press seems to say Pakistan did it. And the only news I see from the US here (outside of movies) is related to American relations with Pakistan.
The Sikh thing has brought up an interesting law here in India – it’s illegal to insult or disrespect a religion (this new guy is being charged with disrespecting the Sikh religion and its 10 gurus because he dressed up in imitation of them and postured himself in their mode). Given my incredibly low opinion of religion, you might expect that I’d dislike this law, but it’s interesting that here, in a very pluralistic state, it’s illegal for one religion to promote itself over another one. Proselytizing, for example, is illegal because it’s showing a lack of respect for another faith. Of course, when an artist here recently did an exhibit that showed genitalia on Shiva, he was charged under this statute, and so would be people who drew images of Mohammed (like in Denmark). But I have to say that a statute like this, a statute that says to leave people alone and let them live their own beliefs has a certain appeal. I’m not sure I have a problem with a law that essentially says to respect the beliefs of others. And it clearly helps ensure a bit more peace in a diverse country.
Election – The party of the Dalit caste (untouchables) won a flat out victory in the Uttar Pradesh state elections, which is pretty much unheard of. With 18 parties in the election, they still won well over 50%, and the country is waiting with bated breath to see the implications in the rest of the country.
CEO compensation – Prime Minister of India (kind of a laissez-faire economist) called on Indian CEOs to limit their pay so as not to make the underpaid, lower classes resentful and thus destabilize the state.
AND – last night, a frontloader operator was working on an overpass in Delhi and accidently dropped a huge block of cement over the side. The block landed on two people sleeping there (because of the heat), killing them instantly, and then bounced onto two others, killing them, too. Sometimes, events in this country are so terribly poignant.
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