Dharamsala and Diwali
October brought some more meetings, a cousin's engagement, a trip to Dharmsala, Diwali, and some Fulbright visitors from Udaipur.
October brought some more meetings, a cousin's engagement, a trip to Dharmsala, Diwali, and some Fulbright visitors from Udaipur.
Dharamsala
This quick, pre-Diwali getaway to Dharamsala consisted of some much needed fresh (and cooler) air, a surprise addition we met on the bus, momos galore, Tibetan history, and successfully getting the song 'Oxford Comma' by Vampire Weekend stuck in everyone's heads. We did, after all, climb to Dharamsala. We just didn't meet the highest Lama. Okay, no more 'Oxford Comma' jokes.
Dharamsala is located in the Kangra Valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Its suburb, McLeod Ganj (also known as 'Little Lhasa' or 'Dhasa'), is where the Dalai Lama and several Tibetans live in exile. We took a 12 hour bus from Delhi to Dharamsala and happened to sit next to a fellow American with whom I share a close mutual friend (Hi Annie!). We did some trekking, had an incredibly interesting Airbnb experience (somehow my first experience with Airbnb, despite working in tech for the last four years) and learned about the rich, and sadly politicized Tibetan culture and history. Check out a brief overview timeline of Tibet's history, curated by The Tibet Museum in McLeod Ganj.
Quick bouldering detour
Repping Des Moines and LA during the trek from Dharamkot to Triund
Fellow trekkers
Made it to Triund!
Fulbrighters taking in Triund at 2,850 m (9,350 ft)
Our new friend Marnie - whom we met on the bus - doing some post-snack headstands at Triund. We feasted on some moong dal and chai in one of the stalls found at the top while I recovered from altitdude sickness.
Dhauladhar range
McLeod Ganj - where laundry and prayer flags hang in unison
Diwali
Ah, Diwali. I felt like I was celebrating Diwali a little bit every day in October. I bought some lights to hang up around the flat and evening walks to the market consisted of a completely new energy, with temporary vendors selling clay diyas -oil lamps-, rangoli - traditional floor art- kits and just general excitement.
And all of the lights!
Every year during Christmas time, my father would drive us around various Des Moines area neighborhoods and we would marvel at Christmas light decorations (sometimes productions) in the snow. I attempted to recreate this tradition for myself when I moved to Los Angeles, but it just wasn't as magical without the snow. Slightly more magical in San Francisco, but still not the same. However, while walking around my new Delhi neighborhood and seeing all of the Diwali lights hanging off of the balconies, I couldn't help but think back to those trips in the backseat of our family car. The only difference was that I wasn't freezing (I was sweating, actually), and there were no nativity scenes or other large decorations. Just lights to celebrate the festival of light.
We also hosted a small gathering for fellow Fulbrighters on Chhoti Diwali - Little Diwali - the day before Diwali in which we decorated diyas, played cards (a Diwali tradition), ate and chatted.
I spent actual Diwali with my Maasi, where we had a traditional puja - prayer ritual - and entertained a few guests.
I did miss being at home with my parents for Diwali, but witnessing all of the lights and hearing echoes of other simultaneous pujas was an incredibly special way to celebrate my favorite holiday. Even the (illegal) fireworks were a welcome addition, something I actively avoid during the Fourth of July.
Month 1...and then some
After I spent about a week traversing around Hong Kong while visiting my friend Khushbu from LA/SF, I was off to New Delhi. Almost.
Hong Kong views from Victoria's Peak
After I spent about a week traversing around Hong Kong while visiting my friend Khushbu from LA/SF, I was off to New Delhi. Almost.
My originally scheduled Air India flight got delayed a few hours, so I decided to lounge around and eat some quality airport dim sum. I leisurely decided to check the flight status and noticed my flight had been abruptly canceled. After running through the airport, some frantic texting and phone calls, I got rebooked on a Cathay Pacific flight that was departing shortly after, getting me into Delhi a few hours later than expected, but with enough time to catch some sleep before the 8a orientation.
Week 1-2:
After reuniting with the Fulbrighters whom I had met at the DC orientation, we bonded over our respective travel woes (ranging from lost baggage to overflowing bathrooms on the plane) and spent the next few days in all-day sessions and exploring a little bit of Delhi during the last day everyone was together.
Once the Fulbrighters based outside of Delhi left for their host cities, the Delhi crew remained in the hotel an extra week while we finalized housing and began the FRRO process.
I also spent much of these two weeks heavily congested and unable to hear out of my left ear due to what I now know are allergies to Delhi pollution.
Housing/FRRO:
Having never been through any sort of immigration process before, I was actually pretty excited to go through the experience. I have the option of having an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, which is essentially a green card and allows me to come and go to India for any period of time and without a visa. Anyone who was an Indian citizen or whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were, may qualify for an OCI. However, I've neglected to complete this application process for a variety of reasons (i.e. by the time I'm ready to submit the application, the process has changed yet again). Thus, I applied for a research visa and submitted nearly 75 pages worth of documents at the Indian visa office in San Francisco and was required to complete foreign registration (FRRO) within 14 days of my arrival in India.
FRRO must be done by any foreign national visiting India longer than 180 days. One must complete this after one has a lease, local police verification of the permanent address, paperwork from the Indian Fulbright office (USIEF) and the host institution one is affiliated with. And each page of each document must be signed exactly the same (more on signatures and Indian paperwork at a later time).
So, off we went on House Hunters: Delhi Edition. The plan was to find a flat with fellow Fulbrighters in South Delhi (generally regarded as a posh and safer part of Delhi). After seeing several flats and some back and forths, my roommate Heather and I signed a lease for 2BHK (2 bedroom, hall + kitchen) in Saket. The lease signing came with its own hilarious fiascos (waiting until the last possible day to finalize an apartment, hitting our ATM withdrawal limits and not having enough cash for the deposit, the broker coaching me through how to write Indian cheques).
Once the lease was signed, we got to head to Delhi FRRO. Now that there's been some distance, I've now chosen to look at FRRO as not a terrible experience, but rather a learning opportunity.
Some lessons learned:
- In certain situations, it's best to not let people know I speak Hindi and that my identity as Indian-American can, and will, complicate things
- One simply must be pushy to get things done. I used to think that when I moved out of Iowa, I had developed a thicker, more aggressive skin. But I'm realizing each day that Delhi is going to take this to a whole new level.
- I kind of miss the DMV and TSA
Ultimately we received our FRRO documents about two weeks and three trips (including two in one day) after our first visit.
Week 3-4
With housing out of the way, initial home goods purchased, and FRRO almost done, I got to explore some pretty neat events in Delhi (a poetry open-mic, some interesting lectures at my host institution).
It was also time to get in contact with my family in Delhi/India. My Maasi (mother's sister) and Mama's (mother's brother) son came by Saket to check out our flat and drop off an excess amount of homemade Indian food one day. A few days after that, I headed to East Delhi to visit one of my Bhua's (father's sister).
East Delhi, and particularly where this Bhua lives, is a completely different vibe of Delhi, compared to my bougie South Delhi life. Very congested, busy, but also a part of Delhi I feel more familiar with. That being said, this was my first time navigating Delhi by myself. I made a couple Metro transfers and tried to look for familiar landmarks on the auto-ride from the Metro station to my Bhua's home.
Family time was amplified this month after one of my bhua's passed away. The Delhi-Dhussas came together for the final rites, as I represented my father. Seeing all of my family together was incredibly bittersweet, but also a very moving experience.
A few things to note:
- I have a huge extended family - like roughly 25 first cousins with my mom and dad having 6 and 8 siblings respectively, all of whom live in India
- The Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region - includes Delhi and surrounding areas) has the highest number of family in one place for both sides of my family and has often served as our main hub during India trips
- Living near extended family is a very new experience for me
Jorge Visits:
After some initial family rounds/phone calls were done, my friend Jorge from San Francisco arrived in India for his roughly 15 day trip.
Showing Jorge around Delhi was a great chance for me to also play tourist and experience Delhi in a very new light, especially when I tagged along on a bicycle tour through Old Delhi - biking through the galiyan - alleyways - of Chandni Chowk, along the Yamuna Ghats, and through Delhi traffic.
I joined Jorge for a few days in Udaipur where a few fellow Fulbrighters are staying. Udaipur was a much needed getaway from Delhi and a great reunion weekend. Seeing how different the experiences we are having in different parts of India is incredibly interesting - the small-town, accessible feel of Udaipur was refreshing and relaxing. It was also the the midst of Navratri - a 9 night Hindu holiday.
The return to Delhi was brought upon by a nearly 8 hour flight cancellation/delay by Air India, yet again.
Cycling along the Yamuna Ghats
Cycling through the streets of Chandni Chowk - one of the oldest and busiest markets of Delhi
Giving my monetary offering to Durga Ma via my favorite app - Paytm
Exploring Lodhi Gardens
Jorge and I at Safdarjung's Tomb
Exploring Safdarjung's Tomb
One of many Durga Pandals - a temporary structure set up during Durga Pujo season - in Chittaranjan Park, Delhi - a predominately Bengali populated area of Delhi. Durga Puja (Pujo in Bengali) is particularly popular in the state of West Bengal.
Catching Jamia Masjid right before evening prayers
Udaipur City Palace windows
Takin' in the sunset in Udaipur - the city of lakes
With the Udaipur Fulbrighters - Ariel and Soham
Jorge checking out the city from City Palace
Week 5-6
So that brings us to now. The last couple weeks have been busy with actually starting to draft some interview/survey questions, revising my research plan, undergoing ethics review, more meetings, and staying busy with some articles I've started to write.
Festival season is in full swing with it all leading up to Diwali (Oct. 19) - the festival of light and one of the most popular festivals celebrated throughout the South Asian diaspora and religious groups. Diwali is easily my favorite festival and though I'll miss celebrating with my parents, I can't wait to celebrate in India for the first time in 20 years!
Why blog?
Hello!
A quick post to highlight what this blog is all about.
My name is Ankita and I'll be living in India for the next 9 months as a Fulbright-Nehru Research Fellow. I'll be studying the relationship that urban-dwelling Indian women have with Metro rail systems in New Delhi, specifically the women's-only compartment, with some comparative studies on the Mumbai and Kolkata Metro systems.
Hello!
A quick post to highlight what this blog is all about.
My name is Ankita and I'll be living in India for the next 9 months as a Fulbright-Nehru Research Fellow. I'll be studying the relationship that urban-dwelling Indian women have with Metro rail systems in New Delhi, specifically the women's-only compartment, with some comparative studies on the Mumbai and Kolkata Metro systems.
I've already become impressively bad at staying up to date on Whatsapp messages, so I'm hoping this blog can serve as an incredibly informal way to update friends, family and colleagues on my research, general life happenings and photographs, as well as hold me accountable to write. That being said, messages, Skype sessions and snail mail are still heavily encouraged!
If you're interested in getting a nice little update in your inbox each time I post something new, feel free to enter your name and email address in the 'Subscribe' box on this page.
Cheers,
A
Here we go
Note: I initially penned this 'post' in my notebook on my flight from SFO to HKG in mid-August.
It would be an understatement to say I've had a lot of thoughts and feelings the last 6 months since I found out about Fulbright. But now that I'm on the plane from SFO and it's finally happening, all I can think about is how I wish I had said 'rice' instead of 'noodles' when the flight attendant asked me what I wanted with my chicken. Turns out noodles are not United's delicacy. But perhaps the rice wouldn't have been much better.
The bags are all packed, remaining boxes stored (big ups to my sister for keeping all of my belongings for the year), 'see you later's' have been said and Spotify playlists have been created/downloaded.
Here's to the next great adventure and to everyone in India, California, Iowa and elsewhere who helped along the way! Next stop, New Delhi, via a week in Hong Kong.
