When Push(kar) Comes to Shove
So sadly (for me and I’m sure only me), this is one of the last blog entries I will be writing. With only a few days left in Delhi and since I’m leaving next week for Southeast Asia, this is one of the final entries, so please have tissues readily available.
Before journeying to Rajasthan to attend the annual (once a year) Pushkar Camel Fair, we were treated to a nice Thanksgiving dinner at our UC professor’s house in South Delhi. In all there were about twenty EAPers in attendance in addition to (and I’m warning you I’m going to name drop here) Romila Thapar (google here if you are curious, then google me, then google yourself, then google me again). The event was fully catered with Indian food (we just call it food over here) that would have made the pilgrims wish they came here. It was tasty. There was a wait staff wearing bow ties and all and I really felt like we didn’t deserve any of it. Some of the Hyderabad students were there as well as they have completed their studies and are now traveling or on their way home. The night was a good time, but nothing like dinner back home. Thanksgiving dinner is normally the best meal I have all year, and I missed eating turkey with all the accessories and having the meal with my family. The next day a group of us, nine in total headed to the bus station to catch our ride to Rajasthan. None of us had ever taken a sleeper bus before and it would prove to be quite the experience. The bus ride there aside from being one of the bumpiest rides I’ve ever been on wasn’t so bad. Actually, I take that back, it was so bad. Although the bus had beds, there were people smoking in the bus and this old Indian lady just wouldn’t shut up when everyone else was trying to sleep. The bed was probably about half the size of a single bed, but wasn’t too shabby. After getting only a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Ajmer about seven or so in the morning. There were some complications with our return tickets, so we ended up having to secure them through a travel agency in Ajmer. We hired a taxi and were taken to Pushkar. When we got there, we were greeted by a mass of people. It was a sea of colors and animals and was quite the site. We walked to our overpriced hotel and dropped our stuff off and changed. Unfortunately that was the last day of the Camel Fair, so we walked down to the fairgrounds to catch the closing ceremony. When we got there, there were thousands of locals all crowded around trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Because there was no room to move and because we had so many girls with us, we decided to walk around to the other side where there it looked less crowded. When we got to the other side, we noticed a section with chairs, shade, and a perfect view. We didn’t have tickets but decided to walk up to the entrance and try our luck. As we got to the police line, they were turning locals away left and right with their sticks. Then as we approached they stepped aside and allowed us to pass. Before we realized what was happening, we were seated comfortably under the shade enjoying the view. Sadly this weekend we realized the benefits and drawbacks of being a tourist. We felt horrible that they were letting us sit comfortably simply because we were tourists while all of the locals were pushed aside on our behalf. There was actually a big white sign that read “Foreigners” where ourselves and mostly white tourists were seated. It was quite unjust. They even let us walk onto the field to take pictures of the events.
Don't Judge Them
Little did I know that sitting in the shade and taking pictures also painted big red bulls-eyes on us. As the festival ended and while we were making our way to a restaurant, trying to navigate through the mass of people, our group got split up. There were so many people and I don’t think I’ve ever been in the middle of such a large group before. I had one hand on my manpurse and was using the other to make my way through the crowd. In India, everyone touches everyone; there is no such thing as personal space, so you get used to people touching you. Well, one minute everything was fine, and the next I looked down and my cell phone was gone. As soon as I noticed it missing, I knew that this time there would be no heroic recovery in which the entire town would gather around me and chant my name, I just knew it was gone. I realized that because we were sitting in the shade with the other foreigners, people knew exactly where to look to spot us and lock onto their targets. I didn’t know it at the time, but the other part of our group who we had split from had one of their phones stolen as well. I actually wasn’t even mad. I felt stupid. I felt defeated. I felt like I was doing so well and then they finally got me. I just wasn’t careful enough and I paid the price. I tried calling the number, but the phone had been turned off and just like that it was gone for good and the dream was over. As I came to terms with the loss, we decided to make the best of the rest of the trip. We spent the remainder of our stay in Pushkar shopping and eating. I picked up many presents for people and it actually turned out to be quite a nice visit. Because we missed most of the camel fair aside from some horse tricks and whatnot, the trip was not at all what we expected, but we turned out to be pleasantly surprised by the city.
Horse Tricks and Whatnot
It had a lot of character and people were very giving, except for the guy who took my cell phone, who was very taking. It sounds lame, but having my cell phone stolen was very humbling. It made me realize that contrary to the huge superhero-like frame that stares at me in the mirror every morning would have me believe, I’m not invincible. While I hate being vulnerable to thieves, I have learned a lesson and will be even more careful with my things from this point on. I guess one could say that it had to happen. At that point I was just glad to be healthy, at that point. After staying one night in our meager accommodations, we spent the next day walking around some more and then took a taxi back to Ajmer to catch our bus. We got to Ajmer very early and decided to go see a movie until our bus arrived. Ajmer wasn’t the nicest of places I’ve been in India, it was actually one of the crappiest places I’ve been in India. Nonetheless, we walked into the crappiest theater I’ve ever been in and watched part of the crappiest movie I’ve ever seen. Crap. It was some old Hindi film from the eighties and we could only stand about an hour of before we decided to leave. As we wondered around Ajmer looking for a place to eat, we found nothing to our liking. We walked into a few different restaurants looking for a hint of privacy but found nothing. Finally we came across a hotel/restaurant that had a big sign claiming air conditioning. We stopped in to have a gander and they didn’t have anything we liked. We were about to leave, but noticing once again that we were tourists, offered us a room to stay in for free if we ordered food from their menu. After clarifying that we only wanted use of the room for an hour or so and that it was in fact free, we dropped our stuff into the room and ordered some food and relaxed. We couldn’t believe that once again our foreigner status had gotten us access. Again we didn’t know whether to feel happy or like snobby elitists. After leaving the hotel without issue, we took an auto to the bus stand. This is where the real drama was to begin. When we got to the bus stand, a man took our ticket slip and held it. We waited for the bus to arrive for almost an hour. By the time it finally arrived, it was completely packed. We had to step over people to get to our beds and there were people sleeping on our beds. We knew there was something fishy going on, so we got off the bus and had it out with the ticket gentleman. We told him that there was no way we were getting back on that bus because we had paid for beds and that there weren’t any available. He said they would kick people off them for us and we knew that would not have been a good idea and that the driver of that bus just wanted our money. We argued for almost half an hour delaying the bus even further and finally we decided that there was no way that we were going to get back on that bus because the locals on the bus were all staring at us and looked like they wanted to kill us. He offered us guaranteed beds on a later bus and we opted for that. As we waited another hour and a half, the temperature dropped and the local puppies piled up to stay warm. When the bus finally arrived, we could not believe what we saw when we boarded. The beds that claiming to be doubles were in fact the same size if not smaller than the beds we came to Ajmer on. We had three doubles and one single and unfortunately my rock, paper, scissors skills aren’t what they used to be, so I had to share a bed with my friend. This was a little closer than I ever wanted to be with him, but you do what you have to do.
Too Close for Comfort
The late ride back was worse than the ride over, but we just wanted to get home. When we arrived in Delhi Sunday morning about ten or eleven, I was feeling a bit nauseous I thought it would pass and it did, after I threw up. I haven’t thrown up in years and right as we were about to get in an auto to go home, I let loose. It was not a pleasant feeling. That’s when I really felt defeated. I felt like, ‘okay India, you’ve got my cell phone and now you’ve made me throw up all over you, you’re the big winner, I’m the big loser.’ After sitting on the side of the road while the rickshaw driver and passersby watched as I displayed the previous night’s dinner, I just wanted to get home. I actually felt a lot better afterwards releasing. I came home, bought a new cell phone and went to sleep for a long time. So that was my weekend in Rajasthan. It was quite interesting I must say. I really learned the power of foreign money in India and what it buys you, both good and bad. Sometimes it gets you a shaded seat in a festival of camels, sometimes it can get you something you don’t even want like a bed on a bus that someone already paid for. I guess you just have to decide how powerful you want it to be and deal with the benefits and drawbacks as a result.
Humiliated Camel
With the coming weekend quickly approaching, I have my Hindi final exam on Thursday and then I’m officially done with EAP. I will be in Punjab this weekend and then have to pack up my stuff, move out and depart for Southeast Asia. This last week since finishing my papers has been most enjoyable. I went sight seeing around Delhi in addition to shopping for a lot of people. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in one more entry before returning to the states, but this I cannot guarantee. Despite my health issues and having had my cell phone stolen, my spirits remain high. I’m feeling much better now and in no time at all I will be seeing six very familiar faces in this place I have made my home. Please note my new cell phone number and I hope to hear from all of you and that you are all well…
New Mobile: 9899015059
Actual Photo of Zameer Attempting to Talk on Actual Hand after Successful Phone Theft
Before journeying to Rajasthan to attend the annual (once a year) Pushkar Camel Fair, we were treated to a nice Thanksgiving dinner at our UC professor’s house in South Delhi. In all there were about twenty EAPers in attendance in addition to (and I’m warning you I’m going to name drop here) Romila Thapar (google here if you are curious, then google me, then google yourself, then google me again). The event was fully catered with Indian food (we just call it food over here) that would have made the pilgrims wish they came here. It was tasty. There was a wait staff wearing bow ties and all and I really felt like we didn’t deserve any of it. Some of the Hyderabad students were there as well as they have completed their studies and are now traveling or on their way home. The night was a good time, but nothing like dinner back home. Thanksgiving dinner is normally the best meal I have all year, and I missed eating turkey with all the accessories and having the meal with my family. The next day a group of us, nine in total headed to the bus station to catch our ride to Rajasthan. None of us had ever taken a sleeper bus before and it would prove to be quite the experience. The bus ride there aside from being one of the bumpiest rides I’ve ever been on wasn’t so bad. Actually, I take that back, it was so bad. Although the bus had beds, there were people smoking in the bus and this old Indian lady just wouldn’t shut up when everyone else was trying to sleep. The bed was probably about half the size of a single bed, but wasn’t too shabby. After getting only a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Ajmer about seven or so in the morning. There were some complications with our return tickets, so we ended up having to secure them through a travel agency in Ajmer. We hired a taxi and were taken to Pushkar. When we got there, we were greeted by a mass of people. It was a sea of colors and animals and was quite the site. We walked to our overpriced hotel and dropped our stuff off and changed. Unfortunately that was the last day of the Camel Fair, so we walked down to the fairgrounds to catch the closing ceremony. When we got there, there were thousands of locals all crowded around trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Because there was no room to move and because we had so many girls with us, we decided to walk around to the other side where there it looked less crowded. When we got to the other side, we noticed a section with chairs, shade, and a perfect view. We didn’t have tickets but decided to walk up to the entrance and try our luck. As we got to the police line, they were turning locals away left and right with their sticks. Then as we approached they stepped aside and allowed us to pass. Before we realized what was happening, we were seated comfortably under the shade enjoying the view. Sadly this weekend we realized the benefits and drawbacks of being a tourist. We felt horrible that they were letting us sit comfortably simply because we were tourists while all of the locals were pushed aside on our behalf. There was actually a big white sign that read “Foreigners” where ourselves and mostly white tourists were seated. It was quite unjust. They even let us walk onto the field to take pictures of the events.
Don't Judge Them
Little did I know that sitting in the shade and taking pictures also painted big red bulls-eyes on us. As the festival ended and while we were making our way to a restaurant, trying to navigate through the mass of people, our group got split up. There were so many people and I don’t think I’ve ever been in the middle of such a large group before. I had one hand on my manpurse and was using the other to make my way through the crowd. In India, everyone touches everyone; there is no such thing as personal space, so you get used to people touching you. Well, one minute everything was fine, and the next I looked down and my cell phone was gone. As soon as I noticed it missing, I knew that this time there would be no heroic recovery in which the entire town would gather around me and chant my name, I just knew it was gone. I realized that because we were sitting in the shade with the other foreigners, people knew exactly where to look to spot us and lock onto their targets. I didn’t know it at the time, but the other part of our group who we had split from had one of their phones stolen as well. I actually wasn’t even mad. I felt stupid. I felt defeated. I felt like I was doing so well and then they finally got me. I just wasn’t careful enough and I paid the price. I tried calling the number, but the phone had been turned off and just like that it was gone for good and the dream was over. As I came to terms with the loss, we decided to make the best of the rest of the trip. We spent the remainder of our stay in Pushkar shopping and eating. I picked up many presents for people and it actually turned out to be quite a nice visit. Because we missed most of the camel fair aside from some horse tricks and whatnot, the trip was not at all what we expected, but we turned out to be pleasantly surprised by the city.
Horse Tricks and Whatnot
It had a lot of character and people were very giving, except for the guy who took my cell phone, who was very taking. It sounds lame, but having my cell phone stolen was very humbling. It made me realize that contrary to the huge superhero-like frame that stares at me in the mirror every morning would have me believe, I’m not invincible. While I hate being vulnerable to thieves, I have learned a lesson and will be even more careful with my things from this point on. I guess one could say that it had to happen. At that point I was just glad to be healthy, at that point. After staying one night in our meager accommodations, we spent the next day walking around some more and then took a taxi back to Ajmer to catch our bus. We got to Ajmer very early and decided to go see a movie until our bus arrived. Ajmer wasn’t the nicest of places I’ve been in India, it was actually one of the crappiest places I’ve been in India. Nonetheless, we walked into the crappiest theater I’ve ever been in and watched part of the crappiest movie I’ve ever seen. Crap. It was some old Hindi film from the eighties and we could only stand about an hour of before we decided to leave. As we wondered around Ajmer looking for a place to eat, we found nothing to our liking. We walked into a few different restaurants looking for a hint of privacy but found nothing. Finally we came across a hotel/restaurant that had a big sign claiming air conditioning. We stopped in to have a gander and they didn’t have anything we liked. We were about to leave, but noticing once again that we were tourists, offered us a room to stay in for free if we ordered food from their menu. After clarifying that we only wanted use of the room for an hour or so and that it was in fact free, we dropped our stuff into the room and ordered some food and relaxed. We couldn’t believe that once again our foreigner status had gotten us access. Again we didn’t know whether to feel happy or like snobby elitists. After leaving the hotel without issue, we took an auto to the bus stand. This is where the real drama was to begin. When we got to the bus stand, a man took our ticket slip and held it. We waited for the bus to arrive for almost an hour. By the time it finally arrived, it was completely packed. We had to step over people to get to our beds and there were people sleeping on our beds. We knew there was something fishy going on, so we got off the bus and had it out with the ticket gentleman. We told him that there was no way we were getting back on that bus because we had paid for beds and that there weren’t any available. He said they would kick people off them for us and we knew that would not have been a good idea and that the driver of that bus just wanted our money. We argued for almost half an hour delaying the bus even further and finally we decided that there was no way that we were going to get back on that bus because the locals on the bus were all staring at us and looked like they wanted to kill us. He offered us guaranteed beds on a later bus and we opted for that. As we waited another hour and a half, the temperature dropped and the local puppies piled up to stay warm. When the bus finally arrived, we could not believe what we saw when we boarded. The beds that claiming to be doubles were in fact the same size if not smaller than the beds we came to Ajmer on. We had three doubles and one single and unfortunately my rock, paper, scissors skills aren’t what they used to be, so I had to share a bed with my friend. This was a little closer than I ever wanted to be with him, but you do what you have to do.
Too Close for Comfort
The late ride back was worse than the ride over, but we just wanted to get home. When we arrived in Delhi Sunday morning about ten or eleven, I was feeling a bit nauseous I thought it would pass and it did, after I threw up. I haven’t thrown up in years and right as we were about to get in an auto to go home, I let loose. It was not a pleasant feeling. That’s when I really felt defeated. I felt like, ‘okay India, you’ve got my cell phone and now you’ve made me throw up all over you, you’re the big winner, I’m the big loser.’ After sitting on the side of the road while the rickshaw driver and passersby watched as I displayed the previous night’s dinner, I just wanted to get home. I actually felt a lot better afterwards releasing. I came home, bought a new cell phone and went to sleep for a long time. So that was my weekend in Rajasthan. It was quite interesting I must say. I really learned the power of foreign money in India and what it buys you, both good and bad. Sometimes it gets you a shaded seat in a festival of camels, sometimes it can get you something you don’t even want like a bed on a bus that someone already paid for. I guess you just have to decide how powerful you want it to be and deal with the benefits and drawbacks as a result.
Humiliated Camel
With the coming weekend quickly approaching, I have my Hindi final exam on Thursday and then I’m officially done with EAP. I will be in Punjab this weekend and then have to pack up my stuff, move out and depart for Southeast Asia. This last week since finishing my papers has been most enjoyable. I went sight seeing around Delhi in addition to shopping for a lot of people. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in one more entry before returning to the states, but this I cannot guarantee. Despite my health issues and having had my cell phone stolen, my spirits remain high. I’m feeling much better now and in no time at all I will be seeing six very familiar faces in this place I have made my home. Please note my new cell phone number and I hope to hear from all of you and that you are all well…
New Mobile: 9899015059
Actual Photo of Zameer Attempting to Talk on Actual Hand after Successful Phone Theft
posted by Zameer at 11/30/2004 04:06:00 AM
3 Comments:
Ahhhh! Damn that extra finger again. It haunts me every night.
Z, I dunno how you managed to take such a clear shot of that guy on the horse. Anyways, I'll be in India by the end of the week, so I wonder if I'll get a dishonorable mention on the blog.
Hope all is well - and that you're a safe distance from the tsumani destruction.
Post when you can.
Best,
Markland
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