Monday, February 25, 2008
People at the Taj Mahal
I don't actually know any of these people. Rather, I was interested to see who else came to see the Taj Mahal. I was surpised to see at least as many Indians as non-Indian. I liked these pictures - family portraits, quiet moments, groups of friends. 
Taj Mahal
Last week, on Tuesday, Jules and I went to see the Taj Mahal with my friend Mary Beth and her friend Laura. It was just a week ago, but it's still hard to put the trip into perspective. For the sake of keeping these posts in some-what chronological order, I am going to try to collect my thoughts now and post lots of pictures. Check out the next couple of posts for more pictures!
Time was running out in Jules's trip and we had both wanted to see the Taj. I hadn't heard many good things about Delhi, and NO good things about Agra (where the Taj is located, about 200km outside of Delhi). So we decided to make a day trip of it all. What a day. At Dodie's suggestion, I kept a timeline of the day, to help me keep it all straight. Good thing I did. I thought it would be 12-13 hours of travel for ~ 3 hours in Agra. As it turns out, we travelled for 21 hours and spent 40 minutes at the Taj!!
5:00a Alarm! And it wasn't Luis, which is strange for me.
5:45a Luis wakes up, a good hour earlier than normal. I teased Diego that Luis didn't want to go a whole day without seeing his mom...
6:10a Out the door. Anwar whisked us to the domestic terminal. We were inside the airport by 6:35 (it can take Diego an hour to get to work some mornings) and we were sleepily sitting on our Kingfisher flight by 6:55a.
It seemed to be all business men on our flight. Diego later told me that the Delhi/Mumbai flight is the 7th busiest city pair in the world (think NY-DC, NY-Boston, etc.). I felt very odd being on a plane without Luis - I haven't travelled alone since he was born. I felt bad for Diego that Luis woke up so early, but I was also a little bit glad to see Luis. It would have been the first time I'd gone a whole day without seeing Luis (which made me more empathetic with Diego who went weeks without seeing Luis). Thinking about the day's journey, I tried to imagine an equivalent trip. It would be like flying from DC to Atlanta, to then get in the car to drive to Rock Hill for a long lunch, before getting back in the car to drive back to Atlanta to get on a plane and fly back to DC. Ooph. I was a bit tired already.
7:45a Our flight was delayed taking off. That was the bad news. The good news is that we were served omelets for breakfast in coach!
9:40 Landed in Delhi. (30 minutes behind schedule) We found Mary Beth & Laura (who had flown in on Go Airlines, a low-cost carrier that Diego won't allow me to fly). By the time everyone went to the bathroom, we gathered our things, found the driver and got everyone in the car, it was 10:20. It took 20 more minutes to get out of the airport. Now we're 60 minutes behind schedule.
1:30 Stopped at the "Half Way Point". This is not a joke. By now, Diego has already texted me twice to ask if we were there yet. Granted, I thought we would be there by 1p. We opted not to stop and eat lunch here, in the interest of time. Jules and I bought two 12-oz Ginger Ales for $6 and a small sleeve of Oreos for another $3.50. Jules, who has a long history of getting car sick, did very, very well (and did not get sick!).
3:20 Arrived in Agra. Yes, 4 hours, 40 minutes later. Almost 3 hours "behind schedule". Our driver called ahead and arranged for a guide to take us through the Taj Mahal. In an effort to cut down on the pollution that is choking the Taj, there are no vehicles allowed within 3 km of the Taj (except for Auto Rickshaws that run on clean natural gas). Our guide, Ravi, met us at the parking lot near the west gate. When we told him that we needed to catch a plane in Delhi at 9p, he said that we would have to leave Agra immediately (and even then, there was no guarantee of catching the plane). Slight panic came over us. I told our driver that we didn't travel for more than 9 hours to not even see the Taj. I suggested that we get in an auto rickshaw and discuss our options on the way. So we did. He took us to the South Gate, which he said, would have the shortest line for entry and get us in the fastest. I had my residency booklet to allow me in for the "Indian" price - I think 20 rupees. The ticket man refused to accept my residency book and charged me foreigner rate - Rs. 750 ($20). I was so irate at this point that I almost refused to go. But again, I didn't travel over 9 hours... Part of what you get with your entrance fee is a small bottle of water and foot covers (no shoes are allowed on/in the Taj). I told the ticket man I didn't want the shoe covers (it's just one more thing to generate trash in a country that is DROWNING in trash), I'd just take my shoes off and carry them. He insisted and I insisted and then he insisted more and I walked out. It wasn't a good start to my visit to the Taj. But once inside, I can say now with some distance and clarity, it was worth it. The Taj Mahal, in a way, to me, was like the Grand Canyon. It is beautiful and amazing and enormous when you see pictures. But then when you see it in person, you realize that a 2-d image will never do it justice.
In the interst of time, I decided to put my zoom lens on my camera and only shoot with that - I couldn't stomach the idea of losing precious minutes to trying to switch lens. Mostly, it was a good decision, as I have some great detail shots. The down side is that, within the compound, I couldn't get far enough back to get the entire Taj Mahal (and the pillars) in one shot. Oops.
Unfortunately, because of our time crunch, our guide Ravi didn't come in with us (though he waited sweetly outside and then accompanied us back to our car - and collected his full guide fee). He later said that in 40 minutes, he could not tell us "even one story" about the Taj. And since I didn't do a whole lot of reading up before we went, I don't know very much about the Taj - and therefore can't add much to the pictures. Jules shared a couple of interesting facts with me. One is that the four pillars on the outside were constructed so that they lean slightly to the outside. This was so that in case they fell over, they wouldn't fall ON the Taj. Another is that Shah Jahan, who commissioned the building, had the fingers (some say hands and some say arms up to elbow) cut off so that they couldn't build anything as beautiful again. The third is that while guides like to tell you that he spent his last years pining away after his favorite wife, Mamtaz Mahal, he in fact died of an overdose of opiates and aphrodisiac. Everyone mourns in their own way, I guess.
4:30p We left the Taj, met up with Ravi, got back to our car and were on the road back to Delhi by 4:50. Since it took us just over 4.5 hours to get from Delhi to Agra, and since airlines here close check-in 30 minutes prior to departure, I was not feeling at all confident about making our 9p flight to Mumbai. Diego checked for us and there were seats available on the 11p Go Air flight (that Mary Beth & Laura were on. Our driver, Gopal, drove as hard as any driver I’ve ever seen. The road from Agra to Delhi was a good road, two lanes in each direction, and the traffic wasn’t so bad. But with the setting sun and then the darkness, and the cars, it was a tough drive. He drove and he drove and he passed people and he drove.
8:30p Still outside of Delhi, I had Diego book us seats on Go Air.
9:08p Gopal pulled into the airport, so pleased with himself for having gotten us there before our 9:30 flight. He was, in fact, so pleased, that I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we had missed our flight. We thanked him profusely and tipped him generously and headed into the airport to wait. And to eat. We had skipped lunch all of us, and MB & Laura hadn’t been served breakfast on the plane. The buffet at the only airport restaurant was not good enough to merit any additional comment here. It gave us much needed calories. And they served alcohol, too; thank goodness.
Here, I lost track of the timing of things. The 11p flight became an 11:30p flight and ended up being a 12:15a flight. It was 2:00a when we touched down in Mumbai and it was 2:50 when Jules and I got home. In the Delhi airport, I wrote, Looking like this will be almost 18 hours of travel for 40 minutes at the Taj. I know it’s a world wonder and all – but I’m having some buyer’s remorse. It was a tough, tough day. Frustrating and disappointing and feeling like the ringleader (I was definitely the organizer), I also felt like I had everyone else’s expectations, and later, disappointments on my shoulder. And even though I knew with certainty that I had done the best I could, well, I still had a lot of doubts at the end of the day (which is part of the reason I've waited a week to blog about the day).
I should thank Anthony Rimicci for encouraging me to go. We talked about it when I was home over the Christmas holidays. I told him that I wasn’t planning on going – it’s so hard to get there and outside of the Taj, there isn’t much to see in Agra. Anthony asked if I ever planned to return to India after this trip and I told him no. He said, “You HAVE to go. You have to. How can you not go when you are so close?” I think he was right. Am I glad I did it? Yes. It’s been almost a week. Looking back, it WAS a tough day. And if I had to do it again, I would definitely make some changes. Either, I would take the train from Delhi to Agra. It’s consistently 2 hours and in our case, would have shaved 5 hours off our trip. Or, I’d spend the night in Agra and make the drive back on the 2nd day. Agra wasn’t much of a city, but I think it’d be fun to see the Taj both late afternoon and early morning. But all in all, the Taj Mahal was an amazing sight. And just like the Grand Canyon, I’m glad I’ve now seen it in person.
Unfortunately, because of our time crunch, our guide Ravi didn't come in with us (though he waited sweetly outside and then accompanied us back to our car - and collected his full guide fee). He later said that in 40 minutes, he could not tell us "even one story" about the Taj. And since I didn't do a whole lot of reading up before we went, I don't know very much about the Taj - and therefore can't add much to the pictures. Jules shared a couple of interesting facts with me. One is that the four pillars on the outside were constructed so that they lean slightly to the outside. This was so that in case they fell over, they wouldn't fall ON the Taj. Another is that Shah Jahan, who commissioned the building, had the fingers (some say hands and some say arms up to elbow) cut off so that they couldn't build anything as beautiful again. The third is that while guides like to tell you that he spent his last years pining away after his favorite wife, Mamtaz Mahal, he in fact died of an overdose of opiates and aphrodisiac. Everyone mourns in their own way, I guess.
4:30p We left the Taj, met up with Ravi, got back to our car and were on the road back to Delhi by 4:50. Since it took us just over 4.5 hours to get from Delhi to Agra, and since airlines here close check-in 30 minutes prior to departure, I was not feeling at all confident about making our 9p flight to Mumbai. Diego checked for us and there were seats available on the 11p Go Air flight (that Mary Beth & Laura were on. Our driver, Gopal, drove as hard as any driver I’ve ever seen. The road from Agra to Delhi was a good road, two lanes in each direction, and the traffic wasn’t so bad. But with the setting sun and then the darkness, and the cars, it was a tough drive. He drove and he drove and he passed people and he drove.8:30p Still outside of Delhi, I had Diego book us seats on Go Air.
9:08p Gopal pulled into the airport, so pleased with himself for having gotten us there before our 9:30 flight. He was, in fact, so pleased, that I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we had missed our flight. We thanked him profusely and tipped him generously and headed into the airport to wait. And to eat. We had skipped lunch all of us, and MB & Laura hadn’t been served breakfast on the plane. The buffet at the only airport restaurant was not good enough to merit any additional comment here. It gave us much needed calories. And they served alcohol, too; thank goodness.
Here, I lost track of the timing of things. The 11p flight became an 11:30p flight and ended up being a 12:15a flight. It was 2:00a when we touched down in Mumbai and it was 2:50 when Jules and I got home. In the Delhi airport, I wrote, Looking like this will be almost 18 hours of travel for 40 minutes at the Taj. I know it’s a world wonder and all – but I’m having some buyer’s remorse. It was a tough, tough day. Frustrating and disappointing and feeling like the ringleader (I was definitely the organizer), I also felt like I had everyone else’s expectations, and later, disappointments on my shoulder. And even though I knew with certainty that I had done the best I could, well, I still had a lot of doubts at the end of the day (which is part of the reason I've waited a week to blog about the day).
I should thank Anthony Rimicci for encouraging me to go. We talked about it when I was home over the Christmas holidays. I told him that I wasn’t planning on going – it’s so hard to get there and outside of the Taj, there isn’t much to see in Agra. Anthony asked if I ever planned to return to India after this trip and I told him no. He said, “You HAVE to go. You have to. How can you not go when you are so close?” I think he was right. Am I glad I did it? Yes. It’s been almost a week. Looking back, it WAS a tough day. And if I had to do it again, I would definitely make some changes. Either, I would take the train from Delhi to Agra. It’s consistently 2 hours and in our case, would have shaved 5 hours off our trip. Or, I’d spend the night in Agra and make the drive back on the 2nd day. Agra wasn’t much of a city, but I think it’d be fun to see the Taj both late afternoon and early morning. But all in all, the Taj Mahal was an amazing sight. And just like the Grand Canyon, I’m glad I’ve now seen it in person.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Elephanta Island
Jules and Diego went to Elephanta Island the first weekend she was here (while I stayed home with Luis). She wrote up an account for it for her blog, and was kind enough to translate it and share it with me - and you. These are also her pictures.
Early Sunday morning I left with my brother to the Elephanta Island. He hadn't taken the tour before so it was new to both of us. We reached Colaba in the south of Mumbai, and this is one of the few places I've been where downtown is literally "down". On the way there I saw the Hadji Ali mosque, which is located in the middle of the water. During high tide, you can't cross since the water covers the way there. I asked my brother if we could go and see the place, and he mentioned that on each side of the road to the mosque, there is a long line of lepers, beggars and maimed people begging. They all want something from you and are quite insistent... being white, we would immediately get singled out as good sources of income. The reason this area is very popular is because part of the muslim religion is the need to give alms and help the needy, so being the only way to reach the mosque it is quite the hotspot.
All along the coast there is a boardwalk, and couples walk along it seeking a bit of time for themselves. One can see parsis, christians, muslims, hindus, jews and tourist from non established religious denomination walking side by side. We finally reached the "Gateway to India", a huge arch build for the sole benefit of two people: The King and Queen of England, George and Mary. In front of the arch, it looks like a bazaar. Large numbers of people taking pictures, selling you things and trying to get you to buy more stuff; they are quite insistent and don't seem to take no for an answer. Thanks to Diego's driver Anwar, we snagged a good guide for the Elephanta caves: all he needed was one call and his friend would meet us at the island, and he gave us an updated account of what it would all cost once we got there.
The ride on the ferry takes an hour, and on the way I thought about life in Mumbai, politics, how things work here. I think India is one of those places people arrive drawn to the exotic, to millenary tradition and find that it is perhaps these two characteristics which make our western style of development impossible. Making laws gets a lot more complex when you take into account that people from many different cultures and religions live here side by side and the caste system is still strong in many areas. Who knows when gender equality, community service and environmental laws will be addressed fully.
To get out of the ferry boats, you have to cross other boats which are docked, so you basically jump from one boat to the next until you reach firm grond. There, you can take a 5 rupee train which takes you for about 200 meters, and then stops. We decided to walk. After that, there are the 120 steps one needs to climb to get to the caves, and along the way there are many tables with tchotchkes, souvenirs and memorabilia on either side.
The way up is covered by tarps, so the temperature is a bit lower under the shade, probably something that gets people in the mood to stop and dawdle along the way.
Once we got to the top, our guide Mili gave us an excellent tour of the caves. Originally, this island was a place where yoguis came in to practice their Yoga. They would exercise, meditate and come to peace with god, the universe and themselves. Once they were there, and this community began to grow, they decided that everyone should have the right to learn about India's history, about their gods and yoga, and not just have it by word of mouth. So they sculpted these intricate murals all around the cave which tell the story of Shiva and Parvati, all filled with wholesome moral teachings. I myself was amazed at how similar the Hindu mythology is to the Old Testament: it even includes a deluge and an arc filled with animals that is sent to rest on the top of a mountain until the water recedes. In any case, the Portuguese are the ones who found this island with their caves, and they named it Elephanta on behalf of a giant sculpture of Ganesh which welcomed visitors to the cave. They took this statue and it now rests at Victoria Gardens.
The rest of the sculpted pictures were used for target practice, which seems to be the common factor whenever we hear about conquerors venturing into foreign lands: go in and destroy as much as you can find. There is only one image they respected, where the 3 aspects of God are portrayed: Generator, Operator and Destroyer, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. They recognized it as proof of the Catholic idea of the Holy Trinity... so it remained as it was.
One of the other impressive aspects of this island is the incredible number of monkeys that live there. Mumbaikars arrive to Elefanta and pay quite a low sum to get in, about 20 cents. Foreigners pay a bit more than 6 USD. Locals visit the caves and leave offerings at the different shrines to the Lingam that they have (I saw 3), but locals also use the island as a family picnic destination. So we are talking about fearless, greedy and very well fed monkeys. They will steal the food of your hand. We saw this girl set her diet coke by her side while she rummaged in her bag, and the monkey jumped down, stole the can and then proceeded to down down the cola drink. A couple was sitting under a tree happily munching on an apple, and a monkey called the alarm. Suddenly, monkeys from all over were converging on the blissfully unaware couple, until one of the cheekiest monkeys stood beside the girl and basically demanded to get the apple from her with a fearsome display of growls and bared teeth. The couple then looked around, saw the half dozen monkeys glaring at them and quickly put the apple away in a bag, not falling into the monkeys' harrassment. The monkeys lost interest and wandered off, picking fights with stray dogs along the way.
So Mili, our guide, lives in Elefanta. This island so far has no electricity, and it is a bit sad to realize that although they are making a lot of income thanks to tourism, it is not being reinvested in improving the island inhabitant's quality of life. Trash is everywhere, even though there are trash cans every 20 paces and although many companies have offered to provide electricity, they have been turned down by the government. So instead, they have to use a generator to get lights in the town at night. More contamination. I trust that this will change soon. This past week there has been talk about injecting money into Elefanta and getting it in better shape: electricity, better signage and cleaner bathrooms. I sure hope it works, because it's a great destination that has quite a great potential!
Early Sunday morning I left with my brother to the Elephanta Island. He hadn't taken the tour before so it was new to both of us. We reached Colaba in the south of Mumbai, and this is one of the few places I've been where downtown is literally "down". On the way there I saw the Hadji Ali mosque, which is located in the middle of the water. During high tide, you can't cross since the water covers the way there. I asked my brother if we could go and see the place, and he mentioned that on each side of the road to the mosque, there is a long line of lepers, beggars and maimed people begging. They all want something from you and are quite insistent... being white, we would immediately get singled out as good sources of income. The reason this area is very popular is because part of the muslim religion is the need to give alms and help the needy, so being the only way to reach the mosque it is quite the hotspot.
All along the coast there is a boardwalk, and couples walk along it seeking a bit of time for themselves. One can see parsis, christians, muslims, hindus, jews and tourist from non established religious denomination walking side by side. We finally reached the "Gateway to India", a huge arch build for the sole benefit of two people: The King and Queen of England, George and Mary. In front of the arch, it looks like a bazaar. Large numbers of people taking pictures, selling you things and trying to get you to buy more stuff; they are quite insistent and don't seem to take no for an answer. Thanks to Diego's driver Anwar, we snagged a good guide for the Elephanta caves: all he needed was one call and his friend would meet us at the island, and he gave us an updated account of what it would all cost once we got there.
The ride on the ferry takes an hour, and on the way I thought about life in Mumbai, politics, how things work here. I think India is one of those places people arrive drawn to the exotic, to millenary tradition and find that it is perhaps these two characteristics which make our western style of development impossible. Making laws gets a lot more complex when you take into account that people from many different cultures and religions live here side by side and the caste system is still strong in many areas. Who knows when gender equality, community service and environmental laws will be addressed fully.To get out of the ferry boats, you have to cross other boats which are docked, so you basically jump from one boat to the next until you reach firm grond. There, you can take a 5 rupee train which takes you for about 200 meters, and then stops. We decided to walk. After that, there are the 120 steps one needs to climb to get to the caves, and along the way there are many tables with tchotchkes, souvenirs and memorabilia on either side.
The way up is covered by tarps, so the temperature is a bit lower under the shade, probably something that gets people in the mood to stop and dawdle along the way.Once we got to the top, our guide Mili gave us an excellent tour of the caves. Originally, this island was a place where yoguis came in to practice their Yoga. They would exercise, meditate and come to peace with god, the universe and themselves. Once they were there, and this community began to grow, they decided that everyone should have the right to learn about India's history, about their gods and yoga, and not just have it by word of mouth. So they sculpted these intricate murals all around the cave which tell the story of Shiva and Parvati, all filled with wholesome moral teachings. I myself was amazed at how similar the Hindu mythology is to the Old Testament: it even includes a deluge and an arc filled with animals that is sent to rest on the top of a mountain until the water recedes. In any case, the Portuguese are the ones who found this island with their caves, and they named it Elephanta on behalf of a giant sculpture of Ganesh which welcomed visitors to the cave. They took this statue and it now rests at Victoria Gardens.
The rest of the sculpted pictures were used for target practice, which seems to be the common factor whenever we hear about conquerors venturing into foreign lands: go in and destroy as much as you can find. There is only one image they respected, where the 3 aspects of God are portrayed: Generator, Operator and Destroyer, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. They recognized it as proof of the Catholic idea of the Holy Trinity... so it remained as it was.
One of the other impressive aspects of this island is the incredible number of monkeys that live there. Mumbaikars arrive to Elefanta and pay quite a low sum to get in, about 20 cents. Foreigners pay a bit more than 6 USD. Locals visit the caves and leave offerings at the different shrines to the Lingam that they have (I saw 3), but locals also use the island as a family picnic destination. So we are talking about fearless, greedy and very well fed monkeys. They will steal the food of your hand. We saw this girl set her diet coke by her side while she rummaged in her bag, and the monkey jumped down, stole the can and then proceeded to down down the cola drink. A couple was sitting under a tree happily munching on an apple, and a monkey called the alarm. Suddenly, monkeys from all over were converging on the blissfully unaware couple, until one of the cheekiest monkeys stood beside the girl and basically demanded to get the apple from her with a fearsome display of growls and bared teeth. The couple then looked around, saw the half dozen monkeys glaring at them and quickly put the apple away in a bag, not falling into the monkeys' harrassment. The monkeys lost interest and wandered off, picking fights with stray dogs along the way.So Mili, our guide, lives in Elefanta. This island so far has no electricity, and it is a bit sad to realize that although they are making a lot of income thanks to tourism, it is not being reinvested in improving the island inhabitant's quality of life. Trash is everywhere, even though there are trash cans every 20 paces and although many companies have offered to provide electricity, they have been turned down by the government. So instead, they have to use a generator to get lights in the town at night. More contamination. I trust that this will change soon. This past week there has been talk about injecting money into Elefanta and getting it in better shape: electricity, better signage and cleaner bathrooms. I sure hope it works, because it's a great destination that has quite a great potential!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Luis Loves His Blanket
Luis's aunt, Liz, knitted this blanket for Luis. He's always been fond of it. This week, he's started to want it outside of the crib. Like yesterday, when he was cruising around the living room with it...
Reading Time
Sarah Rimicci is the most avid reading-encourager I know. When her babies were born, she took a book to the hospital to start reading to them. Wow! Some of our favorite books have been gifts from Sarah and her boys. Unfortunately, at normal reading time (before Luis goes down for a nap or the night), he has lately been too tired to sit for a story; he literally points towards his crib and sort of grunts/whimpers. But Luis has taking a new interest in the books in his room as something to play with. This picture was taken on Friday.
Today, he was flipping through "Miss Spiders Tea Party" - one of my favorite books. He paused frequently to kiss the page. (He's in a big kissing phase.) I was so pleased to watch him play with and be interested in the books that I mostly don't care about the wet pock marks on every 3rd page.
Chapati's
Most days, Shabina makes chapati's for us (a heck of a lot like a flour tortilla). Luis has taken a very keen interest in the small rolling pin that she uses to roll them out. It's become a daily battle for who gets to "play" it - Shabina or Luis. Shabina is a great sport about it. On Thursday, she compromised by letting Luis help her. He loved it!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
One Heck of a Week
Next week is going to be a busy one for us here in India. On Tuesday, Jules and I are doing the ONE-DAY trip to Agra (where the Taj Mahal is). Our flight leaves Mumbai at 7:15a and we return to Mumbai about 23:00. In between, we take two 2-hour plane rides and two 3-hour (I hope not longer) car trips. Yawzah! It's going to be quite a day. Especially if the drive from Delhi to Agra is at all like the drive from Jaipur to Ranthambhore! Unfortunately, Diego has to work and cannot join us. Fortunately, Pauline can come and spend the day with Luis.
Then, on Thursday morning, Luis, Jules and I fly to Cochin, in Kerala. Diego will join us that evening. We'll have three nights in Cochin before returning home on Sunday afternoon. Monday evening, Jules flies home (Bombay-Newark-Houston-Panama City-Medellin!!) and Diego flies to Abu Dhabi. He'll be there for a conference most of the week. By the time Jules gets home, she will have racked up TONS of flight miles.
I promise pictures and a write up from both trips.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
What Does the Bird Say?
Yesterday morning, Luis and I were looking at the hawks, crows, and pigeons out his window. He was watching them all intently. I asked him, "What do you see?" He responded "Awww, Awww". As in CAW CAW - what the crow says! It was a very cool moment for me. I always assumed that the first animal sound he'd immitate was Ashley (Several years ago, my friend Sarah's son, when asked what a dog says, would pant loudly like Ashley). But it's really not surprising that he would get the crow's call so fast - we hear them ALL DAY LONG.
For you skeptics out there, he did it again this morning for Diego.
Additionally, I'm pretty sure he said a version of "bird" yesterday, too. Wow! Luis with words. A little hard to imagine.
Happy Valentines Day!
Diego is always very sweet and thoughtful to send me a beautiful bouquet on Valentines day. This year was no exception. The delivery guy showed up at 8a with this gorgeous arrangement of flowers.
(I commented to Jules that the delivery guys start early in Mumbai! Turns out that several of the guys in Diego's office ordered from the same place. My friend Erika also received flowers. She read the card before accepting the flowers, "Dearest Mary, all my love Diego". The delivery guy had to go back down to his bike and get the right arrangement for her. Oops!)
Luis - The Little Helper
Luis has, for a very long time, been interested in the broom. Most mornings now, while I'm getting his breakfast together, Luis goes over to get the broom and then walks around the apartment with it. When Parvati is here, he really, really, really wants to help her and often gets a bit cranky if she won't let him.
And, Luis likes hanging out with Shabina in the kitchen. (Though this is actually Mom's kitchen in Annapolis.)
Since we've been back from our travels to the US, Luis has taken a shine to the gardener. Luis will sit inside the sliding glass doors and watch the gardener work on the patio. Yesterday, Pauline and Luis were playing outside and he walked over to the hose and started "watering" the plants. When the gardener came later on, I showed him Luis's new trick. The gardener LOVED it.
He asked me to get my camera to take a picture (mind you that he speaks NO English and I speak NO Hindi - so it was mostly through hand gestures). So I did. There were several cute ones, including this one. I printed it up for him and gave it to him.
Any chance that Luis will be this helpful when we move back to the US and I am the cook and I am the maid and I am the gardener??
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