I’d planned to write more extensively about Delhi, about my feelings on living here now that it’s been two months and I don’t feel totally, utterly adrift. Those feelings are taking a bit longer to work through than I anticipated. However, I can share a bit of how I’ve been engaging with my time here. I look forward every weekend, especially on those weekends where I work Saturdays, to my time off. It’s a chance, especially now when the sun and heat and pollution are not all actively conspiring together to smother the life out of me, to explore my surroundings, to wander, and to get to know as much as I can about the incredibly rich history and life that is present here. It’s also a chance to take out my camera (version 2.0; RIP pick-pocketed point-and-shoot) and to record as much as I can of my surroundings. I don’t feel comfortable enough, in my own skill or in my own judgement, to take many pictures of people on the street, or in their day to day lives, a feeling that’s not reciprocated by the many, many, many people who are moved to stop and take their picture with me and my blond hair. Unsurprisingly in a city and a region filled with monuments from centuries of wealthy and powerful Hindu and Muslim empires, the monuments that survive are rich in beautiful details, some grand and some small, that bring art clearly into the built space. Here are some glimpses of some of my favorites details and places from around Delhi, and from a trip to Ahmedabad, thus far.
