Delhi Dallying: Smile, Look to the sky, Shake your head, and Say "C'mon Man!?"


Smile, Look to the sky, Shake your head, and Say "C'mon Man!?"

Saturday, January 22 - Today was another interesting day for Karen and I. It was one of those days where we find ourselves shaking our heads and smiling a little more than usual. Kind of like this past Tuesday when I was walking around Connaught Place and someone skillfully squirted dog shizzle on my shoe without my notice just so his cohort, the shoe shine man standing 20 yards ahead, could notice it with surprise and ask to clean it for 100 rupees. But that's another story!

Today, we left the comfort of our apartment and dived into "Incredible India" at 2pm. The first task was to walk to the taxi stand. Along the way, we noticed a large birthday party set up in a park. The party was for "Ratin" who was probably 6 or 7 years old based on the attendees. Her name was spelled out with 5 large Mylar balloons that floated above the entrance. Inside, there was a bouncy castle, a Thomas the Tank riding train, gangsta rap playing on the stereo, tons of balloons, and 8 round tables for the kids to eat their cake on later. Yes, sweet Ratin and all the precious little children in the red inflatable castle were bouncing to the beats of gangsta rap. I couldn't recognize the song, but it was so gangsta that I think I saw Thomas the Tank loose a little steam and frown when the aforementioned rapper called someone a "snitch n-word." I just smiled, looked to the sky, shook my head, and said to myself "C'mon Man!?" According to babynames.com, Ratin means love & happiness.

The destination of our Taxi was to a delayed New Year's party at a friend's apartment in Vasant Vihar - about a half hour from our home. The party was as wonderful as it's hosts! We ate skillfully prepared black eyed peas, corn bread, and collard greens meant to bring everyone good luck and a lot of money. You Southerners know what I'm writing about. Karen got 3 coins in her black eyed peas! We spent 2+ hours at the party and then made our way to Ambiance Mall. This 5 story mall is one of three very large shopping malls built next to each other in Vasant Kunj Phase II, a barren wasteland located near the airport. The very site of these 3 ultra modern mega malls rising from rubble strewn desolation makes me shake my head and smile. India - a land of contrasts. We did a little shopping and went to Chilli's to eat nacho's and fajitas. Below is a video and some funny pictures taken from inside the mall.

Escalators are still fairly new to India. There is a learning curve on how to ride one. Observe.