On my last night in Delhi I finally
made the time to go and see Interstellar, which I had been dying to see. I made
sure I was packed for my 545am pickup for the bus to Jaipur. I don’t typically
go out and about after sun-down, for safety, but this was just a quick trip 1
stop by Metro to the dreaded junction station of Rajiv Chowk. I have to admit
that heading down to the tracks I felt a strange anxiety knowing that I would
be stared at, giggled at, pointed at…which I try to take as training in empathy
for those that have to put up with this every day of their lives…but something
quite remarkable happened. I was crushed up against the door inside the train and
someone behind me said “Trauma-neurosurgery?” I was wearing my blue St. Mike’s
TNICU shirt. I turned around and said “yes, I work in hospital in Canada.” What
followed was an amazing discussion. He asked what kind of patients we see and I
told him that we see all sorts of traumatic injuries, include those of the
head, and also various brain related conditions. A tall fellow in his late 20s
or early 30s, he proceeded to tell me his story of being born with some sort of
condition that makes him prone to aneurysms, and years before he had symptoms
from one that left him hospitalized. Light-hearted and well-spoken, he told me
he was lucky to be alive and that he got the best care he could have hoped for.
He was very friendly and expressive, and we laughed during our conversation,
and everyone around us observed our interaction as it happened. I was a bit
stunned by all of this, since I had gone in with some fear, and in retrospect,
I wish that I had given this young fellow my card so we could do an interview
as he is a unique case of a young person with experience as a patient in
hospital with a very serious condition. I also sometimes think moments like
these could be a set up by bodhisattvas who manifest in atypical ways to teach
us…my fear of being ridiculed can be an obstacle to connecting with others.
I arrived at Connaught Place, a
commercial hub of Delhi sometimes called Connaught Circus (for good reason),
comprised of white-pillared buildings located in a huge roundabout.
It had been
a while since I had been there, but I do recall a brief skip there in 2010. I
found the theatre and bought a ticket, which was a bit more than $6…half-price
for Toronto but more than rs 300.
I had some extra time so I thought to go and
get a McVeggie, which I had been craving. I passed a crowd and it seemed to be the launch of the anti-spitting campaign. A troupe was acting out the message with flair and drums to a captivated audience.
I got a couple of sandwiches and tried to enter the
theatre but they frisk and have metal detectors (as does the Metro, Malls and theatres)
so I was told I couldn’t bring the burgers inside. I gobbled one and smuggled
the other inside, and went to get more treats. It was about 15 minutes before
show-time. I got some popcorn and a drink, which they serve on a lap-tray (they
certainly know how to do it right!)
and walked into the theatre and another
movie was playing…I suppose they go right down to the wire, which makes sense
when there are only a couple screens. I waited in the lobby which was
immaculate white stone and had 3 waiting areas replete with golden curtains,
tables and chairs…suitable for a Mob Boss meeting.
Eventually a line up for the
theatre started and we paraded in and tried to find our seats which are
designated. The front section is more expensive (by a couple hundred rupees,
and was empty this night), and I also noticed double-sized seats with a small
table in-between near the back (like the VIP rooms at Varsity theatre). My seat
was in the front row of the 2nd section and when I asked where my
seat was, a non-Indian fellow said “beside me!” to which I responded “oh, I’ll
give you some room” and moved a couple of seats over. Next hordes of people
came in with the ushers all clamouring for their seats in this row, all the
while the rest of the theatre was near empty. The movie started and people were
still nattering and shining lights to find their seat so I moved a couple of
rows back finding this all too ridiculous. The movie is sensational, and in the
middle as a ship is about to land on an extra-solar planet, the lights go up
and the movie stops. The screen lit red with the word INTERVAL and I thought of
Monty Python and went to get some nachos, which were fairly thick spiced chips
which came with salsa and cheese dips. To suit the Indian palette there are
many offerings in addition to popcorn…cakes, various veg burgers and wraps, but
no candy! Due to the slow line, I was getting worried at missing the movie
starting up again but as I entered the ship was landing again so I suppose they
back it up a bit when they start it up again. The movie was simply astounding
and I can’t wait to see it again…I’ll get my chance since they only ever show
maximum 2 Hollywood movies here at a time. Another quirk is that you can only exit the theatre from the exits that lead right to the street and so can't go back into the theatre to use the bathroom, which is annoying...and weird to have entrances blocked by security. I suppose they are trying to avoid people doing free double-headers.
I didn’t sleep much and was in the
lobby for the 5:45 am pickup…what this actually meant would become clear soon.
I waited for 30 minutes, about 15 minutes after what I thought was the bus
departure time…but the fellow at the desk assured me not to worry. Then the
“pickup” arrived and I asked where the vehicle was, and he kept pointing in the
distance. Had I known that I would be dragging my luggage for a click down
pot-holed laneways I would have hopped in a rickshaw…the “pickup” was a walking
escort, and I spat and growled the whole way. The driver shoved my luggage in
the back and the walking escort said gleefully “luggage charge!” I was in no
mood and said “what luggage charge?! I’m not supposed to have luggage?!” I wondered
if I had a minute to get a chai but no such luck. I sat in the small bus that
held about 15 people and it soon filled up, mostly with a Bangladeshi family of
2 males and 8 females. I was pooped so closed my eyes as we started to leave
Delhi but the women were talking with gusto at full volume for at least 3
hours. I read the newspapers and just as I was about to get worried for lack of
food, we stopped at a roadside dhaba.
As with the many unilingual signs around Delhi, reading Hindi comes in handy and
I could read the menu painted in red on the wall so I ordered some prantha (stuffed fried bread) and
chai…and ended up having 3 chais! I felt a lot better. We were clearly in
Rajasthan as the road-sides were all sand and a camel went by pulling a load. We
continued on and the terrain changed even more, with rocky hills springing up
on both sides which delighted the Bangladeshis who broke out cameras and
camcorders. Afternoon now and the women were quiet and the guys started
talking, and the younger fellow then started up a conversation with me and was
very friendly and chatty…he wanted to know what I did and how much business
managers made in Canada. The trip was supposed to be only 4.5 hous but after 6
hours we arrived at the Amber Palace and we got off.
I asked the driver how
long until we went to the heart of the city and he said 2 hours. I flipped
because I specifically asked when and where we would be dropped off and was
told the bus would stop for sightseeing for 30 minutes. Infuriated I jumped into
a rickshaw with a friendly young Indian guy who had similarly been misled by a
bus company. We passed the Water Palace...
...and an entire family on one motorbike...
After the young guy hopped off, the driver Chandra (who was
surprised I knew what his name meant!) wanted to chat. The ride cost rs 300 but
I was happy to finaly arrive at the guest-house. I have since written the bus
company, with no response of course, so I will confront them when I’m back in
Delhi (the company is inside the guest-house I stayed at).
I found the New India Guest House
online and liked that it seemed to have funky décor, was clean, had a rooftop
patio and the owner communicated well by email. They were very friendly when I
arrived and we worked out a great monthly rate less than the Jain compound that
I tried to stay at…trying to work that out with my Jaipur contact proved
impossible. He said there was a wedding and no room, and I asked when it would
be over for rooms to open up and he got frustrated and said he didn’t
understand my language…this from a scholar who writes books and lectures in
English. I think it was just my karma ripening to lead me to this great place
that suits me. The neighbourhood is quiet and not too far from a main road that
leads to the Pink City. Despite being tired I went for a 1 hour walk to one of
the gates and found the road lined with mostly jewellery stores, which makes
sense for a big city in Rajasthan, the wedding destination state of India. Here's a roundabout on the main street...
...and one of the gates to the Pink City...
...and local landmark, the Pink Tower...
...and this is what Indians think my name is (Shaan is a famous movie, and artist as well)...
...here is the view kitty-corner to my room...
I
relaxed the next day and planned on starting research activities on Monday. On
my first day I established that the wifi here is spectacular, which bodes well
for research, concert booking and also Skyping with Alex daily, as has become
our routine. I also quickly realized that the house cook, Saleem, is a very
talented cook and a sweet man. We chat often. It seems, though, that
mid-afternoon is siesta time so on Sunday I was starving at this time and went
down the street to where I saw a café. This chain, Café Coffee Day (CCD), is
all over the place and always clean and with good coffee. This place was
adjoined to a hotel and was dead, but full of sunlight and with soothing music.
It seems like a good place to go write if I need a change of scenery. The food
is good, a bit more expensive, and takes a while but a really peaceful place to
chill.
The past week was full of research
activities. I made recruitment posters with my email as detachable leaves at
the bottom. I interviewed 1 uneducated Muslim local who gave very rich answers,
and 2 Jains (one an agnostic MD) which were both fantastic sessions. I am
shooting for at least 3 interviews a week. On one day when I didn’t have any
booked, I tweaked my questionnaire, did a media-scan for articles related to
health and end-of-life, and every day I have to do concert bookings since I am
still running shows while I am away. On another day I decided to visit one of
the recommended hospitals that services Jains and walked for hours and made a
few stops along the way. It was also a chance to get to know the area a bit
more, and I found a supermarket quite close by for hard to get items. I always
leave with screen-shots of maps to where I am headed, but this was a bit of a
meander since streets are often not labelled. I use the main street of MI road,
and the sun, to get my bearings. I walked down a street called Ashok Marg, named
after the great Dharma King Ashoka who did much to promulgate Buddhism in India.
One roundabout on this street has at its centre the 24-spoked Ashoka Chakra
(wheel) which is depicted on Ashoka’s edict pillars as well as on the flag of
India. The spokes represent the Buddha’s teaching on the 12 links of dependent
arising in forward and reverse order. I passed some colleges and thought that
hanging posters in such places might be a good idea. I entered a journalism
college, which had a beautiful wall-painting of Ganesha at the entrance...
...and behind the main desk 10 people were talking, and another table had
10 students discussing their work. I made a gesture that I didn’t want to
disturb what looked like a meeting at the desk, but an older fellow with a
cloth over one eye invited me to tell them what I wanted. What followed was a
lengthy discussion over a simple request to hang a poster. The fellow suggested
I take out a newspaper ad, which is a great idea which I will be doing asap. A
Sikh student helped in the discussion and eventually they agreed to hang a
poster and wanted several but I said I had limited numbers and 1 would suffice.
I came upon a big government hospital, which was beautiful both inside and out
(quite different from the run-down public hospitals I am used to seeing in
Dharamsala) and an administrator said I couldn’t hang posters without
governmental permission, even after asking if there was a community bulletin
board. I started to recognize an area as I was randomly passing the Jain
compound that we stayed at in 2010...
...and my contact wasn’t there so I spent some
time in the shrine room and asked to leave a poster, which they weren’t
comfortable with and told me to return to talk to the guy in charge (the same
fellow I had trouble communicating with on the phone). I passed a road-side Muslim shrine-tomb...
...and was surprised to see a female attendant giving out blessed-food (prashad, here in the form of bananas) which I didn't know was an Islamic habit as well. I eventually made it to
the hospital, which a sprawling and immaculate campus with nowhere to go to
talk to anyone in charge. I was hoping to access some Health Care Professionals
via the hospitals but this reinforced the fact that the way to get recruits
will be by word of mouth, various advertising and through religious
communities. After a couple of hours of walking, the sun was setting and a
rickshaw took only 10 minutes to get me back home.
Tomorrow another week of research
begins!
No comments:
Post a Comment