2013 – 08: Udaipur and more

Terrorist activities are a continual threat in India.  Dual blasts killed 16 in Hyderabad on Thursday and injured scores more.  An Islamic radical group is the suspected culprit.  We scuttled our plans to visit two popular markets in Delhi on Saturday as a result (Internet photo).

 

Where was this photo taken?  If you said the Delhi metro, you’re wrong.  This is a New York City subway somewhere under the streets of Brooklyn.

 

Kayla traveled to New York with her school’s dance crew last week where they performed traditional Indian dances including the dandiya.

With mouthwatering delight, her first meal was a cheeseburger.  Chicken Caesar salads were also highly enjoyed during her stay.

 

Brooklyn certainly is colorful (and cold in February). 

 

Six of the old Wanaque gang came to Brooklyn for a visit on Sunday.  They picked up right where they left off.

 

Meanwhile back in India, Presidents’ Day was celebrated at the American School, so the rest of us headed to Udaipur for the 3-day weekend.

Udaipur, known as the ‘City of Lakes’ in the state of Rajasthan, is renowned for the iconic City Palace.  Construction began in the mid-1500’s along the banks of Lake Pichola (Internet photo). 

 

While touring the palace, we noted the brightness of the sarees in Rajasthan (they are more colorful than we see in Delhi).

 

Elephants were feared in battle, so to bolster the ranks, horses wore this disguise.  I can’t imagine this was very effective, however, you have to applaud the inventiveness.

 

A highlight was the Crystal Gallery, said to be the world’s largest private collection.  Every household item imaginable was fashioned from crystal (Internet photo).

 

We enjoyed a boat ride across the lake waters to see the sights.

 

The palace is stunning. Some may recognize this location from the James Bond movie Octopussy.

 

Local residents also live along the water’s edge…

 

… and do their laundry.

 

We had dinner at the Lake Palace, with a picturesque view of the City Palace.

 

Greg spotted this “face in a tree.”

 

We also zipped around town in an auto rickshaw…

 

…and toured the produce market…

 

…which was teeming with cows and goats.  This one sported a t-shirt.

 

This goat is ready for dinner (as the main course).

 

It was an excellent trip with clean air and blue skies.  We’d like to return someday with Kayla.  Have a great week.  ts

2013 – 07: Desert Camping

  

Before diving into desert camping, here are three bonus photos from the previous week’s safari.  Soon after leaving the tigers, this langur casually approached our vehicle…

 

… and stopped for the perfect pose.  When food didn’t come his way…

 

… he became more direct and joined our ride for several minutes, completely ignoring all hand gestures of “scram.”  

 

Now onto the adventures of last weekend. School was closed on Monday, so Greg and I took a 3-day trip to Jodhpur and camped in the Rajasthan desert.

 

We enjoyed the sunset from the peak of this hilltop. 

 

The desert is completely quiet. The only sound was the call of the jackal (Greg is responding here).  We saw quite a few (they look like small wolves).

 

We went exploring the next day.  There are tiny villages and substance farmers sprinkled across this semi-arid land.

 

Greg chased antelope across this barren field.

 

We visited a Bishnoi family.  Bishnoi’s live by 29 principles developed by Jambo Ji in the 1500’s.  Rule #1 is preserve the environment.

 

They primarily grow millet and sesame seed.  As the world’s first environmentalists, they are pure vegetarians.  They don’t cut trees and only collect dead wood. 

 

They live a simple life.  We could see they are happy and healthy.

 

This man is 63.

 

They were fascinated by Greg’s iPad.  He recorded video of the children and played it back to their amazement.

 

A few kilometers away, we visited a Pittal family.  They are farmers who grow wheat, mustard (for its oil) and ground nuts.

 

Their 19 year old daughter was recently married to a boy in the next village, but still visits her parents each day.  Here she is grinding lentils.  It’s pure protein for making dal, a staple in the Indian diet.

 

Here she is making millet bread on the open flame, fueled by little sticks.

 

It was covered with ghee (clarified butter).  Fresh, hot and tasty.

 

This solar panel was clearly out of place in this environment.

 

Here’s what’s on the other end.  This was the only indication we’re living in the 21^st century.

We next visited a sar village for an opium ceremony.  The opium is first ground with water…

 

… then filtered…

 

… then poured into the hand and slurped. 

 

Opium is illegal, but since it’s consumed in small doses, the government turns a blind eye toward this centuries-old tradition. 

The faces are etched with extensive wisdom…

 

… and simple joy.

 

It was a truly authentic and unforgettable experience.  We will always remember the simplicity, happiness and hospitality of the people.  Have a great week.  ts

2013 – 06: Wildlife

The official sound of India is horn honking… 24/7.  Sadly, this sign is completely ignored.

No amount of horn honking moves these pigs from blocking the entrance to our supermarket. 

 

It’s no surprise, pigs like garbage.  Between 2:00 and 4:00 am each morning, a pig raids the garbage bin near our house. He whacks it hard with his body to tip it, and then dines on the content. 

 

He was oblivious to my presence.  Flash photography caused no disruption in the gulping.

 

We wait until about 8:00 am to put out our garbage, but this is when the monkeys attack.

The monkeys are very particular compared to pigs.  They target specific food groups and leave the rest.

 

They like to sit on my car…

 

…and attempt break-ins.  There’s only a thin pane of glass separating Greg from this baby monkey who continually attacked the door.  

 

We received a notice this week titled “Monkey Menace,” which cites persistant problems despite taking measures.

 

Here’s a key “measure.”  This langur is a hired “hit man.”  He roams our complex in search of monkeys, but they are too clever.  The monkeys scram when he’s around and return as soon as he’s gone.

Then there are the wildlife issues INSIDE the house.  The cold temperatures bring in the mice in search of warmth.  Spring-trips are not available here, so we use a combination of poison and glue traps.

 

We did catch a live mouse on a glue trap. I have a photo, but excluded it to avoid the “ick” factor.

It’s not uncommon to pause for a peacock crossing.  I can’t say we’ve ever seen tail feathers fully extended (like the NBC logo).

 

The wildlife story continues 8 hours south of here in Ranthambore.  This was the location for our Alphera F&I managers’ conference this week.  Our bus load of 30 departed Delhi on Monday.

We passed through dozens of vibrant and chaotic villages.

 

We encountered sheep herding…

 

… and a camel drive.

 

Cow dung was stacked everywhere to dry (it’s used as cooking fuel).

 

We stopped along the way for a boxed lunch.

 

Our rest stop had facilities… 

 

… including western-style.

 

After 8 hours, we veered onto a dirt road in search of our hotel. 

Wow.  The state of Rajasthan is known for palaces converted into hotels, or in our case, a hotel built to represent a palace.  There were no TV’s anywhere on the property (and no one complained).

This is not your typical Marriott conference room.

 

A jungle safari served as our team building event, which started the next day at 6:30 am.  The very rare grand prize is to see a tiger.  We were advised to keep expectations low. 

The Ranthambhore National Park comprises more than 1300 square meters of naturally preserved land (500 sq. miles).  There are no walls or fences here, this is the real deal.  We spotted deer (pun intended). 

 

Deer like to graze under languors in the trees.  They are the early warning signal in case of tigers.

 

These antelopes looked quite relaxed.

 

Peacocks were abundant.

 

But where are the tigers?  We heard a monkey in the distance banging rocks to warn others of an approaching tiger.  This was only an audio experience.  We didn’t see anything.

 

Then our guide spotted fresh tiger tracks and off we zoomed. Suddenly, we saw two tigers who frolicked in the middle of the trail and didn’t mind our presence.

 

Noor, is the 5 ½ year old mother and Sultan, the playful 14 month old son.

 

Tigers have unique stripes  which our guide recognized easily.  We watched for 30 minutes.  We were told only 5 out of 1000 tours have close-up and lengthy experiences like this.

We were all very “click happy” and eager to pose with the tigers.

It was a phenomenal experience.  We will always cherish these memories in the wild.

 

Cricket is king in India.  No other sports come close.  Before departing on our final day, everyone was up at 7 am to play a friendly, but highly competitive game.

 

This ball missed me by inches as it whizzed by.

 

Kartik was the man of the match.  Separately, I was trying to explain American football to which someone said, “Oh, you mean rugby.”  They’d never heard of the Superbowl. 

The bus ride back to Delhi was 9 hours.  It was a long journey, but a highly successful conference highlighted by the relationship building activities.

 

Normally that’s enough for one week, but we quickly transitioned into the BMW conference, hosting all F&I managers pan-India.  We toured the brand new Deutsche Motoren facility, the largest dealership in south Asia.  

For team building, we played a very spirited game of paint ball.  Everyone was highly competitive.

 

The business elements of the meeting reached a new level of strategic discussion which will further grow the business in India.  Excellent prep work and team collaboration resulted in back-to-back successful events.  Have a great week.  ts

2013 – 05: Anniversaries

Before jumping into the anniversaries topic, it’s worth noting the poor air quality.  The smog is extremely thick.

 

Sadly, Delhi keeps company with mega-cities Beijing and Mexico City on the list for unhealthy air.  It’s been said that living in Delhi is like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. We’re hoping a change in weather will improve conditions.

 

Last Saturday, January 26, was Republic Day, a national holiday in India.  It was on this date in 1950 the Constitution took effect (2 ½ years after obtaining independence from British rule). 

 

Each year, a mammoth parade takes place in Delhi to celebrate.  It’s well attended by dignitaries and the common man.  With extra tight security and massive crowds, we followed the advice of  “watch it on TV.”

 

The parade was a showcase for India’s military might. 

 

India has the world’s 2^nd largest military with 1.1 million personnel. The villain in this drama is Pakistan, which creates easy recruitment opportunities with deep-seated nationalism. 

 

There are people alive today who lived under British rule and remember the days prior to the constitution, which has been in place now for 63 years. January 26 is a significant milestone in India’s history.

 

Four days later on Wednesday, January 30, marked the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination in 1948 by a Hindu extremist who feared Gandhi’s partiality toward India’s Muslims. This was front page news in the NY Times 65 years ago.  Today, “the father of India,” is featured on every denomination of the currency.

On a brighter note, Friday, February 1^st, marked my one year anniversary in India.  I remember my arrival well — I was jet lagged and suffering from “Delhi Belly,” but excited by the new adventure. Colleagues welcomed me with flowers in this photo from one year ago.

 

To extend our visas, we recently visited the Foreign Registration Office, an antiquated government building teaming with people requesting a variety of needs.

 

There were a handful of seats…

 

…positioned in front of the non-working elevators.

 

It’s a very manual process and completely paper-driven.  The system was developed long before the digital age and hasn’t evolved. Stacks of documents are everywhere.

 

After a two hour wait, we achieved success.  We can stay in India another year.

It’s time to reprise a game from blog #1 last February, The Price is Right.  List these five products from lowest to highest price. 

1. Bottled water
2. Boxed milk (with a 120 day shelf life)
3. Four chicken breasts
4. Post cereal
5. Balsamic vinegar. 

Make your guess prior to moving to the next photo.

 

The answer is in the photo.  The items are already aligned lowest to highest.  Prices shown below are in Indian Rupees – INR — with US prices in parenthesis (54 to 1 exchange rate):    

1. Bottled water, 51 INR (94 cents) 
2. Boxed milk, 62 INR ($1.15) 
3. 4 chicken breasts, 131 INR ($2.43) 
4. Post cereal, 425 INR ($7.87) 
5. Balsamic vinegar, 625 INR ($11.57)

The last two items are not produced in India, and thus are loaded with substantial import taxes. 

 

There you have it.  63 years for India’s constitution and my one year anniversary in Delhi.  Pictured here is the Sales and Marketing team.  It’s an honor and a privilege to work with this energetic group of passionate and dedicated colleagues.  I pinch myself each day.  Enjoy.  ts