New Delhi, India

After experiencing pre-9/11 Pakistan my family once again moved to New Delhi, India where we would live for two fulfilling years. Fulfilling is actually an understatement. Out of all the countries I've been to India was the most colorful and vivid. Delhi, moreover, was home to a kind of chaotic beauty- it was a city full of rickshaws and spicy food and monuments frequented too many times by tourists. My memories of this amazing place are strong but limited. I remember how holy cows would sit in front of our house chomping on grass our gardener cut off, or the time that I lit matches and threw them off a desert-palace wall in Rajastan. I remember going on a safari that we took in the jungle, or riding elephants with little safeguards. But there's just too much that has slipped my mind. Here is what my parents have to say about our terrific experience in the subcontinent:

Dad:

"I lived in India twice, once before I met your mother. Because I was single and spoke Hindi I would travel alone. Once I took a trip on a local bus to a small northern city next to the Ganges river called Hardwuar where I spent a weekend in the local hotel. That was one of the most fun trips I ever had. I just hung out and talked to people. It's on the Ganges so it has an annual pilgrimage where devout Hindus to celebrate their Gods. As a family we went back and had a lot of fun. We took weekend trips to stay in desert palace hotels, which were private hotels that used to be palaces of former princes and local royalty back when India had a princely class."

"India is overwhelming because it's large and hard to understand. It can be overwhelming. I had two very different experiences working there. The first diplomatic assignment was in the consular section where I interviewed people for visas all day. Toward the end, even with some Punjabi. The second assignment was in the economic section where I followed India's trade policy (WTO policy)."

"I loved the food. Some of the best food I had was in a road-side dhabha (an open air food stall) where you could get fresh curried chicken, dahl, spinach, vegetables, etc. Delhi is a vast city with 15 or 20 million people and you have people from all over India who come to Delhi to find work but it's also a government town. Because it's the federal capital you have a lot of government workers government bureaucrats and the story was just as New Yorkers kind of look down on people from Washington the people from Bombay/Mumbai looked down on people from Delhi ("all they think about is business and politics")."

"I visited Mumbai several times. It's an exciting city. Part of the Indian film industry and fashion industry is there. I also went to Calcutta several times. I worked there temporarily at the consulate and they spoke a different language- Bengali- they had slightly different foods (more seafood)."

Mom:

"India is a completely over the top sensory overload kind of place jammed with people, rickshaws, cars, bicycles, wood fires, and cows. People would defecate in the field, gangs of beggars lined the streets, palaces dotted the desert. It was the most wonderful place I've been. There are more interesting and smart people in India with the exception of China. There's a growing middle class- nice restaurants, restored palaces where we'd go with friends, out to a desert palace. You kids would run around and there would be puppet shows. The adults would drink and talk and play cards and have a good time."

"The kind of culture you'd see both in the architectural ruins of the various empires and rulers. We went to Agrha to see the Taj Mahal. I loved those photos of you- we were down there in June because in June it's so blistering hot so there are not tourists. We were able to book 2 rooms in the nicest hotel in Agra. I took you girls without Dad at six o'clock in the morning to the Taj- it was very hot. You guys were running around in your bare feet. Indian families were intrigued by the fact that you were Westerners and twins and Phoebe had blonde hair. We had the place almost to ourselves in Indian terms. We were just enjoying it."

"We traveled a lot in Rajastan including when Oma and Opa came to visit. In India you'd always have these incredible experiences. You always ran the incredible risk of getting food poisoning. You also did a lot of horseback riding. This was a more organized and professional horseback riding outfit compared to Pakistan. You guys were old enough to wear red cowboy boots. You were still riding retired polo ponies. And you would gallop! You'd trot and gallop you were quite accomplished. If you remember at the horseback riding place they had a place set up with chairs where you'd sit and drink tea. You'd get tea with water buffalo milk. It was delicious. They had a pin of rabbits and you would look at the rabbits and play with them. It was lovely."