It's actually Day Four now, and we are having restful day in Agra. Our mornings have been early (like this morning for early light at the Taj Mahal) and despite my best intentions, blogging at night has just not eventuated as I have been needing to sleep instead. But it's not a bad thing that my body clock seems to be set in 4am to 9 pm.
So I am transporting myself back through our experiences of the past few days. The blogging is as much for me as it is for anyone else who cares to read it, and writing on a day of rest is soothing for me. Helps me make sense of what I have seen and experienced, and also provides me with a memory bank in addition to my photos.
Rewinding to our second day in Delhi seems an age ago. We seem to be packing a lot in, but because breaks are carefully and thoughtfully timed, it's not as overwhelming as it might be if you were trying to do all of these things on the trot.
Day two began with a tuk tuk ride to Khari Boali, the market street of Delhi. Apparently it was a public holiday, and while many things may have not been open, there was still so much to see, do, experience and photograph.
Let's not case it, by New Zealand standards much of Delhi, including the market street, is filthy, smelly, loud, busy, and at the start, a bit intimidating. It wasn't that I felt unsafe, more than it is so vastly different to my normal everyday life. At times I feel like I am in a movie here...
There was so much to look at that it was difficult to isolate things to photograph. My eye is naturally drawn to people, so that's what I honed in on. I gradually became more comfortable with making eye contact to gain consent for a photo. Most were keen to oblige, some wanted money for it. To be fair, the rupee is worth so little that flinging some cash their way is not a hardship for us, however to maintain the natural balance of things, we've been advised not to over tip or over pay.
It's not hard to get attention though. Being white, a woman and having blonde hair I stick out like the proverbial. I am learning to use that attention to my advantage, and return it with a smile, which is universal. To me in India, a smile and greeting to a man does not seem like it would be taken as anything other than a genuine greeting, and more often than not, is reciprocated with just that.
A highlight of the journey down the street was being invited by a man (for a fee) to traipse up several sets of dark concrete stairs to the rooftop looking over the surrounds. Our intrepid leader Susan said this was the sort of opportunity one dreams of. Not something I would ever have done without her, same with venturing down dark alleyways to photograph the locals hanging out. That seems to be a what a lot of the men do with their day... hang out. Sitting, squatting, standing, lying, chatting... I'm still trying to make sense of the social complexities of India.
Over the course of time I am getting used to some of the things I found shocking on he first two days. One being the street dogs, thin and in some case emaciated, lame, covered with sores... passive in the day time but apparently can be territorial at night. I don't know why they don't round them all up and euthenise them, I think it would be kinder. I guess the next question would be, but who would pay for that? Considering the same description could be given for many of people (thin and ill) I doubt the welfare of the dogs is of any priority.
The sacred cows of course roam freely though the streets. They wander gently with no regard for the beeps, bustle and busyness of the tuk tuks, motorbikes, bicycles and other vehicles that jockey for place and position on seemingly road rules-less streets. But in four days I have seen one minor bump! They obviously happen as the vehicles are dented, but it's a miracle there aren't accidents every ten metres. As our taxi driver (of a real car complete with aircon and plastic still in the seats) said yesterday in India to drive you need three things: Good horn, good brakes and good luck!
Anyway back to Khari Boali. If I get no other decent photos this trip, the black and white portrait of the young man here will keep me happy. And a few other characters who caught my eye.
Loving following you Darling!
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