Shopping India-style... and a brief modeling stint
Trip Start
Sep 22, 2006
1
7
Trip End
Oct 05, 2006
Delhi,
India
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Anuj's mother, Usha, was going to shop in the Chandni Chowk that day for Charlotte's wedding dress and jewelry gifts for the wedding participants. She asked us to meet in front of this place "Haldiram's." After Beth expressed some concern about being able to find it, Anuj's mom said that there weren't really any addresses in the Chandni Chowk but that any driver worth his salt would know where it was
Alleyway in the Chandni Chowk
.Sadly, we had an unsalty driver because he wasn't sure where it was. He told us Haldiram's was a chain eatery adn they were everywhere! Ugh. After some discussion with the hotel, we came upon Haldiram's which is some sort of sweet shop/eatery. Beth and I arrived first so we waited out front, leaning against a post. Needless to say, despite my local garb, we still attracted an unsettling amount of attention. People defintely made no effort to conceal stares or that they were talking about us, and it was crowded. Unnervingly so. After waiting about 20 minutes of growing increasingly uncomfortable, we agreed to wait 5 more minutes before calling it quits.
Luckily, Anuj's mom and his brother showed and it was so great to see them. They ushered us into Haldiram's, which is very crowded downstairs, to the back staircase. Once we got upstairs, it was a little less crowded with tables and chairs, but all the seats were taken. We stood around waiting like a lot of other people, for a table to free up. While we waited, Anuj's famiily went through a cafeteria style line and ordered some food for us. When we snagged a table, neither Beth nor I were actually hungry becuase we had quite a big (and free) breakfast. So to be polite, I ate a potato and pea dish that was super spicy but really tasty
Being draped
. I mean, it just rocked! I dont know what it was called, but if I ever went back, I would try to order it again. Oh, and bring my appetite! Otherwise, downstairs, I would try the thandai drink and buy a bag of Papad (pappadums) for the road. It's like India's version of potato chips. I noticed on the way out that they were a popular item.Navigating the Chandni Chowk is like being a clairvoyant bulldozer. You have to plow through the masses trying to stop you and sell you something and plow forth with the authority of someone who knows exactly where they are going. Even when you have no clue. We were all dutifully following Usha, who seemed to know where she was headed but after zigzagging down various paths for about 15 minutes, we stopped. She made it clear that the shop she was walking towards was not where she thought it would be! That was my first taste of negotiating India. Act like you know what youre doing, even when you dont. People tend to leave you alone! Subi also recommended that Beth and I try to brush people off by just barely waving our index finger at them in a no-no fashion, say "nay nay" in a bored and annoyed tone of voice, all while avoiding eye contact. When a woman grabbed my arm to sell me something, I tried that tactic, and she immediatley backed off. A few others ahead who were eyeing me as a potential mark, saw me do this and suddenly begged off. It worked
My first modeling gig
! Apparently, this is a very local way of dismissing someone. So, being perceived as a local, I was no longer a target. Brilliant!So we finally ended up in a sari shop, took our shoes off and squatted on some floor cushions while an employee fetched tons of glittery bolts of silks and unfurled them at us, letting the cloth fan out and settle to the ground. For the first 5-10 displays, Anuj's mom raised her hand to wave them off in disgust and wouldnt deign to even look at the rest. The employee took this as a challenge and went to fetch nicer saris, etc etc. Anuj's mom asked me what I thought of the saris. What? What do I know?? Taking a closer look at them so to give her my best amateur answer, I saw that some of the beading was glued on the material, not sewn! Some of the material was not silk, but synthetic and was fraying at the edges. Once I got past the razle dazzle of showmanship, I realized lesson number two: dont bother with what is first shown to you. It's usually a warm up to better things.
The next shock came when his mom decided that she couldn't tell what the saris looked like unless she saw them on. There arent exactly mannequins around, so I was wondering how this was going to play out when I realized she was looking right at me. "Go
Strange Doctor's services in Chandni Chowk
. Put this on." Not a question, really, and it was from my hostess so I couldnt decline. I felt so odd putting on 1. a wedding sari and 2. someone else's wedding sari. Uggh! The only thing to note here: have MASSIVE amounts of sympathy for the bride because wedding saris are HEAVY as all get out. Damn heavy. Strolled around the Chandni Chowk a little more, noting some strange places, watched Anujs mom haggle for jewelry (nothing interesting) then left with Anuj's brother to drop him off at home. We stopped for a sweet coffee on the way and enjoyed a cafe style ambiance in their family's neighborhood. When Beth and I mentioned the abundance of stray dogs around Delhi, he said something interesting: you can always tell the affluence of a neighborhood by how healthy the stray dogs appear. Indeed, the dogs in that area did seem quite well fed and well off. Strange barometer.
Back at the hotel, it was getting dark and we were getting quite hungry. We hit the gift shop to pick up a couple of shawls to ward off the chill, and I saw some saris. After examining them, I realized how beautiful a sari could be. These were ten times heavier than those we saw that afternoon, but that many times more beautiful and well crafted. Stunning pieces. Also running $1000+ USD. yikes.
We capped the evening off at the Chinese restaurant in our hotel, Tea House of the August Moon. It's a ridiculously, fabulously designed restaurant where I wished we could have eaten at again. Walking in, you encounter an actual koi pond with foot bridges crossing over it. At the apex of each bridge is a pagoda where you sit and dine over the pond. Exquisite. Further on, is an actual bamboo garden. This place is just wild. We were so incredibly starved, having eaten nothing since breakfast really (Beth declined eating at Haldiram's and I only had a bite of the yummy potato dish) that we got a little giddy about the layout of the place. It was about 9pm and the place was filling up but we were seated quickly in a pagoda on a bridge, next to a window view of the beautiful and dimly lit pool area.
When we ordered, a petite waitress said, ' are you sure, these are very big portions?' Having been slighted on portion size at Masala the night before nad having American appetites, we told her we were sure. We each ordered an appetizer and an entree so how bad could it be? Sadly, really bad. It was the complete opposite of Masala! The appetizers were multiple-plated tapas style dishes which we didnt expect. After eating only the apps, we were full. So we kicked back for about 15 minuted and relaxed before our entrees came out. They were actually so big an extra fold out table had to be brought since there was not enough room on our table. Damn!! We ate slowly for about 2 hours at least before I wanted to die. We really wanted to give it our best effort bc the waitress had given us a disapproving look since for clearly wasting food. But I didnt know the servings would come on platters the size of my torso! It was a blissfull misery though because the food was perfect. Absolute chinese perfection. I never thought the best Chinese food i would ever eat would be in India...
Tomorrow, Palace on Wheels!
