Lost, or Just Wandering?

So I’m going to skip around on the road map a little here and tell you what is perhaps my favorite story so far (although I highly expect it to be supplanted by my trip into the hills).

Megan and I hadn’t interacted with any Americans since my first weekend here. So about a week before she went back to the states, we decided to head into Greater Kailash to see our friend Nienke, who technically isn’t an American, but is about as close as you can get. Nienke is a fellow Princeton student who lives in South Africa. She’s a tall white girl, which makes her stand out about as much as you possibly can in India. And I’m pretty sure (although by no means certain) that this was her first weekend after settling into her apartment, so we figured we could hang out and pretend like we actually knew something about India (which by this point we realized was probably never going to be true).

GK is a part of Delhi, and since Megan and I were in Noida, we first had to take a cab in. We told Nienke we’d call her when we got there, and so on about 11:00 we arrived at nearby Defense Colony, and called, waking her up in the process. She told us we should kill an hour or so and then give her another call. We figured we could spend the time in Defense Colony Market.

We got the cab driver to drop us off in the parking lot at DC Market. The cab fare was around 250 rupees, and the driver asked for exact change. Megan didn’t have change, and I actually had no money at that point, and so we sat around for a second not knowing what to do. Finally, the driver says he can make change if absolutely necessary, and so we give him a 500-rupee note. The driver subsequently opens the door and gives the note to a complete stranger, who upon receiving it runs into a nearby store. Megan and I look at each other skeptically. The driver lounges back in his chair, completely unconcerned.

We sit for about 5 minutes, and finally the man comes back with change. We settle the score and Megan and I get out. Our tour of Defense Colony Market takes maybe 15 minutes. Nothing to see.

Next we go…well…er…I don’t exactly remember where. Nor did I remember at the time. I guess that’s sorta the definition of being lost, right? Not knowing where you came from or how to get back?

Our story after the fact was that we weren’t really lost because we didn’t really have anywhere we were trying to go – and so we didn’t actually have any issues finding anything we needed to find. Of course, had we needed to find anything, it might have been an issue.

I guess now that you know where we weren’t (specifically, any place we knew existed), it’s probably time to tell you where we were. Although that is also kind of difficult. We were in a neighborhood in Defense Colony, but not one that I think sees many tourists. The streets were muddy, dirty, and narrow. Shops were EVERYWHERE selling everything from marriage paraphernalia (nose rings for the ladies, ornate feathered hats for the guys) to spices to groceries. All mom and pop stores – except with the number of stores in the area, it’s totally possible that mom and pop both own a store – and given the prices they may need it to make ends meet. The thing that most impresses the two of us though are the power lines – when you look up, there are at any point probably 7 or 8 wires above your head, criss-crossing in random tangles. Megan notes that if one of them became defective, it would be like untangling all the cords behind your desk, only a couple miles longer.

Megan sees a saree shop and wants to buy one, so we go in to see what’s available. Sarees are very colorful dresses that are very popular here – generally if you think of traditional Indian clothing back in the states, you’re probably picturing a woman in a saree. Anyway, we sit down and watch as the shopkeeper brings out dress after dress for Megan to inspect.

After a minute I get bored and strike up a conversation with the man next to me. He is a grocer at a store across the street, and we talk about good places to see in Delhi and what it’s like living in America (he’s never been but has friends that live in California). Finally, he sees a customer go into his shop and rushes back, leaving me to help Megan sort through about 6 different dresses to find this nice blue one, which she eventually buys.

The shopkeeper is the only person we’ve met so far who speaks English in this area, and I remember that we don’t know how much a good price would be for a rickshaw from here to Nienke’s place, so we decide to go to the shop and talk to him a little longer. We buy some of his wares (specifically some chocolates and cookies), find out a reasonable price, and head out. Remember that we still have no idea where we are.

We continue wading around through the mountains of shops, on occasion stopping in one or another. The streets are becoming narrower and narrower, and we soon notice that there aren’t any rickshaws around (meaning no public transportation). I step on a large pile of cow dung lying in the middle of the road, and we get a quick laugh out of it. At this point, our method of travel is to walk to alternate choosing the next direction we travel from each intersection. Thus, not only do we not know where we are generally, but we don’t even know how to backtrack along the streets because each of us is only paying attention to the half of the route that is our decision.

Finally we decide we’ve had enough of exploring – plus it’s been almost two hours and we told Nienke we’d be there soon. So we start trying to get to a road. Thing to note: generally when you’re trying to find your way OUT of a place, it’s best to NOT to have different people choose directions at each intersection. Because next thing we know, we have gone from a well lit street that can fit two abreast to a dark alley (keep in mind it’s the middle of a bright sunny day) in which we have to walk single file. On either side of us, door to door, are tiny, cramped apartments, and we occasionally have to dodge out of the way of a child running from building to building or press ourselves against the wall so some skinny Indian men can walk back the way we came. Nobody is going in the same direction we are. Finally, after walking for a couple minutes, we come to a small clearing, just enough for a small shack, and then we plunge our way back into darkness again.

After a few minutes of this, just as I’m starting to wonder if maybe we shouldn’t be turning back, the road begins to widen, and we make our way back out into the light. A couple children are playing cricket in the road, and we move quickly through in between hits so as not to disturb them. We are still passing through some overhangs and shadowy areas now, but nothing like the blackness that we had just been through.

We make our way onward, finally exiting this path out onto a real road. There are still no rickshaws in sight, but there are a group of well-dressed Indian men who look like they might know English. They don’t really, but we manage to communicate that we’re looking for a big road and they point us on our way.

Shops start reappearing, and we buy some bananas at a stand. I take a picture of a couple goats that are cuddling on the steps of a house (picture available on Photobucket). We see a well-trafficked road and try to make our way there, but we run into some deep, funny looking water that is covering the road and can’t proceed any further.

We finally run into a small group of bicycle rickshaws and are overjoyed. When we ask them how much it is to get to Greater Kailash, though, they respond with a figure that almost makes me laugh, and then go back to talking and ignoring us. We continue onward. Next thing we know, we reach an area that we have been to before, and all of a sudden, two and a half hours after we entered, we make our way to a road, find a rickshaw, and proceed to find Nienke.