Happy Diwali!

Two weekends ago was Diwali, the festival of light and the last of the celebrations of “Festival Season”, which started in late September.  There are a lot of parties, gift-giving, sweets exchanges and firecrackers.  We’ve been describing it as Fourth of July and Christmas season wrapped into one.  Firecrackers have been going off for about the last couple of weeks…it’s sort of like Pilsen in early July.  You’ve seen pictures of our street (which is like every other street)…there isn’t a lot of space on the road so the firecrackers really have a good “boom” effect.

Homes and businesses were also decked out with lights and flowers.  Here are some pics of some of the things we saw…including some household fireworks shows.

Defence Colony Lights

Our first foray with street food...Colonel Kebabs

Mounds of Marigolds

A Rangoli created by our friend

Famous sweets shop, Evergreen...right here in our market

Lights on our street

We knew that there would be a lot of fireworks going on from our friends & neighbors but what we didn’t expect was that they would go on for eight hours straight without stopping.  A modern day loaves & fishes story (if there is a Hindu equivalent)…no one ran out and there are even left overs.

Forgot to tell you…

International Day of Peace was celebrated on September 21st and the school had a big celebration all week leading up to that day.  The guest of honor was His Holiness, the Karmapa or the next Dali Lama and I got to meet him! He is really young (early 20’s) and has a strong yet gentle presence.

His Holiness, the Karmapa and me

He spoke to the entire school about achieving inner-peace and balance starting with oneself and then sharing those qualities with family and friends.  Basically, positive attitude and energy is contagious.  Or, as we always heard at Viz “A spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrel full of vinegar” (Francis de Sales) and then we’d get a Bit-O-Honey. I still love those little candies!

Qutb Minar

Today we went to check out the Qutb Minar, the worlds tallest minaret. The structure was completed in the 14th century and is now part of a larger area of ruins.  Over the years it has shifted and is no longer straight, rather 60 centimeters off-center.  It’s exciting to say that I’ve seen two leaning towers in my life.

View from Complex Entrance

Up Close

Ruins

Also on the grounds was this iron pillar that does not rust.  Legend has it that if you could stand with your back against the pillar and you could wrap your arms around it and clasp your hands, you’d get your wish.  Today that is not allowed and no one’s wishes are granted because all the sweat from the thousands or maybe even millions of people started to wear away at the pillar.  Come to think of it, it would be kind of gross to lean up after some sweaty dude.  Maybe not as bad as kissing the Blarney Stone, though.

Miracle Metal

These monuments were curiosities we’ve been meaning to satisfy for a few months now and we’re glad we went and saw them.  And we got a good photo opportunity of the two of us (even though the top is cut off – sort of like taking a picture of the Christmas tree and missing the angel).

Tourists at Qutb Minar

 

Dinner Party

Last night Mark and I had a few of his colleagues over for dinner.  Mark works with Karthik at AIIMS.  Niveditha works at the Public Health Foundation of India and under their umbrella is the Center for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) where Seema is a Fogarty Scholar and Mark is doing research there.  I kind of forgot how fun it is to entertain…creating a menu, preparations, and finally the fun!

Seema and me

Karthik, Gautam, Niveditha

Since our guests are Indian we decided not to attempt Indian food (we’re still learning) and went for our Thai favorites – veg. spring rolls with peanut sauce, green curry and cabbage/carrot salad and fruit salad and Haagen Dazs ice cream for dessert.  There were few leftovers which I’ll take as a good sign.

Home of Hope

We’re back from Hyderabad/Secunderabad.  Mark had this 10-day conference there and I made arrangements to stay at a convent/home for girls in the same area for one week.  We flew down together on September 27 (Sunday), said our good-byes, and the Sisters whisked me off to their home.  Sr. Alice is the head of the convent of five Sisters (Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco).  There are nine girls between the ages of 6 and 13 that live in the convent with them and another house, called Navajeevena or New Life which is home to 50+ girls and 4 Sisters.  Most of these girls were taken off the streets by the police and handed over to the Sisters.  They are the little girls who beg at your car during red lights or tug on your skirt in the markets asking for food.  But, these homes give them new opportunities…a roof over their head, 3 square meals, education (including Hindi & English), and most importantly, a chance of hope.  The girls can stay for as long as they want or need to.  And, when they move on to jobs or marriage the convent is considered their home.

I stuck around the convent most of the time with the nine girls and they are so bright and curious. I brought books and a few games and they pretty much devoured it all the first day.  UNO was a huge hit, Junior Pictionary…not so much.  The girls were on holiday the week I was there so we spent time practicing the keyboard (showed them how to play scales), read stories, colored, did homework, etc.  I was hoping to get outside a little more but the monsoons came late and it rained pretty much every day so our activities were somewhat limited. First Communion was on the following Sunday and many preparations were being made with the Communicants and inside the Church.

Each morning started with 6:30 Mass, then breakfast with the Sisters, then activities, lunch, afternoon chores & nap, homework, then Rosary at 7p.m. finishing with dinner at 7:30 or so.  The days went by quickly and I appreciated the structure in them.  I left Delhi with a bad cold, recovered a little, then caught a fever and strep throat by Wednesday night.  Mark & I had plans to go out on Thursday afternoon for my birthday with me staying overnight…He came for lunch and met the Sisters.  However, overnight turned into 2 nights.  I broke the fever, was feeling a little better by Saturday and went back to the convent (my last day would be Sunday).  However, the antibiotics I was taking wasn’t mixing well with my anti-malarial which caused nausea which led to a rather unpleasant public display of vomiting.  1) Thank goodness it was raining and 2) Concrete floors are easy to clean!  Mark was kind enough to come and get me again.  I missed the First Communion and my flight back to Delhi and ended up staying until Tuesday once I regained some strength.

There’s a huge part of me that is so glad I went, met these wonderful women and helped them in small ways. It is eye-opening to see the day-in and day-out dedication the Sisters have toward the girls and making their community a better and safer place.  And to do all this with such humility!  They are truly inspirational.  There is a small part of me that is disappointed…disappointed that I got sick and couldn’t didn’t stay. Disappointed because I didn’t do more. But I have to look on the bright side of this situation.  Maybe I did do a little good in the few days I was there.  I mean, I taught them how to play UNO and that is a game that one never forgets.  If an opportunity arises where I could go again, I would.

I didn’t have a chance to take pictures but sometimes photos can’t capture the feeling or essence of the time or emotions.  Maybe next time…

Fire Breather Video

In the last post I mentioned that I captured video of the firebreather at our friend’s party.  I finally figured out how to use vimeo and here you go!

Update #5

Mark wrote another update yesterday(Monday) …it’s a blitzkrieg of blogging!  Enjoy!

Hi,

Today is Eid al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast, otherwise known as the end of Ramadan.  The upshot of this holiday is that I have an extra day off (Katie has a half-day at the American Embassy School).  I did not find out that I would have today off until Saturday, so Katie and I cooked up a quick trip to Amritsar, the holy city of Sikhism and home of the Golden Temple.  Most people find Amritsar to be a good place to visit for a day, since there is not too much else around town, except that Amritsar is close to the Pakistani border.

After booking our flights and hotel on Saturday afternoon (prompting a hold on our debit and credit cards that required a phone call to complete the reservations), we had plans to go to Fiona Taylor’s birthday party in Vasant Kunj, a nearby suburb.  Katie knows Fiona through the Delhi Network, and I know her through the South Asian Network for Chronic Diseases, which is headed by her husband, Shah Ibrahim (SANCD is adjacent to the CCDC and falls under the Public Health Foundation of India).  Fiona and Shah are from Bristol, UK and will be in Delhi for a total of four years (one down, three to go).  They have a large network of mostly-European expat friends, and we were lucky enough to be invited to what turned out to be quite a party.  Their home is on three acres (and thus qualifies a farm in Delhi phraseology), and it easily accommodated the 50 or so guests.

When we arrived, there was some beautiful tabla music that ended too quickly for us (we arrived late because we were finalizing the Amritsar plans) but a huge buffet dinner awaited (with produce from their gardens!).  There was a magician and puppet show for the kids, which they seemed to enjoy (the routine between US magicians and Indian magicians is strikingly similar–I claim this because of (my niece) Katie’s recent graduation party, which included a magician as well–love that rope trick).  For the adults, the stakes were a little higher.  There was a gang of Rajasthani dancers (and accompanying drummer) that roused the crowd from their post-prandial state into a frenzy of dancing, capped off with some good-old-fashioned fire-breathing (no joke).  I was stunned, amazed, and a little scared that this guy’s entire oropharynx, larynx, and lungs were going to be torched, particularly given the state of Delhi’s emergency service.   But he managed to pull it off with a smile and a wild-eyed look all in one, and boy did the crowd (and we) love it.  The pictures don’t do the whole experience justice, but you can hopefully get the feeling.There was cake and singing and more dancing, and we even met a few people that Katie knew from Delhi Network and that I knew from SANCD.  It was the best party we’ve been to in Delhi without hesitation. [Katie: I also have a video of the fire breather which I’m figuring how to post to Fickr or Vimeo.]

Dance Party, Indian Style

Balancing with Fire & 180 proof alcolhol (or kerosine)

He did this several times

The next morning we awoke at 430 am to be able to make our 715 am flight (which was not unsurprisingly late but you’d hate to be wrong).  On a side note, the new domestic terminal that opened earlier this year is quite an upgrade from the old terminal we used when we flew from Delhi to Chennai last December.  Upon landing into sleepy Amritsar, we were picked up by the hotel (Ista Amritsar) and left for the Sikh Golden Temple soon thereafter.   Skihism (derived from “discipline”) is predominant religion of the state of Punjab, a state northwest of Delhi on the border with Pakistan.  Sikhism was started in the 16th century as an alternative from Hinduism and Islam, and the Golden Temple is its holiest site.  Built in the late 16th century and into the early 17th century, the Golden Temple was a place constructed for all worshipers of God.  As you likely already know, Sikhs typically wear tightly wrapped turbans and beards, compared to the Rajasthanis, who typically wear loosely wrapped turbans and mustaches (not 100%, of course).  Sikhism teaches the 5 Ks – kēs (uncut hair), kaṅghā (small comb), kaṛā (circular iron bracelet), kirpān (dagger), and kacchā (special undergarment).  They also have a reputation of enjoying their food and drink, with hearty appetites for both.  Men and women must cover their heads, take off their shoes and wash their feet upon entering the shrine amidst Sikh chanting.  Most non-Sikh visitors end up buying a small piece of cloth with white and orange as the primary colors that are offered (orange seemed to be the color of the pilgrimage).

There are several instances of bloodshed that mark Sikh history: the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British in 1915 which led to the “Quit India” campaign of Mahatma Gandhi, and Operation Blue Star by the Indian government itself by Indira Gandhi (no relation despite the name; she was the daughter of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru) in 1984.  Operation Blue Star was an attack in the walls of the Golden Temple that was ordered by Indira Gandhi for possible terrorist activities of a Sikh leader and led the killing of hundreds at the Golden Temple.  Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards later that same year for the location of the attack.

The visit was like nothing Katie or I had ever witnessed.  There were thousands of people visiting the Temple with many getting into the surrounding lake to bathe in the holy waters; hundreds waited in the scorching heat enter the Temple itself.

Pictures don't do it justice.

Given the temperatures and the sheer density of people waiting in line for an estimated 90-120 minutes, we decided to stay on the outside and capture some representative pictures, including one attached here (a common way to approach one’s visit apparently).

Some people walking toward the line

Lotsa People + no space between you & the next person + 90 degree heat = Recipe for a Katie Freakout

At the Golden Temple

There were many people (especially kids and teenagers) who wanted to shake our hands, take our pictures with them, and ask us where we were from (during our whole stay here, most people have thought that we are either German or English [not that far off genetically]).   Some others pushed their way ahead of us, given our non-Sikh status.  After a hot lap around the bare marble pavement, we grabbed some lunch at one of the recommended Punjabi restaurants and headed back to the hotel for a nap before our next adventure.

I had read that visiting the Indian-Pakistani border was an interesting side trip from Amritsar (30 km), and one of the guests at Fiona’s birthday party encouraged us to go.  I started having reservations after our trip to the Golden Temple, but Katie was very interested and very excited at the opportunity.  So we took an SUV from the hotel to the Wagha border, through some harrowing traffic of pedestrians, horse-drawn carts, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, buses, and trucks, many trying to the get to the same place we were.  Since there appears to be a single road to the border, a major bottleneck occurs as you get closer to the border, and eventually we had to walk the final mile or so.  There were hundreds of people filing ahead with occasional surges from the crowd (not fun) to get to the metal detectors and guards–one line for men and one for women.  Kids are hawking DVDs, Indian flags, and bottled water.  Once we neared the stadium-like stands, were were led around to the VIP/foreign nationals line to get near the front (our passports were essential for this one). It’s good for tourism, I imagine.  It took me about 10 minutes to get through the next set of guards (with one guy getting kicked in the pants by one of the guards for his pushing; Katie got through in about 15 seconds) and were directed to seats just before the ceremony began.

More people!

Katie and I have differing views on this ceremony: she enjoyed the pageantry and enthusiasm of the crowd, where I was on high-alert for all of the militarism and nationalism.

March toward Pak border

Lowering of the flag...Looking toward Pakistan

There were probably 1500 or so people on the Indian side and maybe 50 or so on the Pakistani side (see the second picture, above).  There is frequent call-and-response with the emcee and the crowd with cries of Hindustan! (not always appreciated by the non-Hindus of India, I would guess).  The Indian guards alternate fast marches with puffed-out chests to the border with their Pakistani counterparts before the flags are lowered for the night.

Putting the flag away until sunrise

Near the end, a man tried to run from the Pakistani border to the Indian side but was held up by one of the Indian guards with a decent amount of pushing and shoving.  We had heard that such an act was “part of the show,” but it seems like a pretty bad idea that riled everybody up.  With people pushing to get out, a wild-eyed crowd, and the heat, I was ready to head back straight away and we fortunately made it near the front of the pack (by virtue of being among the last to get in).

We took a quick trip back to see the Golden Temple at night (and snap a few more photos) then back to the hotel for dinner before heading off to bed.

The line was still 90 minutes at 8 p.m.

We made it back late this morning, and Katie is back at work.  I am going to head to the market to pick up some food for dinner and get some work writing done.  We are heading down to Hyderabad and Secunderbad this Sunday for the next week or so, and we will have more updates soon thereafter.  Thanks for sending us all of your updates, and we look forward to catching up via Skype soon.  Have a great week!

Love,
Katie & Mark

Update #4

Mark has been sending out very nice notes to our families and friends and I wanted to share them with my side of the equation.  This explains a little about his job and mine (orig. sent on Sept. 13)!  No pics this time around…we had a fantastic weekend and I’m posting Update #5 in the next day or so.  Stay tuned!

*****

Hi,

How have you been?

Katie and I have just returned from our weekly trip to the market to pick up groceries.  We went to Khan Market initially to get some breakfast and ended up finding a great shop nearby.  We had been driving out to a part of Delhi called Vasant Vihar for our groceries, but this market is more centrally located, so we may end up switching.  The store had a great selection of greens, herbs, vegetables, and fruits (including a dragon fruit, which we didn’t know how to eat so we took a pass on it for now).  Nearby is a great indepedent bookstore (Full Circle Books), where we picked up another Indian cookbook so we can do something with all of this food.  This time we chose a vegetarian cookbook so we can serve some local dishes for our veg guests (at restaurants, the split is veg/non-veg, making veg the default), and we just don’t have the variety of dishes in our repetoire.

Last night we were invited to one of the AIIMS’ attending’s home for dinner.  Kathik (his name) and his wife (Niveditha) were gracious hosts and also invited over the other visiting fellow from Kenya (Bernard), as well as one of the AIIMS cardiology fellows (Navrit, along with his wife and their two sons).  Bernard is here for a year-long clinical fellowship so that he can acquire sufficient skills to practice cardiology back home.  He is originally from the area around Mount Kenya (where Jon and Cecilia were engaged) but now lives near Nairobi.  His wife (an ER doc) and son are still back in Nairobi for the year, again making me appreciate Katie’s willingness to all of this.  We were trying to convince him of the benefits of Skype for keeping in touch (even via his iPhone)!

Navrit is a half-colonel in the Indian army and was previously stationed in Botswana, which he and his wife loved.  Apparently three (out of ~18) AIIMS cardiology fellowship spots are reserved for army applicants.  Navrit will continue to serve in the military after his training and will likely be stationed outside of Delhi.  He’s a very jovial, funny Sikh, which seems to fit into many of the Sikhs we have met so far.  Earlier on Saturday, he presented the weekly case conference whereby he meets the patient on Friday evening once he has finished his work for the day (I’m not sure who selects the patient) then prepares his history and physical presentation for the following morning.  The patient comes to the conference and sits quietly with his family member where some of the attendings will examine him.  Navrit is then pounded with question after question about percentages of patients with problem X and various minutiae.  I was amazed when the whole room of cardiology fellows jumped at the answer, “Noonan syndrome” when asked about a congenital cause of an atrial septal defect and pulmonic stenosis along with several abnormalities that this patient did not have (it’s an extremely rare disease that I only have a passing understanding of).  Yesterday’s patient was a 21 year-old man with a 12 year history of chest pain and exertional shortness of breath that turned out to be congenital pulmonic stenosis with an atrial septal defect (without the other features of Noonan syndrome, so not that diagnosis).  Navrit got the diagnosis on his second attempt, which seemed great to me since he was not given the luxury of seeing the echocardiogram (a heart ultrasound–which essentially makes the diagnosis).  The next step will be to see whether or not the atrial septal defect can be closed with a device inserted percutaneously (inserting it through the vein in the leg and opening up the closure device in the heart).  If so, then the tight pulmonic valve can also be expanded percutaneously; if not, he will need surgery.

Back to the dinner….we had dosas (South Indian crepes), idlis (pronounced idd-lees), plenty of good veg food, and ice cream for dessert.  Niveditha started preparing the batter for the idlis on Friday morning with some major equipment (an electric millstone!), so we really appreciated how good the food tasted.  She even let me take a crack and make my own dosa (it turned out pretty well).  And per usual South Indian style, we ate with our fingers, making sure not to let anything touch below our topmost knuckle (a few crumbs might have slipped).  At the end of the evening, their son played the sitar–it was a great end to a fun night.  I was really amazed at how people have opened up their homes to us–it just makes it so much more enjoyable than going out to a restaurant.

As you may have heard, Katie has recently landed a free-lance position at the American Embassy School, working in their development office.  She is working with the only other person in the development office (Preeti), trying to increase participation from alumni in the school’s activities (which might enhance donations), increase awareness of cultural activities/exhibits at the school (a Grammy award-winning folk singer is playing there next Friday for ~$4), and help with regular online newsletters.  It’s ~20 hours per week, which still allows Katie to meet up with the Delhi Network folks (expat social club) and explore Delhi during the day.  I am proud of her landing a job that fits her skill set (and pays pretty well), all within a short while of arriving.

As far as my work goes, I have finally completed all of the paperwork for AIIMS and will be meeting with the head of the department (Dr. Bahl) this upcoming Monday for my formal “start”.  I received access to the charts I had been seeking last week and have had to make significant updates to the dataset, which calls into question most of the previously collected data.  Therefore, I am going through each chart individually and trying to squeeze every bit of information from it–a time-consuming process for sure.  Once we have a better sense of where things stand, then I think we can start planning to start the quality improvement part of my project (hopefully, at least).  CCDC has been humming along.  I have been working on a manuscript based on the cardiovascular risk factor incidence data from the New Delhi Birth Cohort.  This cohort began in 1969, and there are >1000 participants who have been followed since that time.  As they are reaching the age when problems like hypertension and diabetes begin, those data have been collected prospectively.  It is the first prospective cohort in all of India looking at these problems and provides the best insight into the burden of cardiovascular disease risk factors to date (from what I have seen so far, the burden of disease is startling).

We can hardly wait for our first visitor in early November–my sister, Susan!  We have planned a trip around the Golden Triangle (Delhi-Jaipur-Agra) and are working on some of the details already.  It should be a blast, and we are very appreciative of Susan making the effort to come and visit (and being courageous enough to be the first).  We look forward to our visitors as well.

We miss you all very much and are trying to make Delhi “home” as much as we can.  Skype has been such a great means to stay connected, and we look forward to talking with you soon.

Love,
Katie & Mark

Long Distance Dedication

Mark was thinking of our friend Stefan (and the rest of the gang, really) when he ordered Beck’s beer the other evening.  His pinky finger is saying “hello!”

Hope to share a Beck's in Delhi!

Holy Cow!

Remember that posh grocery market I was telling you about that sells Bud beer (among other nice things like imported cheeses, whole fish, Tide, etc.)?  There are several very nice, high end shops and restaurants in the same shopping center.  Cows seem to like the locale, too.  Three words:  Watch your step.

Charming...not so much