Delhi

New Dehli was our last stop in India. We had the good fortune to stay at Aaron's family friend Giovanna's, so we were in a a quiet, leafy upscale neighborhood in the center of town. From there we visited the major sights: Humayana's Tomb (where we ran into my cousin Cesca's Mom!), the zoo (where we saw the endangered gibbons, white tigers, and some slightly promiscuous leopards):
the Jama Masjid mosque:the goods at the Chowri Bazaar:
the Rajpath, where we were lucky to catch the exhibition of the presidential gardens, not to mention weather cool enough to make walking there from the India Gate a possibility:
and the crafts fair at Suraijkund, where we failed to make any purchases but saw plenty to keep us entertained:
Staying with friends allowed not one, but two visits to Bukhara, where we devoured the best tandoori chicken and dahl we've ever tasted. OMF'ngG.
We finally saw a traditional wedding procession, as well (that's the groom on horseback amid the confusion):
Since this is my last post from India, I have a few general observations to tuck in here:

1. Beetlenut - mixed with tobacco and chewed by men and women alike, this stimulant produces a red juice and destroys the chewer's teeth. The concumption of beetlnut is ubiquitous. The juice is spit everywhere, most mouths show the evidence of a lifetime's worth of use, and everyone from groceries to train conductors sell these packets:
2. Streetfood - We didn't eat a lot of it. When we did, it was generally piping hot or made mostly of sugar. But the chaat (foods made with puffed rice products) were a totally new cuisine to us and one we'll be looking for stateside:3. Haircolor - OK I don't know why this is the preference, but both men and women dye their graying hair with henna. The result is a flourescent orange that has to be seen to be believed:
4. Where are the women? It's hard to capture this in a photo, but women are a disctinct minority in most public places. It was most obvious in places like the airport, where passengers are segregated by gender. I took this photo at a huge Sunday street market in Delhi, and there's not a single woman in the whole place:
5. Sai Baba - The worship of the guru Sai Baba was unknown to me before this trip. But no more. His followers are particularly visible ones. His posters were in shops, restaurants, hotel rooms, and taxi cabs. Recent allegations of sexual misconduct make it all a bit uncomfortable, but nevertheless, this mobile shrine took the award for outstanding effort by a follower:
6. Sweets, specifically jalebis - OK so I've actually spent plenty of time talking about the sweets, especially the dairy ones. But what commentary about India would be complete without a picture of steaming jalebis?
xoxo Jessie