Our Journey Begins…Part I

This is a long adieu post that I would have liked to have written many days ago, but unfortunately the ride on the roller coaster has not ended for Neeraj and myself. Upon returning we heard disturbing family news which has really changed many things in life. At the same time, Neeraj and I are in the process of building our new life together which has been very enjoyable — so getting on the net/blogging was put on the backburner.

There is lots to explain, and the best place to start would be from the beginning — so we will start there.

27th April

We took the American AIrlines direct non-stop flight from Chicago to Delhi, and let me tell you that I will not be traveling any other airline for a while. The flight was stupendous with no stops in Europe as well as it left on time and arrived on time in Delhi. The food was great on the way there, and what was a 15 hour flight felt like 8 hours.

28th April

My papa, Neeraj, and I arrived in Delhi around 8.30 pm IST. That same day my Mumma was reaching Delhi during the day from Mumbai so that she would be able to pick us up from the airport with my masi & jijaji. Unlike the usual, our check-in bags arrived on the carousel quite early, and we were ready to hit the road. We exited customs but couldn’t locate my Mumma, masi, or any other relative. My Papa is now freaking out because this is our first time traveling to Delhi directly from the states, and we have no idea how to get to masi’s house in Anand Vihar. I had my cell phone, and the international dialing was turned on (even though I didn’t want to use it because it would cost me $3/min). We exited the airport and found a PCO only to find out that no one had a 1 rupee coin. Neeraj headed over to the cold drink stand so that he could get some change, and then I started dialing the Delhi numbers that I had. Unfortunately no one answered the phone. Now Papa is in panic mode as he paced from one entrance to the other. So I headed over the STD booth to call my nani’s home in Mumbai to get some help. As I am dialing, Papa is pacing and Neeraj is standing with our three trolleys full of our bags. After the longest half hour of my life, Neeraj spots Mumma. As we begin to ask why they were so late, we found out that Mumbai domestic airport had construction issues which caused Mumma’s flight to be three hours delayed — she had reached just about an hour or two prior to us.

Delhi

I was now having the opportunity to stay a few days in Delhi so I was going to carefully observe what I had seen to see how it has changed from the last time I was here.

As many of you know, I have this ongoing Mumbai-Delhi war with another blogger friend, so this time I wanted to see what was so great about this city. A post will come up about this with my views very soon.

29th April

This was the first full day in Delhi for us, and it started with Neeraj leaving very early for Kota. He had to get to his sister’s wedding festivities and found a direct train from Delhi to Kota. We spent the day going on the Delhi Metro on our way to Chandni Chowk, where we were hoping to find that special dress that I would wear on our special day.

It took a few shops and eating some dahi vadas to find that perfect dress, but it was there. One big job was now completed - finding the dress; now it was time to get other shopping done.

30th April

My parents left for Kota to attend Lakshmi’s (Neeraj’s sister) marriage. There was a huge discussion on whether I should go or not go, which at the end I stayed in Delhi.

This was also a big day for my masi/jijaji - they have a mandir that they built in Welcome, and it was its anniversary. Big celebrations going on, and it was tons of fun:!:

Then that evening I was forced by my other masi (in Ashok Vihar) to go stay at her house for the night in order to see my nephews, nieces, and my older cousins (her sons). I wasn’t very excited to go, and I tried to get out of it because I had plans to go to the mall to do more wedding shopping, but masi persistently insisted. So we take the metro over to Ashok Vihar, only to find out that no one is home. The cousins had taken their children out and weren’t going to be back anytime soon. So now it was just masi and myself — and nothing to do (I wasn’t a happy camper ). We ended up going to Deep Bazaar, eating some pani-puri, and then walked home. I could have gotten lots done that night if I wouldn’t have gone - but oh well, sometimes you sacrifice to make others happy.

1st May

My parents were going to be returning from Kota at around noon, and I needed to get back to my other masi’s house in Anand Vihar (what a mess that was ). The main mission for today: give my measurements to the boutique lady so that she can make my dress ASAP. DId it get accomplished? N-O. My mama, mami, & my two cousins were also reaching from Mumbai, so Mumma a few things she needed to do with them too (give our invitation cards, shopping, etc…). They also ended up coming to Anand Vihar, and it was one big party. We went to the Pacific Mall that night and had a blast!

2nd May

Last full day in Delhi - we were going to leave that night around 11.45 pm to go to Mumbai. Now it was time to get serious. Giving out invitation cards, getting to the boutique to give my measurements, do any other shopping, and lastly dinner in Ashok Vihar at my masi’s was on the agenda. It took us FOREVER in the Delhi heat to find the boutique due to road construction, one way streets, wrong directions by random people that we asked, and very bad signs. We finally got to the place only to find out that it took us more than three hours!!!

Everything got done including all the shopping (new saris for me ), and it was time to say alvida to Delhi for a while. Due to our Air India flight departing late from Delhi, we reached Mumbai at around 3 am (instead of 1 am).

Next to come: Lakshmi’s marriage.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.