"why am I doing this again?" was flashing in big letters above my bed when I got up at 4:30 a.m. saturday morning. since agra lies at least a three-hours drive away from new delhi and given the high summer temperatures, you are well advised to be an early bird here.
when I arrived at the taj's east gate, the sun stood somewhere between dawn and half way up in the sky, administering just the right light to unveil the taj's full beauty. I had seen pictures of the taj mahal before, I knew it appears in some of the "wonders of the world" lists, and I was sure it would be beautiful. but this sight exceeded all my expectations. simply mind-boggling, exhilarating,...but see for yourself:
I surely have not seen much of the world yet. then again, I have visited sights such as the colosseum in rome, the tour eiffel in paris, or the grand canyon in arizona. although the pictures may not convince everybody, the taj mahal represents the most beautiful destination I have travelled to.
ok, let us get back to the educational side of this blog. the mughal emperor shah jahan had the taj built as a mausoleum in honour of his third - and most favourite - wife in the 17th century. I wonder what the first two got. anyway, myths about the taj are abundant. for instance, shah jahan planned to build an exact reproduction of the taj on the opposite side of yamuna river - in black. another one offers the cruel story that all important craftsmen got their hands cut off to prevent them from ever rebuilding anything remotely close to the taj. it seems to be a fact though that one of jahan's sons put him under house arrest in the nearby fort agra soon after the taj's completion until his dead (fort and view from the fort in the second part of the above slide show). jahan was, however, buried next to his wife in the taj.
I hope I was able to convey my admiration at least to some extent.
ti-bob
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
sick
I might have succeeded in (a) coming back from delhi without any harm and (b) avoiding to catch whatever caused serious stomach conditions for some of the expatriates.
last night's dinner, however, obviously could not agree on the common digestion process, taking the 'upper exit' more than once.
nothing serious though, I might just stay home today and if nothing changes, take on a second encounter with the indian health care system.
oh, and for everybody who might wonder: neither does vomiting feel any different in incredible india nor does it - as one might expect - come in fancier colours.
ti-bob
last night's dinner, however, obviously could not agree on the common digestion process, taking the 'upper exit' more than once.
nothing serious though, I might just stay home today and if nothing changes, take on a second encounter with the indian health care system.
oh, and for everybody who might wonder: neither does vomiting feel any different in incredible india nor does it - as one might expect - come in fancier colours.
ti-bob
Thursday, April 23, 2009
election day & business trip
today, india faces its second polling day, this time also in the state of maharashtra. since elections in india theoretically have to embrace more than one billion people, several polling days have been spread over the next month. on election days, companies are compelled to grant a public holiday to their employees; the level of activity here in the office will, hence, plummet around three o'clock (polling stations close at five). our boss emphasized the importance of everybody making use of his right to vote.
amid the "dance for democracy", maoist extremists yesterday hijacked a public train with more than 300 passengers. the hostages were released only a few hours later; the hijackers had probably 'only' aimed at attracting some attention.
with these circumstances in mind, do I have to count myself lucky that I am going to new delhi by plane this afternoon...?
I will be back monday, hopefully bringing pictures of the taj mahal!
ti-bob
amid the "dance for democracy", maoist extremists yesterday hijacked a public train with more than 300 passengers. the hostages were released only a few hours later; the hijackers had probably 'only' aimed at attracting some attention.
with these circumstances in mind, do I have to count myself lucky that I am going to new delhi by plane this afternoon...?
I will be back monday, hopefully bringing pictures of the taj mahal!
ti-bob
Saturday, April 18, 2009
another saturday
today began very early. I got up at 5:45 a.m. to attend our company's cricket game at 7 a.m. the game was worth sacrificing some sleep since we did much better compared to last time. again, our performance did not suffice to win; after two hours we could merely applaud a (from our point of view unfortunate) 56 to 56 draw with the other team. this time, nikhil contributed a match-decisive performance; outstanding bowling and batting dude!
after the game, I went home and there straight to bed to make up for the sleep lost in the morning. around noon I got ready to meet dr. archarya, the professor of german at university of pune, whom I call by her first name swati since yesterday, for lunch. we went to a descent and air-conditioned indian restaurant where I could present my finger-eating capabilities. interesting conversation and very tasty food!
during lunch, I was again reminded how small the world is: one of swati's colleagues happened to have lunch in the same restaurant with a friend of hers. noticing that we were talking german, she immediately introduced her friend who works for the united nations in bonn..."are you kidding me?" I almost shouted with surprise.
in this very moment, I watch cricket on tv. the "ipl" (indian premier league) is on since today. the ipl constitutes an attempt to establish a popular, that is, suitable for tv broadcasting, domestic cricket league in india. 2009 is only the second year this tournament takes place, played in a form of twenty20. eight indian teams participate in this competition which spans one month. right now, the bangalore royal challengers (fielding) are faced with the rajasthan royals (batting).
the sad part of the ipl story this year: the tournament, as aforementioned conceived as an domestic indian show, is actually carried out in south africa. in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks in mumbai and with elections being held from mid april to mid march, the different states conceded they could not guarantee for the overall security. the two options discussed were the uk and south africa, with the latter one now hosting the event.
as to my health: the tonsillitis is slowly retreating. in one moment I believe it completely gone, in another it strikes back with full force. we'll see what them pills can do...
here some pictures taken this morning near the cricket ground; india does surely have its beautiful sights...
ti-bob
after the game, I went home and there straight to bed to make up for the sleep lost in the morning. around noon I got ready to meet dr. archarya, the professor of german at university of pune, whom I call by her first name swati since yesterday, for lunch. we went to a descent and air-conditioned indian restaurant where I could present my finger-eating capabilities. interesting conversation and very tasty food!
during lunch, I was again reminded how small the world is: one of swati's colleagues happened to have lunch in the same restaurant with a friend of hers. noticing that we were talking german, she immediately introduced her friend who works for the united nations in bonn..."are you kidding me?" I almost shouted with surprise.
in this very moment, I watch cricket on tv. the "ipl" (indian premier league) is on since today. the ipl constitutes an attempt to establish a popular, that is, suitable for tv broadcasting, domestic cricket league in india. 2009 is only the second year this tournament takes place, played in a form of twenty20. eight indian teams participate in this competition which spans one month. right now, the bangalore royal challengers (fielding) are faced with the rajasthan royals (batting).
the sad part of the ipl story this year: the tournament, as aforementioned conceived as an domestic indian show, is actually carried out in south africa. in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks in mumbai and with elections being held from mid april to mid march, the different states conceded they could not guarantee for the overall security. the two options discussed were the uk and south africa, with the latter one now hosting the event.
as to my health: the tonsillitis is slowly retreating. in one moment I believe it completely gone, in another it strikes back with full force. we'll see what them pills can do...
here some pictures taken this morning near the cricket ground; india does surely have its beautiful sights...
ti-bob
Friday, April 17, 2009
seeing the doctor
some of you probably remember my visits to dr pierce, the american dentist with first-hand vietnam experience. the story with the 'ridiculously muscular tongue', if that rings a bell with you. I know it does; stop laughing now.
anyway, a weak but constant pain in my throat, especially when swallowing, made me go see a doctor today. in germany I would have probably forgone this visit since the whole thing is nothing but a little annnoying. but in inda...you better go twice than not at all.
so I went to this little "out patient" clinic, right on the street where the gym is located. actually, it was an apartment turned into a tiny version of a clinic. but we find this kind of doctor's offices in germany as well, don't we? as compared to the german standard, I would probably call it a "85 per cent solution". at the end of the eighties, the average german hospital probably looked the same. briefly put: nothing to worry about.
the doctor performed the checks common in cases such as mine: blood pressure, temperature, auditory checks of lungs and heart. everything in good shape. in contrast to my right tonsil which is a little inflamed. tonsillitis time, once again. relative target achievement compared to germany regarding face time with the doc: 110 per cent; he took all the time he needed.
although I almost fought tooth and nail against it, he eventually made me accept tackling the tonsillitis with antibiotics. this is the third time in only six months for me but all the doctor could agree on was reducing the treatment to a three-days dosis. on top of that, I received a prescription for two other pills and an medical mouthwash:
those bacteria better watch out! cost for this medical adventure amounted to 150 rupees each for seeing the doctor and the pills. fighting tonsillitis for below five euros sounds quite "cost efficient" to a german controller's ears. certainly not an amount I will contact the insurance company for.
and now it is time for me to 'hit the hay'. the cricket game is actually tomorrow morning, and the ride to the game leaves at 6:30 a.m....
well then, have a great weekend!
ti-bob
anyway, a weak but constant pain in my throat, especially when swallowing, made me go see a doctor today. in germany I would have probably forgone this visit since the whole thing is nothing but a little annnoying. but in inda...you better go twice than not at all.
so I went to this little "out patient" clinic, right on the street where the gym is located. actually, it was an apartment turned into a tiny version of a clinic. but we find this kind of doctor's offices in germany as well, don't we? as compared to the german standard, I would probably call it a "85 per cent solution". at the end of the eighties, the average german hospital probably looked the same. briefly put: nothing to worry about.
the doctor performed the checks common in cases such as mine: blood pressure, temperature, auditory checks of lungs and heart. everything in good shape. in contrast to my right tonsil which is a little inflamed. tonsillitis time, once again. relative target achievement compared to germany regarding face time with the doc: 110 per cent; he took all the time he needed.
although I almost fought tooth and nail against it, he eventually made me accept tackling the tonsillitis with antibiotics. this is the third time in only six months for me but all the doctor could agree on was reducing the treatment to a three-days dosis. on top of that, I received a prescription for two other pills and an medical mouthwash:
those bacteria better watch out! cost for this medical adventure amounted to 150 rupees each for seeing the doctor and the pills. fighting tonsillitis for below five euros sounds quite "cost efficient" to a german controller's ears. certainly not an amount I will contact the insurance company for.
and now it is time for me to 'hit the hay'. the cricket game is actually tomorrow morning, and the ride to the game leaves at 6:30 a.m....
well then, have a great weekend!
ti-bob
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
cricket
yes, I know, the posts did come more frequently at the beginning of my stay here...
last saturday was cricket time. I had tried to watch a game on tv before but could not quite figure out the rules. this time, I was to physically witness a cricket game on early saturday morning; our company has its own team which participates in a tournament between local companies.
I did not really expect me to understand the rules. having tried, and failed, to do so with regards to baseball, did not really boost my confidence here either. however, I was proved wrong: a quick introduction using wikipedia over breakfast equipped me with sufficient knowledge to understand 90 per cent of the game. I could actually tell when our team scored! in a nutshell, it is two batsmen of one against all players of the other team. the two batsmen, standing in the middle of the field, face each other and one is thrown a ball by the bowler. he tries to hit it as far as possible. if he does, the two batsmen try to trade positions as long as the ball is not returned to the centre of the field. this is the job of the bowler's team mates, who are scattered all over the playing field ("fielding"). one exchange of positions between the batsmen equals one point ("run"); if they are not back behind the batsmens' lines when the ball is returned, they are "out" or "dismissed". every batsman gets six balls to score (=one "over"); if he does not, he is also "out" and will be replaced by the next player (until everybody in the team has batted and was taken out). if the batsman hits the ball out of the field without it touching the ground, he automatically scores six "runs" (four if the ball hits the ground somewhere in between). just like a homerun in baseball. the phase of the game during which one team is fielding and the other is batting is called "innings" (yes, including the "s").
of course, there are more specific rules, particularily when it comes to dismissing the batsmen but let us leave it at the aforementioned for now. with the rules presented above, you will be able to follow every cricket game.
one word about the different cricket game types: one version, "test cricket", can go on for days. literally, for days. then there is "twenty20" which limits the number of overs to 20 per team. in our case, we played one innings per team, that is, each team had to both score and defend once.
cricket is not india's national sport #1; some indians deem this one of the greatest misconceptions in today's world. instead, india's national sport is hockey! then again, cricket succeeds in attracting more attention and money these days. still, everybody i asked assured me that hockey remains what soccer is in germany.
enough words, here are some pictures. admittedly, they do not convey the impression that this game is particularily exciting...
how did we do? we lost. big time. especially one of the german translators, nikhil, was frustrated with his bowling. next weekend, the last game of the season will take place.
sunday morning, 7 a.m. sleep against lower temperatures, what a deal.
ti-bob
last saturday was cricket time. I had tried to watch a game on tv before but could not quite figure out the rules. this time, I was to physically witness a cricket game on early saturday morning; our company has its own team which participates in a tournament between local companies.
I did not really expect me to understand the rules. having tried, and failed, to do so with regards to baseball, did not really boost my confidence here either. however, I was proved wrong: a quick introduction using wikipedia over breakfast equipped me with sufficient knowledge to understand 90 per cent of the game. I could actually tell when our team scored! in a nutshell, it is two batsmen of one against all players of the other team. the two batsmen, standing in the middle of the field, face each other and one is thrown a ball by the bowler. he tries to hit it as far as possible. if he does, the two batsmen try to trade positions as long as the ball is not returned to the centre of the field. this is the job of the bowler's team mates, who are scattered all over the playing field ("fielding"). one exchange of positions between the batsmen equals one point ("run"); if they are not back behind the batsmens' lines when the ball is returned, they are "out" or "dismissed". every batsman gets six balls to score (=one "over"); if he does not, he is also "out" and will be replaced by the next player (until everybody in the team has batted and was taken out). if the batsman hits the ball out of the field without it touching the ground, he automatically scores six "runs" (four if the ball hits the ground somewhere in between). just like a homerun in baseball. the phase of the game during which one team is fielding and the other is batting is called "innings" (yes, including the "s").
of course, there are more specific rules, particularily when it comes to dismissing the batsmen but let us leave it at the aforementioned for now. with the rules presented above, you will be able to follow every cricket game.
one word about the different cricket game types: one version, "test cricket", can go on for days. literally, for days. then there is "twenty20" which limits the number of overs to 20 per team. in our case, we played one innings per team, that is, each team had to both score and defend once.
cricket is not india's national sport #1; some indians deem this one of the greatest misconceptions in today's world. instead, india's national sport is hockey! then again, cricket succeeds in attracting more attention and money these days. still, everybody i asked assured me that hockey remains what soccer is in germany.
enough words, here are some pictures. admittedly, they do not convey the impression that this game is particularily exciting...
how did we do? we lost. big time. especially one of the german translators, nikhil, was frustrated with his bowling. next weekend, the last game of the season will take place.
sunday morning, 7 a.m. sleep against lower temperatures, what a deal.
ti-bob
Friday, April 10, 2009
happy easter!
hello out there,
no, I have neither fallen out of a rickshaw nor sweat to death. just been busy fighting with the internet. I have already uploaded last weekend's pictures three times to slide.com but always failed to save them. the fourth upload is currently being processed...we will see if I make it this time.
any news on my end? no, not really. most noteworthy is probably the fact that my sister and brother-in-law will move to the "us and a" on a (lottery) green card. lucky bastards...pardon my french but I am right, am I not?
besides that, these were my 'highlights' of the past week:
- I bought another two kurtas to be equipped with appropriate clothing for the indian heat
- ...which seems to gain in force faster this year than usually (if even the indians start complaining...)
- in this country, waiters and the like often face fairly rude treatment although their guests show good behaviour otherwise
- establishing efficient controlling activities in our indian subsidiary requires, for starters, convincing your colleagues that
a) well-maintained master lists will save a lot of time when you most need it
b) excel was conceived to do more than merely display numbers, and
c) transparency constitutes the key to informed decisions
- I doubt that I will be able to do without indian food after returning to germany
- the average indian engineer picks up the german language impressively fast
- they do sell real cow milk (as opposed to the soy crap) over here
- I finally succeeded in uploading those damn pictures. enjoy!
and, I almost forgot, I am about to witness my first cricket match tomorrow morning!
ti-bob
no, I have neither fallen out of a rickshaw nor sweat to death. just been busy fighting with the internet. I have already uploaded last weekend's pictures three times to slide.com but always failed to save them. the fourth upload is currently being processed...we will see if I make it this time.
any news on my end? no, not really. most noteworthy is probably the fact that my sister and brother-in-law will move to the "us and a" on a (lottery) green card. lucky bastards...pardon my french but I am right, am I not?
besides that, these were my 'highlights' of the past week:
- I bought another two kurtas to be equipped with appropriate clothing for the indian heat
- ...which seems to gain in force faster this year than usually (if even the indians start complaining...)
- in this country, waiters and the like often face fairly rude treatment although their guests show good behaviour otherwise
- establishing efficient controlling activities in our indian subsidiary requires, for starters, convincing your colleagues that
a) well-maintained master lists will save a lot of time when you most need it
b) excel was conceived to do more than merely display numbers, and
c) transparency constitutes the key to informed decisions
- I doubt that I will be able to do without indian food after returning to germany
- the average indian engineer picks up the german language impressively fast
- they do sell real cow milk (as opposed to the soy crap) over here
- I finally succeeded in uploading those damn pictures. enjoy!
and, I almost forgot, I am about to witness my first cricket match tomorrow morning!
ti-bob
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
neighbourly help
today, coming back from running some errands at the food bazar, i faced another rickshaw driver who tried to make a quick rupee. although i live virtually around the corner, he demanded at least 40 rupees to drive me home. popular reasons: "i have to come back empty" or "extra night charge" (which does not exist).
i did what i always do in these situations: smile, turn around, and look for the next driver. i did not get this far this time because someone tapped me on my shoulder saying "rolling hills apartments? i can drop you off there!" he had been in line in front of me at the food bazar and must have heard how i told the driver where i wanted to go. that's what i thought.
turned out, however, that he knew me from one of those sleepy elevator rides in the morning. we actually live kind of next door.
that's what i call friendly&nice. thanks!
i did what i always do in these situations: smile, turn around, and look for the next driver. i did not get this far this time because someone tapped me on my shoulder saying "rolling hills apartments? i can drop you off there!" he had been in line in front of me at the food bazar and must have heard how i told the driver where i wanted to go. that's what i thought.
turned out, however, that he knew me from one of those sleepy elevator rides in the morning. we actually live kind of next door.
that's what i call friendly&nice. thanks!
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