Visiting Delhi

 After a year of living in Delhi, coming back was a very nostalgic homecoming. For me, I had an ear-to-ear grin as we took the taxi back from the airport. The sights and smells were all so familiar, and I realized how much I had missed India without knowing it.


We were fortunate enough to stay in a very lovely two-room apartment, which belongs to a friend's family. It provided an incredible respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Below is Miles enjoying the fine furnishings and meeting Ganesh for the first time.

Unfortunately, we were fairly limited in our flexibility in terms of seasons to visit, and so happened to be in Delhi during an incredible heat wave in which the temperature rose to 119! Given the weather, I think we did a pretty phenomenal job of getting out of the apartment, and visiting some of our old haunts. We started on the first day by going back to Hauz Khas market and Deer Park in the morning, and the Lodhi Gardens and Khan market in the afternoon (couldn't miss out on the Kathi rolls!).

Lodhi Gardens, which we'd visited on numerous occasions with family and friends. 

Deer Park near Hauz Khas

Our favorite hole-in-the-wall kathi rolls place still exists! (photo taken prior to Miles dropping his beloved truck down a sewer near Jo's feet, me reaching my arm in to grab it, failing, and us running away with flailing baby) 

Transportation was very exciting for the kids. Miles is pretty obsessed with cars, trains and everything that moves. We had good fun riding autorickshaws around, and metro around, but started taking Uber given the heat-and the fact that it is now much cheaper/distance than a rickshaw (?!?)

                                                  A rare empty car on the Delhi metro

 The Luxury of the Women's Car

 

 Gentle hands...

Revisiting Max Hospital

We made a point of going back to Max Hospital, where Annie was born in 2011. It was incredibly special. We've been telling Annie "stories" for a long time of how she was born in India, and she was really excited to visit the hospital itself.

 Metro-ing it to Max

 

Preparing to leave the hospital in 2011


 

Same lobby nearly five years later

And in 2016, +1 (Miles)

We went and got coffee and ice cream down stairs and had a surreal moment of being in the same place, getting coffee after Annie had just been born. It was so much fun to see her and Miles dancing around with their ice cream. And now we'll have a double story to tell her, of when she returned to the hospital where she was born.

Visiting Old Friends

The most lovely part of being in Delhi was getting a chance to reconnect with old friends. We had a lovely time catching up with Aftab, and his wife Aqsa.

Wonderful visiting Murad and Tannie (here's Murad giving Miles a toy car)
  
And made a lovely visit to Shubhra's


Where Annie got to do dabble in the arts

 As well as relish in a good popsicle


Revisiting old friends has made our visit in Delhi really very special. Not just for Jo and I, but for Annie as well, who has seen photos of herself as a newborn baby with them over the years, and gets to re-meet them again.

On the day Annie was born



And almost five years later

We even got a chance to visit the metro station where Shubhra's new installation in displayed. Very impressive!

While Jo was out doing interviews, we also made a point of visiting some new places, and making new memories. We took a trip across the city to Shankar's International Doll Museum. It was beastly hot, and the daily popsicle quotient went out the window!

 

We also took a trip to India Gate where they have a pretty amazing children's playground complex--five playgrounds side-by-side.

India Gate in the blazing background

We also stumbled upon a group of guys who were hiring their remote control car services. I'd never seen anything before like it. The driver walks along side the car (below).

  

Annie also got her hands painted with henna. This is frequently done around weddings, or other festive times, but we figured it just had to be done.

After her hands were painted, Annie needed to let them air-dry for about an hour. That was a little too much for Miles to handle. Here he is chasing her down. He got one quick smudge before I captured the wily one.

After an amazing week in Delhi, we are VERY excited for our next return trip there.

 

Return to India

 After four and a half years, we've finally made our first return visit to India. A lot has happened in the intervening period, including multiple fieldwork trips to Brazil, but Jo and I both felt it was time to return to India.

This is a very ambitious trip in multiple senses. First, from a research standpoint, we're exploring the possibility of a number of new research projects. Jo is looking at potential new field sites in Mussoorie and Mysore, as well as continuing her contact with colleagues in Delhi. I'm exploring two new pilot projects: the first in Mysore, Karnataka, and the second is a comparative study of state policies related to organic farming in the states of Kerala and Sikkim. What this all means is we are doing a lot of traveling throughout India over a period of six weeks. And we're doing it with both Annie (almost 5) and Miles (2.5 years old). The combination of these two elements--extensive traveling and field research with two small children--has had us somewhat nervous for the last few months. Undoubtedly, it will be a trip to remember!




Place marks in red are associated with Jo's research, green with mine, and yellow with both!

On the slow road to Brazil: Bloomington

We're taking a very circuitous trip to Brazil this summer.

Alabama-->Bloomington, IN is our first leg. We're visiting Grandpa Dave and Grandma Gail, Aunt Suzy, and Uncle Paul in Bloomington. The weather the last few days has been absolutely perfect. 70s and sunny with a nice gentle breeze.

We've been spending most of the day outside, blowing bubbles, reading books on a blanket, and gardening. Here are a few photos from the last few days.