Rush Hour in Gurgaon


Rush Hour in Gurgaon, originally uploaded by shelmes.

Early Morning Fog in Gurgaon stands in stark contrast to the early morning sunshine captured just two weeks ago in Chicago. Every morning the sun seems to battle with the fog before finally lifting - leaving the sky blue.... ish...

BAGELS!

So, my one complaint for some time has been that I've missed a good bagel in Delhi. This led to a conversation last weekend where Sally and I debated how difficult it would be to make bagels. Does no-one make them in US because they are cheap and readily available? Or, is it so difficult to do make them that one wouldn't consider trying...

Well, I just walked in from work, and Sally looked up a recipe and tried today. Much to my shock, there are a dozen or so fresh bagels sitting here and they taste like - real bagels! I'm going to force Sally to share the recipe she used right after I eat the skyline chili she heated up for dinner. It's as if I never left the US.

Back in Delhi - Back in Action

I'm happilly writing this post from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Select Citywalk in Saket. It is all very Perez Hilton of me, I believe he got his start posting the from the CBTL at Hollywood and Vine. Somehow - that sounds more glamorous right now.

But I digress. Sally and I have arrived back in Delhi after a long detour through France, Germany, America, Istanbul & of course the UK - three times... As I mentioned in an earlier post, my passport was stolen/went missing in the UK the evening of the Terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Since then, I've been living the life of a vagabound bouncing from hotel, to friendly couch, to an airmattress (or two) & of course several airport lounges. But, it was all worth it. Returning to India was so much sweeter given the circumstances of our previous 6 weeks of travel. I'm truly glad to be back in our home.

Returning was quite and adventure as winter has arrived (it is a frigid 65 degrees today). With winter's arrival, the fogs have descended on Delhi. The fog wrecks havoc on everything related to transport. Airports close, trains get delayed & the highways slow. As a result, Sally and I spent New Years Eve in the Turkish Airlines Airport Club with three Germans & the disgruntled Turkish staff. We watched the ball drop in Istanbul while sipping Effe beer and watching the major network's choicest belly dancers. It was all very anti-climatic.

In hindsight, we should have gone into Istanbul - or at least bought a good bottle of Champagne from the Duty Free Shop. However, we were supposed to have left Istanbul 7.5 hours earlier - except for that pesky fog. When we did finally make it onboard the plane - I wished we hadn't. Whomever allowed Turkish Air into the Star Alliance with the ancient A310 in their fleet should seriously reconsider. The inflight movie was projected onto the bulkhead wall & desperately needed someone to play with the "tracking" on the VCR. Yes... you heard me right - VCR.

Finally, 8 hours late (we added an hour of circling in Delhi) we arrived in Delhi, went home & got on with 2009. I hope you and yours had a wonderful New Years & I look forward to the next year.

Best -
SEH

Sunshine in Chitown


photo.jpg, originally uploaded by shelmes.

Nap Time


Life in Delhi, originally uploaded by shelmes.

Jelly Belly

Check out this funny excerpt I found on Times of India:
She scorched the screens with SRK in the 'yeh mera dil' number for Don, and we hear that apparently she's doing a hot, hot number for Billoo Barber , where she's dressed like a sexy Arabian dancer. We're hoping Bebo's put on some flab on those fab-abs for this gaana. C'mon, what is an Arabic dancer without a slight jelly-belly. Damn the size zero, honey, SRK's 6-pack (if it's still around) will make up for it, just for this time. Kareena also performed at his 'li'l star's awards show, na!
Full article here.

Chicago in December


Chicago, originally uploaded by shelmes.

Yeah - you get the point.

London & Paris

Chicago in December is a lovely place. Well - ok - it's a really ridiculously cold place! We have been here now for a few weeks - and I'd be lying if I didn't comment on how jealous I am of the Delhi Winter right now. But - soon enough, we will be back. In the meantime, I'm loading some photo's of the past few weeks. We've been in London, Paris & Chicago - three wonderful cities. I hope you enjoy.

Don't worry, I'll be back in Delhi January 1.


Gay Marriage Debate.... Hindu/Christian Marriage Debate

While Americans protest and debate the merits of Gay Marriage across the country, Indian Courts were hearing a case on the validity of Hindu Christian marriages. Check it out:
NEW DELHI: Marriage between a Hindu and a Christian is invalid under the Hindu Marriage Act, as the Act provides for only Hindu couples to enter
into a wedlock, the Supreme Court has ruled.

A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Aftab Alam upheld the judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which nullified a marriage, after the wife, Bandaru Pavani, a Hindu, claimed that her husband, Gullipilli Sowria Raj a Christian, had misled her by pretending to be a Hindu and married her at a temple.

The husband had misinformed about his social status, the wife had complained while seeking divorce.

According to the couple, Raj, a Roman Catholic Christian married Pavani on October 24, 1996, in a temple by way of exchanging of 'Thali' (sacred thread) in the absence of any representative from either side.

Subsequently, the marriage was registered on November 2, 1996 under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The matrimonial court rejected her plea for divorce saying the marriage was valid under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, even if one of the parties belonged to any other faith.

However, the High Court upheld her plea and said the marriage was void as the Act postulated marriage only between Hindus, following which the husband filed the SLP in the apex court.

Dismissing the Christian husband's appeal, the apex court said Section 5 of the Act makes it clear that a marriage may be solemnised between any two Hindus if the conditions contained in the said Section were fulfilled.

Man Without A Country!

Sorry I've been quiet for a while. It has been an interesting few weeks & I have a bunch to get caught up on. As the end of November is Thanksgiving in US, Sally & I headed to London/Paris for a short trip. While in London, my passport went missing. Within about 3 hours of arriving back in London -it was gone. We spent the better part of a week visiting Embassies, Consulates & Visa Processing Centers and were left with an emergency US passport for me, but no visa.

You see, on the day of the passport going missing terrorists attacked Mumbai. As you can imagine, the Indian Embassy had better things to do than worry about my replacement visa. So now, here I am - blogging away from cold, snowy, economically depressed USA. Looks like I'll be here for a while, at least through the holidays.

I'll be back in Delhi around New Years, but until then, promise to catch up on some blogging. Best to all & I hope everyone stayed safe in Mumbai.

SEH