New Delhi, India
well, a first time is always a first time.... you can never claim that you know this and that.... and when its only my second visit to India, its gotta be a learning process all the way... my first impression was something that dictated me so far... big city.... mega city, in fact.... but pretty organised.... only if the authorities could change the weather.... summer temperature of Delhi is something that people experience in their nightmares....
the bad part of Delhi and of any other place in India for foreigners is access to communication.... its almost a rule here that foreigners are not going to be allowed to be tension-free while in India.... perhaps its been planned in a way that somebody on holidays don't get phone calls or e-mail from client.... perfact get-away place, eh?.... anyway, its a great place to visit for a short while.... many places to see and many things to experience.... gold-mine for photographers... but as this is mainly an official visit for me, my turist ventures have been limited to evenings only... looking forward to this weekend...
yet, evenings are not completely without possibilities either.... not being a party guy, had to limit myself to other entertainment possibilities.... movies are one of the most important things among those... two movies in last two nights.... Saket is a cozy place with a lotta possibilities.... huge malls with all the brands that you can muster from around the world.... several of the developer giants have invested here to make it one of the coolest hangout places of New Delhi.....
DLF Place had been our target during the last couple of days.... some window-shopping didn't hurt.... it was also an observation of the buzzing progressive middle class of India... their activities spoke a thousand words about India.... their outlook, eating habits, brand choice show a lot about the direction India is heading... but its also showed how one part of India was marching without even thinking about the other parts.... but those contrasts are not visible there at Saket...
got a bit of a surprise when I was asked last night not to do photography inside the DLF Place.... I actually did photography just the day before in another part of the same building.... even the security people were in my frame.... now this complaint.... argued with them about so many others using cameras.... in fact, others were using cameras right on the opposite side of the atrium.... apparently my arguments didn't stand against that brick wall.... gotta be careful from next time onwards... perhaps the LX-5 would be better choice for such places.... it seems harmless enough.... have used it sporadically, but may be thats the key to some difficult lockers....
our staying place is at Kailash Colony, a nice residential place.... quiet and peaceful... seems quite safe too.... was really surprised to see all cars parked outside the houses all night.... something that I haven't experienced a lot.... the main road also contained the age-old proven ways of life.... rickshaws... they were plying right under the cutting edge of Indian transportation, the New Delhi Metro... all that glitz of technology comes to a halt in those three wheels...
some landmarks are visible during my everyday travel.... hope to touch upon those sometime..... have also seen some places where old and new faces of Delhi meet.... lets see whether I get the chance to get some snaps.... have some possibility of travelling outside New Delhi on official field visits.... so, that may open up some more possibilities, perhaps....
more to come....
