AMD, part II

One of the few shaded sidewalks in Ahmedabad - outside the mayor's residence, of course.

After my internet session I continued my walkabout, getting a feel for the city, occasionally referring to my map Xeroxed from my Lonely Planet guide (the whole India guide is way too big to bring along for a short trip). I walked south as far as Pariwal Garden, which unfortunately was closed and locked up, as are most of the stores today (I found out later that the city was on partial lock-down due to recent bombings in Kashmir. Events such as this can cause strife between Hindus and Muslims. Shutting the city down is an effort to curb this). I then skipped a block east and headed north again, reaching Law Garden. All along the walls of this garden (also locked) are stalls for the night market. I might try to make it back here, at night.




Continuing north, I came along the arcade where the Subway is located that we ate lunch at yesterday. Here I now noticed an entrance to a subterranean bookstore called Crossword. Suddenly, some pieces fell into place. The concierge had told me there was a Coffee Day at the crossroad (to my ears) where I could read books. I had thought the Coffee Day where I earlier slurped my thick shake was the one he was talking about, though books were absent. I descended into the store. It was huge, by Indian standards, and there was the Coffee Day, in the corner. I am actually glad that it took me awhile to find, otherwise I’m sure my walkabout would have been much abbreviated. I found some short books to buy (the one I brought are just too damn big), a CD of sitar music, and had some lunch. Looking around, I felt I was seeing a whole different side of Ahmedabad. Though busy, here was some space, and the space was filled with the type of Indian that is driving the new economy here – educated and hip, traditional and Westward-looking at the same time. Maybe this is where the young people dress up to go in Ahmedabad.

Still I continued north, wanting to get a look at the Sabarmati River before going back to the hotel. First I had to pause at a shoestore. I bought a pair of sandals for about 5 US dollars – and this is a more upscale store! Finally I made it to the broad river sitting very low in its banks and took a couple of pictures. Now I could go back to my room.

Got back at about 3:30pm. That means I was out and about for at least 5 or 6 hours. Looking at the map, I estimate I walked 6 or 7 kilometers total. About 4 miles. Worked up a good sweat and a thirst. Got some water from the concierge, took a shower, now I sit here typing, buck naked save for the new sandals I’m breaking in, listing to sitar music with the AC blasting. Oh yeah.
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Abhijit and I, very happy to hold hands.

Fell asleep early again. Hotel phone woke me up at 8:40. I had a dinner appointment tonight with Abhijit, co-founder of Career Mosaic and Manisha’s husband. He returned to Ahmedabad this evening, but Manisha is still in Vadodara. He asked what I wanted to eat, and I said, “Get me some Gujarati food!” So we went to a place across the river in Old Ahmedabad, called the Green Room. On the way there we passed throngs of people congregating in the streets. Scooters and motocycles were parked so thick that it was hard to get through some areas. Abhijit told me that Sunday is the night that everyone goes out on the town. Luckily he knows the manager at our restaurant, otherwise it would have taken some time to get a seat. We ordered tapas-style, getting several plates and sharing them. We talked business, politics, and India. A said that people actually do drink here, quite a bit, but it is at home before and after going out. The whole dry thing has to do with Ghandi’s influence on the state.

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Items from this morning’s Times of India:

1) See you at night… near Nehru bridge?
With no dance bars, nightclubs, or watering holes in the cities of Gujarat, night-life is all about innocent pleasures – just walking around leisurely. [Amdavadis] love to spend their late evenings by the city bridges, traffic circles or the humble pavements. “The glimpse of an illuminated Ellisbridge reflected in the stagnant waters of the Sabarmati River recharges me.”
2) Fat lot of good things on offer as America grows big
At Freedom Paradise in Mexico, the chairs are wider and without arms, to prevent getting stuck; the beds are king-sized and reinforced, to prevent collapsing; and the beach is private and secluded, to prevent gawking and staring. William Fabrey’s online business “Amplestuff”… sells lotion and applicators and sponges attached to handles – enabling the user to reach all parts of the body; handbooks on hygiene with tips on dealing with odour problems, chafing and irritations caused by skin folds. Even toddlers have joined the overweight ranks, with car seat manufacturers offering the “Husky.” Obesity [in America] is fast approaching tobacco as the No 1 cause of preventable death.
3) Swiss lawyer plans chain of suicide clinics
Ludwig Minelli, founder of Dignitas clinic in Zurich, says he wants to open a chain of high street-style centres to end the lives of people with illnesses or mental conditions such as chronic depression.
4) 40,000 Iranian suicide bombers are ready to hit the West
Iran has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike British and American targets if its nuclear facilities are attacked, according to a media report. Claiming that 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action, The Sunday Times reported that the main force – the ‘Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards’ – was first seen last when members marched in a military parade, dressed in olive-green uniforms with explosive packs around their waists and detonators held high.

Commentary: Gee, I don't know where to start. I have a couple of suggestions: Let's make our obese vacation in India, and encourage them to drink the water. We'll call it the dysentary diet. They will lose weight quickly. If the Swiss are so eager to die, and the Iranians so eager to die and kill others, let's dress the Swiss like Brits and Yanks and send them to Iraqi cities near the Iran border to do street patrols. Everybody gets what they want.

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At 11 am I had an appointment at a major local university that has much in common with my own. I spoke with their counselor for some time and was then given a tour of the campus. In all I spent about three hours there. Afterwards I returned to the offices with Kavil and Prishit. Several students that attended the info session were waiting to speak with me further. After finishing with them I spoke to the counselors at the center about my university’s application process.

I returned to the hotel around 7, watched a Seinfeld re-run, then took another nap. Sheesh. Is this still jet-lag, or am I turning into an old man? A call from the lobby woke me up. Abhijit’s driver was downstairs to take me to dinner. This time around we ate at the house he shares with his parents. I noticed three, maybe four servants (driver, one watchman, two inside helpers). What I would not want, after a long day of dealing with the teeming masses of Ahmedabad, is to come home to more people. Servants? No thanks. I’m often anti-social, I don’t have the requisite disdain to ignore servants, nor the patience to deal with them as fellow humans. Just let me cook my own food and clean up after myself.