At long last, we are off to Ludhiana, to participate in the extended wedding of J.D. Rosensweig and Ankita Jain that brought us to India in the first place.
We have a fairly leisurely time to breakfast and pack before being driven to the Jaipur airport. There we take an Air India flight to Chandigarh. (Although there is an airport in Ludhiana, there are many more flights available to Chandigarh, which is not so far away.) In Chandigarh, we are picked up by Mr. Kamal. I call Arun, Ankita's father, to tell him we are on the way to our hotel, but he is eager to greet us as soon as we can get to town. I instruct the driver to take us directly to Arun's house, and he does so. We have our first introduction to directions in Ludhiana. Most addresses just specify a number and an area. Many of the streets have no names. Directions often include references such as "near such-and-so school." Our driver has the address and a few things to ask about, so once he gets close to Arun's area of the city, he starts seeking directions - talking to someone on a motorcycle caught in the traffic beside him, or someone selling vegetables by the roadside.
Eventually we arrive at Arun's house where we are warmly greeted and introduced to a burgeoning household of relatives and friends. We are served good home cooking, and begin to get used to a daily regimen of breakfast, lunch and dinner interspersed with snacks. Arun asks how our travels have been up to now and I am able to give him a better idea of our satisfaction than I was able to get across in our daily phone calls. Renu, his wife, is gracious. We meet more people than I can name here today, including; Anita, a good friend of Andrew's from Cincinnati; Hank and Pat who are staying at the same hotel as Bob, Lindy and me. Andrew and Isa will be staying at a nearby hostel. Adam and Kelly are young Americans with their own wedding plans. Ashima is one of Ankita's aunts. We meet Nada and her daughter Serena, Sammi and Anusch, Sophie and Matt, Jessica and others.
After much visiting and a great dinner, particularly paan fresh off the griddle, we manage to book a taxi willing to come out to the house and drive us to the hotel. (Or maybe this was one of the evenings when a friend of Arun's generously drove us.)
We have a fairly leisurely time to breakfast and pack before being driven to the Jaipur airport. There we take an Air India flight to Chandigarh. (Although there is an airport in Ludhiana, there are many more flights available to Chandigarh, which is not so far away.) In Chandigarh, we are picked up by Mr. Kamal. I call Arun, Ankita's father, to tell him we are on the way to our hotel, but he is eager to greet us as soon as we can get to town. I instruct the driver to take us directly to Arun's house, and he does so. We have our first introduction to directions in Ludhiana. Most addresses just specify a number and an area. Many of the streets have no names. Directions often include references such as "near such-and-so school." Our driver has the address and a few things to ask about, so once he gets close to Arun's area of the city, he starts seeking directions - talking to someone on a motorcycle caught in the traffic beside him, or someone selling vegetables by the roadside.
Eventually we arrive at Arun's house where we are warmly greeted and introduced to a burgeoning household of relatives and friends. We are served good home cooking, and begin to get used to a daily regimen of breakfast, lunch and dinner interspersed with snacks. Arun asks how our travels have been up to now and I am able to give him a better idea of our satisfaction than I was able to get across in our daily phone calls. Renu, his wife, is gracious. We meet more people than I can name here today, including; Anita, a good friend of Andrew's from Cincinnati; Hank and Pat who are staying at the same hotel as Bob, Lindy and me. Andrew and Isa will be staying at a nearby hostel. Adam and Kelly are young Americans with their own wedding plans. Ashima is one of Ankita's aunts. We meet Nada and her daughter Serena, Sammi and Anusch, Sophie and Matt, Jessica and others.After much visiting and a great dinner, particularly paan fresh off the griddle, we manage to book a taxi willing to come out to the house and drive us to the hotel. (Or maybe this was one of the evenings when a friend of Arun's generously drove us.)
No comments:
Post a Comment