The Greatest Love Story

India can be a land of surprises, and despite having seen the Taj Mahal millions of times in pictures, in person it still surprised me (this is Zeena by the way!). After a 5 hour rough bus ride and a fitful night’s sleep on hard beds in our less than stellar hotel room, my thoughts regarding this Agra detour were, “this better be worth it.” Luckily, when we rounded the corner to the gate at 6:15am this morning, the first glance took my breath away.

It’s hard to explain, but the magnificence of this monument is overwhelming. With the sun rising and the crowds beginning to pour in, the grounds came alive and the beauty unfolded. Something that is difficult to see in pictures is the details and texture of the stone. The marble has many facets to it, and the sunlight at different times of day makes the stone look different colors. After an hour of wandering around taking pictures at multiple angles, we still didn’t want to leave and kept looking behind us before we walked away.

But an even bigger surprise is the story behind the Taj Mahal. Built in the 1600’s by the 4th Mogul (Muslim) Emperor Shah Jahan, this building took 20,000 workers everyday for 22 years to construct. It was built in honor of his 3rd wife, Mumtaz who died giving birth to her 14th child. Their love was so great that he built this monument for her after her death.

But let me back up for a second. Yes, she was Shah Jahan’s third wife (of 4!) and he even had many other “unofficial wives”. This was a time when marriages were often not for love, but for political gains and a blending of blood lines. And men took multiple wives. But yet despite this, a man loved a woman and together they married against the wills of their families and lived for 19 years. Mumtaz was the only wife that bore his children and after her death he took no more wives. In fact Shah Jahan’s son eventually took power from him and imprisoned him in the Red Fort where he died on a balcony that directly faced the Taj Mahal.

So in this land of surprises, we find a love story so great that millions come from around the world to see its monument. It’s been an appropriate way to start winding down our days of travel and get ready for OUR family love story ahead.

Azeem's Excellent Adventure in Delhi!

So, it’s Azeem finally blogging here. I know you have all enjoyed Zeena’s stories for the last couple of weeks as have I. But now I have a chance to contribute to the saga. The trip here was actually quite easy, just long. I got into Delhi on Monday morning, managed to get a “prepaid” cab and make it to the hotel all before breakfast. Yesterday, was kind of quiet, as you may have read in the previous blog, but today (Tuesday) was quite an eventful day.

We started our day using the car and driver that will eventually take us to Agra tomorrow. Our first stop was to the US Embassy to file for Zaleeya’s VISA, luckily there was no American Holiday today! We got in line about 8:45 and were ushered in about 45 minutes later. The inside of the Embassy grounds was like a park, quite tranquil and serene. The only people we saw while walking to the USCIS office were gardeners working on the gardens and lawns. We spent another hour and a half in the waiting room, until we were called in for our meeting. We were a little nervous, well actually I was really nervous, since the paperwork has been my responsibility to complete. We went through the paperwork one item at a time and then the processor asked us about our address, which was kind of weird. We said it’s in “Irvine” he replied “yes I know, but where in Irvine is your house”, so Zeena said, “off Sand Canyon and the 405”. I’m thinking, how did we just get into a conversation about a freeway and directions to our house with an adoption processor in India? Well come to find out he LIVES in IRVINE! We just travelled 8000 miles to have our paperwork processed by a guy who took a 2 year job with the US Embassy, who happens to live 5 miles from us. Small world, go figure… Needless to say the rest of our 10 minute meeting went just fine and we were on our way to start our tour for the day.

Next stop was to Old Delhi. Delhi is a city with two identities. New Delhi is representative of its colonial British rule. It’s apparent in the architecture and design of the streets (many roundabouts). Old Delhi is much older and shows it’s influence from the Mogul rulers of centuries ago, with it’s Islamic architecture and mosques. One of which was the largest mosque in India called the “Jama Masjid”. We stopped there and walked through the mosque; Zeena had to wear a cover since she was wearing short sleeves and capri pants (check out the guy on the cell phone!). On our exit, we took rickshaws for what we thought would be a “short little ride” to the Red Fort. Boy, were we in for an adventure! Our ride took us through the Chawari Bazzar, which ended up becoming a 1 hour whirlwind tour of a crowded bazaar that looked right out of a movie, but in fact it was the real thing. There were twists and turns through alleys, total gridlock where no one could move for minutes at a time, all sorts of close calls with scooters, other rickshaws and pedestrians. This is not recommended for those who are even remotely claustrophobic, because there are a lot of people in a very small space with all kinds of commotion going on. It was amazing to see how the crowd just flowed in chaotic elegance, and in the end everyone got where they needed to. With a little bit luck, we got to where we needed to be which was to the Red Fort.

The Red Fort “Lal Qila” was built by Mogul Emporor Shah Jahan (also the builder of the Taj Mahal) in 1638. It’s a magnificent Fort built to fortify the Mogul palace and his personal grounds. It’s now more like a park with people relaxing in the courtyards enjoying what has been nice weather, a bit warm but not stifling hot like we expected. We then finished off our tour with a drive by of the parliament and presidential buildings and a quick walk through the Gate of India, where we happened to see the changing of the guards ceremony. All in all, today was the day I realized that I was in India. I was truly amazed at the diversity of culture and history, even though I’ve only seen a small fraction of the country, but I have a new found respect and fascination for the land of my origins.

The Day Zeena Went Down

Yeah, so, they all warn you. Don’t get sick in India! Don’t drink the water, only eat in nice restaurants, don’t eat fruits or veggies, etc etc. Well I followed all the rules, but still got a little bug. Well not exactly little, enough to knock me over for over 24 hours. Please don’t order Malai Kofta from Nero’s restaurant in Jaipur.

The night before our flight to New Delhi I started to get feverish. I took some Tylenol but a few hours later the symptoms got worse, and let’s just say it took the maximum dosages of Tylenol and Immodium to get me on the plane to Delhi the next morning! All blog entries about the pleasantries of flying in India are now retracted, because the Jaipur airport was a bit of a nightmare (smaller airport) and combined with my illness, the trip was tough. Once in Delhi though we checked into our super nice room and I slept, and drugged myself up, and slept. I didn’t emerge from the room until this morning after Azeem arrived to our room. YES! Azeem is here!

I write about this because it’s part of the experience. The lesson learned is two-fold: don’t get overconfident, and ALWAYS travel with Tylenol and Immodium. Instead of posting pictures of me sleeping in a bed, I decided to litter the blog entry with all my favorite beautiful pictures in India. The first sunset is from Yasmin’s place, the second from our hotel in Mumbai, and the third from our hotel here in Delhi. The pool shot is in Jaipur.

A few hours after Azeem got here today we went to the US embassy to file Zaleeya’s visa forms. We arrived in our taxi to find the embassy CLOSED. After watching and being careful about all the Indian holidays, we forgot today is COLUMBUS DAY. Hilarous! Luckily we have 2 more days here so it won’t be an issue, but alas we all got a good chuckle out of this one. I can see Tami (our amazing adoption coordinator from Dillon) rolling over in her sleep as I type.

Anyhow hopefully tomorrow I can join the men and gallivant a bit in Delhi and see the town. We pick up Zaleeya a week from today!

The Day I Rode an Elephant!

Yes, it’s time to talk Jaipur now! For those of you not familiar with Indian geography, Jaipur is in the northern part of India in the state of Rajasthan. The town is known for a few things. First it’s called the Pink City due to the coloring of many of the buildings, and well, it is quite pink. Or more like coral. Jaipur is also known for its artistry and marble/stone exportation. I’ve had to lift my shopping hiatus here because there are so many artists at work offering jewelry, textiles and painting. Gem stones are huge, which if course is incredibly tempting.

The history of Jaipur is also interesting, as it’s a town with a rich and long story. The main attraction is the Amer fort, which was built by the Hindu king Man Singh about 400 plus years ago. Man’s sister was married off to the Muslim Moghul king Akber the Great which made for the first major Hindu/Muslim alliance and in turn helped to expand the Moghul Empire in India.

Upon arriving in Jaipur on Thursday night, I knew immediately we were in the country. The roads were less crowded and I could see (even in the dark) wide open countryside. Our hotel was beautiful, however I couldn’t really appreciate the beauty until I awoke the next day to the most amazing lake view! I’ve included a picture of course.

We rented a car/driver who took us to Amer fort and requested an English tour guide to help us for the day. As soon as we got out of the car we got ushered into the area where we were encouraged to board an elephant for a ride up to the fort! Yes, an elephant! Luckily boarding this gigantic monster was easy as we walked up a set of stairs to a platform at the level of the top of the elephant. I wasn’t fearful at all as we climbed on and slowly started our rocky accent up to the top of the fort. Our poor elephant seemed to be a bit lazy as were passed by another elephant, but eventually we made it. The pictures from this part are amazing, especially of my father donning his new hat. Maharaja (King) Mohamed rules the fort!

The fort itself was interesting as we toured with our guide who spoke a variation of English. Honestly I struggled to understand his broken, often repetitive phraseology but he was gracious and pointed out some beautiful things we would not have noticed otherwise. Along the fort we saw some snake charmers (Rajni I had to mention this!). Yes real snakes! I was nervous to even get close enough to drop off my 10 rupee tip.

After a grueling few hours in the heat at the fort we ventured into some shopping area where we watched them make rugs, textiles and jewels. We decided to spend our second day dedicated in Jaipur to shopping! After the fort and a stop of a quick Indian lunch, we headed to the City Palace where we saw some interesting astronomical equipment (ala Galileo). I guess Man Singh’s heir Jai Singh was a big fan and had an entire area dedicated to devices to help him read the sun, moon and stars. If I didn’t already miss my husband, this sealed the deal. He would have enjoyed this!

If you can believe, in the span of 24 hours in Jaipur, we met some lovely (notice use of word) business travelers from Laguna Niguel and then ran into some Ismailis from the San Fernando Valley at the City Palace! Small, small world.

For the Dillon moms interested in maybe visiting Jaipur, I would recommend 2 days here; there isn’t that much to see however the fort is worth it and it is quite relaxing. Make sure you choose a nice hotel since you will spend most of your time here; unlike the bustling big city of Mumbai this is more of a resort style local. We are at the Trident hotel which is beautiful and has a nice restaurant with good food.

Anyhow today (Saturday) is a day of rest including some pool time and shopping. We head off early to Delhi tomorrow where we start expanding our traveling crew: Azeem comes Monday and my cousin Farah flies in from Kabul on Wednesday. Here we start the paperwork process for Zaleeya and the realism of why we are here is starting to set in!

Random Thoughts of Mumbai

I’ve left Mumbai now and am about to embark on my first day in Jaipur, however I still have thoughts and experiences left to share. In no particular random order:

TIFFINWALA (aka Dubawalla): My father bragged about this for days and we planned to go see this phenomenon at work in downtown Mumbai. Many of the local suburb families make food for the husbands/ wives who work downtown. This food is placed in a tall series of tin cans called tiffins (like Tupperware) and then placed in a cloth bag. This food is collected by a collector in the morning and sent on an unimaginable journey by train, then bike or push cart to the recipient downtown. Imagine 500,000 tiffins delivered on time, at their exact desired location, with no computer assistance! And this service costs less than 300 rupees a month ($8). At around 12pm each day you can watch the tiffins unloaded from the train station and then distributed to the motorbike/pushcart delivers. My father has likened this to the "fedex" of food delivery service.

Unfortunately, the day we planned to watch this at work, happened to be a holiday! Silly Americans forgetting that there are MANY holidays in October in India as the Hindus have a 9 day festival at the beginning of the month (Navrati) and then Diwali, the festival of lights on Oct 28th. Anyhow I was sad to have missed this, but thought it was worth the mention. Oh and I did include a pic of out hotel decorated with flowers for the end of Navrati festival.

CRICKET: This games is HUGE here and I finally got to see some playing. My father was the captain of his high school team so he's quite versed in the sport and he has been attempting to teach me the rules. Currently there is a Indian/Australian "test match" going on which is quite important and on a lot of the news stations. Australia is the best team currently, therefore the Indian team loyalty is in full force. I've included a great action pic of some locals playing in the big field in downtown Mumbai.

SERVICE: I’m not sure why Indians can’t seem to get it right in the states, but the service here to far in India has been excellent! I believe it’s the “upper class/ lower class” divide that makes the workers in the hotels and restaurants incredibly gracious and helpful. In the hotels, each employee you pass in the hall greets you with hello or Namaste and jumps at any request or opportunity to open your door. I’ve included a pic of our afternoon fruit service at our hotel in Mumbai.

AIR TRAVEL: I must admit to having been a bit nervous getting into our car heading to the airport for our flight to Jaipur. How ridiculous this seems now as the experience was better than in the states! Again the upper class here seem to have it made as the airport was shiny, clean, air conditioned and offered excellent customer service. The airplane was brand spanking new, had great leg room, offered DELICIOUS Indian food and left and landed EXACTLY on time. In fact from the time we landed to the time we were in our car, it took 15 minutes (fast baggage claim!).

Anyhow I’m in Jaipur now and have a host of new experiences to share but you’ll just have to wait for the next blog entry.

Yoga, In India

Those who know me well are aware that I’ve recently discovered the benefits of Yoga both physically and mentally. It’s also helped that I’ve worked at YogaWorks for the last 8 months! My exploration of Yoga is still incredibly new, however I knew I couldn’t leave here without at least a little experience of Yoga in its home country.

It’s quite intimidating here, and actually nearly impossible to “drop in” to a class. Most studios require you to go through a medical check up with a doctor and have rigorous beginner programs for people starting out. So “jumping” into a Vinyasa Flow class like I do at home just clearly became an impossibility.

However with the cost of labor being as low as it is, the best plan was to have a Yoga instructor come to my room for a private session (little over $30). I was given a name from the hotel concierge of a gentleman named Mr. Anshol, who was to arrive at my room at 7am the next morning. I wondered how this would work; would he cue me and push me like I do with my Pilates clients at home? Or would we just meditate for an hour? Was he an old swami type with ragged clothes? Or a modern young yogi wearing Lululemon and donning a cell phone?

He ended up being quite young (late 20’s) and showed up at my door in jeans and a button down shirt. I must say this surprised me; I was at least expecting someone in exercise clothes! However immediately he asked me a few questions, we got to work, and I forgot what he was wearing and the awkwardness of working out in a hotel room.

He keyed into my back issues immediately and forced me into immediate relaxation breathing (lying face up on pillows). Then he started with a series of standing postures in no particular order or flow. Some I recognized (triangle pose, high lunge, chair pose, camel etc) and others were familiar but different. There was a LOT of back bending- something I’ve avoided recently however I know this is the root of “real” yoga. Within 20 minutes I was sweating and feeling my body working hard.

In his strong Indian accent he would say things like “sit in this position for a bit and feel the intensity” and “visualize your back and stretch it out”. He gave me tips on some positions and others he let me feel it and just pushed me deeper. Honestly, it was similar to a session I would receive at home, minus the oddly dressed Indian man and the backdrop of the Arabian Sea.

I loved his blend of mental with physical as he ended our session with some relaxation breathing and visualization. He mentioned that often the “mental/ spiritual” element of Yoga is missing in the states- something I know I need to work on. He was all in all very polite and respectful and obviously knowledgeable. My body and mind felt energized and I was happy I experienced an Indian version of my newfound love of Yoga.

The Real Mumbai

Today we had some time to really see the true Mumbai; this is the part I imagined when I thought of India and the reality of most of this country’s inhabitants. The crowds, poverty and trash were underlying themes of the day although the vibrancy of the people and culture is striking.

We rented a car and driver and started off in a section of town called Buleshwaar. A bustling local (not touristy) merchant area, there were people, cows, goats, bikes, motor bikes, and some cars pushing shoulder to shoulder through the narrow streets. Even our driver mentioned that this area could be somewhat dangerous due to the amount of people crowded around our vehicle. If we had hit something the locals can easily latch on to the fact that we are foreign and try to get money out of us to pay for injuries. We escaped with no problems of course! Taking pictures made me a bit nervous as I didn’t want to identify myself as a complete tourist- although I did snap a few. In this particular one you’ll notice it’s quite bright, and well I didn’t exactly think it was appropriate to pull out my Oakleys.

We found our destination which was the shop of a brother of a friend of ours from the states who was helping us ship some stuff to Kolkata. Apparently I shopped too much and my bags were too heavy to get on the domestic flights. Don’t laugh! I must admit I am a bit weary that our stuff will actually reach us; but I am placing my blind faith into the Indian (insert accent) “don’t worry we will take care of it for you” system.


We then headed off to “Chor Bazarre” which got it’s UNOFFICIAL name because many of the merchant’s actually steal the products they sell on the streets. You name it- they had it. From car parts, to toilets, to fan repair shops to antique clocks this place was selling it. A merchant’s shop was often so small it rivaled the size of my powder room. We also visited Zaweri Bazarre where most of the jewelers have their shops. I am currently on shopping hiatus until we get closer to our final destination of Kolkata.

We also hit the central laundry service in town called Dhobi Ghat. It’s where most of the people send their clothes to be washed. Yes, when you see this picture it will surprise you to see there is where people send stuff to get clean. The washers stand knees deep in the water and spend their days physically grinding through the cleaning process. Luckily I know our hotel has an in house cleaning service.

The highlight of my day was our Thali lunch. Not to be confused with the meat based Thal meal at Yasmin’s (I got confused on this), this meal was vegetarian and consisted of many servers walking around serving little bowls of dishes. From curries, to sweets, to bread based products to milk based drinks, the servers kept coming and coming until my tummy was stuffed! The buffet lover in me thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Don’t worry- we are getting recommendations on all restaurants before we eat in order to ensure our tummy safety. So far so good!

Have you ever seen me eat THIS much?

I had to post a quick pic of this! We hit a restaurant yesterday to try Masala Dosa- an Indian treat of curried potatoes inside a crispy pancake type shell. We ordered a larger one to share, and look what we got! The potato part is much smaller than the shell itself so were able to eat most of it, though we hobbled out of the restaurant and walked for a bit to burn it off. I'm sure both of my mom's are quite jealous!

The Sights and Sounds of DOWNTOWN Mumbai

I’ve left the comforts of Yasmin’s home and am now in downtown Mumbai staying a wonderful boutique hotel directly off Marine Drive (first pic is the view from our room!). I took a 1.5 hour air conditioned taxi during crazy rush hour traffic to a total bill of 291 rupees (little over $5). I didn’t have change so I contributed to the local economy and made the driver’s day by giving him a 500 rupee note. I still can’t get over how cheap labor is here.

My father has been in Mumbai on many occasions so he travels well here. Marine Drive is very well known and we went for a walk both in the evening and the morning on the expansive, well paved sidewalk. Some “street families” live on the drive (families who beg and live on the streets) however also many locals take walks on this pathway. I am still dumbfounded at how many people live here- even at 6:30am the place was bustling with people engaging in their morning exercise. I’ve mentioned before how expensive the cost of real estate is here. Many of the Marine Drive front properties could command top dollar, however a law states that tenants have rights to maintain their leases as long as they are alive, so many of the buildings remain dilapidated due to being occupied by lower income families.

For the past week I have seen Mumbai mainly from a window from a car, so today was the first day of actually walking the streets on foot. Crossing the bustling streets here is an art form in and of itself- requires timing, skill, trust and blind faith. The cars honk a lot and rely on honking to negotiate the traffic- in fact someone mentioned that your brakes could go and you would survive but if your honk is broken you are in big trouble! My current technique to crossing the streets is to hold on to my dad’s shirt, and take deep cleansing breathes (much like riding in a taxi!).

I am surprised by the downtown area and how clean it is and how comfortable I feel here. Of course you see street families and trash, however the streets are paved and the people are respectful. My father keeps mentioning how much the “begging” in Mumbai has reduced therefore making it much more pleasant to walk around. Vendors encourage you to visit their shops, however unlike some places in Mexico, they leave you alone if you say no.

We visited the Taj Hotel today, an old top notch hotel directly across from the Gateway of India monument. This monument was built for Queen Victoria’s arrival to Mumbai back in the days of British colonization of India. Both buildings are beautiful, however I did include a picture of the Taj hotel directly in front of the water way filled with trash. Juxtaposition at it’s finest.

After a few sweaty hours of walking and seeing sites we are back in our comfortable AC’d room for a nap before our next adventure. I must admit, I have no complaints of India so far; perhaps because I’m traveling in style.

PS Yes, we found the Angels payoff game 4 this morning on ESPN and I watched them lose. My heart broke for a few hours- but alas, there is always next year. Maybe we’ll take Zaleeya to a playoff game in 2009!

PPS Zaleeya's passport was completed today, so technically we can pick her up! However we will continue our travels as planned with an extimated pick up date of Oct 20th.

I Am Indian Hear Me Roar

I’ve had a lazy day today, hence the two posts, however my suspicion is that this may be my final post for a few days. I head tomorrow to downtown Mumbai to stay with my dad who has been gallivanting on his own for the past week. Yasmin’s place has been in Bandra, which is technically a suburb of Mumbai and despite the conditions on the street, often compared to our "Beverly Hills".

The reason I’m lazy is because we have been “hanging over”, as they call it here. We all had a few too many cocktails at the party as Yasmin’s brother’s house last night. They were having a “housewarming” to celebrate the completion of the incredible renovations of their 2 story flat.

I can’t believe I’m going to admit to having one too many cocktails on a public blog, however drinking is a part of the culture here, therefore I’ll chock it up to cultural exploration! . Yasmin and I spent a few hours getting ready, which included a trip to the salon to get my hair blow dried straight ($10!). Despite the efforts of the nice woman who spent over an hour on my hair, the humidity still took its toll and I was left with a mixed blend of straight/ curly hair. I borrowed an Indian style cute top, donned my new costume jewelry and we started our evening at 10:30pm.

I had met most of the people at the part at some point in the week so I was a lot more comfortable hanging out with the crowd. Top notch food and drinks delivered at a moment’s notice, combined with the amazing décor and view of the sea, made this party the pinnacle of my evenings in Banda. Actual main meal dinner was not served until 1am and the Hindi Karaoke fun started around 2am. We finally hit the sack at 4am!

As the evening progressed many of the guests got “high” as they call it here (drunk/ tipsy) and dancing, picture taking and lots of laughing took over. I am sharing a few of the pics for your viewing pleasure

The title of this post refers to my accent, which progressively turned more and more Indian after each cocktail. By the end of the evening I was talking with my hands, nodding my head and using Indian phrases such as “hiya” and “lovely” whenever possible. With my straight hair and newfound language, I had never felt more Indian! And it only took less than a week…

The Universal Language of Exercise

For those of you who know me well, you know that I will obviously spend some time talking about fitness on this blog! Well luckily I have been doing a lot of exercise since Yasmin’s fitness business is directly next door to her apartment building.

When she and I first connected in 2006 on her first trip out for her Pilates certification, I was amazed by how similar we were in our passion for fitness and entrepreneurial spirit. Yasmin had been working as a Personal Trainer for over 10 years, often called in by Bollywood stars and models, when she decided to pursue her education further by learning Pilates in the states. On her second trip out (while she stayed with us for 6 weeks), we spent countless hours talking about the state of the industry and future of Pilates expansion in her country. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her studio and how it functions.

Much smaller than I expected (remember overpopulation!), the place is crowded with people as her 4 trainers work with a variety of clients on the weight machines, cardio equipment and Power Plate (vibrating machine). Yasmin is currently the primary Pilates instructor. The economic of the society don’t allow her to place her trainers through the rigors of the Pilates certification in the state; it’s just too expensive as clients only pay approximately $30 a session. Instead she works as the primary Pilates instructor while she slowly trains in her staff on the exercises herself. She has amazed me with her ability to pick up her Pilates training so quickly and I know it’s been a struggle for her to teach the last few years with no other instructors around her to feed off of and learn new things.

It’s been a pleasure for me to spend some time with her to go over exercises and talk shop. I’ve noticed that the “culture’ of the place is a little different; with people working on top of each other, there is a lot of chatting and interruptions. The Pilates machines are directly behind the Power Plate so it’s far from tranquil. Loud music from ABBA to Bollywood sounds blare through the gym while the AC blasts from a window unit above. The trainers have been watching our sessions as I’ve trained a few of her clients. I’ve included a pic of me training one of the “runway” models who plans to participate in fashion week in late October while 2 of the trainers look on.

I taught a Mat Pilates class today (5 people, pic included) which is done in her home since there is more room there to place mats on the floor. I couldn’t help while teaching to look out the window at the amazing view of the Arabian Sea! In general the focus here is on “weight loss” and many people in the community still haven’t caught on to the concept of strength training. Much like in the States, people are looking for the quick fix; a battle Yasmin faces daily. Of course there is a strong hold of Yoga in India, but I haven’t seen or heard of anyone actually doing Yoga with the people I’ve been hanging around with. I hope to experience going to a Yoga studio along my travels.

I know Yasmin’s biggest struggle with her business is the lack of punctuality and reliability amongst her clients. With India having such a “family and community” feeling, many people cancel last minute because they feel like she’s a fellow family member. Also it’s challenging for her to over price herself because people here tend to bargain and negotiate and look for good value. It’s difficult to rely on instructors as well, often finding that they might pick up and leave after completing training with Yasmin. All the business advice I could offer, is useless out here.

We visited a spinning class at the local Gold’s Gym, which is the major franchise player out here. Again we walked into a run-down looking building and climbed an elevator to find a nice, clean, fully quipped, AC’d facility that could look like it was in So Cal. The spin instructor gave us cues similar to a class in the states, of course with a different accent!

It’s great to observe how the “fitness world” functions out here and I’m glad to have had an opportunity to put my training to good use.

Conversations with Women

I’ve had some amazing conversations with women on this trip, offering me an interesting perspective on how they think in this part of the world. Please keep in mind that I’ve been running with a certain class of people the last few days, so the perspective is skewed.

At the Eid party yesterday, Yasmin’s sister in law Rauz and I had a conversation about arranged marriages. Hers was arranged, however not in the way that you and I would think. How it works is that the parents seeks out about 10 “matches” that they deem as appropriate from other families with equal socioeconomic status. Then the children will date a few of these matches to see where there may be chemistry. Rauz said that she dated Saif for a year before they got married. According to her, this is the best way to get married in India and these marriages tend to survive more than “love” marriages. In India, the lifestyle revolves heavily around family. In fact Rauz and her husband and children all live with her in laws and she feels that she was glad she married into a family with a similar background as her own. In fact her 16 year old daughter currently has a boyfriend, but has asked her mother to help her arrange her marriage when the time comes. Hard for us to imagine, however at the completion of this conversation she had me a little convinced.

I told Rauz that had Azeem and I lived in India, we would have probably been chosen as one of the 10 matches for each other. Our family backgrounds, socioeconomic upbringing and religion are all matched which I know is one of the many reasons we are so happily married. However when asked out here, I do make sure to mention that I am in a “love” marriage (wink wink to Azeem). J

This evening Yasmin took me as her guest to her monthly “kitty” party. Apparently this word has a few meanings, but in this case it’s a girl’s evening out with old friends. Part of the evening however revolves around the “kitty”; each of the ladies contributes 10,000 ($220) rupees to a “pot”. When they get together a name is drawn and this person receives all the money (90,000 ruppees!!) and then this winner gets to arrange and schedule the next party. Basically Yasmin told me it’s a great way to force themselves to get together once a month.

Once again upon meeting the women I felt like I was in the presence of Bollywood stars, although this times I was! One of the ladies Sangeeta (last name not mentioned since this is a public blog) was a film actress and she was definitely stunningly beautiful. Another one of the other ladies is the sister to a MAJOR film actor who I won’t mention, but if you are Indian trust me you’ve heard of him. Anyhow I didn’t discover this information until later in the evening and in the mean time simply enjoyed another meal of listening and watching (the picture cut me off, however you all know what I look like!).

All in their late 30’s early 40’s, these women spent the hour together (over wonderful Chinese food) discussing schools for their children, insider Bollywood gossip and, of course, jewelry. In fact they passed each other’s jewelry around a bit commenting on the beauty and prices. The Bollywood gossip was a bit over my head until Yasmin updated me later, and it was juicy! Someone’s ex slept with someone else and there was an argument at a film premier, etc etc. I felt like I was reading People magazine! After dinner we wandered downstairs to a very trendy Indian nightclub that looked similar to any club in the states. In fact I found it classier, less chaotic, the men more respectful and the music better!

As we left the nightclub and drove off the grounds (we were at a fancy hotel) we got back on the road right next to the shacks and homeless and street fires and stray dogs. I just couldn’t help but notice the extreme juxtaposition.

Lastly, speaking of women, I finally got a chance to do some major shopping with Yasmin yesterday- she is the ULTIMATE expert! We visited “Cottons” where I picked up a lot of cotton based Indian clothes- well made and excellently prices. My favorite shopping however was when we went to a costumes jewelry exhibition at another one of the amazing “lofts” in Mumbai. I picked up a bunch of sparkly bling. Now I have a few clothes to help me feel almost as fashionable as the beautiful women of this country.

By the way, I hear many of your are reading back home, so please continue to comment! Thank you for the incredible support. Technology makes me feel so close to home.

Language, Food and Other Random Thoughts

End of day three and there is just so much to write about. I hope you all are enjoying the read! I thought I’d touch on a few other details of “living” in Mumbai.

The main languages here are English and Hindi. Everyone speaks English except maybe the help; Ramu’s English (the cook) is very broken and we’ve had a few incidents over our miscommunication. Today I asked him if could warm up the leftovers from lunch and poor guy started making me a meal from scratch. Oops.

As for the English, the thick British/Indian accent is lovely to listen to and easy to pick up. Don’t be alarmed if I come home with an accent! Some phrases and words are fun; I love calling a water heater a “geezer” and my favorite phrase so far is when someone “has met with an accident.” Yasmin’s friends speak mostly English with some expressions in Hindi. I grew up speaking and listening to Kutchi, a pretty obscure dialect from a region near Gujarat that no one speaks here, but some words and phrases are similar so I can understand some things. Like “pani” (water) and “garam” (hot). I’d love to pick up more Hindi; perhaps I’ll start watching some Bollywood films at home!

We visited a play this evening that stared Yasmin’s brother in law Zafar. Zafar had actually visited us in Irvine when he was traveling with another show and happened to be with us for Thankgiving 2006 so it was a pleasure to finally see him in action. What an excellent actor he is! The theatre was intimate but not too different from a regional size theatre here in the states. The show, “Chaos Theory”, was in English with a lot of Indian references and euphemisms. It was touching and hilarious and incredibly well acted. I was impressed!

Many of you are aware of my recent dietary changes (gluten free, dairy free, fish eating vegetarian) and are probably wondering what in the world am I eating! Well I’ll be happy to report the food so far has been great. Being vegetarian in India is like being a surfer in Laguna Beach (ok couldn't resist the analogy). Yasmin’s cook has made great veggie curries and daal (lentils) with rice and naan. The food doesn’t seem to bother me too much here since I think it’s far less processed and fresher. I am very careful to drink (and brush teeth) with bottle water only and no ice. So far this part has been a piece of cake but once I get on the road and start really moving through some more rural parts of India I believe this will change.

Today Yasmin threw an “Eid” party (100 people!) at her home which involved the traditional “thal” meal. I mentioned this a few days back and this time I got pictures (umm, yeah, so the humidity is NOT good for curly hair)! Since the meal was mostly meat she also catered for the 30 plus vegetarians. Hindus and Muslims are all very friendly here and I am starting to figure out who is what based on names and how they eat. Many people have found it odd that I, a Muslim, am vegetarian and even more strange that it’s a new thing for me. But alas, I am sticking to it. As much as I missed out on the main meal, the veggie stuff was amazing!

My future plans for Mumbai include an upcoming weekend of more dinners, parties and FINALLY some shopping! Then early next week I will move in with my father at his hotel to see downtown Mumbai and sightsee. Then we are off to a destination unknown for a few days (yes we are playing it by “the” ear as they say here!) and then to meet Azeem in Dehli by the 12th. Our estimated date of meeting Zaleeya is around Oct 20th. Her passport should be ready in a few days...

Stay tuned!

Lifestyles of the Indian Rich and Fabulous

There is to much to blog about here I don’t even know where to begin! For the record, NO ONE here cares about American Baseball. The only response I seem to get when mentioning I’m from America is regarding our current state of the economy and upcoming election. If it were up to Mumbai, Obama would win in a landslide.

After a morning of visiting Yasmin’s studio and relaxing around the house, I set out for an evening that started at 6:30pm and didn’t end until 3am! Today (Thursday is Gandhi’s birthday so it’s a national holiday as well as the week of “Eid” and a Hindu celebration called “Navrarti” so there is a lot to celebrate! Since last night was also “Chandraat”, or new moon, my dad and I set off to our Ismaili Jamat Khane (our mosque for the non Ismailis reading) after which we were invited to the home of a very wealthy Ismaili whom my father met in the US. Yasmin’s driver Manoj had a little trouble finding the Jamat Khane; luckily most people around here ask each other for directions. I had to include a little pic of a Auto rickshaw outside of Yasmin’s house. These things are on the road everywhere!

For the Ismaili’s reading: Jamat Khane looked and felt similar to home. The 2nd Dua was recited first immediately followed by first. There was no Ginaan and the Taasbi was very similar. Mukhi liked to say “Ya Ali Madad” a lot. Volunteers at one point swept through the Jamat with bowls asking for money donations. I attempted to do Naaz (though didn’t drink the water) and Chaanto however I was confused to ended up doing it incorrectly. My dad and I had a bit of a chuckle over it; I had no woman with me to help out! The outside building and gardens of the JK were really pretty- I’ve included a pic.

After Khane we got into the Mercedes car (the driver had gone all the way to Downtown to pic up my Dad- about an hour drive) and headed off to our hosts home Naushad and Noorjan. I think the most interesting thing about India so far is that NOTHING looks nice from the outside. You might drive up to a gate directly next to a slum and wander into an entry way that still looks rather run down. You will go up a small cramped elevator that is serviced by a security guard (this one saluted us!) and then suddenly the door opens to something nice on the inside. In this case, the whole building was owned by this family and the inside was AMAZING. Exactly what you would imagine from the Indian upper class: marble floors, Italian water fountains, stylish furniture, a pool sundeck and a rooftop garden completely immaculately landscaped. The view was unbelievable- all of Mumbai. I wish I could take pictures, but the American in me though it would be rude to suddenly start taking pics of someone’s home. Apparently real estate in India has skyrocketed lately (again due to overpopulation) with “flats” costing up to $2000 a square foot!

After a delicious meal of about 10 dishes served on a gigantic lazy susan my father decided to call it a night while the driver dropped me off at the location of Yasmin’s current party. One of her friends was celebrating a birthday so about 10 local Indian couples had gathered at China Garden. After a few cocktails (no ice!), at 12:30am, the group sat down to dinner. If you can imagine the beautiful women of Bollywood, then you can imagine the crowd I was with. All incredibly stylish, funny, sassy, attractive and obviously upper class. There is a pic of me and Yasmin at China Garden.
Finally at 1:45ish we headed out a again, this time for a quick stop at Yasmin’s parents house who were also having a party. Their “flat” was also incredibly stylish, well decorated and spacious with a terrace view of the sea and Mumbai. They also had food (my 3rd offering of the night!) and plenty of bartenders and “help”. We only stayed briefly there and then finally headed home around 2:30am. Phew!

I think the biggest observation for me so far is the abundance of domestic help; even my China Garden dinner mate (forgive me for not remembering all the names) was telling me that this was the biggest advantage of living in India. Each house might employ anywhere from 3-10 servants. The majority of upper class women do not work, however managing the “help” does seem to be a full time job. Mostly uneducated, some servants end up working for a family for 10, 15 or 20 years. They will take vacations to go visit their village when they can and usually bring back any earnings they might receive. The living quarters for the “help” are often small and not air conditioned. I’ve included a pic of one of them asleep in the room off the kitchen; quite an amusing picture and a telling one as well.
Anyhow these are my observations from day two- can’t believe I’ve only been here two days! And yes I’m missing my Angels playoff game, however this is an experience of a lifetime far more valuable then anything Krod, Mark, Chone and Vladdy could give me.

Baseball vs. Cricket

So, it's Azeem here still in California. I'm really glad that Zeena's finally had some time to write some entries. Based on the comments it looks like you're all enjoying them. The fact is, she's the blogger in the family, having done it as part of her career for the last 2 years. She's become a great writer, hopefully a talent she will pass on to our daughter one day. I've enjoyed writing thoughts down, and realized that recently my lack of focus was probably due to the fact that I hadn't written in about a week. So what does all this have to do with Baseball and Cricket? Nothing really....

So today, the baseball playoffs start. Our Angels of Anaheim take on our arch rivals the Boston Red Sox, and we will avenge our loss to them last year in the playoffs. It's a game that Zeena would have totally enjoyed going to with me, but she's obviously 8000 miles away, and desperately trying to figure out how to watch the game in India at 7:30 in the morning. I'm pretty sure all she will find on the TV is Cricket. We have season tickets, and as season ticket holders we get to buy seats for the playoffs and the World Series. Well this year we bought them, but it looks like we will miss the playoffs (partially), and when they make it to the World Series (hopefully against the Dodgers) we will probably miss that as well. So, it seems to me that we just got our first lesson in sacrificing fo ryour children. Yeah it's not a big sacrifice, in the whole scheme of things, how many opportunties do you get to see your life-long baseball team make it to the World Series? Once, Twice, Three times if you're really lucky? Unless you're a Yankee fan, then you're just plain old spoiled. But how many times do you get to experience the new addition to your family? Especially in a situation like ours?

So as much as that has been going on in our world, with the election, the economic crisis, the Angels, and work, it's going to be nice to take a few weeks away and focus on something important and meaningful for us and our family. It's also going to to be interesting if anyone in India even cares about American Baseball. I wonder....