City Life

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There are 15 million people in Delhi, and as we drove through the capital to our guest house, it seemed as if every single one was driving ahead, behind, or to the side of us that afternoon. We were surrounded by green-and-yellow three-wheeled Autorickshaws, darting in and out of traffic like earthbound hummingbirds with a macabre sense of humor. Beat-up, filthy trucks crazily tilting to one side or another jockeyed for position, their loads defying both gravity and common sense.

And cows. Enormous scrawny cows with enormous horns grazed beside the road, lazed in the median, and periodically wandered in twos or threes across the road. These were no guernseys or jerseys, either—I’m not even sure what to call them, but they clearly owned the road—a road at least 4 lanes in each direction (depending on who was driving), carrying traffic going as much as 45 or 50 mph.

Extraordinary adventures awaited us.

When we stopped at red lights, the parade of local society came into sharper focus. Unfamiliar colors, shapes, and smells were everywhere. Ancient technology—ladders made of branches—mixed with mobile phones. Women in veils with henna'd feet walked next to women in jeans and high heels. People lived, suckled, and defecated in the streets just inches from 2007 Toyotas. The crush of bodies matched the crush of vehicles. The choreography was mad. And loud. Really, really loud—constant car horns, constant human voices, constant, everything constant. New York, the city that never sleeps? Hah. It’s a sleepy hick town with expensive shoes.

We found our way to our new home, the Ahuja Residency ( http://www.ahujaresidency.com/guest_house.htm ). Our guardian angel June Reinisch had encouraged us to stay here, a charming three-story building in a gated residential area. It was perfect—civilized without being a huge fancy Le Meridien, near lots of interesting sites but not exactly in the middle of everything. The young, good-looking security guard saluted us with an impish smile, the people in the office fell all over themselves to welcome us, and we immediately felt at home.

Extraordinary adventures awaited us.