On 6th March I found myself back in New Delhi - exactly the same but completely different.
The last time I had lived in New Delhi I had shared a flat in Vasant Kunj with other Asha volunteers. This time I moved in with a Punjabi family in Saket, in south Delhi. It is a huge 4-storey place with innumerable rooms. The family consists of a grandmother, father (the mother lives in New York), an adult son and 15-year-old twin daughters, plus three live-in servants. There are seven guest rooms, so the household sometimes consists of as many as 18 people. It is wonderfully busy, with people coming and going all the time. At present, the regular guests consist of myself, a Dutchman named Bart and an American named Katie. Most evenings, some or all of us meet on the rooftop terrace, and there are often up to five local teenagers there too. We all chat about the day and watch the sun set behind the Qutub Minar, the tall tower in the photo. It's a 12th century Moghul monument surrouned by mosques and ruins.
The photo shows one corner of my room - it's so huge that I can't photograph it all at once. The room contains three beds and a private bathroom. Very nice.
We have all our meals with the family. Breakfast is usually eggs and toast while dinner is Indian. There are nearly always three or four kinds of curry or dal with flat bread called roti. It's vegetarian every day except Sunday, when there is some chicken. The food is outstanding and the home is wonderful!
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