17 Days & Grandma From New Jersey

26th April, 2020 – New Delhi, India

Today is Sunday! Two small wins during these uncertain times:

  1. Nice weather: Woke up to light rain and thunderstorms. After two weeks of brutal 90-100 degree temperatures today has given us hours of Clouds, happy breezes with a little bit of rain. We were able to have coffee outside and open the doors and windows.
  2. The Bulls! The next two episodes of last dance will be released on Netflix!

Flashback to simpler times

A couple weeks before the wedding, goofing around & appreciating the random things you find as a couple. Hanging out in Goa at our friends apartment called “Shalom” They did not like defaulters at the building.
Smritika giving dance instructional videos to my family back home before the wedding.

17 Days…Building a Routine

Back to the present. Been in Delhi for nearly two months.

17 Days since I last ventured outdoors. 10th of April the area cracked down on walkers. I have built a routine of being indoors 24/7. Looks like it will be this way until at least 3rd of May. With Delhi and Bombay being the two “hotspots” have a feeling the lockdown will be extended. Not sure when we will be able to get back to Bombay.

In the span of 1 minute you can experience many emotions. I’m sure we all understand.

All in all trying to make the best of things. My days are filled with reading, cooking, eating, exercise, a little streaming, playing with my housemates & my new part time job.

For my new job I am creating a program to increase youth civic engagement from an Indian Lens. This has required me to read some of the prominent Indian philosophers and dig deeper into spirituality. Good stuff. Get the allure. Wish we were taught this stuff in school. If leaders in India and across the world followed these ideas we wouldn’t be in such a shit storm. If you have some time on your hands start with reading Swami Vivekananda (Chicago Address) & Jiddu Krishnamurti. Simple to understand & will bring you some perspective during these crazy times. Seriously, it’s not super new agey or anything. Makes sense.

Fashion

Only packed for 4 days. When we arrived it was a little chilly and we had to wear warmer clothes. After two months my “spring” clothes weren’t a match for the Delhi heat and my lighter clothes have started to deteriorate.

My underwear is not in great shape.  A highlight this morning was realising I had two clean pairs left in the drawer and would not have to wash them until tomorrow.

Picture above is my primary outfit. Hope it makes it till the end. These pajama bottoms are Smritika’s. The lace has started to wear off.

Pic 1 & 2: Have had to find other options from clothes stowed away in the house.
Pic 3: Gugu, Smritika and I all wore the exact same t-shirt. Was unplanned. We all sat down for lunch and realised.

Food & Eating:

Have not eaten meat/fish/chicken in nearly two months.  With the exception of an occasional craving for bacon and some ribs don’t miss it at all. Have lost some weight, have more energy and definitely become more regular 💩.   It’s probably good to take a pause from the flesh here and there.  When I get back to the world at large will try and stick to only eating meat 20% of the time.  

The Quintessential Spices all Homes Should Have. Can you guess the Ingredients? I have been super lucky to finally learn how to use them.

Pani Puri is incredible Indian “chaat” or Indian snacky street food. Here, Smritika describes how to prepare one. It was delicious!

I cook often and have started to feel comfortable in the kitchen. Here is video of me preparing one of my favorite North Indian meals: Rajma Chawal. Basically Red beans and rice. (Red beans, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Rice, Cumin, Tumeric, Salt, Chillies, Gharam Masala & honey/sugar)

Privilege and Celebration

We are very lucky.
1. We can lounge around on our devices cuz we have comfy couches, lots of time, fancy smart phones and Internet
2. We have an outdoor area & electricity & plenty of food. Some nights we put out the lights and act like we are at a restaurant.
3. No liquor is being sold. After going many days with no booze we found a bootlegger and even some tequila.

Grandma from New Jersey

Want to say goodbye to my Grandma. She passed away last week.  I always called her “Grandma from New Jersey.”  She lived 94 good years.   Growing up she was the Grandma that would spoil me rotten with all the right gifts, corn beef and Lox.  She always said “I love you” at the end of her trip or before hanging up the phone.  Throughout the years we had many nice conversations about relationships, movies, family, and politics.  Easy to talk to and a good listener.  She might not have always agreed with my life decisions but was always supportive.  Even though my cousin is a rocket scientist  and she didn’t always understand what I did for a living she always told me she was proud and meant it. She would showcase my pics to her friends and anyone else she would come across.  One of her favorites was my pic with Obama (she really loved Michelle) and most recently my wedding photos. She would love to chat with her Indian doctor about Smritika.  I think I was her favorite grandchild, or at least that’s how she made me feel.  Maybe all of us felt that way.

Dealing with breast cancer twice, losing a husband and another husband type, she remained resilient, kind to others and an eternal optimist.  People would go out of their way to help and support her because throughout her life she was overly generous and provided people with genuine interactions.   She was that old lady that other middle aged people would seek out and hang out with.  She was really good at making and nurturing friendships.  She enjoyed her final years.  Much of that due to my mom being great and giving my grandma that right level of support, agency and gentle nudging. My Grandma’s last couple years she had many new friends.  They would eat together, gossip & do their activities.  

Those last 3-4 weeks I spoke to her often.  Even during quarantine she remained positive & witty.  I am happy she got to meet Smritika before passing.  It was a quality two final days spent together.  Love you Grandma!      

 

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