Never give out your phone number....

I decided to go visit my friend Bec in Mumbai for several days over christmas and new years before starting my official grant.  I was so proud of myself of arranging what seemed at first very complicated travel plans.  I had to book a taxi from Mussoorie to Dehra dun, a train from DD to Delhi barter my way into a taxi ride to the airport from the train station and book a plane from Delhi to Mumbai.  In Mumbai I didn't have to barter (thank god) but get a ricksaw from the airport to the local train station and a train ride to the neighborhood I was to stay in and then a bus/rickshaw to the apartment complex.  Then of course arrange/barter my way back home.  The only thing that was "easy" was the rickshaw in Mumbai and the Taxi in Mussoorie.

Niki my driver picked me up at 3am to drive me the 1hr to DD for my 5am train (600Rs).  We passed a BUNCH of goats on the road.  Got there in plenty of time and got onto my 6hr train and tried to sleep.  Couldn't because of the lady next to me who kept getting out of her seat.  Got to Delhi and bartered with some taxi drivers to hire one of them for 4 hours considering I had a 7 hour layover.  Got a nice santa looking sekh guy for 500Rs.  The deal was he was to take me to the Red Fort (a world heritage site) where I would chill for 2 hours and then drive me the 1hr through traffic to the airport where I would spend the next 3 hours waiting for my plane. Safe and early.

The red fort was strange…Maybe its because I am not completely wow’d by history

or I noticed when looking at Viking stuff in Norway that it all seemed fake. Couldn’t really tell if it was real or what. So, in this place – that is OLD, everything has been ransacked and damaged through time from wars and thieves. The only “pretty” things left were the marble inlay and the

walls. It basically was this palace if I remember right that was built by some Raj and is an assortment of buildings (i.e. audience chambers, meeting rooms, residency, and bath houses) that had a big fountain in front that doesn’t have any water running through it anymore. Guess it would be interesting to have seen it in its hay day, but I think something is lost on me. It was neat for sure, but – eh?

Prior to entering the fort I did visit this strange exhibit - Blood Martyrs????

It was a collection of paintings by other people about martyrs,

 or Indians who had given their lives in honor of India. I really liked the section on women.

These rebels lead armies and defeated those British bastards in little battles through time. There were mass slaughters as well, and many paintings depicting epic battles.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
While inside the Red Fort I made a mistake.  I was "friendly" to a young man.  He struck up a conversation with me and seemed very "smart" and with it.  I didn't know I made a mistake until the next day.  But, this young man's name was Sunil Kumar.  Sunil was in 11th standard and all he knew about me was that I was in university....which here in India, you are a student for a short time (i.e. max age about 22)and you are wealthy to be in university.  Most people do not go on for MSc's or PhD's....basically he didn't know how old I was.  He seemed like a smart kid.  He was very nice to me and It was a short conversation at first.  Then I met up with him again (by accident) in the gauntlet of shops preventing you from leaving.  Here - it got a little strange, but not much.  He insisted on buying me something.  I told him "no, please, I have my photos and that's all I need".  He didn't listen and ran away and came back with this gift:

He also kept trying to buy me a bracelet, but I have big gorilla hands compared to Indian women. Eventually he found a bracelet and purchased that as well. I really do not understand why someone would spen 150Rs on a glitter globe of the Taj Mahal while we are at the Red Fort known for its marble inlay. I also do not understand the fascination with gaudy jewelry. The only way I could stop him from buying more gifts it seemed was to leave the red fort. Which was unfortunate, because I wasn’t completely done and I would have liked to shop anyway…Outside the Red Fort, we continued to talk and were pestered by totes wanting to take a photo. Sunil asked if I would take a photo with him and I said sure assuming we would use my camera…OH NO, Sunil decided that he would like to get a print out and therefore paid for our photo to be taken.

He got 2 different poses and I got to keep one of the photos. Up until this part it wasn’t a bad day or things could have been simple. We could have parted and all he had was a photo of me which many other people also have up to this point, so whats 1 more? OH NO….he had to ask for my phone number and I of course had to give it to him. My phone had rang while we were talking so he knew I had a number, I couldn’t give him the wrong number either because he said – here take my number and give me a call so I know your number…He then even checked by calling me as I finally walked away and got into my awaiting taxi.  Over the next 10 days I recieved at least one text message a day AND an attempted phone call.  I never answered or replied.  The creapy thing is that as time went buy the messages got more and more strange.  Declairing I was his sun and moon, that I was his shining star of a friend.  I eventually figured out there is a way to block phone numbers on my phone and it has been blissfully silent since.

No real harm, just disappointment at the fact that there is still this need to be hesitant at making friends, particularly with the opposite sex.  I would never think that a person I met in the US would be that desperate or wierd.  How do you make friends other than by staying in touch and meeting over and over.  Why should my friends be limited to girls only unless it is in a very garded situation?  This country is just strange.