Sudden Changes

I believe this was posted without any content. Here is the real thing.

Last Tuesday evening, my Hindi teacher, Yogendra Yadev, heard that his brother in Delhi was very seriously ill and he needed to be with him. 14 hours later, Anna, my fellow student, Yogendra and I were heading down the mountain toward the plains. Everyone was in shock and I had no idea what I was going to do with the next two weeks. When we heard the news, Anna and I decided we would go with Yogendra as far as Rishikesh, at the foot of the mountains, stay in a comfortable hotel, and decide what to do. Anna was hoping to stay with friends in Mussoorie but had to hear from them if they could accommodate her. I had no idea what I was going to do.

Yogendra dropped Anna and I off at the Hotel the Great Ganga in the mid-afternoon and proceeded on to Delhi. We heard from Yogendra later in the day and by then he had heard that the doctors had ascertained that his brother has cancer in both lungs and in one the tumor was fast-growing and already so large that it has collapsed his lung on that side. Anna and I took hot showers, appreciated the dryness of our air-conditioned rooms and had very tasty paranthas (fried bread) stuffed with fresh cheese. Then we had a walk through Rishikesh. Once you escape the usual hurlyburly of an India city, Rishikesh is a very pleasant town on the Ganges with pleasant tree-shaded walks along the river and holy men of every description everywhere. After the mountains, Rishikesh, which is at the foot of the hills, seemed very warm and the moist-heat drained me so we retreated to our air-conditioning.

By the next morning by head had cleared somewhat and I decided to go with Anna to Mussoorie. She arranged with her friend who manages a hotel there for me to stay in it. The Padmini Nivas Hotel was built in 1840 by an English colonel and then went into the hands of a maharajah of a small independent state and now is a heritage hotel with animal heads glumly down at us from high on the walls of the public rooms. The public rooms are in a pleasant state of decrepitude but the hotel rooms are very comfortable. Mine had an enclosed veranda with a basket swing from which I had brief glimpses of the lights of Dehra Doon between the clouds.

After I settled in, Anna took me to the language school and I had an interview with Mr. Datt, the Head of the school. He is very charming and fit me in to an already busy schedule. I will have one hour with him and one hour with someone else if that can be arranged. I will know my class times Monday morning. The school is in old stone buildings next to an old stone church which is being remodeled to hold more class rooms.

Then she took me to Ivy Banks Cottage a short way down the hill from the school. This is important because the hill is very steep and my sea-level lungs are not up to them yet. They could fit me in and I have a very clean, dry, large bedroom, a bathroom with hot water from a geyser (pronounced "geezer"), and a small but light and airy sitting room that looks out on a garden which should look out on a great view if the clouds ever lift. I have three meals a day for $17.50 a day. After four meals, I think the food will be good. Lunches are great. They are simple India food: some variety of beans or lentils ("dal"), a vegetable, rice and rotis (also called chapattis, plain whole-wheat flat bread baked on a griddle and then toasted in front of an open flame). The evening meal seems to be international and will probably be more of an adventure. Last night we had momos (Tibetan steamed, stuffed won tons), a spicy noodle dish with cabbage, and a tasty chicken soup made with cilantro and canned chicken (much better than it sounds). The Korean students at the next table asked (in Hindi) what the noodles were called, and the waiter said "chow mein." We all laughed. They weren't quite out vision of chow mein. I have to work on breakfast. Today I had an omelet and porridge. The porridge was good and the omelet so-so. I will have to see if they do anything Indian in the morning.

Today is Sunday and I have been in Mussoorie for two days. I am getting used to the altitude and I am looking forward to classes on Sunday. I realize this blog plunged right into the middle of things, but I am back in civilization and have easy access to Internet (if a half-mile hike down a steep hill and then back up can be called easy). My next blog will describe my experience at Nolunna studying Hindi.

Luke