Goodbyes

Yesterday was my last day in the office here, which made me very sad. Everyone "surprised" me with cake (they had been acting suspiciously all day, and I've picked up on their tendency to buy cakes for events like birthdays and goodbyes, so I wasn't shocked...but it was still nice!) I told them all that one of the things I will miss most will be eating with my hand, which I don't think will translate well back in Chicago. Here's a picture of one of the cakes -- it is signed from DC, which is my department (Diagnostic Consulting), and Sujoy decided to personalize it by carving my initials into the frosting.


They also gave me a round metal wall hanging (about 10" in diameter) with Ganesha on it. It's fantastic, and I said that I'd hang it in my entranceway at home. Nitesh then informed me that this is the best place for it, as Ganesha is the first god that they pray to when they are saying their prayers, and the info sheet that they gave me on him also says he is the god of beginnings.

I managed not to tear up until I had basically gotten to the front door of the office, so only Sujoy and Abu actually saw me red-eyed. I hate my tendency to cry at goodbyes and other dramatic moments...it can be pretty out of control at times. I'm hoping that they will all continue to keep in touch and email.

Finally, here's a picture of the group:

In the front row are Sujoy, Abu, me, Hari, Indranil, and Biswarooop; in the back are Pranita, Nitesh, Mayuri, Brijesh, Pallavi, and Uma. Pranita and Pallavi kindly added some decorative touches to Sujoy and Hari's heads. :)

Today Mark and I are going to take another tour, this time of some markets, where hopefully we won't be too overwhelmed and will manage to get some more souvenirs. I'll report back on how it goes!

Fort and a Promenade by the Sea

Today was a good day. Mark and I took advantage of the opportunity to be tourists and spent the morning on a tour of the oldest part of Mumbai, Fort, which is, as you might guess from its name, where the British established their fort when settling in the city. We hired a tour guide to walk us and talk us through the area -- and the experience is best shared via a few of the many pictures we took, I think (or maybe I'm just being word lazy...)

This first picture is of an old city well, which is still in use. The city lets the water flow for a couple of hours each morning, and people come and fill up tanks to store or sell throughout the day.

This one is a building facade with an elaborate balcony, which was built by a man whose main source of wealth was the opium trade. Our tour guide assured us that he also gave a lot back to the community.

This incredible art deco building is the Eros Theatre.

Below is a view of the Maharashtra High Court and the Bombay University clock tower, with the Oval Maidan in the foreground. The Oval is some of the scarce green space in the city, and it and its counterparts to the north and south were preserved not for the sake of greenness, but because they were originally swampland and not good for building on. In fact, they were also once seafront, before the massive landfilling effort that linked the original 7 islands and extended the land westward into what was previously sea, creating the now-continuous piece of land that is modern Mumbai.

And finally, a shot of Mark and me at the end of our tour, at the Gateway of India. This is where King George and Queen Mary arrived on their first trip to their empire in India in 1911. Although there were archways to welcome them, the Gateway itself was not constructed until after, as a commemorative touch.

After returning from our tour around noon, we relaxed for a little while before heading back out to get some lunch. We got a couple of pizzas from our neighborhood Domino's (yes, hilarious) and put one in the fridge to save for another day. After Friday's lunch at work, I thought Mark needed to sample some spicy pizza, and I had a craving for pizza besides. I also talked to Mom and Dad via Google chat, which has an excellent computer-to-computer calling option, so we were able to literally "chat" rather than just typing back and forth.

In the early evening, we decided to take a walk and check out the seafront promenade near where we are staying. A picture of Mark by the Arabian Sea:

Finally, on the way home from the promenade, we stopped by a French style bakery and got a small chocolate truffle cake to share, which pretty much capped the fantasticness of the day for me.

All that's left now is my daily oddity to share. I kid you not, I think this is the thing I've found strangest to encounter in the 'hood here (from yesterday, but I didn't post then):