Traveling in India for six months, we had our fair share of odd experiences — but the most interesting seemed to be when it was time to rest our weary heads. From bumpy buses and crowded trains to a thatched…
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Eat this Page: Aloo Paratha (whole wheat Indian flatbread)
Parathas are whole-wheat Indian flatbread that can be as healthy as you want them to be. You ca eat them plain, or stuffed, for breakfast or lunch. This recipe uses our favorite filling – aloo (potato) – with a much healthier adaptation from expert paratha maker, Binder Bhua, Navdeep’s aunt. She is very Punjabi, so doesn’t understand the concept of “no ghee” and finds the idea of a dry paratha unfathomable, hence the glistening parantha in the photo above.
India Travelogue: Reality Bites
When Navdeep dropped me off at the airport on at 1 a.m. on February 6th, I couldn’t help but be a bit teary. Not only was our trip over, but we weren’t even on the same flight back. And as much as I missed everyone, I really didn’t want to head back to reality.India was definitely an adventure for us. We got to see and experience some of the most beautiful – and chaotic – places on the planet. We also got to spend more time with each other than we ever had before, nearly 24 hours a day. And surprisingly, that turned out to be a great thing. So to get on the plane and spend 18-hours alone, thinking about it all, it was like jumping into the deep end when you haven’t been swimming in years.
Bus-Ted: Ruminating on India’s Local and “Deluxe” Buses
When Navdeep repeatedly warned me about the uber-bumpy buses we’d be taking on this trip, I didn’t really take him seriously. After all, I was used to dealing with the horrors of New Jersey Transit and Greyhound. Not to mention the fact that I once took one of those video-buses that play old, scratchy Bollywood flicks at eardrum-blasting levels the whole ride. It didn’t seem so bad. I was shoved out of my false sense of security by our first “Semi-Deluxe” bus ride, from Chandigarh to Malout.
Accidentally Finding Spirituality in India: The Golden Temple and Beyond
It’s a very strange feeling being back in India as a traveler again, but this time as a couple. It’s difficult not to think about our own spirituality when religion is everywhere, from impromptu Sufi music being sung in the park, or masjids, gompas, mandirs, and gurdwaras rooted in history that resonate deeply.
India Travelogue: Batta Trouble in the Alleys of New Delhi’s Patel Nagar
After sleeping most of the day away, we decided to explore West Patel Nagar a bit. We made a pit stop at an internet cafe via cycle rickshaw. This turned out to be not such a great idea because landmarks whizzed by us. The only thing I remembered was a bar. Sona remembered Sharma Sweets. The internet connection wasn’t the greatest, but it was fast enough for us to check email. We wanted to go for a quick exploration around the area so we wrapped up our email-checking and randomly decided which direction to go in.
We walked by some very tempting food and juice stalls, but we didn’t wind up getting anything. The first couple stalls we went to selling juice had pomegranate juice which I am always down for, but only had mango shake (not juice as Sona would have liked). And then it started getting dark. Our stroll until that point had been for perhaps an hour or so. My big plan was to enjoy my anar juice on the walk back to Munna Mamaji’s flat and let Sona frown at the juice-wala for not having mango juice. This did not happen. My alternative plans of eating ice cream, having an ice-cold Limca and eating gol guppe also did not happen.