Fulbright: Week One

 

With tabla maker Ustad Hazi Ishtiyaq Khan (right)

          

  

                                    

   

   

  Bedroom in Hauz Khas (pre-move) 

                                            

         

                                                                     

           Lodi Garden at sunset

 

Today marks a week since my first full day in India. And what a week it has been. Yesterday morning I left the Taj Ambassador in Khan Market, where I'd spent the previous seven nights in relative luxury, loaded everything into a taxi, then hauled all my bags (including freshly acquired tabla) up three flights of stairs into my new apartment in Hauz Khas. The apartment is incredible. Somehow it even feels like an upgrade from the Taj. The landlords, Anil Kumar and Urmil Jain, are pretty much the sweetest people ever and care about making us feel at home. We really lucked out.

I say we because I have a roommate here. His name is Kyle. Kyle is a Ph.D. Candidate in anthropology at the University of Washington. He does research on caste at Karni Mata--the Temple of Rats--in Deshnok, some 30 km outside of Bikaner, in rural Rajasthan. Like me, his sponsoring institution is located in Delhi, so he is obliged to live here, but he plans to spend most of his time in Rajasthan, once Fulbright permits him to travel there. Turns out we arrived on the same flight from Chicago last Wednesday. We met separately with USIEF staff on Thursday and they suggested to each of us that we look for apartments together. I had reservations, only because in my mind's eye I had pictured myself living alone (and I didn't know Kyle from Adam). He apparently had similar reservations, but after five minutes chatting on the phone we agreed to look for a 2-br in South Delhi together.

Good thing we did, because we struck real estate gold. We fell in love with the first apartment the USIEF realtor, Himanshu, showed us. Over the past decade the owners have only rented to Fulbright scholars, and the property sat empty for the entire pandemic til now. Neither of us could have afforded something so spacious and luxurious on our own, but together it fit well within our budget. The rest of the search felt like a formality--Himanshu was obliged to show us other rentals in other neighborhoods, but we were sold as soon as we saw the Hauz Khas apartment and it became the standard for comparison henceforth. One of the apartments, the second, was quite depressing. Couldn't imagine living there for a single week, let alone nine months. A few were perfectly adequate but in no way exciting or inspiring. It felt fated that Kyle and I would choose the Hauz Khas apartment. If we hadn't taken it, the next Fulbrighters to come along certainly would have. I can't imagine a better spot, and Hauz Khas is an excellent neighborhood. We're walking distance to Gulmohar Park (where we can walk and jog amongst greenery), Deer Park metro station, and the Hauz Khas Market (where we can find more or less any food we desire and then some). It turns out Himanshu and the Jains are quite close after all these years working together. As we sat around working out lease details it had the feeling of a family reunion more so than a business transaction. Even after calling off the search on Saturday, we spent several days making copies, working through paperwork, and getting everything in order for the move. The Jains had workers hanging wallpaper and bringing in furniture and appliances right up til the last moment. They were still fixing electrical issues as we settled in yesterday morning.

My nervous system is finally settling, which basically means I'm just exhausted now. Arriving in India after almost two years on the covid hamster wheel felt like being shot out of a cannon. All of a sudden things are happening again, and at lightning speed. India is nothing if not energetic, and Delhi embodies that buzz full throttle. After working through the jet lag, dealing with various arms of Indian bureaucracy, and moving into the apartment, I feel as if my whole being can now exhale. I've started to put out feelers on the research front, beginning with a remote workshop on kathak accompaniment offered this weekend by  Yogesh Samsi, a renowned tabla player and teacher in Mumbai. More on all that soon. For now, I have everything I need to rest and continue settling into my new life in Delhi: beautiful tabla crafted by Ishtiyaq Khan in Tilak Nagar, a handmade Kashmiri silk rug on which to practice said tabla, a new friend and roommate, and above all, a comfortable, spacious apartment to call home for the duration.