Vishwa Shanti

This Hindi term refers to world peace. Navigating the terrain, byways, streets, and alleys of Delhi makes me more fully aware of the complexities, disparities, and diversities of this world we inhabit. Perhaps more than ever before I feel both connected to, and at the same time, different from the masses of humanity who must scratch out a bare existence from ever diminishing natural and social resources.

The people here are exceedingly friendly, and the children especially love to talk with Americans. Rebecca and I receive special notice wherever we go. The tourism trade is down significantly here--for financial, geopolitical, and local reasons. Often we are the only Americans or Europeans in a crowded and densely populated area.

Today, my fearless and inexhasutible guide took me on the Delhi metro (very fast, clean, and efficient), then a tour of Old Delhi. We visited the Red Fort, both a Sikh and a Jain Temple, as well as lunch at Kareems, a famous Delhi restaurant. One highlight for me was a calm and refined tea shoppe. We did a bit of shopping and browsing along the way--every purchase requiring advanced skills in bargaining (and stalling and bargaining again).

I have now used nearly every form of transportation available in Delhi: cycle rickshaw, auto rickshaw (our most common means), taxi, hired car, and metro--as well as a lot of walking in crowded streets. In fact, crossing the street here requires a kind of courage and stamina that I have not completely developed. Yet small children and elderly people do so without hesitation. Spaghetti Junction is nothing compared to the freewheeling corridors of Delhi!

As people in other parts of the globe celebrate Hannukah, Christmas, and New Years--please consider the needs of so many people in this vast and crowded and enchanting land of India.

Vishwa Shanti.