McDonald' s the Metro, and Michelle
Trip Start
Sep 20, 2010
1
61
71
Trip End
Apr 14, 2011
Where I stayed
Jamia Humdard University - Scholars House Alakananda - S, Delhi
Delhi, NCT, India
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Flash-back to leaving Delhi:
I said good-bye to Scholar's house, a kind of hostel on the campus of Jamia Humdard. I felt quite at home here, as it was populated by young students pursuing summer courses and diplomas. In particular, there were at least 10 young electrical engineers who were being trained for aspects of electrical power production in India. Two women were among them. I had some great conversations about nuclear power, given the Japanese disaster.
The day before, however, I was at Connaught Centre ( by the Metro which is quite modern), a kind of local Ontario Mall on steroids, for there are at least 10-15 colonnaded buildings around a huge traffic circle that is serviced by the Metro. Yes, I discovered MacDonald's. And I was told not to take pictures. I'm not sure why. And I met a young woman, Michelle outside of the big M. I did not recognize her (she was with us on the 1st trip for about 3 days last October, as she was friends with one of the university students and she was spending some time earning money (she was from Toronto) by playing piano evenings at the Oriental Express a restaurant in the Taj Palace, a 5 star hotel. We both marvelled at the odds of meeting a fellow Canadian under such circumstances. When I asked her how she recognized me (I thought she was going to say: your beard), she said my sandals! Well I know they're distinctive, but who would have thought?
Comments
you have experienced both the vastness and the confines of the planet - to meet someone from Canada whom you had met before - a coincidence perhaps, and she recognized you by your sandals - the equipment of a true pilgrim.