Gallery 44

It has been almost a month since I left India but India has never left me, or my heart! England has been most welcoming, with warm and sunny days that try to lure me back into its fast moving life. I admit that since I returned I have not had a moment of silence, peace or meditation, always working, always studying, always somewhere to go and something to do. I feel tired but I also feel melancholic, I feel that some part of me is missing and yes, I miss India! Even though I will hopefully return next summer, it seems like aeons from now. I am now busy planning my next adventures, including securing my work placement year that I want to undertake abroad, maybe in India, maybe in the US, maybe in Dubai, who knows where this theatre play called life will throw me. Nevertheless, I have other smaller adventures to look forward to, a week holiday back home in Romania and a weekend away backpacking in Poland for my 21st birthday. More recent than my trips will come the reunion with al

So my journey has come to its end but the ramifications of the past three weeks will continue to weave their way all through my life and the lives of others as the neverending stream of .... River. The last day began with an emotional briefing and an early start to our designated school. My school, RIMS international school, was in Juhu, a district 1 hour away from Marine drive, a long but beautiful journey. I got to have a last overview of the skyline of Mumbai and I realized how much I will miss India. When we got to the school we were welcomed with a demonstration of traditional dancing and the national anthem sung by two of the students, which encompassed the emotion and experience that I gained during my time spent here. I had so much fun getting involved in the geography quiz and winning it, collaborating for the literature class and listening to the business students presenting the issue of manufactured needs. I loved mingling with the students and this experience made

As my journey is coming close to its finale I am starting to feel more and more anxious. I do not think that I want to go back to the real world that awaits for me in Europe. India is such a wonderful place to live in and I made so many memories and friends here that I just don't want it to end. The day was announcing itself to be filled with events and activities, the moat jam-packed day of them all up to date.  we started off with an early departure to the TISS at 9 am and had a very interesting lecture by the director of the institute, concerning the social welfare of India and how social sciences are approached in India. I was surprised to find about all the social policies that are in place and how action orientated all .  Bombay from the top floor of TISS

Today started with Hindi classes with the beautiful Neha and was followed by a visit to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the largest in Asia and also the oldest, established in 1875. After that I had to give an interview on my experience in India and therefore, was a bit late for the visit to the house of famous and eccentric fashion designer James Ferrerra where we had somewhat of a VIP experience, being just six of us. He talked about various things, from the renegation of the past that Indians show, to his attempts to revive the heritage that India has and also set up a couture course that could balance the one in Paris, his love for wood and glass but also fun stories from when he lived in London with his Muslim boyfriend. I will end by quoting him: "To live in India is to live in a place without a conscience". Refering to the world of contrast that you find in Bombay, having the rich and poor living ever so close but never truly interacting. He invited to come visit him a

I am safe to say that I slept aproximately 15 hours and I still feel tired. My alarm went off and I dismissed it as I thought it was Tuesday. Wrong, I was meant to be at my Bollywood dancing class at 7 but managed to wake up at 8, therefore, missing it. I have a plan of catching up on Wednesday so I hope it works out. Today we had to go on a treasure hunt that took us through the whole of South Bombay, from the Gateway to India to the Watson Hotel to the Sassoon Library and dock and even to Starbucks, that has a delicious Iced Hibiscus Infusion tea. This was followed with the most extraordinary visit to the largest slum in Asia, Dharavi. The experience left me speechless and during my time there I barely said a couple of words, except for questions to our tour guide from Reality, an NGO that uses 80% of its profits to implement social programs in the slum. Our visit coincided with the first day of the 10-day festival dedicated to lord Ganesh, the god with a head of an elephant and

Our train got to Mumbai at 9 in the morning and we reached the hotel and checked in around 10. We had lunch and then I rested my eyes for a while, as I couldn't keep it up anymore without falling asleep. At noon we went out to go exploring and wondered through the markets and took a stroll on Marina Drive to explore a small part of British Bombay. After that I took a taxi and returned to the hotel around 5 as the others wanted to go shopping for a little longer.I cannot believe how tired I am and that is why I am going to bed after writing so little, today was not that exciting but hope things pick up and I get to see some of my friends from outside the program as well. All the best from the coast of India!

Today was a sad day as it was my final day in Delhi. I woke up early and went for breakfast with my boss. I got at Starbucks just before it opened and I met 2 Australian girls that I will probably see after I reach Mumbai. Me and my boss had a serious discussion about what we want to do next and went to the post office so I could send my letter to my Amercan friend. She then accompanied me back to the hotel, where we said our good byes in front of a bunch of Indian body builders, that the hotel was hosting for an event. After that it was time to say goodbye to the hotel, the wonderful staff, the temple and Delhi, as it felt that I was leaving home to go on holiday. We reached the train station and getting on the train was an expensive nightmare, as my suitcase broke and I had to pay  a man to carry it for me. I met a guy that was working in the same neighbourhood as me and things got a bit hot and bothered. However, the 16 hour train journey  passed reasonably fast as it was a sl

Today started nicely with breakfast at the office cooked by my lovely boss and a nice cuppa made by my lovely friend. I finished a cover story for one of the magazines that I designed the content list for and also did some research on Indian dessert, jalebi. We had a lot of fun today, also my boss took me for a celebrity interview with Prakash Jah, one of India's greatest directors. It was an honour to meet him and interview him, however, we had to rush and shop for my accessories as well. We went to Unhappily married where I bought some really unique and crafty souveniers for my friends and then to Lajpat Nagar, a huge market where I got my accessories and shoes for my saree. After that I took a tuk tuk and hurried back to the hotel where I got ready to party! At  6 we went to the British Council where we had our closing ceremony which was a blast! The food, speeches and dancing was amazing, as well as the disco and music at the afterparty! Tomorrow we leave for Mumbai, I

Today will be a quick post, as I have a couple of things keeping me busy. Work was amazing again, the girls at work will bring me jewellery to wear with my saree and will go shoe shopping tomorrow. We had so many coffee breaks it was unbelievable but ultimately fun. I got to know more people in the office and see what they do for a living, which was inspiring. Next on I will leave work early to do my creative installation project for Cultural exchange night and then we will have a party with a talent show and a lot of fun. That is all for today, and in case something interesting happens, you will hear all about it tomorrow. PS: I will attempt to contact my American friend through the old-style medium of letters, wish me luck!

Although I miss David, my American friend, I got to work bright and early today and started work on my first article for an Indian online magazine, called HomeComing. I did a piece on stand-up comedy and then was able to design it and give it shape. I cannot wait to see it published and be proud of it, this goes straight on my CV!!!!! Next on, after a fullfilling day at work, we went to visit the Lotus temple, home of the Baha'i cult and listen to the inspiring talk of CEO of Fabindia, William Bassel. I had to quickly run at 7 to go get my indian clothing from the tailor's and managed to make it just in time. After that, me and my room mate Tharusha, went to Berco's for another amazing meal. We made our way back to the hotel and I tried my clothes on for my amazing coordinator, former fashion editor, Meetu. Decided that I will wear an anarkeli for Friday night's dinner at the British Council and a saree next week at the closing ceremony in Mumbai. All in all it w

Day 2 of my internship week kicked off with a wonderful breakfast with my lovely friend George, followed by the celebration of my new American friend, David. He just turned 21 and I decided we could not let the moment passed unnoticed. Today was also the day he was leaving for the home of the tree where Buddha reached enlightment, where he will be on an exchange program for 3 months. I took him to my favourite place in Delhi, a sikh temple, where we enjoyed the calmness and went to make roti for the poor. It was a heartwarming experience but also heartbreaking because I had to say good bye to my new amazing friend. Hopefully, he will come and stay for a week in December in the UK, so we will get to see each other again. Next off we went to a conference at the British Council with the esteemed education minister of India, where we got to share our experiences so far and try to convince him and the government that the program is an invaluable part of the connection between the UK and

Today was the most amazing day. First I got to lie in for the first time in weeks. Secondly, it was my first day of internship! I loved every moment of it and it went so quickly. I had to do an entire editorial briefing for a whole new issue of a magazine at Maxposure Publishing, Delhi. More than that, I loved writing an article for the issue as well. The team is wonderful and the office is great, I learnt so much and cannot wait to go back tomorrow. After I came back I had a bit of an altercation but it all balanced out when a very cute man brightened my evening. Happiness can come when least expected!

As I was saying last night, today at 4 AM we left for the wonderful tomb Shah Jahan built for his wife. The journey took around 5 hours and when we arrived there we had guide that showed us around the whole complex which is formed from several buildings, gates, mosques  and gardens. The beauty of the complex is astonishing but my heart was breaking at the sight of the degrading store and lack of care of the authorities for the preservation of this amazing monument. Next  on we went for lunch and then we visit the Red fort of Agra, which was built by the same emperor and it is as big and majestic as the other complex and even overlooks it. I an surprised of how technical and perfectly symetrical the whole design is. After finishing the visits we had to return to Delhi as 2 of us had to catch flights for their internships. The trip back was fun, packed with jokes, songs and deep conversation. I loved every bit of it! The evening ended with regular, boring things, watching a film, h

Today was a lie in day, I got up at 8 to get to the freshers' party at Maitreyi college which was supposed to be one of the best college in Delhi University. We got there at 10 and the whole courtyard was transformed into an enormous tent with a huge stage for the Miss Maitreyi contest to take place! The girls were gorgeous, smart and very talented so I can only imagine how hard it was to choose a winner. There were 21 contestants and all of them are amazing girls that will probably have the best time of their life in this college. We had our pictures taken and hanged out with our buddies from uni that are now already our friends and we plan to visit each other in the future. Our UK team also had some talented representatives that entertained the public with their talents and I have some funny videos of their impromptu fashion show and dance acts. After we finished at the college, we came back and we went shopping, however I visited 3 markets, Jan Path, Shankar and Palika, bec

It is officially a week since I started my adventure and I am writing this post after a fun and exhausting day. Today started badly when me and my room mates overslept but mange to wake up just in time for leaving for the Maitreyi college visit and breakfast. At the college there was a celebratory atmosphere again, but this time I managed to skip class and spend more time with the girls, students, than attending lectures. I even participated in competitions and won the quiz with my Indian team mates, beating the boys from the UK, as I was the only girl participating. After classes finished, we went to Delhi Haat for some shopping with the Indian student and I got a saree and a couple more gitfts for my friends back home, However, after we left and returned to the hotel, it was our first evening off so we made the most of it and went shopping to Janpath as I needed a blouse for my saree. Luckily I found this shop owner from which I buit a traditional suit that told me to come

This morning started early again, 6 AM start, just in time for the bollywood dancing class at 6.30. The class was held by one of our team leaders, Gills, who also introduces yoga in the class to stretch and relax through breathing at the beginning and ending of the lesson. It was really fun and was a good exercise as none of us has actually had time to go to the gym since we came here. Next on the list was breakfast and after that we started the journey to our colleges again. Today was sports day and I had so much fun with volleyball and basketball which was a really nice change and made me feel like back in highschool. The best part of it was getting to actually know the indian students, as well as having lunch with them in the cafeteria and experiencing their uni life while contrasting it with my student life in the UK. After this very exhausting day at college we came back to the hotel and had another two lectures were I also found out about my internship but as I was not compl

Time seems to be passing so quickly and slowly at the same time, first it passes quickly as we are already in day 6 of out journey and slowly because by the time you get to bed and put your head on your pillow, the things you did in the morning seem to be days away. You meet so many people, learn so many new things and see so many extraordinary places that it becomes almost impossible to capture everything. Today, we started off with yoga classes, which were calming and a good morning exercise to energise you for the whole day. The proccess was fun and Tharu, my room mate decided to finally join as I will go Bollywood dancing tomorrow to make it even. After that the normal routine, breakfast, shower, dressing up and off we went to visit a sikh temple, which was amazing in both its simplicity and complexity. Simplicity of colour scheme, but complexity of carvings and layout of the temple. Apparently, the inside temple is the starting idea for the red telephone boxes in London, w

Today began with a cancelled yoga class which left me a bit disappointed but at the same time got another hour of sleep :) Therefore, after a very short breakfast we made our way to the CCRT (Centre for cultural and religious training) in Dwara.  Here we had a talk from  Dr. S. C. Goswami  about how science and religion are interlinked and how there is only "one that is many". After this intense and enlightening lecture we moved on to be mesmerized by a very talented kathak dancer  ( Kathak   ( Hindi : कथक) is one of the eight forms of   Indian classical dances , originated from   India .  The name Kathak is derived from the   Sanskrit   word   katha   meaning   story , and   katthaka   in Sanskrit means   he who tells a story , or   to do with stories .  ). This dance procession made me smile most of the time and brought back memories of home, as the music that accompanies the dance reminds me of the gypsy music back in Romania. After the visit at CCRT ended, we had

This morning started at 6 AM with and early shower and then hindi class. All was well and breakfast was really entertaining as I got to have some giggles with some of my newly made friends, I will miss these little group encounters when I will leave but that's life, it never stops, we have to keep on going and just enjoy everything while it lasts. After breakfast we all got into coaches and went to the British Council again for a session regarding their mission in India and a meeting with Sam Miller. From the latter I collected a couple of quotes that I will share with you "I write why I try to understand why I think what I think" and "I am for better or for worse, distinctive"( about his life in India). The seminar was followed by a lovely al fresco lunch which gave us a good boost for the next leg of the race, the trip to the India Gate, which is an impressive construction meant to represent it's independence. The next part of the journey was a

Today was jam-packed with activities: First off we had an induction class with the Indogenius team, where we got to know more about our programme and after breakfast our journey began. We started by having an adventurous journey to and with the Delhi Metro into Old Delhi.When we arrived there we visited the mosque built by the same arhitect that built the Taj Mahal and the Red fort. Then we took rickshaws to the Red fort where we completed our photo-shoto challenges, including a snap of Gandhi's see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, which was really fun as we attracted massive crowds that were photographing us. It felt a bit like being a celebrity chased by paparazi to be honest. After that we walked to the tube station again, going throught the busy streets of Old Delhi and witnessing a hindu and sikh temple standing side by side. I never thought you can have such a great religious diversity in one square mile.  The metro journey was fast and comfy due to the AC but s

And other day has passed in new and exciting India. Today was eventful and gave us more of a taste of how India actually lives and breathes. When we arrived at the YMCA we were greeted by some very friendly receptionists and somehow managed to finish our check in just before 5 AM, although the bus journey took a little under 2 hours, and then settled in our rooms.  I did not want to sleep as I thought that if I keep going until the evening my sleep pattern will adjust itself but how wrong was I.  During breakfast we planned to go out exploring and that is exactly what we did, in the heat of the morning we set out to see New Delhi for the first time and we were greeted by a noisy, fast-paced and wonderful city. We all were on the same flight and made friends really fast and that is what I love about having a diverse group, you get to meet people that will inspire you and support you just because you are thrown in life's challenges together. One of our friends, managed

I first became in love with India when I was back home,through the novels of a great religion historian, Mircea Eliade. He was also a writer and in his novels he portrayed this magical land he had adored and all the its beauties, it was India. Further on, I understood through history lectures that during the 20th century it had been given a name worth of its treasures, the Pearl of the British Empire. My journey to, through and from India does not begin in a port,like it did for the beforementioned author, but in an airport. As soon as I left the bus,faith made it so happen that a talented young gentleman from Seattle would tag along in the search for terminal 4 and, as we lost each other during check-in, faith reunited us again when we realized we were queing besides each other at the coffee shop. We spent an enjoyable 3 hours together,keeping us entertained and discussing politics, music, media and journalism among others, and knowing that one day we will meet again either in

Another month has passed and I finally convinced myself to write another post after reading the blog of a very cute and intersting guy I met during my trip to Croatia. Yes, the time I spent there was amazing and I am getting a taste for travelling alone, but this is not the most important thing that happened to me in the last 30 days. First things first, I went to Split and found Croatia to be an amazing country, where I had the luck to find amazing people. Although I was a little worried about how my holiday will go since I was on my own, I do not regret one moment. Split was big enough not to get bored, but small enough to keep the village feel. It had an amazing reservation park, that I went hiking in and ended up on the other side of the peninsula, where I stayed for an entire day, reading and enjoying the sun on the rocky beach. When I came back, I went to Thorpe park with friends from work and it was the best experience ever! I think I am going to go to America just to g

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, aproximately 9 and a half months to be more precise. After I moved to the UK and started university it seems that I got so caught up in the web of my new life that my writing has been trapped in it as well. So many interesting and exciting things have happened, so many lovely people have come into my life and, still, I have not written about them. This post is also due to a new but very good friend of mine with which I was talking last night. It is funny how people can make you remember things you have forgot about even if you enjoyed them so much. I think I will fast forward through the past months and try to highlight some of the most interesting and important things that have happened in my life. It begins with: OCTOBER- Soon after I stopped writing I found myself with a work permit, on my dad's birthday, 10th October, and 4 days after I was happily employed at the Bear, a very nice inn just outside Oxford, where I have