DELHI - FINALLY!!!

February 5, 2010

Although we had departed from Newark about an hour later than scheduled, we finally landed at Indira Ghandi International airport in Delhi, two minutes from the time Sanjiv had told me we would land, even though that was not the time as posted in any official schedule I had seen, either on-line or at the airport. We deplaned and then followed the crowd of passengers and began forming in queue for immigration. Since I have a ten-year visa for India, and since the passport into which that visa was issued has recently expired, it is now necessary for me to use two passports when entering India. It kind of makes one imagine being an undercover agent, being able to switch from one passport to another, but only for a minute or two!

We passed through immigration and entered the baggage claim hall, waited (some of us) for at least a half-hour, before retrieving our bags and then exited that hall into the reception area. Wheeling the baggage cart up the ramped exit, I could see Divan, one of the folks from Hi-Points Expeditions, waiting with a smallish placard at the top of the ramp. I waved to him and then pushed my cart around to the left and looked for my niece, Pallavi Saran Mathur, daughter of Sanjiv and Jyotsna Saran. There she was, wearing a KICK POLIO OUT OF INDIA baseball-type cap, and clutching her clipboard with her lists of names of the fifty-four team member names. As I may have mentioned in a previous entry, there were actually two teams arriving at the same time - ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2010 and the POLIO VISION TEAM, comprised of folks from USA and Canada. This second team was the brainchild of two of my former team members - Aruna and Shiva Khousik from Toronto area. Their mission on this trip was to participate in the Polio NID on Sunday, and then to work at various eye camps in the greater Delhi area for a few days, before departing on the travel portion of their team.

Also, waiting for us were two of my dearest friends in India, Sanjiv's cousin, Ravi Dayal and his lovely wife, Jyotsna, who over the years has become like a little sister to me. It was so wonderful to see them after a year, and to catch up with them about their two children Myhima and Madhur. I still recall working with Ravi, then president of his Rotary Club, when I came to India in January 2001 - my first polio NID.

As each of the team members pushed his or her baggage cart up the ramp, we flagged them down and they were welcomed by Pallavi, Jyotsna and Ravi, and their names were ticked off the list, after each received the traditional garland of marigolds. It was the old, "HURRY UP AND WAIT!" situation, but finally, all were present and accounted for, so we moved from the reception hall out into the warm Delhi smoggy, moist air to walk to our bus, awaiting on the other side of the parking area. Each of us made sure we watched as our individual bags were loaded into the back end of the bus and then we boarded. Now we were entering the next leg of our journey - the drive to the hotel, a newly opened member of the Ramada hotel chain. Bell men were their to greet us, wearing typical Indian costumes, and we each received a refreshing glass of juice when we entered the lobby. We waited while keys were distributed for our room assignments and then ascended to our respective floors. In addition, two other members of our team - Bob Weel from Anchorage, Alaska and Elena Sergeeva from Russia came down to the lobby to welcome us. Gavin, a young man, also from Anchorage, was to share my rooms with me over the next eighteen days, and I went up to our room, dropped our bags and then returned to the lobby coffee shop for some food (as if we needed any) and some light refreshment (as Hyacinth Bucket from British comedies would say). Several members of the team drifted into the coffee shop over the next hour or so and we enjoyed good fellowship. Kingfisher beers were the libation of choice for most, and although we were informed that the bar had closed and the late comers would not be able to buy any liquor, I talked with the management, and bolstered by confirmation from my teammates, we were successful in persuading the manager to allow the wait staff to serve Kingfishers to us as late into the wee hours of the morning as desired. Gavin and I retired to our small but comfortable room and tried to get some sleep before we would be awakened with a call from the front desk only four hours later!

Pleasant dreams???