The last day finally arrived at the end of an almost 4 month stay in this amazing country. The People Portal project still continues but I must return home to get ready for the wedding, the move out to Atlanta. I am going to really miss the people on the project in Gurgoan. I wish I had a group photo of everyone but for now here’s some random pictures of the days before I left.
This is my typical ride everyday on the Riskshaw to the Sapient office. The name of this busy street is called the MG Road. Everyday there is something new to see whether it is animals to people shipping large chunks of ice. Guys on top of buses or a variety of roadkill, some including people!
This next photo is the Sterling Guest House crew sending me off. The guy in the front still remains nameless to me though I did finally learn his name the night previously during our farewell dinner but again I forgot. The guy on the far right is the infamous Lakshman. More stories about him at a later time. 🙂
Finally, this last photo is of the crowded Delhi airport. The entrance way to the ticketing booths are well gaurded by security with AK-47s. The lines can also be quite long. However or the impatient or the anxious, baggage guys will come out and for a small “fee” will help you cut the lines inside and out.
Ray was away from home for almost four months. During the two weeks that he returned home in May, rather than craving for a burger or some other American food, he told me that he wanted to eat Palak Paneer! That crazy guy! 🙂 I could not stop laughing since India has really grown on him. I can’t blame him. India is such a wonderful and colorful country. People there are really friendly and courteous. I visited Ray for 10 days during March and therefore, can totally understand why he fell in love with the place. Hopefully we can go there again someday and explore other parts of India such as Bombay and Bangalore.
I had the pleasure of meeting the staff at Sterling Residence (picture of the four men above). They treated me so kind and tried their best to accommodate my food and water requests. Admittedly, before going to India, I was worried about what I was going to eat there (thus, I ended up bringing a whole bag of snacks, dried fruits, and even 14 apples bought at the Newark Airport during my layover). I was so fortunate that the staff was willing to make me special meals and chicken without butter and oil, etc.
A couple of the nights, Ray and I went outside to feed a dog and her two puppies. Lakshman, the concierge, would open and close the door behind us everytime regardless of the time of the night. There was one night when I kept running back into the room to bring more snacks for the dogs and Lakshman was extremely patient and made sure the door was opened and close each time I dashed out. The security guard was also very kind. He did the same thing as Lakshman, but at the gate. I felt so bad because sometimes, they were sleeping since it was really late at night.