Wearing Down
I am actually kind of tired. We moved to Mujna Ka Tilla, which is on the northern outskirts of Delhi, making it an hour each way if we have to go into the city.
So far we have had to go into the city every day, it kind of makes me wonder why we moved here.
Yesterday we had to drop our passports off at the Chinese Embassy. Afterwards we dropped by Tibet House and got overwhelmed by their bookstore and museum. The book had every imaginable book on Tibet and then some minus two (A Cultural History of Tibet and the Milarepa illustrated novel).
The museum was small but beautiful with the wall covered by Thangka (cloth religious paintings) after Thangka. Each one had a placard by it describing what the contents meant and the style of artistry used. I longed for time to read them all and take notes. There were also many statues, some dating back several hundred years, of all the dieties in Tibetan Buddhism. In the foyer there were Tibetan dolls traditionally dressed. Perhaps because of the size, it was one of the most enjoyable museums I have ever been to (usually I feel like they will never end, this one was similar to a large classroom).
Today we had to make an impromptu visit to deal with ticket matters. Tommorrow we are going to Agra (to see the Taj) and the next day we have to go back to the Chinese Embassy to pick up our passports (and hopefully Visas).
Now why did we move here?
Because this is where all the Tibetans who live in Delhi live, so we thought it would be wise to live closer to them, get to observe and meet people. Indeed we already met one fellow who lives in Dharamsala so now we won't be arriving as complete strangers. It is also quieter here, on the edge of town. If I squeeze in between the the tall buildings and walk about 100 meters east I arrive at the Yamuna river, with nothing but fields on the other side.