A walk in the park

This afternoon was rare in that we finished class early and there were not plans to go to a market, historic palace or fort, or some other sightseeing around Delhi. Since we have to leave the residence at 6:15am tomorrow to catch our train to Amritsar, I didn't particularly feel the need to go looking for something to do in the city. I decided, instead, that I was going to go read while walking in the neighborhood park.

One of the things that I love about Neeti Bagh (and communities in India in general) is that they are still designed on the premise that not everyone has a car and, even if they have one, they shouldn't have to hop in it whenever they need the smallest thing. Within a few minutes walk down the street from my door I can reach Neeti Bagh's small market that has two 24hr ATMs, a chemist (aka pharmacist), a stand that sells soft drinks and chips, a pet hospital, a tailor, and two salons (one for women and one for men - although the men's is called the "Beauty Saloon"...don't ask me). Walking down the street a few minutes the other direction and about 30 seconds outside the gates of Neeti Bagh is another small market that has a few take-out restaurants (both delicious!), a few small "grocery stores", a tailor, and a number of other small businesses. Along the street and within the neighborhood there are always numerous fruit and vegetable carts and usually a wandering ice cream stand. There are a number of small fields in the neighborhood, so there is always at least one game of cricket going on. And in the center of Neeti Bagh is the park.

The park is lovely - I am enchanted with it. Though there are gates on all sides of the fence, only the one that leads the path in is kept unlocked, so that is where the guard sits (guards are everywhere in India - stores, ATMs, parks, residences ). I am horrible with judging sizes/numbers/distances of things, so I don't know how big it is, but it is quite large enough for all that I'm about to describe to you. There is a brick path that runs all the way around the park, with a dirt path running alongside it - as a runner, I appreciate the option of surfaces, especially as the dirt is easier on the knees - not that I've been running here, though, haha! There are trees around the paths and inside the paths there is a huge green space that has trees, benches, open spaces, wire animals (elephants, kangaroos, tigers...), sprinklers, and many friendly dogs.

When I got there at 5:30, there were only a few other people there. It was still a little early for Indians to be voluntarily spending time out-of-doors. Since the sun was on its way down and I was not directly in it, it felt quite pleasant and I was greatly enjoying walking along the path with my book (I have since checked to see what the temperature was then - never in my life did I think I would reach a place where 106 degrees felt pleasant!). As time passed, the park came alive. By the time Catherine joined me at 6:30, it was full of children chasing each other or playing cricket or playing soccer with their parents, adults in 2s and 3s walking briskly together, people relaxing on the benches, and a few adults helping their elderly parents walk along the dirt path with their walkers. I couldn't get enough of it!

The book that I am reading is "Three Cups of Tea." My sister Suzanne has been telling me to read it for ages and now that I am almost halfway through, please allow me to say: if you haven't read it - PLEASE go get it now! It's amazing. But that's a whole separate blog that I will get to once I'm done, haha. As I was reading and walking today, I was reading a part of the book where Greg (the man the book follows) is thinking about life in America versus life in the Pakistani village where he is trying to build a school for the children. At one point he quotes a Bhutan king who says that the true measure of a nation's success is not its gross national product, but rather its "gross national happiness." When I read that, I couldn't help but look up and see the happiness in the community around me.

I love that community. I love that people find joy in coming to the park in the early evening in whatever state they choose to come in -some men in business slacks and shirts; some women who had donned sneakers with their sarees or salwar camiz- and interact with one another. To me it seems like this is their transition from day to night, from job to home, from business world to family world. How lovely to make that transition out in the park with one another, with family, with friends, with children, rather than the sad-but-often-true American transition of coming home, turning the TV on and maybe having the family all in one room watching the same thing. There is a joy found in community (and it is palpable here) that simply cannot be found alone. Are we keeping that joy confined in our own individual houses or have we lost it all together? If the former, why do we not recognize that that joy could be so much greater when shared with others? And if, sadly, the latter, are we even aware that we're missing something so vital?

Community is essential. That is a lesson that I have been learning constantly for the past year and a half. I pray that I will remember that and that others will too. We are relational beings and we can't love others well if we're never with them!

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When I reached the park to begin my reading and walking today, I realized that I hadn't brought anything with me except my book - no wallet, no camera. I decided that I would step back from the tourist and just be a Neeti Bagh resident, just walking and reading in my Indian clothes and Indian shoes in my Indian park with my Indian neighbors. I would just soak it in. And I did :)