Good day readers, and welcome to the 2nd update from delightful Delhi. Three wonderful days have passed since the last post so I'll try to give you as much of a flavour of the experience as possible (without waffling on too long).
But before all that, I'll deal with the commenter's challenge... 'The other J' came closest to the mark in identifying the eight-point star as the khatim in Islamic art. The significance here is that by looking through the star (from the inside of Humayun's Tomb), you are looking directly towards Mecca. Well done to all those who gave their suggestions (although I expect more effort than a google search in future Mark...). Also, if you fancy making your own khatim, see The other J's comment... but children, please get an adult to assist you when using scissors.
We're now beginning to feel at home in our hotel in the Noida district of New Delhi. The staff are welcoming and friendly, despite the limited English skills. Rose, you will be pleased to hear the rooms are clean, well air conditioned and have en-suite facilites!
In terms of location, we are a brief bus journey from the film campus where we are spending most of our time, but we are always provided with private minibus transport.
A small market area with shops and food stalls is a leisurely 15 minute walk away. It should be noted that the push and shove technique witnessed continuously on the roads is also transfered to the shopping scene (The concept of queueing at a counter is not one that most people seem familiar with... especially when the trouble maker in front is a confused Brit who is likely to cause a delay). The pedestrian also soon learns that listening out for the "I'm about to run you over" horn is a vital survival skill.
For those few who have been up early enough, every day has begun with sweet coffee (they mix it with a concoction of hot milk and sugar here, as apose to the more mundane hot water), buttered toast and flicking through The Times of India.
The mornings/early afternoons this week have been spent down at the AAFT (Asian Academy of Film & Television) campus. It is also the home of the ASMS (Asian School of Media Studies) and Marwah Studios. Our welcome on Tuesday morning was fantastic - everyone was extremely friendly and happy to see us. The warm 'welcome ceremony' included speeches from creater/head of school Sandeep Marwah, AAFT lecturer Deepti Pant, the Dean of the AAFT, and our very own Chris Leonard (who was also presented with a beautiful bunch of blooming flowers). We also had the opportunity to spend time with and get friendly with the 15 (ish) AAFT students who we'll be working closely with.
The rest of our time at the campus this week has been sent carrying out production meetings for the collaborative film projects we will be producing together (we're splitting into groups of 8 and making 3 short films). These have gone very smoothly and I'm confident that working together over the next few weeks is going to be extremely enjoyable/rewarding.
We've also held daily meetings in the hotel 'lounge reception' area (that we have acquired as our front room) for our own group project that is to be shot in Delhi & Preston. We have some brilliant locations in mind for filming and have been putting together a schedule and utilising our contacts at the AAFT to get the ball (or should I say, reel) rolling.
In other spare spots of time we've paid a visit to 'The Great India Place'; a shopping mall of epic proportions, not too disimliar to shopping centre's you would find back home (for me personally, the contrast of elaborate, expensive structures and very run down scenes has been a hard-hitting/difficult aspect of experiencing Delhi so far - wealth and poverty literally lie side by side). At the mall, we picked up a fetching outfit for me to wear in our film (see image below).
Today, we have been to 'Dilli Haat'; an outdoor traditional Indian market that sells a vast array of crafts, food and fabrics. The atmosphere was fantastic...
The latter parts of our evenings at the hotel have been spent enjoying some bottles of Royal Challenge (a local beer), and numerous games of Uno (I'm sure the Coxhead/McCrave family's will be chuffed to hear this news). Last night, I also tucked into a freshly made 'Mississippi Mud Slice' that I purchased at local bakery (a magnificent find...).
This weekend we're off on a excursion to the historical town of Jaipur, so I'll be reporting back about that early next week.
Happy Easter to all for Sunday!
John
x
