SHARING IS CARING

I am in India to see my dear friend and colleague Carrie, aka "the care bear", who is working this year in Jaipur at a research institute looking at women's reproductive rights. Five years ago when I came to India to visit Carrie for the first time she was living in a village outside of Ahmedabad in the very conservative state of Gujarat. This time around care bear is living it up in Rajasthan: renting a gorgeous high-rise flat with an impossibly chic French jewelry designer roommate, hanging out with polo players and intellectuals, having haircuts at the Taj and dinners in the courtyards of old havelis, and waking up to sunrises like this one:

In the morning, bear swaddles herself in anthro-tastic fashion to make coffee and porridge in the kitchen...

and we open some doors to let some fresh misty air in.

Her flat is on the 9th floor of a modern building in an upscale area not far from the old city.

Though you can't tell much from these pictures, the place is furnished with all sorts of lovely wood furniture, natural fiber rugs and shades, and traditional block print bedding and decor. The tuk-tuks honk and rev noisily from below but it still feels peaceful and serene inside.

But hoo boy, that's not all! The very best part of the apartment has got to be the balconies: one off the living room (pictured above), one outside of Carrie's room,

and off Juliette's room, an enormous sun-drenched terrace with climbing stalks of bright pink bougainvillea. We ate dinner here my first night and then remained outside for a few hours drinking gin & tonics, eating pomegranates and banana, and enjoying the warm desert air. Heavenly.

I've spent the last few days wandering around Jaipur on my own but this morning I left the house with Carrie, meeting her usual rickshaw driver downstairs and tagging along in the morning to her meetings at the UNFPA and Rajasthan Family Planning Association. In between we stopped at her local chaiwallah for some tea.

Later she showed me around her office...

and we went to the canteen for veggie thalis with potato dosa, pappadums, and another round of chai (grand total for 2 = $1.50).

I love this girl and all her smarts and charm and thoughtfulness and wicked ways. I love that when I, freshly arrived, pulled a bottle of duty-free gin out of my bag she cackled and told me she had just stocked up on tonic water. I'm perfectly happy just hanging out in her living room or listening to her chatter away in Hindi with rickshaw drivers and shopkeepers but I do wish we had the time and money to go on more adventures around and outside of town together (not that chatroulette.com wasn't quite the adventure). But I'm not complaining - things could hardly be better! We'll be off to Delhi this weekend for sightseeing, shopping, and the festival of Holi and it will all be over much much too soon!