26th September

Feeling a million times better today. Even went out to AIM and had the old favourite: pomegranate shake. It was great; it stayed in and everything. We did a little bit of work in AIM until Lauren got too uncomfortable and we needed to go so she could lie down. I have started getting cramps in my stomach as well, but I think it is just confused that it is being filled and not immediately rejecting it now.

Ben has decided he is going to Calcutta on Monday. It is Durga Pooja just now, and the city celebrates it more than elsewhere. I think it has something to do with Kali, but I will check that one out. He is going there by train, and then on to Assam and Darjeeling. It is an epic journey: 20 hours by train to Calcutta and then god knows how long to get home from the North East. A few of the others are going with him: Ward and Colin are flying out, and then Egle and Marie, and maybe Lauren, are going to go meet them mid-week in Darjeeling I think. I don’t know if Lauren will go though, seeing as recent events have taken a big toll on her health in general. It sounds great, but Amanda and I have too much work to contend with to even think about going. I think I will go in March next year once the winter fog has lifted again and the hill stations open up properly once more. Ah well…I suppose I am getting a free trip to Rajasthan in a week or two, not too much to complain about…

This afternoon Nitin took us out to see Di Bole Hadippa!, the latest bollywood extravaganza. He calls it a ‘masala movie’: it has all the right ‘spices’ to make the perfect movie – romance, action, comedy, thrills, etc. Sounds perfect for us. AND there are songs and dances to keep us happy. Di Bole Hadippa means ‘my heart says yippee!’ according to Nitin. How can it not be good?

It was brilliant. There was singing, dancing: a massive budget obviously. It looked great, and made us all want to go out dancing right then and there. The film is about cricket. There is an old cup match between Lahore team and Amritsar team, and India lost the last match. So to ensure that they win, the team owner brings his son, a cricketer, home from England to coach his team. A dance troupe that stays in the town has a girl who can play batsman better than most men can. She tries to get on the new team, but is turned away for being a woman. So instead, she uses the dance troupe makeup to make her self look like a Sikh teenage boy, and of course gets on the team. However, it is all complicated by the English/Indian cricket coach then falling for the woman-cricketer in her usual garb as a woman. I have to say, the beard and so on really did change her face. We all loved it. I am pretty sure that Nitin and his friend think we are either idiots or just laughing at their culture, which we are in a way. Perhaps a bit of both. But it is genuine enjoyment. It wasn’t quite as good as Love Aaj Kal, but it did have Charlie from Kaminey in it so it was certainly better on the scale of hot male leads. I really have to find out that actor’s name, as Lauren had an ex called Charlie and she finds it weird that this Charlie is hot and so we need to find another name for him. His name in this film was Rohan, but that is just too silly.

Aftewards we went to CP to find somewhere to eat. We ended up in a brilliant South Indian joint near PVR Rivoli, just up from block A. I am going to have to bring the family there perhaps, as it is apparently where you get some of the best authentic South Indian food in Delhi. And I have to admit, it was amazing food. I am so glad I am able to eat now. We got three different dishes between us to try, as we didn’t know anything. We got a coconut masala dosa, a kind of lentil pancake and an uddapham (I think). The coconut dosa was probably my favourite. If you don’t know, a masala dosa is a kind of thin pancake, a little bit like a crepe. It is stuffed with spices and usually potato and onion and such like, though obviously this one also had coconut in it. You eat it with various sauces, with your fingers. It is an incredibly satisfying meal and you get great masal dosas at the PG men’s hostel across the road from the main university gate, in case you are ever in the area… The portions were huge as well, so we couldn’t finish it. Nitin thought we would have to order more, which was possibly a little insulting. I think he thinks we eat all the time and that is why we were so sick this week. It was served on banana leaves as well: most authentic. There were south Indian sweets down the stairs as well, and there was one particular one made out of milk and coconut that is a bit like fudge that was absolutely divine. It was a shame though, as the spice and everything was too much for Lauren and so we had to go home to bed. Next time, we will make sure we are well enough to withstand both dinner and sweets. My fingers smelt like coconut all the way home. Far nicer than the usual grime. It makes me want to eat coconuts on the beach…ah soon…