Brief Thoughts ... from Delhi

Hi all:

We are on the verge of going to the Punjab tomorrow, to the town where Surrinder was born, Chiheru. It is near Jalandhar, between the capital Chandigarh, and the home of the Golden Temple, Amritsar. We may not have Internet access there, so thought we'd let you know why you might not hear from us for a few days. Haven't had time to go through recent photos, though, so none today ;-(

A few thoughts and updates, though ... we've had a minor attack or two of good old "Delhi belly" (not just in Delhi, though), and it seems to be cold and flu season here, so we've had our share of colds, too. Fortunately, nothing major, and we're bouncing along nicely. We ARE looking forward to what we hope is an unpolluted rural environment at Chiheru, though. India's teeming millions, together with auto-rickshaws all over, cooking fires, fires for warmth (yes, it's cold at night in the North), and fires to burn garbage ... all leave a disappointingly unpleasant time for the lungs. It would be difficult to live in one of the large cities after being used to our relatively clean air in North American cities.

By the way, I think I mentioned in the first blog, but the tiny village of Chiheru also happens to be the home town of Herb Dhaliwal, former Liberal Minister of Revenue (I think) under Jean Chretien. We understand Herb may be or have recently been there, so we may see him, too!

Anyway, if we have Internet there, we'll update photos; otherwise, we'll do so as soon as we can.

Also ... we normally check email when we can, and you can reach us at smbskb@yahoo.ca It's always a pleasure to have some words from friends and family. Thanks so much to those who have written and posted comments.

Soon, we hope,

Shamir and Surrinder