03 January 2009
I’ve learned things rarely go as planned, especially on buying trips. Joe and I searched for Pichvais all day and returned to our hotel with nothing. We went where we were directed and came up empty-handed. The only thing that remains conclusive is we are in the wrong place.Claudia reassured me over the phone that this sort of certainty is not without value. “Now, we know where not ...
02 January 2009
I swear we spend close to half our energy making travel arrangements. Today, the team has been divided. Glen and Claudia left early this morning for the Himalayas in northern India to investigate the possibility of a Primitive bottled water brand. Joe and I remained in Delhi for a leisurely breakfast. Afterwards, we flew to Rajasthan, one of India’s most colorful states, hot on the trail ...
01 January 2009
Later, in Old Delhi I am wearing diamonds so big and heavy I announce, “I need to go to the gym so I can lift my ring.” Claudia laughs and says, “That’s going in the blog.” Over lunch (chicken masala, dosas, and rice) we see bag after bag of diamonds. Without warning the power goes out and Glen, smiling, rhetorically asks, “Who would think this is possible?&r...
31 December 2008
We’re looking for a feel. Or, is it, we’re feeling for a feel? We are sorting through hundreds of silver plaque amulets in one of Delhi’s obscure markets. Claudia notes, “They’re not as good as they used to be.” Glen looks up and adds, “We’ll just have to look harder.” After a long time, we end up picking out 147 for further consideration.Jo...
30 December 2008
This time of year, Delhi is enveloped with fog. It hangs in the air all day, and at night enters into the hotel lobby. Like Chicago, it's winter, but it's not a Chicago winter. The evenings are cool, not bitterly cold, and the four of us wear jackets.Glen, Claudia, and Joe had begun the trip much earlier. Glen left for China. Claudia and Joe traveled to Kathmandu and Tibet. We all met up in Del...
28 August 2007
We went to Fatepur Sikri (Fah-teh-purr Sick-ree), another example of Mughal architecture at its best, at the urging of Pig. She asked, “As long as we have traveled this far, shouldn’t we go just a little bit farther?” So we visited this ancient fortress with its elephant stables, a master bedroom suite the size of a house with a stone bed elevated on giant pillars,and incredib...
27 August 2007
It was around midnight in Connaught Place, Delhi. We had arrived back in the capital city before our departure to Nepal the next morning. Then I realized, it’s just like going to PRIMITIVE.
13 August 2007
So I suggested we go to Ellora, hoping to find something equally great . . . but all that was there was eye training. After the shock of finding Pig's ancestors at Ajanta, we made our way to the caves at Ellora. Like the Ajanta caves, these are rock cut masterpieces which completely boggle the mind. But none of Pig's relatives were visible in the ancestral traces which have survived for many ce...
29 July 2007
It’s hard to imagine a grown man listening intently and carrying on a dialogue with a stuffed pig, unless the pig represents the inner child of his best friend, companion, and partner, Claudia Morgan. The pig was a gift from a family friend years ago, and in no time she was a principal member of our family.The pig is a beautiful shade of pink, with brown button eyes, and much to her disma...
24 July 2007
Upon returning from the sand and dust of Rajasthan, we found ourselves once again at the reception desk of the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, a dignified, elegant enclave. “Welcome back,” said Anil, true recognition in his voice. He looked at our dusty, treasure-filled bags being carried into the lobby and spotted Pig riding shotgun on the lead bag. “Looks like Pig needs a bath,...