"The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Just finished reading this novel, packed with tons of American and Indian cultural references with which I can identify.  I highly recommend this to anyone curious about India, but especially those familiar with both India and the U.S.  Looking forward to the seeing the movie, but prepared for it to be a disappointment after reading the book, as usual.

FRRO Made Easier

Our group was fortunate to not encounter too much red tape at the FRRO.  And when I went back the second time, to update my place of residence after settling on an apartment, I was in and out in less than one hour.

But it gets even better.  Beginning from the first week of August 2011 onward, registration and visa extension forms will only be accepted online for the Delhi FRRO Office, which should make the process less stressful yet.  (However, you may still have to physically go to the office if your residential address changes - not sure about that one.)

For more information, see the Indian Bureau of Immigration's website.

HEADLINE: Panic as midnight tremor rattles Delhi

Read full (brief) article in The Hindu here

I survived my first (and hopefully only) earthquake!  A 4.2 on the Richter scale.  My husband had just returned home from Aligarh and we sat down to eat around 11:30 PM last night.  We felt a little rumbling, and heard what sounded like a nearby train, and I grabbed my husband's hand as I had no idea what was going on.

Outside, people were fleeing there houses as if they were participating in a school fire drill.  We, perhaps unwisely, stood on our front porch and watched from the third floor.  Fortunately for us, it only lasted some seconds.  Perhaps next time though, we should consider exiting our apartment, just to be safe.

To give you some idea of the personalities I work with at school...  Some of the teachers, one old enough to be my grandmother, reasoned that my husband was the cause of the earth's tremors: "Your husband is home now?  Oh!  That's why there was an earthquake around midnight!"

HEADLINE: 11 killed as blast rocks Delhi High Court complex

Read full article from The Hindu here

A sad situation in India, to be sure.  And an unpleasant reminder that, ten years after the horrific events of September 11th, the human race still has much to improve upon.

Fortunately, despite living less than twenty minutes from the site of the blast, we haven't really noticed any changes in daily life, save for the enhanced security in the metro.