Delhi & Prof. Lokesh Chandra

It has really warmed up here in Delhi. The dust and smells have also increased. You simply cannot walk with your mouth open or you will literally be feasting on luscious fat flies.

Yesterday I had a very long and successful meeting at Tibet House. I finally had to say that I needed to go. I was tired and mentally worn out. After that the three of us, Tsedor and Jamyang Lekdrub, went to Cannought Place and found a a restaurant named Becor's. It is primarily Thai and Chinese cuisine. One of the juniour chefs is the nephew of my hosts and travelling companions. The food was very good and I recommend the restaurant to anyone travelling to Delhi.

Last night was probably my worst night in India. I had become tired during the day because of the heat and also I think because of a slight salt deficiency. I had a heat fever throughout the night and worse, the mosqitoe repellent that plugs into the electrical outlet did'nt work. It could be that the chemical chip was old, but that wasn't the worst. Sometime after 2:00 a.m. my right arm was attacked by bed bugs. In the Tibetan language these creatures are called 'dre shig' which means demon lice. They are really awful and itch like hell. Generally by morning the itching stops unlike the milder mosquitoes bites.

This morning, Tuesday, we had breakfast at 8:00 and then left at 9:00 with a driver to go to my last appointment with Prof. Lokesh Chandra. We had a very good time. The uncle of my two companions was hired in the sixties to re-draw many of the block print images published by Raghu Vira (the father of Lokesh Chandra).

Saujanya Books has a new outlet in Majnukatilla. I spent some time with the sisters that own the Saujanya book shops and purchased a recently published set of the Collected Works of Dagchen Kunga Lodro. He is one of my favourite authors and many of my translations from Tibetan are of the texts of Kunga Lodro.

I'm off to pack and tidy up some loose ends like hotel bill, etc. If I'm lucky I can get a short nap in as well. We leave for the airport at 7:30 and my flight is at 11:30 p.m. The Hong Kong Airport offers free wi-fi throughout the complex so I will e-mail from there.