One of the most interesting things I read in the newspaper while in Delhi was the matrimonials in the Sunday Times of India. The section consisted of page after page of personal classifieds by families unapologetically seeking the perfect made to order husband or wife for children whose time has come to make a love connection. Some of the ads were very specific. They spelled … Continue reading A Westerner Ponders Arranged Marriage
Andres from Switzerland, his girlfriend, Paola from Brazil and I were riding on camels in the Thar Desert outside of the western Indian town of Jaisalmer. We were in a spot as remote as I’ve ever been, 21 hours by train from Delhi, just 60 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. It’s a flat, arid locale, punctuated by sand dunes and populated by only villagers, … Continue reading The Camel and the Cell Phone
Stray dogs are one of my favorite sights in Delhi. They are all mutts and they loaf around the city. I have even seen them lying in the roadways oblivious to traffic whizzing by. Delhi has cleared many of them away from the games and venues. Today they were rounding them up at the field hockey venue. I hear they are in shelters and will … Continue reading Dog Days at the Commonwealth Games
The other night my colleagues and I ordered pizza to be delivered to our workplace at the International Broadcast Centre during our shift at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. There have been tons of issues with the catering here so we had food brought in. At the end of the evening there were still four untouched boxes of pizza that were cold and had … Continue reading Waste Not, Want Not
When I came to Delhi in 2008 I remember the palpable culture shock. It was overwhelming even for a rather intrepid traveler. I had been in Beijing and Uganda earlier in the year so I thought I would be prepared for anything, but nothing I had ever experienced set me up for India. On the roadway from the airport cows roamed the street. The traffic … Continue reading Delhi’s Commonwealth Games Face
One year ago I was in Beijing, China for a three month gig working at the Olympics. In November 2008 I headed to Kampala, Uganda again to do more television production work for BeadforLife (http://beadforlife.org) then immediately after a quick trip to Delhi, India for a wedding. No exotic destinations this summer but I’m hungry for an overseas trip. I’m already thinking about what to do … Continue reading Vacation in Afghanistan
I wrote a blog on Christmas Day 2008 (after seeing the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”) about how conflicted I was while in Delhi, India over what to do when children begged for handouts. Apparently I’m not the only person who has struggled with how to respond. Check out Sunday’s New York Times column, The Ethicist, by Randy Cohen. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03wwln-ethicist-t.html For more information on Vicky Collins visit http://teletrendstv.com Continue reading India Ethics
I can’t get the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” out of my mind. Just like India, it was surprising and unexpected. The beauty and brutality are staying with me. It made me think back to a little street urchin who came up to our car window in Old Delhi. I can’t get her out of my thoughts either. She approached our vehicle when we were stopped at an … Continue reading Slumdogs
Vicky Collins Online 