Done!

This morning I couldn't sleep and I finished Sapiens. I can't recall the last time I read a book so quickly (just a little over a week) that was so informative and yet so easy to read.

A Snapshot of My Current Reading

A few weeks ago I began reading Sapiens: A Brief History after receiving it for my birthday from Grandpa Fred. This Jared Diamondesque book begins in pre-history, sweeps through the Cognitive Revolution and passes through the Agricultural Revolution before slowing down the explain the Unification of Humankind in Afro-Asia and then across the globe through money, empires, and religions. After that rapid, but lucid narrative, the author (Yuval Noah Harari) has slowed down to explain the Scientific Revolution.

Chapter 15 is titled "The Marriage of Science and Empire" and he highlights the scientific work British imperialists undertook in India. I was fascinated to learn that a British archeological team discovered Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan in 1922 after nearly three millennia, William Jones first presented the theory of the Indo-European language family, and conducted the Great Trigonometrical Survey over nearly 100 years.  All of those facts are simply amazing! Of course they don't justify the exploitation, but they are remarkable nevertheless. How exciting must it have been to undercover a lost world or decipher their writings? It's inspirational to think that one person could do so much or be part of such an herculean scientific undertaking spanning a few years short of a century.

Into the Brush

Earlier today the boss announced what had been in the works for a couple weeks: my reassignment from the Environment, Climate, and Science Unit to the emerging North India office.  He honored me by saying some nice things about me during the morning meeting. I am scheduled to stay in my current position until my departure for R&R in September; upon my return I will be responsible for covering economic, environment, science, and technology affairs in the seven states (and two union territories) that constitute our post's consular district: Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, National Capital Territory of Delhi, and Chandigarh. I am not thrilled to leave the EEST Section and there are some real downsides of the move, namely leaving a portfolio I have worked so hard to manage well; but I am also sad to move away from my peers (one of whom wrote this book on Afghanistan) and the people in my unit.

However there are pluses too. My position is new and I will be able to shape it to a much greater extent than I do now. I was assured the new office has travel and programming money. This means I will get to help execute programs all over north India and report on a broad array of issues that affect over 350 million people. I will be able to refine my reporting skills and learn about the country where I reside. As hard as it is for me to leave, I am optimistic about the new job. And to celebrate, I am growing my beard out.

Courriers in New Delhi

Courriers in New Delhi

Two Songs/Deux Chansons

YouTube recommended a couple songs today, both of which were quite good.  Well done. 

"L'horloge Tourne" by Mikael Miro

"Alice & June" by Indochine

Agra

On March 8, I escorted some VIPs, their spouses, and their staff to Agra.  We visited the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The former is absolutely stunning and well worth the three hour ride from Delhi by (hired) coach.

Not bad.

Since most of the week before the trip was consumed by staffing a different delegation, I had to plan it quickly.  Fortunately I had the help of a tourism company to take care of most of the logistics.  I wish I had thought of seeing the Taj at sunrise, but these people flew in from the U.S. the day before and then had a long day ahead of them; I didn't want them to burn out before the big dinner later that night.


Anyway, the Taj was great.  It's beautiful, majestic, and regal. As you can probably imagine, it was also expensive. It cost more than the equivalent of $3 million dollars in the late 16th century. Put another way, the Louisiana Purchase a century later cost $15 million.

After the Taj Mahal, we went to Agra Fort. 

The fort was very similar to the one I visited in Jaipur (the photos of which, were sadly lost when my phone was stolen in Haridwar).  Built of red sandstone by Persianified Turkic peoples, it is an immense structure with rooms for everything you can imagine, from harems to administrative offices.

The son of the man who built the Taj imprisoned his father for political reasons, but as a concession he was imprisoned in a room where he could always see his everlasting tribute to his late wife.  Here is his view:

Better than my View

That was something to keep in mind when thinking about how our government functions.

Auto-rickshaws at Rest