A Pre-iPhone Memory of India

Every Diwali I think of that different time

“Diwali Fireworks @ Golden Temple Amritsar” by gags9999 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Long before the iPhone made travel dull and predictable, sometime during the winter of 1987, I took a bed at the Sunny Guest House in New Delhi. The bed was on the roof under a layer of corrugated steel and my duffle bag served as a sleep sack in the unexpectedly cold December of Uttar Pradesh. Awaking early with not much to do but wait for…