Looking for frames

We have been trying to decide how to arrange our photographs on the walls. It is by no means a simple task. Though I may often lean towards the more abstract shots, S ensures we strike a balance with the relatively more conservative stuff. And of course "No portraits!" I think it makes sense. In Delhi one is unlikely to host intellectuals.

Got a few quotations for frames which sounded fair to me. Even the shopkeeper appeared straightforward and polite which was a bonus. But in Delhi, bargaining is a part of nature and one who doesn't runs the risk of being "cheated." What this leads to, is gathering discreet information about various shops across the city to be better informed about prices and so on, so that at the end of it, you may appear smart having paid a nominal price for whatever it is. What this requires of course is time, motivation and perhaps even a circle of people with whom you trade such information. This is apparently the fast life. Everyone is supposed to have loads of disjoint data in their heads that they may use them to be "clever" or street-smart. This seems to be the major pre-occupation of most Delhiites. This attitude relegates the need to do anything original. The irony is, that despite all the pride they take in being smart, they end up being conformists and too predictable to be real.

I'm sure I'll have a bit more to say along the same lines but for now it is too late and I'll hit the bed.