Delhi: Something Old and Something New

Warnings and stories prepared us for an insanely chaotic, smelly, polluted and crammed capital city. While it was crowded and very smelly at times, it was not the unbearable hell that we had been told about. A day didn’t go by that we didn’t say to ourselves: “it really doesn’t smell that bad here” (which we have to say, goes for the whole country). Yes, the wind does bring you some bursts of ‘perfume’ here and there but over all if you hold your breath just before the puddles on the ground, it’s all good. :) ** 

** NOTE; we have talked at length about the lack of intense smell here and we hypothesise that it is because we are visiting in the winter months and the 50 degree summer heat probably intensifies what we have been smelling by 1000 times.

Harumanji Temple - Delhi

 We investigated Delhi on foot which led us through a lot of interesting and treacherous ground (if you know what we mean …). Delhi is a massive city so please note that our tour was mainly limited to the cores of new and old Delhi. Delhi is divided into many small neighbourhoods with the neighbourhoods in New Delhi visibly emptier and wider than the narrow crammed streets of the walled Old Delhi. Each neighbourhood in New Delhi seems to be subdivided into zones by letter of the alphabet with each house number tied to this letter of the alphabet rather than having street names which are reserved for the main arteries of the city. So, each address has the name of the neighbourhood and then the building number, i.e. G19 Karol Bagh is building 19 in zone G in Karol Bagh. Sounds easy and organized enough but try finding G19 in any given neighbourhood as no one (local and cabbies alike) seems to now where the zones are.



a quiet spot for a vendor at the park

We first explored New Delhi, organized by the British with wide streets, roundabouts, parks and large buildings. The core of New Delhi is said to be the circle of Connaught Place and the business and residential streets surrounding it. At Connaught Place we came across a large circular park built above a shopping centre that was filled with people lounging and standing around the shopping mall’s air ducts and eating from the multitude of street vendors. We definitely took the opportunity to lounge next to the recycled air and sample the tasty street fare. To the south of Connaught Place is Ranjpath, a boulevard connecting the India Gate memorial at its eastern end with the residence of the Indian president (called Rashtrapati Bhavan) and the parliament buildings at its western end. 

streets of Old Delhi

Old Delhi, which was the old walled city of Shahjahanabad, sits to the left of the Red Fort (Lal Qila). The densely crowded, narrow and run down old town is a stark contrast to the spacious streets and majestic buildings of New Delhi. Walking into the old town toward the Red Fort you walk through congested and dirty roads, past squats next to (or more like on) gas stations and down the crazy and overcrowded main shopping bazaar known as Chandni Chowk. Compared to the outside streets, the Red Fort is a peaceful area of gardens and large pavilions. Highlighting more of Delhi’s Muslim history is the Jama Masjid near the Red Fort which is the largest mosque in India and has a courtyard that can hold 25,000 people.

While in Delhi we also made a brief visit to the suburbs in the south with their large condominiums and western companies such as E&Y, Dell and Microsoft opening up office space left, right and centre. We also made sure to experience for ourselves the metro system in Delhi. For the true experience we went during afternoon rush hour. The stations were fairly modern with large clean platforms and a token payment system. They also had the highest security we have ever seen at a metro station: each person has to walk through a metal detector, put their belongings through an x-ray machine like you would see at an airport and walk by dozens of heavily armed police officers before using their token. The metro cars were absolutely rammed and thankfully for S had a less cramped ‘Women and Disabled Only’ car at the front of the train.



Taj Mahal entering from the main gate

 Roughly a three hour train ride from Delhi you will find one of the great wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal. We opted for a day trip to Agra rather than spend the night there and we’re glad we did this - though we didn’t have time to visit the other sites of and around Agra (the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sitri, a red sandstone abandoned city) we were glad not to have to spend a night as Agra is quite a dump. The first amazing thing about the Taj Mahal is the price tag to get in and not so much how much it cost us to get in but the price differential between foreigners and Indian nationals. While we each paid 750 IRP (Indian Rupees, roughly $16.50 Canadian) to get in, each Indian national pays a measly 20 IRP (0.44 cents Canadian). However we have to say that this isn’t the first time this has happened on our trip as in Nepal nationals always enter all sites for free, people from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka pay a nominal fee and foreigners pay similar entry fees as noted for the Taj Mahal. I guess we better start getting used to the tourist tax :) . Anyway, I’m sure you’re all waiting to hear about the Taj Mahal so let us get back on track.

The Taj Mahal is said to be the most extravagant monument built for love - it was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife whose death in childbirth left him devastated and heartbroken for life. The mausoleum took 23 years and 20,000 workers to complete and some of the craftsmen later lost their hands or thumbs so that the beauty of the Taj could never be duplicated. What makes this a truly Shakespearian tale is that Emperor Shah Jahan was disposed by his son, Aurangzeb, soon after the Taj was complete and spent the rest of his life imprisoned in Agra Fort across the river from the Taj Mahal looking at his wife’s final resting place.



the Taj Mahal up close and personal

 The most impressive thing about the Taj Mahal is walking through one of the three gates and having your first look at the beaming Taj. The large white marble structure sits at the end of a long watercourse on a raised marble platform framed by two twin red sandstone buildings, with the western one being a mosque and the eastern one simply there for symmetry (as it can’t be used as a mosque as it faces in the wrong direction). It really is quite something to see, such a beautiful and impressive monument. However, we have to admit that the Taj loses some of its impressiveness the closer you get to it … which might explain why all of the pictures of it are always from a distance at the gates. Don’t get us wrong, the building is beautiful with its simple carved detail into the marble but after a walk around and an hour or longer wait to get inside you are let down by its simplicity. There was nothing inside but a circular room with a tomb. It is a mausoleum so I don’t know what we were expecting but we were left a little disappointed - go us over westernized individuals. Having said all that, it is most definitely a place you must visit and worth the price of admission!!
　　
The rest of our pictures of Delhi and the Taj Mahal are HERE (password: taj).



rock stars for a day - we posed for many pictures with children at the Taj

 

India Gate Monument

 

Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi

Delhi's Red Fort, home of a Mughal Empror for a short period