THE RED FORT

What a cool city!

I arrived yesterday morning in Delhi, on the glamorous Rajdhani Express. The Rajdhani was unlike any of my other trains. The first class compartments were like European train compartments with carpeting and uniformed attendants serving non-stop food and drinks through the trip. Fresh linens and comforters made the night's sleep enjoyable. Two of my three compartment mates were railway managers traveling to Delhi and they explained that there are several Rajdhani trains in India. All of them go from Delhi to other state capitals like Chennai and Calcutta. Rajdhani means capital. Had I known, I might have planned my trip to use only Rajdhani Express trains. So glamorous.

We arrived at New Delhi Station at 8:30 am, right on time, so I walked over to the Metro station and hopped on a south-bound train to Hauz Khas, where Jack's apartment is located. It was rush hour on the Metro. I haven't had that much physical contact in months!

Jack's apartment is great. Very comfortable and in a perfect location, in an upscale neighborhood right near a Metro station. The only problem is, after looking all around the apartment, I still cannot find the swimming pool. I spoke with Jack's friend, Amrish, who made a joke about there not being a swimming pool. Very strange sense of humour, this fellow.

Anyhow, I just dropped my bags and headed right back out to the Metro and a train back to Chandni Chowk. I was eager to explore the old city.

There is a wonderful book by Sujit Suraf, called "The Peacock Throne" set in and around Chandni Chowk. It begins in 1984 with the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the riots targeted at Sikhs and follows several inhabitants of the neighborhood for the next 15 years. The novel is so evocative of the spirit of life in the old city, it made me anxious to visit. In fact, I re-read the novel in preparation for this trip. I highly recommend this novel.

So often, when you have high expectations for a new place, it does not live up to your expectations. Not old Delhi. The old city was exactly as I had imagined it. It's a crazy mish-mash of various cultures (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Jain) all living and working together shoulder to shoulder in this tightly packed warren of tiny alleys, barely big enough for two people to pass one another without turning sideways. The alleys are so narrow that the sunlight rarely filters all the way down to ground level. All along these alleys ate a myriad of businesses: jewelers and sweets makers and chai wallahs and cloth merchants and sari shops and paper manufacturers and car parts. It's all so much to take in!!

After wandering around the alleys a bit, I walked over to the Gurudwara (Sikh temple) and observed the activity for a bit. The Sikh tradition fascinates me. Despite their carrying daggers and the ceremonial soldiers at the gates with huge spears, the Sikhs seem like a lively peaceful people, and they have those great mustaches and beards and cool turbans. How can you not love a man in a turban?

From there, I went to the Jain temple and checked my shoes. I was eager to visit the bird hospital. They allowed me to wander around. All three floors of the hospital (and also allowed me to give a generous donation!) and it was very cool. Thousands of birds of all sizes were recovering peacefully inside. Since they are Jain, they will only admit vegetarian birds into the hospital, but will treat carnivorous birds on an out-patient basis. I love that.

From there, I crossed the busy road to the Red Fort. I had been so anxious to see this former home of Shah Jahan and was not disappointed. Over 50 acres! I wandered around inside the Red Fort for about an hour, until I began to get hungry. So after posing for several photos with Indian tourists, I left.

I then headed south through more tiny alleys, chock full of people, toward the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in all of India. That's pretty big. I had heard about an old restaurant near there called Karims, so I sought it out. Good mutton kebab and chicken curry.

There was a prayer service going on in the Jama Masjid the whole time I was at lunch (you could hear it over the loudspeaker) so I had to wait with the other whiteys for that to end, before they would let us in. This place is huge. I took loads of photos of the Mughal architecture and then bought a ticket to climb the tower. Imagine climbing the Pilgrim Monument, but barely wide enough for one person, barefoot, in the dark. The view was killer, though.

From there, I wandered through more alleys to Chawri Bazaar, where there are loads of paper sellers and wedding invitation shops and card shops (don't think Hallmark, think handmade paper cold pressed in the back). Eventually, it was late and I needed to head back to the Metro.

I had planned an early morning bicycle tour through the old city for Sunday morning, but I still had to go to the office to pay for it. I had looked at a map and thought I could take the Metro and then walk from there. I will now admit that this was a serious mistake, simply out of stubborn refusal to take a taxi. But at least I got to see a part of Delhi I wouldn't have otherwise seen. Delhi has way more trees and flowers than I had expected.

Last night I went into New Delhi to Connaught Circle for dinner. Such a different feeling than old Delhi!

नमस्ते