Touring New and Old Delhi

After a very light sleep, a shower and breakfast, I was off with Suchha Singh, my driver. We drove into Delhi where I met my guide Arun Baba and the day began. 

Our first stop of the day was Gurudwara Bangla Sahib known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan, who stayed there in 1664 and is said to have healed many people suffering from a cholera epidemic. There is a holy pool, called the Sarovar, whose water is believed to have healing powers.  Today it is not just a place of prayer and healing but also a place where anyone can come and have a meal three times a day prepared and cooked by many volunteers. You can come and eat as many times as you need to, no one is checking. You will notice that I am wearing an orange head covering during my visit and walking barefoot as this is considered to be a holy place. 

Next our driver drove through New Delhi to show me the Red Fort, India Gate (from afar), President House and Parliament House. Arun says that New Delhi is the Political Capital, while Mumbai is considered to be the financial or commerce capital. 

We visited Jama Masjid situated in the Mughal capital of Shahjahanbad (today Old Delhi), it served as the imperial mosque of the Mughal emperors until the demise of the empire in 1857. It was seen as a symbolic gesture of Islamic power across India, well into the colonial era.  It is one of Delhi's most iconic sites. 

A slender mute rickshaw driver took us to a number of sites in Old Delhi. He skillfully navigated the traffic coming from all directions, and when I say this, I mean on all sides of us.  A cacophony of honking horns coming from the onslaught of cars and motorcycles. Women often ride sidesaddle because you can't hike up your Sari and sit like a man if you are a lady. 

He dropped us off in Chandni Chowk which is a very busy pedestrian shopping area where people from all over come to purchase dried fruit, silver jewelry, gold bridal necklaces, vivid saris traditional Indian sweets and more. 

On one of the Chandni Chowk street corners there were labourers sitting patiently with their tools waiting for work. One man had an old bucket filled with dry paint brushes, another had tools for plastering. Each one had the necessary tools for his trade. Imagine sitting or squatting on the hot pavement day in and day out, waiting to be called onto a job site.

We wound our way through the very narrow streets where the spice market is tucked away. Women work in three floor houses filling rucksacks with spice. Once the spice sacks are full, men come up to carry the sacks down on their shoulders. They use a large metal hook to keep the sack from falling off of their shoulders. My nostrils welcomed the many scents and smells as we wound our way past one seller to another. 

After a delicious lunch at Chido restaurant we visited Humayun's Tomb, built in the 1560's for the Mughal emperor. This tomb with it's magnificent gardens is a Unesco World Heritage site, and an example of Mughal architecture. It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal. 

Humayun's Tomb is the burial place of the emperor with his tomb in the centre of the octagonal hall. There are eight open archways with rooms facing his tomb and in those rooms are tombs of his wives and children. He could never escape them!!! Humayun and his family are all buried 8 feet below the surface of the white marble tomb that marks where they are each buried. 

Our last stop of the day was LOTUS Temple, Light of Truth Universal Shrine. This is a Bahai House of Worship which is beautifully designed in the form of a lotus flower. This is the seventh and last of Major Bahai's temples built around the world. Once inside the temple you can sit quietly on a chair and pray from your heart to whichever spiritual being, God, or Deity that you believe in, because it is meant to be a house for all faiths and prayers.

My day ended with one more stop to a market where I was completely overwhelmed by the carpet seller and the pashmina vendor. So my money remained in my wallet and I went back to the hotel for a well deserved shower, a bite of dinner, packing up and off to bed. 

Tomorrow I will say goodbye to Delhi and head to Coimbatore!!