OLD DELHI, INDIA
Sat Apr 2, 2016
After a late breakfast, we met up with our guide, and the rest of our group (10 women and 3 men in addition to us) which we will be travelling with during our trip through India.
Today, we planned to see a very different part of the city – Old Delhi. First of all, the city of Delhi is one of the largest cities in the world, and consists of eleven different districts. One of those districts is New Delhi, which was built in 1911 by the British when they moved the capital of British India from Calcutta to New Delhi. Today, New Delhi is the capital and seat of government of the Republic of India. Old Delhi is another district of Delhi, and is the original walled city founded in 1639 by the Mughul Emperor Shah Jahan, As New Delhi is wide streets, beautiful homes, and a high since or order, Old Delhi is it’s polar opposite. As we have never been to India, we had no idea what to expect.
We started our exploration of Old Delhi across from the Red Fort (which we didn’t visit) and wandered the streets and market places. It is hard to describe in words the atmosphere of Old Delhi. It is like a collage: a crazy, colorful, crowded, complex, confusing, cacophony of chaos. It was also quite captivating. The masses of people all going about their business as if everything was normal, and here — it just fits.
Wandering through the narrow windy streets, we ended up at the Jama Masjid. One of the largest mosques in India, which was built by Shah Jahan in 1656. We climbed the steps, took off our shoes, women had to cover the heads and were a provided with a robe, and entered the mosque. This Jama Masjid sits high in Old Delhi, and the view of the nearby Red Fort is beautiful.
This is were we discovered something very interesting on our trip to India. It seems that people are just as fascinated with us as westerners, as we are with them. It started when a family handed Belinda their baby and wanted to take a picture. Then each family member had their picture taken with Belinda and the baby. This happened in many places around India, People wanted our picture just as much as we wanted theirs. Often we couldn’t speak the same language, but we could connect: people to people. We loved it.
After touring the mosque, we hopped on a bicycle rickshaw, and took a very exciting ride through the narrow, crowded lanes of the heart of Old Delhi. It was mass chaos, but lots of fun. We passed shops, markets, and everything else. People were making bread, ironing clothes, selling everything from auto parts to zippers. Absolutely nothing touristy here (except of course us strange westerners gawking from our rickshaw).
After our time in the winding streets of Old Delhi, we went to one of the more famous sites in the city – the Raj Ghat, the place where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated on Feb 2, 1948. During the funeral procession, to the site millions lined the streets massive crowds watched as he was cremated according to Hindu tradition. Gandhi was probably the most significant figure in Modern India. There were many people at Raj Ghat, which is surrounded by large beautiful park lands. We also met many Indian pilgrims visiting the site (who also wanted pictures with us). This visit was a nice contrast to the chaos of Old Delhi.
Afterwards, we visited the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a Sikh house of worship. Sikh’s are a monotheistic religion which was founded in the Punjab region of India by Guru Nanak in the late 1400’s. They believe in one god, have a sacred scripture called the Guru Granth Sahib, and believe in faith, meditation on their creator, unity and equality of all mankind, and selfless service to others. Sikh’s can often be recognized by their turbans and beards. All Sikh’s have the last name Singh (although not all Singh’s are Sikh).
To enter the temple area, everyone (both men and women) needed to cover their heads and be barefooted. We visited the temple area which was fairly large. Inside the main building there was constant chanting (singing) of their scriptures as d people sat and listened or sought blessings. Afterwards some (including Belinda) visited the Gurudwara, which is a kitchen where volunteers (you don’t have to be Sikh to volunteer) make meals and feed thousands of the poor every day. All Sikh temples have a Gurudwara as it is a requirement of their belief.
We left the Sikh temple, and everyone joined for a welcome dinner in the evening.
Tomorrow we visit our first UNESCO World Heritage site for the trip – The Qutab Minar
