9 India

Day 10 – New Delhi

Typical Trains with 20+ Carriages

Passengers taking the Shortest Route

Another early start this morning to catch the train to Delhi. A coach came to pick us up and we headed for the railway station. The coach turned into a parking area and circled a lamp post which had two cases propped up on it. As we unloaded our bags I was half-expecting to hear an explosion from at least one of the cases, but nothing that dramatic happened. However, I did manage to tread on the foot of a young boy who was hanging around, so I gave him a pen and said sorry. He wanted money of course. He showed me a nasty scar on his arm. This delayed me in loading up my rucksack, so I was pleased when Bob waited for me. The platform had not come up yet for our train, so we waited on the bridge. From up there, you could see people walking across the railway line in a steady stream, even when a small shunting engine was approaching. I noticed a lot of people chasing after one train and jumping on as it was moving. They need not have bothered as it stopped soon after and stayed on the platform for ages. There were lots of mynahs around – the metal structures of the bridge and the awnings of the platform make excellent places to perch.

Fast Train to Delhi

Eventually we went down to platform 3, where there was already a train to Delhi. Rafeeq said that was a stopping train, so we waited for ours to come in. When we got on the train, people were still lying around as they had been travelling overnight and the bedding of people who had got off the train was still scattered about. It was a bit smelly.

Sue was sitting next to me and Ken was in the same carriage. Bob was on his own in carriage B2 and the rest were in B1. Sue climbed up to the top bunk to catch up on some sleep. Breakfast was delivered, which woke most people up. I read a lot and looked at the scenery. Train crew came along and folded the blankets and bundled up the sheets and pillow cases for the laundry and the carriage looked a lot better. Sue got up and went off to chat. Long before I was expecting it, Sue returned and said that we were nearly there, so I needed to pack up and get my rucksack on. I followed instructions and headed for the end of the carriage. Luckily there was a seat down there, because it was another thirty minutes before we reached the railway station. The train did move very slowly though. There was a lot of new building going on as we passed through the outskirts of Delhi and I could see traffic jams on the roads. Sue later said that many people had jumped off the train as it slowly passed through the suburbs. I guess it made sense if you lived that side of Delhi, saving lots of time and the journey back, providing you were fit and lucky enough to make the leap unscathed.



India Gate

Eventually we reached the station, got off and followed Rafeeq. I hung back to wait for Bob, but I did not see him so dashed off to catch up with the others, thinking that I had missed him. When we got out of the station, we realised that Bob was not with us. So Rafeeq ran back and found him just leaving the train. Rafeeq had been so busy chatting with Sue near the exit, that he had not gone back to let Bob know that we were getting off at the next station. Bob had been patiently waiting on the train. Luckily, Delhi was the final destination, so he was not taken anywhere else. Eventually Bob realised that something was wrong as there were no other passengers and the cleaners arrived. So he got off and soon met up with Rafeeq. We were pleased and relieved when they both reappeared together.

Now reunited, we walked to our bus and loaded up, before joining the traffic jam which led to our hotel. I looked out the window and saw a little boy playing by himself on the pavement. He only had two sticks to play with, but managed to amuse himself with them quite well as he seemed quite absorbed with his game. At the hotel, we dumped the bags and had a quick freshen up and then got back on the bus for our city tour of Delhi.

Memorial inside India Gate

Decoration on side of India Gate

The bus headed off to the government buildings, but I must confess that I missed them because I did what I normally do when I get on a bus and fell asleep. Still, I had seen them before when I went to see the tigers. We were able to get out and walk around India Gate. I was asked to pose for a photo with two Indian ladies in lovely pink and mauve saris. I was not sure why, but vaguely remembered that two of our party on the tiger tour had been asked to do the same the last time I visited the India Gate. I mentioned it to Rafeeq and he said that Indians like to have photos taken with white people. We were all coerced into buying books of postcards before we got back on the bus.

Humayun's Tomb

Fountain by Humayun's Tomb

The next stop was the complex which contains Humayun’s tomb. Humayun was Akbar’s father. The tomb is very important architecturally as it is said to be the first designed on Moghul lines. It has a very similar design to the later Taj Mahal, but was mostly built in red sandstone, although it does have marble decorations, and has no minarets. The pink of the sandstone makes it a very attractive building. Unfortunately, there was some scaffolding which spoilt it somewhat. This is also the first garden tomb, because it is surrounded by a garden enclosed within a wall. Whereas the Taj Mahal has a single channel leading from the gatehouse to the tomb, the garden surrounding Humayun’s tomb has a grid of channels, which adds more interest. As we approached the tomb, I noticed many black kites circling above. They were present all through the trip, but not in such numbers as here in the garden.

Entrance Gate from Humayun's Tomb

Mystery White Building

We were allowed to go into the tomb and climb to the plinth, but then I decided to explore the gardens. As I looked out from the tomb, I saw a very white dome so tried to get nearer as it was worth a photo. I crossed lots of channels as I headed for that corner of the garden, but it proved to be outside the wall. The walk was not a waste of time though, because I saw a black kite land to drink where they were watering the grass and then got a good photo of a black kite sitting in a tree. There were also mynahs and squirrels to complete the menagerie.

Mausoleum by Humayun's Tomb

Isa Kahn's Tomb

Because of my wanderings, I was the last person to get back to the entrance. Rafeeq pointed out Isa Khan’s tomb, so some people duly walked over to look at that. I contented myself with looking from a distance. It is a small octagonal tomb with arched walkways outside the enclosed area. Isa Khan was a nobleman at the court of Sher Shah, an Afghan ruler who temporarily sent Humayun into exile. Several other people are also buried on the site, including the emperor’s wife, who oversaw the building of the tomb, and even a lowly barber.

Then it was time for a late lunch, with some very spicy and tasty stuffed mushrooms and then back on the bus for our next stop, the complex of Qutab Minar, possibly the best site on the trip. The bad news was that it was a classic “back on the bus in 25 minutes” whirlwind stop, so I was unable to enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

Qutab Minar

Close up of Qutab Minar

I probably fell asleep on the bus, so did not even know the name of the site when I visited and had to look on the internet to identify the site and then the buildings. I recommend that you do the same and search for “Qutab Minar” as the websites vary in what they tell you. They all agree that Qutab Minar is an impressive tower which is 72.5m tall, but there the agreement ends. Some say that the site was built by Qutb-u'd-Din Aibak, who was the first Moslem ruler of Delhi. He laid the foundation stone in 1199 and oversaw the construction of the first story. His son-in-law, Shamsu'd-Din IItutmish, then finished it by building the remaining three storeys. Other websites say that Qutb-u'd-Din Aibak only reigned until 1198 and others say that he did not reign at all. Then I look at my photo and count five storeys, each separated by a protruding balcony. Another website agreed with me and said that the tower suffered earthquake damage in 1505 and 1794 and the fifth storey was created at some point as part of the repairs. Opinion is divided as to why the tower was constructed in the first place. Some say it is a minaret for the mosque on the site, others say it is a victory tower and others just say its purpose is shrouded in mystery. My other problem is that there were some structures on the site, which resembled columned porticos. These are not mentioned on any websites, unless they are the ruins of Hindu and Jain temples, which were the source of many of stones used to construct some of the 13th century buildings on the site.



Mystery Portico by Qutab Minar

I really liked those mystery structures and I was not the only one. They were the haunt of lots of cheeky parrots, who peered down at you from the many perches offered and squawked all the time to keep in touch with their friends.

Mystery Building by Qutab Minar

I liked the Qutab Minar itself as well. It is made of red sandstone, which I think is a very attractive stone. The footprint of the tower is neither circle nor rectangle, but resembles something cut out by a very ornate pastry cutter, with alternating curves and star points all the way round. The surface is engraved with inscriptions, a typical Moslem decoration. One website says that you can climb the 378 steps to get to the top, so perhaps it was good that we did not have much time on the site! I do not even know if the tower is still open to the public, but if you could make it, the view of Delhi would be stunning. In years gone by, it would have been a good look out point to watch for invaders.



Tower of Alau'd-Din Khalji

 The first building we reached on the site was the base of another tower. The aim of its commissioner, Alau'd-Din Khalji was to build a tower twice the height of the Qutab Minar. Unfortunately he died before getting past the first storey. It took a parrot, which happily posed on one of the stones, to make this stump of a tower attractive with a splash of green.

Iron Pillar and Qutab Minar

I ventured past the tower and walked round the ruins of the mosque. There was an iron pillar in the courtyard, which was covered in inscriptions. Apparently these are written in Sanskrit, so the pillar is much older than other structures on the site. Despite this, it appears to be rust free, so the people who made it must have known their craft even then.

That was it for the sightseeing as we joined the afternoon rush hour and crawled back to our hotel. We were in New Delhi, which seemed to have a few shopping centres and malls and looked similar to European towns and cities. We were taken back to India by a young girl who waved and then ran to catch up with the bus. When we were stuck in stationery traffic, she started to beat on a drum while her even younger friend, who had a moustache painted on his face, tried to use a hoop while twirling something on his hat. They wanted money of course.

Looking out of the bus window, I realised that there was a big difference between Delhi and the other cities we had visited. In Delhi, people who drove motorbikes wore crash helmets, except for Sikhs who have a dispensation because of their turbans. The requirement to wear helmets did not extend to the wives who rode side-saddle on the back, their saris in constant danger of being caught in the wheels, carrying babies or young children in their arms, nor to the older children crammed behind the handlebars. Yet, despite their loads, motorbikes wove in and out of the crazy traffic and took all kinds of risk.

It was dark by the time we reached the hotel. Now that the problems with my ankles and toe had passed, I was starting to suffer the side effects of the malaria tablets. When I looked, I had at least 45 mouth ulcers (just like the last time I took malaria tablets) and needed something for the increasing pain. So I asked for directions to a chemist and had my first real adventure on my own without Rafeeq or a guide looking after us. I walked for about 15 minutes until I reached the “Bengal Market”, where I found three chemists around a single roundabout. The chemist gave me some gel and B vitamins for only Rs47. From the map, it looked like I could do a circular route, so I turned left at the roundabout and continued on. Unfortunately, the map had not been updated with the fact that the road had become a cul-de-sac, ending in a building site, so I had to double back slightly and finally emerged onto the main road much further up than I had expected. I found the hotel eventually, one of the many skyscrapers in the area.

Most of us met up to go to a rotating restaurant for dinner. It was on the 24th floor of a hotel, so there could have been some good views, although much of it was dark. Signs in the central axis of the restaurant showed the places and buildings we could have seen if it had not been so dark. After enjoying quite cheap meals on our journey, this meal was at Delhi, luxury restaurant prices, which came as quite a shock. Even so it was only Rs750 per head, cheaper than at home.

When we got back to the hotel, Ken went to the bar to meet someone and the rest of us went to bed. I had the luxury of not sharing with anyone again.

Animal Corner
 


Black Kites Overhead

 

Black Kite Taking Off

Black Kite

Parrot on the Ruins.....

Chatting to One in a Nearby Tree