Delhi and Delays

For no reason in particular, I have ended up with very few photos of our time in Delhi. I guess it is because many places we have been while here have been strictly no-photography, such as the Metro, the National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art and even the park in the centre of the city.
As you probably know, due to the unfortunate weather in Heathrow, our flight home on the 20th was cancelled. We have since rebooked a flight on the 23rd. Peter and Jamie's posts below were written the night before our initial departure date, whereas mine was written on the 22nd.

Delhi Gate, a memorial to the soldiers lost in WW2

Delhi has long been a significant capital in India and was the seat of power for the Muslim Mughal Empire prior to the British, with the Red fort and Jama Masjid mosque both being fantastic testament to Mughal power, wealth and architectural talent. In particular Jama Masjid was interesting because it is a grand building on the same scale as the great European cathedrals but with very few of the trappings and decorations that I am used to in major centers of worship. None of the golden hordes which fill European churches and also none of the dramatic imagery like that of Christ or of the Hindu Gods and their stories. Instead it establishes itself mainly with its shapes, clean and beautiful masonry and delicate patterns Embedded in the walls.
The old city where the Mughal Empire centered has an entirely different feel to New Delhi, composed of straight lines and roundabouts, built by the British. New Delhi monuments are grand and spectacular, built to impress but with cold efficiency always in mind they lose out on the haphazard charm and romance of Old Delhi’s busy streets.
New Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art gave me a glimpse of how Indian art changed and grew with the arrival of art from other continents. The Indian paintings from the early period of British influence were a stunning combination of European realism and bold colours and caricature figures of Indian art. The impact of Picasso was also interesting, having a clear and dramatic impact, almost immediately in a much more globalised world.
Two days ago we ventured into the south of the city on Delhi’s super modern super fast metro to find a modern, lotus flower shaped Baha’i temple. A small modern religion who have taken concrete and shaped and painted it to built an extraordinary temple where the petals of a lotus flower form the entire walls roof and structure.
It feels strange to have reached the end and I am certainly not looking forward to British winter, we are all just hoping the snow doesn’t mess with our flight too much.

Jamie

The Lotus Temple

Delhi’s Metro is one of the most notable things I’ve seen here. It’s fast, clean and train come every minute or two. When we first used the metro a train entered the platform moments after another one had left. It superior to our underground in some way but has two problems: First of all everyone walks through a metal detector and is searched on entry, and has to wait for their bags to go through an x-ray scanner. It’s not too bad off-peak but during rush our long queues of people form at the entrance and it slows everything down. The other problem is the pushing; when the trains arrive at the station people trying to get off sometimes have to use considerable force to stop themselves being taken with the crowd getting on. It’s ridiculous; everyone rushes because they want to get a space but they cram themselves into the part of the carriage by the doors when there would actually be plenty of space for everyone if they all spread out. This isn’t always the case and on occasion it is actually necessary to push trying to squeeze off or onto the train if it’s packed but If everyone trying to board just waited for everyone to trying to alight first then there’d be no chaos at all.
I mentioned that you’re searched as you enter the metro, you’re also no allowed to take pictures inside, which is also the case at eh central park oddly enough. The security we’ve seen around India is really quite something. At the Red Fort, not only were you and your bagged search twice on entry, but there are armed guards situated around the site and two sandbag bunkers with mounted machine guns facing the entrance!
The many people putting on English accents and acting like their interested in us and our travels before suddenly turning the conversation to try to sell us drugs is extremely irritating, although we’re much better at just completely ignoring them now we’ve been here a few days.
Delhi is a great place and I’ve enjoyed my stay here a lot, I haven’t said much good about it up to now but it’s pro’s certainly outweigh its cons. New Delhi is extremely different from the rest of India; its grand buildings are somewhat intimidating and its main square looks like it could be a London high street.
Today’s been a good day but also quite a sad one, there’s lots I’m going to miss. Having my last cup of Chai from a street stall tomorrow morning will be momentous occasion, it’s slightly different from that which you get in restaurants and it’s much more enjoyable outside, standing around the chef with the locals whilst everyone drinks Chai, about to start the day.
I’m really looking forward to going home tomorrow, hopefully we won’t be held up too much by the snow. Unlike Jamie I’m actually looking forward to the weather at home, Winter’s awesome!

Peter

Unfortunately, we have reached the end of our travels, finally landing in the capital of India, Delhi. And, as I've said many times before, it is a place quite unlike any I have been before. Still present is the feel of large Indian cities similar to those we have visited previously; Mumbai, Jaipur, Panjim, Varanasi and others, but it is a city of contradictions. This maybe purely due to the commonwealth games earlier in the year, but New Delhi is by far the cleanest place we have been in India. As the others have said above, there is the brand-spanking-new Metro system and the central shopping area Connaught Place, which made me constantly feel like I was walking around Covent Garden back home.
We are staying in an area of Delhi walking distance from New Delhi train station, called Paharganj. Filled with craft shops and budget hotels, it seems like a fitting place to stay for our last few days, giving us easy access to souvenirs to casually browse. However, it has earned a reputation for being popular with budget travellers and backpackers, and as a result the number of touts trying to sell you scarves, rickshaws and drugs are immense. Still, I like the place, and have spent a number of hours wandering up and down the main street and the surrounding area.
The Baha'i temple was fascinating. It is a modern religion that basically teaches that all major religions are essentially correct, and that they are all part of the bigger picture of the one true God. They invite people of all religions to worship in their temple, and avoid having any specific idols or images to worship to. It all sounds very nice and positive, though their self-proclaimed prophet Bahá'u'lláh from the 19th century sounds a bit full of himself. Their temple however was beautiful, and was one place that I took hundreds of photos of.
We leave India behind tomorrow (weather permitting) to travel home to negative temperatures in London, and although we are all very sad to go, we are definately looking forward to being home. The journey has been incredible, and amazing way to spend three months, and we have seen so many truly unforgettable sights. It feels like only yesterday we were stepping onto the plane at Heathrow, nervous and completely oblivious as to what to expect once we landed. I can't really believe I'm going to be home tomorrow.
I very much hope that you have enjoyed this blog, and that it has allowed you to see India through our eyes. Its been great fun writing it, and I have had immeasurable pleasure in taking the photographs.
Thanks for reading.

John

You can see all the photos I have posted by clicking on the slide show to the right.