Delhi - New and Old

The week has been cram-packed with lectures about everything from Indian art to the history, all the way from the Indus Valley civilizations to the present. We have also been on the go. Saturday we visited a Sikh temple. We removed our shoes and covered our heads first thing (even the babies - pic 2). There are 9 of these in Delhi and they have daily services open to people of any caste, nationality or religion. We were able to go inside the main hall and hear the hymn singers or Ragis. From there, we went to a Hindu temple (pic 3) and toured the many rooms dedicated to various deities. In the extreme heat and humidity (I sweat profusely standing in the shade), the cold concrete and marble floors feel wonderful to our bare feet! Returning to the bus, we saw a snake charmer, complete with flute and cobra. (We weren't allowed to take pictures in the temple, so nobody had a camera.)

Next, we took the metro to Old Delhi. Stepping out of the subway station was truly a "Wizard of Oz" moment. Up to this point, all of our time had been spent in New Delhi, which even though it is very crowded, still has many somewhat modern-looking buildings, roundabouts and multiple lanes for traffic. (Tonight, one of the ladies said she had just now realized that people drive on the left side of the road because it seemed like everyone was going in all directions all the time.) I immediately saw a mass of electrical wires on posts, street vendors, shops, rickshaws, bikes, motorcycles, a cow or two and people everywhere. (pic 4) The people who live there, even small children, seem to have developed a rhythm of moving in and out of the traffic. We were just plain in the way! We finally wiggled our way down to the Jama Masjid mosque, made of red sandstone and white marble. Once more covered and barefoot, we entered the courtyard that can hold 20,000 people. Looking up, I could see kites being flown by children from rooftops nearby. This area provided a bit of sanctuary from the intensity of the streets below. Leaving the mosque, we went back into the masses and made our way to a Jain temple. This time, in addition to covering and taking off shoes, you had to remove any leather items you were wearing, such as belts. After dinner, we went to a history/light show at the Red Fort before returning to our hotel late at night, exhausted and with heads chock full of images.

I am trying to look at things here as an objective observer rather than through the eyes of a Westerner already fixed with my own cultural prejudices and values. That makes some of the things you see bearable, like.....the family on a motorcycle zipping along with the man driving, the female in her sari riding behind him sidesaddle and holding a 3-4 month old baby in her lap, the malnourished and sometimes dieing dogs that are stretched out everywhere there is a shady spot, and the beggers, some crippled and some like the little boy (maybe 4 years old?) who followed me about a quarter mile through Old Delhi holding onto my backpack and asking for money.

Delhi has approximately 15 million people. It is a city that oozes a diverse culture everywhere you look, from hearing the Muslim call to prayer to seeing the fresh flower stands for Hindi temples and home shrines, to the Sikh with their long hair tucked into their turban....one of our lecturers called it "a garland with many colored flowers".