Before we left for Delhi we had lunch at the pastor's house. He and his wife are Indian, but met at college in Texas. It was fun to chat with their oldest daughter, Bethany (18) about being a Christian in a predominately Hindu culture.
We had a couple days off from school because of protests in Ahmedabad. A young leader is protesting unfair distribution of jobs and wealth in the caste system. He was detained, so his some 450,000 followers protested with arson, etc. It was scary because we were just in Ahmedabad a couple weeks ago. The government closed schools and buildings and imposed a curfew in Gujarat. It shut down Internet and phone services. Now things seem to have calmed down.
We flew into Delhi Thursday and stayed until Monday. We covered a lot of ground in the meantime:
1. Lakshmi Temple. All religions are welcome to worship here, but we only saw idols of Hindu gods. We learned the swastik symbol means good luck. The guide told me while Hindus have many gods (literally millions), they think of one ultimate god, but with three parts: "g" for generator of the world, "o" for operator, and "d" for destroyer.
2. Qutub Minar. It is a 72.5m high tower built in celebration of victory over Delhi's last Hindu kingdom and is also used as a watchtower. It contains the 1st Mosque in India. Inside the complex is an iron pillar, which scientist still cannot figure how it was cast given the technology at the time.
3. Safdarjang's Tomb. The king of Kolkata built this for his father in the 18th century, and it is the last known example of Mughal architecture.
4. Gandhi Smiriti museum. This is the home and assassination place of Gandhi. He had just finished a meeting and was led to prayer in the backyard, when he was assassinated. You can see his footsteps leading to this place, now covered by a pavilion.
We stopped for lunch near Connaught Place and I had masala dosa. Masala means "spices" and dosa
is a type of thin bread made from fermented rice. It proved to be my favorite food in India so far. I also decided I need to visit South India (especially Kerala) because I like its food and clothing the best.
5. Next we stopped at Red Fort. It was built by Shah Jahan, a Mughal emperor and completed in 1647.
6. Rajghat. Gandhi's remains are here and so is a large memorial garden. We learned his last word was Raam, which means God.
7. Humayan's Tomb contains 108 graves. Built by his wife in 15th century, it's the 1st example of Mughal architecture. Humayan was the son of the first Mughal emperor and father of Emperor Akbar. They call it the red Taj Mahal.
Day 2
Raksha Bandhan (Rhaki Festival) is a tradition celebrating brother/sister relationships. Sisters tie a rhaki bracelet on their brother or guy friend's wrist, symbolizing their love, and for the brother, it is a sign of his protection for her. We got to see our host's sister's family do this! The sister is supposed to feed the brother a something sweet, and then he gives his sister money or a gift.
8. Laj Nagor Central Market is one of Delhi's many bazaars. The city is known for excellent shopping.
9. Khan Market and Khan Chacha restaurant. Very touristy, but we had fun exploring. Interesting that very high-end shops are right next to cheap stalls. My favorite food (topping even the masala dosa) was paneer roll at Khan Chaha restaurant. It is cottage cheese chunks in a masala gravy wrapped in a thin, fried bread. Our hosts in Delhi told us about this place, and I am so glad they did!
10. Hauz Khas Village. More shopping!
We were able to meet up with Arun, a relative of one of the families I used to babysit for in Chicago. We had coffee and then met a group of his friends from church. I decided I could see myself living in Delhi (my favorite city so far), and that I was really missing this type of community in Baroda.
Day 3
11. Agra & Taj Mahal. Obviously the massive, marble Taj became my favorite sight so far. It's breathtaking. I fell in love with the flower pattern made from precious stones that adorns the mausoleum. (If I sound like a guide book, it's because I have poured over my India travel books, totally in love with the history...and making up for the semester of World History at college, from which I retained nothing.)
The Taj was built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his 3rd wife, whom he loved very much, and died giving birth to their 14th child. The shah's grave was later placed next to his wife. It took eight years to complete. I thought it was cool how mathematically accurate the measurements are, given they had none of the modern day tools.
Day 4
12. Dilli Haat. One of Delhi's bazaars.
13. Janpath. A bazaar. Spent too many rupees.
We had a couple days off from school because of protests in Ahmedabad. A young leader is protesting unfair distribution of jobs and wealth in the caste system. He was detained, so his some 450,000 followers protested with arson, etc. It was scary because we were just in Ahmedabad a couple weeks ago. The government closed schools and buildings and imposed a curfew in Gujarat. It shut down Internet and phone services. Now things seem to have calmed down.
We flew into Delhi Thursday and stayed until Monday. We covered a lot of ground in the meantime:
1. Lakshmi Temple. All religions are welcome to worship here, but we only saw idols of Hindu gods. We learned the swastik symbol means good luck. The guide told me while Hindus have many gods (literally millions), they think of one ultimate god, but with three parts: "g" for generator of the world, "o" for operator, and "d" for destroyer.
2. Qutub Minar. It is a 72.5m high tower built in celebration of victory over Delhi's last Hindu kingdom and is also used as a watchtower. It contains the 1st Mosque in India. Inside the complex is an iron pillar, which scientist still cannot figure how it was cast given the technology at the time.
3. Safdarjang's Tomb. The king of Kolkata built this for his father in the 18th century, and it is the last known example of Mughal architecture.
4. Gandhi Smiriti museum. This is the home and assassination place of Gandhi. He had just finished a meeting and was led to prayer in the backyard, when he was assassinated. You can see his footsteps leading to this place, now covered by a pavilion.
We stopped for lunch near Connaught Place and I had masala dosa. Masala means "spices" and dosa
 |
| Masala dosa. I love India food! |
5. Next we stopped at Red Fort. It was built by Shah Jahan, a Mughal emperor and completed in 1647.
6. Rajghat. Gandhi's remains are here and so is a large memorial garden. We learned his last word was Raam, which means God.
7. Humayan's Tomb contains 108 graves. Built by his wife in 15th century, it's the 1st example of Mughal architecture. Humayan was the son of the first Mughal emperor and father of Emperor Akbar. They call it the red Taj Mahal.
Day 2
 |
| Khan market wasn't its usual crowded self because of the festival. |
 |
| Meeting up with friends of friends in New Delhi. |
8. Laj Nagor Central Market is one of Delhi's many bazaars. The city is known for excellent shopping.
9. Khan Market and Khan Chacha restaurant. Very touristy, but we had fun exploring. Interesting that very high-end shops are right next to cheap stalls. My favorite food (topping even the masala dosa) was paneer roll at Khan Chaha restaurant. It is cottage cheese chunks in a masala gravy wrapped in a thin, fried bread. Our hosts in Delhi told us about this place, and I am so glad they did!
10. Hauz Khas Village. More shopping!
 |
| The flower pattern that covers the Taj. It's also found on Humayan's Tomb. |
Day 3
11. Agra & Taj Mahal. Obviously the massive, marble Taj became my favorite sight so far. It's breathtaking. I fell in love with the flower pattern made from precious stones that adorns the mausoleum. (If I sound like a guide book, it's because I have poured over my India travel books, totally in love with the history...and making up for the semester of World History at college, from which I retained nothing.)
 |
| In front of the Taj. |
The Taj was built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his 3rd wife, whom he loved very much, and died giving birth to their 14th child. The shah's grave was later placed next to his wife. It took eight years to complete. I thought it was cool how mathematically accurate the measurements are, given they had none of the modern day tools.
Day 4
12. Dilli Haat. One of Delhi's bazaars.
13. Janpath. A bazaar. Spent too many rupees.
14. Hardiram's at Connaught Place. This is like a food court where you can try food from various parts of the country.
T-2 weeks until I'm back in the States! I am torn, as I will sob when I have to leave my teachers and kids, but sob from happiness to reunite with luxuries like beer, toilet paper and Triscuits.
T-2 weeks until I'm back in the States! I am torn, as I will sob when I have to leave my teachers and kids, but sob from happiness to reunite with luxuries like beer, toilet paper and Triscuits.
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