leaving Delhi

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I am leaving tonight on an overnight train to Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama, nestled in the Himalayan foothills. I will be there for a month or so, volunteering as an Assistant Art Therapist at Art Refuge, to work with Tibetan refugee children.

This past week I have spent relaxing in Delhi, sleeping a lot, dealing with a second bout of TD (Traveller's Diarrhea -- I think I picked up a bug eating the food on the plane from Jodhpur) and enjoying the city. This was the week spring turned to summer. It literally happened overnight. One day it was warm and lovely and the next it was HOT. It is about 37 or 38 and the sun is blazing. It cools at night, but it is hot from almost first thing in the morning. However, it's not very humid so it is bearable as long as you are not standing out in the sun. It's okay in the shade.

I received a beautiful email from my artist friend Christine today, all about spring in Toronto and I realized I had forgotten about spring. March in Delhi is spring and it is a lovely month -- huge fragrant flowers in bloom everywhere, warm days and balmy nights. Perfect weather. But it's not like spring in Canada! They don't have the death-and-birth cycle of winter and spring, the moist spring earth, the tender buds and shoots. But still, when the scent of a tropical flower wafts over you, sent by a warm breeze, it is quite primal and evocative, stirring the essence of spring.

So, here are some more pictures from Delhi, taken this week as I travelled around the city. I visited Lakshmi Narayan Temple, also known as Birla Mandir. Birla was a rich industrialist who contributed the money to build this huge edifice. He was also a supporter of Gandhi, and Gandhi prayed here often when he was in Delhi. (There are probably hundreds of temples in Delhi, and I have only been to a couple of them! Plus, there are mosques, gurdawars, churches, and I just found out about a Sufi temple in a Sufi enclave called Nizamuddin. I am reading a wonderful book, called City of Djinns, all about the history of Delhi and learning a lot of new things.)

I also spent a day in Old Delhi with Caryl, wandering in the narrow alleyways of the old bazaar. It's a bustling, chaotic, run-down area now, but it was once the centre of Mughal Delhi and it must have been beautiful.

I walked in Nehru Park, which is in Chanyaka Puri, where the Canadian High Commission and all the other big embassies are located. I am including a picture to show, again, how green Delhi is. Most people agree that it must be the greenest world capital, especially given that it is a city of 14 million (or more).

Plus, Ajay and I went out one night to Flavours for pizza -- cooked in a real wood-fired pizza oven. It was delicious. (It helps that the owner is actually Italian.) And we went to Thai Wok, which is considered one of Delhi's best restaurants, more for the ambiance than for the food. It is on a rooftop, with a view of the ancient Qutab Minar tower. It was a lovely place. I loved eating outside, under the stars, in perfect weather -- but I've had better Thai food. (Indians just don't seem to do "ethnic" food very well...)

But now I am leaving for the mountains, where it will be a lot cooler. My next blog will be from a Dharamsala cyber cafe. Enjoy the Toronto spring, everyone!

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Photos

ready for Old Delhi
Caryl took this at the Canadian High Commissioner's house, which we stopped at to see on our way to Old Delhi. I am dressed for the trip, covered for modesty and to keep the sun off and wearing my Mephisto shoes, bought especially for this trip.

home of the Canadian High Commisssioner
This is a lovely example of the famous Luytens' bungalows of New Delhi. Many politiicans and dignataries live in these gorgeous homes.

beautiful Old Delhi street
This house is just one of the charming places on this street, one of the few (only?) remaining examples of what Old Delhi used to look like.

in Old Delhi
Caryl took this pic of me in the section of the old Delhi bazaar that sells wedding saris and other colourful and sequinned wedding stuff.

Karim's is an Old Delhi ...
... institution. We had lunch here, lamb kebabs and big fluffy naan bread.

Old Delhi scribe
This man is a calligrapher, set up in a little booth behind the giant Jama Masjid mosque.

flowers in Nehru Park
Hang on Toronto, they're coming!

Comments

[Shelly]

Loved the photos of Agra and Rajasthan
This next part of the trip to Dharamsala sounds really exciting. I can't wait! I kind of feel a little like I'm on the trip too. This is such a great way to remember everything that you've seen and done and to share it with others. Looking forward to the next posting.