Delhi, Varanasi, Kadjuraho

---

Delhi, Varanasi, Kadjuraho


Well we finally got back to Delhi from Rajasthan. We really enjoyed the trip around it - we did 4000 kilometres and our driver Mukesh deserves a big thank you - his driving over single track roads, through tiny lanes and over farm ruts was excellent. After a full days driving we got back to Delhi and a nice hotel in Connaught Place. Believe it or not it was peaceful and normal after Rajasthan!! To feel pavements under our feet was a novelty and we went out and to a restaurant called Rodeo - which was an American Wild West themed bar and restaurant with the Indian waiters in Cowboy hats and boots with country and western music playing - it felt very civilised!
So we recharged our batteries - the amount of input each day gets tiring and our minds are whirring with all the new information we are picking up and the new people we meet.
Next day we found a lovely bakery that sold Christmas cakes and mince pies, gingerbread men and Christmas tree biscuits looked very nice but we resisted.
Drank coffee and china tea in the restaurant and leisurely typed up our notes - we have to do them at least every other day otherwise we end up forgetting stuff.


In the evening went to Hunayams tomb and was very impressed by it. The setting and structure inspired the design of the Taj Mahal as it is also built on a platform and the sky is its backdrop. Classic Mogul gardens have been renovated under the guidance of Archaeological Society of India and the Aga Khan who is the 42nd Imam in the Islamic world. The red sandstone structure with white marble inserts and dome is more masculine in feel than the Taj Mahal but this is very appropriate as it was built for a male ruler where the Taj was built for a beloved wife. There are something like 100 tombs in the structure, some for unwed princesses of various rulers. Most of the tombs are unmarked other than the detail that shows whether it belongs to a male or female. After imprisoning his father, Shah Jehan and murdering all of his male siblings, one of his sons took the throne. One tomb on the upper platform commemorates one of the sons who his brother beheaded!
In the garden there is another impressive tomb built for a great noble who once defeated and dethroned Hunayam although he eventually regained his throne. The building is hexagonal and is surrounded by a high sandstone wall which creates a peaceful setting for what must have been a very colourful building.

A we had a few minutes we stopped off at India Gate to look at the tomb of the unnamed soldier and the names of the war dead. There was a huge crowd celebrating victory day and under the arch, a Navy band complete with guitarists and really good singers were playing a great selection of music for the crowds. The atmosphere was holiday happy. Vendors were selling everything from balloons and popcorn to funfair toys. We sat amongst the crowd to listen to the lively Punjabi rock music which had the whole crowd wiggling and dancing.
Drove to Preeti and Raj Loombas for drinks and snacks. Addi, Raj's brother was also there and we had great chat about India and its development going forward - it is fascinating to listen to the Indian view of how things will develop and about their hopes and concerns about the future.

Preeti showed me her kitchen and what her cook had prepared for the evening meal, she'd even made butter with milk from their own cows…..I couldn't see where they kept the cow in upmarket Defence Colony. They have a dentist friend who lives in Scarcroft, Leeds and is a Magistrate to boot - bearing in mind I spent some time at Yorkshire Electricity at Scarcroft it is a very small world!
They visit him every year and think Yorkshire is lovely!

Following day flew to Varanasi - Kingfisher Airlines is very good and the best of the bunch - arrived at Varanasi and the outskirts are much lusher than we were expecting certainly after Rajasthan. We arrived at our hotel, which was Ok, and then had a drive around. It is certainly busy and packed with humanity - the roads are very narrow and packed with every possible type of vehicle. Dust every where. We spotted a modern shopping mall and nipped inside to peace and quiet. The contrast is unnerving and goodness knows what people who live there think of the two styles.
I am pleased to report that for the first time Carol scared the hell out of one toddler who took one look at her, turned in his tracks and flew screaming into his mother’s voluminous black robes. Blonde women wearing trousers are obviously the bogeyman personified. Makes a nice change from being photographed!!

We then had the full tour of Varanasi the next morning at 6am to see the sun rise over the Ganges - cold and damp - a man came up selling wooden crocodiles (I wonder how many he sells at that time if day? Saw the ghats where the various priests are. Later in the day went to see the place where Buddha started to preach once he was enlightened - Sarnath - which again was organised and run by the Archaeological Society of India and was extremely well cared for. There were lots of Buddhist temples in the same place from Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Tibet etc. Then later in the day we went back to the Ganges to see the evening service as the sun went down. Traffic so bad walked most of the way through Varanasi.

Honest thoughts about Varanasi, basically it s a big slum - I didn’t get the same feeling that I have had in some Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist places of worship - it is difficult to reconcile the abject poverty of people living under a torn tarpaulin and who accept it. However many people think differently. All I can say is that by the end of the day we had to get away from it and so went to the Kebab Factory in the Radisson Hotel and had a blow out meal and a beer. And again thanked our lucky stars.

Relieved but wiser on leaving Varanasi to go to Khajuraho which we didn’t know much about. A very pleasant surprise though - lovely hotel (Clarks) which had all the bits including a pool and neatly tended grounds including a vegetable garden. Bushes draped with twinkly lights. Sunbathed by the pool and had a quick trip into the little town - more a village. It was well kept with clean streets and everything neat - a real contrast to Varanasi - shop keepers offered magic carpets so we had a laugh with them - went to an Italian restaurant!!! - Carol had home made pasta and I just had chips! Like Italy or Spain 40 years ago - why can bits of India be like this?
Next morning went to the temples - The pinnacle of Hindu architecture, they were very well worth seeing. Unfortunately, nothing has developed since the 11th century. Europe had its renaissance which seems to have made the difference. Really enjoyed the grounds and setting.

Late afternoon went to the son et lumiere at the temples which looked very impressive in the lights. The temples were rediscovered by a British soldier during a geographic survey of the Indian interior in 1838. Captain T Burt was about to leave when a local led him into the forest/jungle and revealed a hidden temple. On seeing the erotic(?) sculptures on the temples his comment was they were
“a little warmer than there was any absolute necessity for”!!!!!
Interesting that the ideal form is still the same today - even down to the trout pout.

So we found a place like Khajuraho which is peaceful, leafy (what a difference green trees make in a hot country), organised, not dusty, the little dwellings have a beaten earth front patch which is marked off from its neighbour with white paint (pride in their patch), nice allotments of vegetables growing in neat rows and a calmness over everything. All in all a nice place to live with nice people. Genuinely interesting temples (which are sold as erotic but in fact are dignified and set in a splendid parkland and look very stately more than anything else - with a decent son et lumiere - So India twists and surprises again!

Had a very easy start the following day which was good as we then spent 12 hours travelling as a result of delayed planes, subsequent missed flights and general mayhem - Carol was cool and calm through the whole process - arrived in Calcutta after midnight over 4 hours late - ready to be up early next morning to go to Tiger Camp at Sunderbans National Reserve Park! AAArgghhhh!!!!

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year

---