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Published: March 5th 2007
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Connought Place
Deserted city sreets on Holi, the Mc Donald sign is new since 1985. Arrived in Delhi on 3rd of March for a north India tour.
The tour is facilitated by global exchange and explores effects of globalization in India, combined with sight seeing of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Udaipur.
Day one
Holy day: festival of colors, is an old Hindu tradition and traditionally this has been the only day in the year that social restriction in regards to cast were ignored and everyone could participate and celebrate on equal terms in the festivities. Organic paint is used to color faces and clothes as a symbolic gesture, stemming from old Hindu mythology. A concoction of crushed Marijuana seed drink has also been traditionally consumed. But now that is topped by some very cheap spirits, and it can get pretty crazy to the point that tourists were warned to stay away from streets if they want to avoid paint all over their bodies.
The streets of Connaught Place were we are staying is pretty much deserted on this Sunday and all most shops are closed. A group of 6 guys in their mid twenties have removed a large loose stone from the side walk and turned it into a wicket for
Cricketers and the Cops
You can see one of the guys placing the stone block back along the sidewalk and cops giving them hell. playing cricket. Once they toss the coin to see who bats first, three cops show up and give them a big scolding and order them to place the stone back in the side walk,> They then order them to disperse and play in the near by park. Once the cops leave the rival teams almost break into a fist fight, the reason not quite clear. Then four four the guys jump on a small old Vespa and speed of out the square, with their cricket bat waving in the air.
Much has changed since have here last in 1985. The buildings look more run down and some even appear deserted. The previously white wash of all the buildings has been grayed by the pollution. There is a perpetual haze in the sky obscuring the sun on this rather windy pre-spring Sunday without much street traffic.
The big commercial circle in Delhi's center is only walked by rickshaw drivers, wondering tourists, and cops in this Holy Sunday morning. I ask a rickshaw driver how much it costs to the Bahai Lotus temple and he quotes an outrageous sum, then he insists on taking me to the near by shopping
Holi
Dudes on a scooter returing from Holi festivities. emporium. Finally he guides me to a nearby tourist office to arrange for a taxi ride to the Temple. They put me in a different rickshaw headed for the temple for 500 rupees. On the way the guy pesters me so much that i finally concede to stop by the shopping emporium before heading to the temple.
The emporium is a type of shop selling everything you can imagine a tourist traveling to India would want to buy: textiles, clothes, Hindu and Buddhist artifacts, handicrafts, carpets. The place is filled with tourists some with paint on their faces, recruited similarly from the streets. There are countless such emporiums apparently in the Connaught place. With all the sweet talking and the charm they could muster they sold me two cashmere Shawls for 60 dollars, and i soon ran out of the building before to could add on to it an Indian style outfit and a Kashmir rug.
The ride to the Lotus Temple was surprisingly smooth for a rickshaw ride, there being little traffic on this Holy Sunday. The temple is surrounded a large well manicured garden filled with flowers and nine pools surrounding it. It is shaped like
lotus and made of concrete covered by white marble. Overall it is a magnificent site to look at from outside. A beautiful Hindu temple can also be seen near by. Looking at it from the inside, the setting is very simple and quiet for meditation open to members of all faiths. A few birds had made their temporary nest in inside the temple adding a loud and echoing background sound to the overall serene and quiet mood in the temple.
In the afternoon joined the tour for trip to the Qutub Minar complex which dates back to around 1100 AD in the south of Delhi. The significance of this site is that it is the first site in India where a mosque was made, marking the time that the religion systematically got a foothold in India. The complex was made over a series of centuries by various ruling parties. The stones of the original mosque on this site were actually taken from a Hindu temple which was destroyed on the same site the mosque was built. Thus you see elements of both Islamic and Hindu architecture intermixed. Figures from Hindu mythology can be seen engraved on the stones. Faces
Qutub Minar Complex
Built in 1199 to honor a Muslim over Hindu victory in battle, the tower stands rougly 220 feet tall. have been erased during the construction to follow Islamic guidelines against image or idol worship.
The Lodhi Gardens was the next stop. The garden was made during the time of the British, and it is made surrounding to a large mosque and multiple tombs dating back to centuries ago, creating an interesting contrast between the old archaic structures and the well manicured gardens.
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anonymous
non-member comment
500 for that rickshaw ride was too much. Per km it should not be more than 6 rupees. Do not know what the starting fare is. Take down the rickshaws numbers and call the complaint center in case they ask for exorbitant rates. Indian