Delhi - Part 2

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Yesterday I celebrated a birthday, and had a lovely day. I went to the spa in the morning for a facial, manicure and pedicure, and then did a little siteseeing in the afternoon.

I wanted to keep it a quiet day, so I went to the Gandhi Museum. It is located on the site where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, and is a lovingly preserved site where you can see where he lived during the last 144 days of his life, where he went to pray each day, and information on his fight for India's freedom from British rule. There is a new set of panels showing that Gandhi's fight was only the end of a fight that went on from 1857 to 1947 when India suceeded at getting their independence. The grounds were beautiful, and everyone there was very respectful of the site.

From one extreme to another - from the humble tribute of Gandhi to the opulant tribute of a swami and the Hindu gods called the Akshardham Temple. I didn't know anything about this temple, but it is a new creation (only 5 years old) and an enormous complex. It has a total of nine domes - the main one has an 11-foot high gold plated idol of the swami who was the main focus of the temple. The inside of the main set of domes had many carving in white marble, some of yoga postures, others were the type you would see on ancient temples. It's so hard to describe this complex, it has so much marble throughout and many gardens and fountains. One of the large gardens had several bronze statues depicting the history of Indian culture from the early eras - the Upanishads, for example - to the 19th century.

Such amazing wealth is this country, past and present, and such poverty as well, past and present. India is a country of contrasts, of beauty and filth, of devout faith and high tech, and it has been an amazing experience. I'm heading home later today, and will be glad to breathe the air at home. It is actually the first good air day today in Delhi that I've had, but it's still not that great.

Enjoy the few pictures I've uploaded that I took during my stay.

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Photos

Qutub Minar
Red stone tower built in 1199 AD.

Qutub Minar - Iron Pillar
Iron Pillar from the 5th century.

Bahai Temple (Lotus Temple)
Recent marble creation similar to the shape to the Opera House in Melbourne Australia.

Humayun's Tomb
Built in red sandstone and marble - it's said it was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.

Gandhi Memorial - prayer location
This is where Gandhi would pray each day when he was staying in Delhi at the end of his life.

Gandhi Memorial - statue
A beautiful statue on the grounds that are lovingly kept where his memorial is located in Delhi.

World Peace Gong
Gong at the Gandhi Memorial site.

Akshardham Temple
View of the temple from the highway on approach to the temple.

Lodi Garden Restaurant
This where I had a Western style meal in Delhi. They were even playing country music!

Lantern Restaurant - Shanti Home
This is the view on a smoggy day from the rooftop of where I'm staying in Delhi.

Comments

[Tonya]

Inspiring
I have been wishing to visit India and now I am even more motivated to save my travel time and money for a trip similar to yours. Your travel blog is lovely and I'm very happy you had such a great time. Sat Naam. :)