DAY 15, APRIL 5, DELHI

INDIA GATE

We stopped at India Gate,
Completed circa twenty-eight.
In the first world war
And the Afghan wars
Many an Indian met his fate.

A canopy that stands nearby
Housed George the fifth in years gone by.
(At the museum
You can see him.)
It's empty now, and a big debate is why.


GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

Buildings to be admired
From the British were acquired
For ministries of the government
And a coliseum for the parliament
(Its members by the people hired.)


QUTUB MINAR

Came invaders like old Qutub,
And temples went down the tubes.
Materials from them they borrowed
To make their mosque and tower
To convert infidels they saw as rubes.


RUG STORE

Carpets made in Cashmere homes.
None better anywhere you roam.
Cottage Industries Exposition
Makes you a good proposition
If you want to take one home.


BANGLA SAHIB TEMPLE

In Delhi our Sykh temple
Was my first example.
The music was loud.
Thick was the crowd.
Good job we weren't trampled.

The crowd made me nervous.
Our head scarves well did serve us.
So we were properly dressed.
And I was well impressed
By their community service.


FAMILY GOYAL

You'd think that we were royal
From our reception by family Goyal.
It was great with them to connect.
Their artistry made me suspect
They're descendants of Mr. Goya.


We started with the India Gate, which is reminiscent of the Arc de Triumph in Paris. It honors the many Indian soldiers who were killed fighting for the British in WWI and in the Afghanistan wars right after WWI. The soldiers were all volunteers. (They needed work.) None of this fighting was on Indian soil.

The statue of King George V was moved to the Indian Museum. Some have suggested a statue of Mahatma Ghandi should be placed in the canopy. Others oppose that since the canopy is a symbol of the British. So the canopy stands empty.

We haven't seen the Supreme Court building, which is located elsewhere. We saw the buildings that house the ministries and the round building that houses Parliament. They are splendid buildings and the grounds are extensive and green. Of course, this a high security area these days. How can a country like India have such splendid government buildings? It is because they were built by the British for their administration before Indian independency in 1947. They were built circa 1910 to 1930. We saw a large group of monkeys crossing a major street between ministries buildings.

The first thing you see at Qutub Minar is the 234-foot tower or minar (minaret) built in 1193. It is impressive, but there is much more to see. There are extensive ruins from that era that make you think of Roman or Greek ruins. Som explained it all. Long before the Moslems came in and took over, they used to come in from Afghanistan, conduct raids, and go home. One of these raiders was Qutub. Or maybe Qutub was the raider's underling. At one point an underling was left behind to set up permanently, but he decided to break from his master and take charge on his own. They intended to convert the Hindus and Jains (“infidels”) into Muslims. They tore down the existing temples and used the materials to make their mosque. In some cases they merely removed the statuary carvings. So you see the remains of Hindu temples that were tampered with by the Muslims. Extremely amazing is a massive iron post which has survived five centuries in the elements without rusting, and it's a mystery where it came from and how it was transported.

We visited the store “Cottage Industries Exposition Ltd.,” which mainly sells carpets handmade in homes in Cashmere -- wonderful, long-lasting carpets of highest quality. Tea was served and the manager explained the carpets, how they are made, and their virtues. A 20% discount was offered since we are with OAT. A few of our group ended up buying one or two carpets.

We visited the Sikh temple called Bangla Sahib. Not only did we take our shoes off, but we also wore orange headscarfs that were loaned to us. It was extremely crowded and rather large. Holy music was being sung by the priest over a loudspeaker, and it was very loud. Sikhs are required to do community service. We visited their next-door Langar (community kitchen) where Sikh volunteers from all walks of life were working together preparing food and serving it to a huge crowd of poor people seated on the floor. The Sikhs do not have multiple gods as do Hindus. They are monotheistic. Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists all believe in rebirth and reincarnation. The big deal with Sikhs is the worship of “The Book” in which all the writings of the gurus are kept . Sikh men wear turbans.

We had lunch in an Indian Chinese restaurant. The food was a lot like that in an American restaurant, except that they had sweet and sour potato chips, some of the food was a bit spicy, and they had no fortune cookies.

We walked through a shopping area outside the Chinese restaurant. Nothing exciting there.

We had a little free time back at the hotel. Som tried to help Helen and me get on the Internet using his computer, which has its own little wireless gizmo. We were only hoping to read our mail. We finally did get on AOL, and yet we could not call up our received mail.

This evening was a special occasion – the opportunity to be the dinner guests of an Indian family in their homes. We divided into two groups, and each went to a different family. The group Helen and I were in were driven to the home of the Goyal family – husband, wife, 24-year-old daughter, 36-year-old son. They're very friendly folks, and it was very enjoyable. The food, of course, was Indian, some but not all of it on the spicy side. This is a Hindu family of a caste that were traditionally merchants and businessmen. While 90 to 95 percent of Indian marriages still are arranged, as was the case of the father and mother, in this family the daughter has selected her own mate. He's a college student in Arizona and they expect to marry in December. She has a master's degree. This is a very artistic family – truly amazing. The wife/mother is a prolific artist, doing traditional art and selling it. The third floor is an art studio. Her art work is hung throughout the house and especially in the studio. The son does modern art and has had expositions of his work. The father is a graphic artist. The daughter doesn't do art, but she works for an art studio, doing its administrative work.

Bernie :-)