After meeting all of the team members, who had thus far made it to
India (still waiting to meet Sharalyn Davis from Detroit) we all had breakfast
and then met in the lobby with Bani and boarded the bus - our home for most of
the remainder of the day. On board, we also met "Sweetie", who
was to serve as our tour guide as we "did" the city tour of Delhi.
We began by arriving at the old section of Delhi, where for
centuries, merchants brought their goods to sell and to barter. This area
of the city is directly opposite the RED FORT, which unfortunately is closed to
the public for renovations. Our bus driver snaked his way deep into the
narrow streets, all the way to the foot of the steps, leading up to the Mossque
- the largest one in all of Asia. We would climb the steps and enter into the
open courtyard of the Mosque and tour the huge plaza, which sets this Mosque
apart from many others in the world, There were literally hundreds of
visitors, tourists and locals who had come to worship.
"Sweetie" explained the history of the Mosque and then gave us plenty
of time to wander, to take photos and otherwise drink in a very important part
of the culture.
From here, we descended the steps and began our bicycle rickshaw
tour of the serpentine alleys and observe the city waking around us... men
along the sides of the streets, either enjoying a morning bucket bath, of the
butcher slaughtering chickens to prepare for sale, the local vendor of marigold
garlands stinging them across the front of his tiny shop, the vegetable sellers
laying out their daily "crops" to offer to locals, the sari shoppe -
offering the finest of silks (five and one-half meters in length) the
locksmith next to the man selling auto parts,next to the gold jewelry merchant,
next to the family selling soups served in tiny pastry shells. You name
it, it was ALL here.
Following this adventure (and if one ever gets the opportunity to
do so should NEVER BE MISSED) we boarded the bus again and were taken to
Rajghat - the cremation location of the monumental garden dedicated to Mahatma
Ghandi, who was assassinated in January 1948. Thousands of pilgrims and
tourists wandered quietly through the grounds, descending into the lower
garden, which houses the black granite table and eternal flame. Millions
of dahlia blossoms were abuzz with honey bees, drinking in the nectar.
We then went on to tour Qutab Minar - a towering monument to the
past,constructed beginning in 1193 and rising an amazing 259.5 feet alongside a
former Hindu temple, which was destroyed by the Moguls of the past, where all
of the iterations of the gods represented were defaced, as the Muslims do not
worship deities.
From there we traveled a short distance to a multi-level
restaurant, which at each higher floor we were afforded a better view of Qutab
Minar. It was a most delicious and restful lunch. A bit of shopping
at a local emporium and then back to the hotel to rest and get ready for a
Rotary meeting with the Delhi-Megapolis members.
A wonderful surprise to see my niece and nephew, Mahima Dayal
Mathur and Madhan Dayal, who joined their parents and came for a visit.
All in all a DILLY of a DAY in DELHI.
