Carol and Harold's India trip: October 22

Since 10 of the 16 who arrived with us were leaving on Saturday, we had a going away dinner at a wonderful restaurant in the park on Friday night.

Whenever you read about India, you read that it is a country of contradictions, contrasts, and diversity. We have found this to be so true. While our last post was somewhat negative, today we saw the glories of India and Delhi. Our last post pointed out the many problems in India; however, today they are gearing up for President Obama’s visit which they see as a clear sign that India is a leader in the business world. China and India led the world economy’s recovery, and India is predicted to overtake China within years.

Our Saturday began with a subway ride to see the Akshardhum Temple. We’ve traveled a bit and seen many astounding buildings in the past years, but this temple is right there in the top couple. Built in 2005 by the Gujarat-based Shri Swaminarayan sect, the temple is a stunning piece of art and an eloquent reminder of the sect’s wealth. We spent 4.5 hours there, wandering through the gardens, the temple and surrounding buildings. There was a sound and light presentation with rather well-done robotic figures presented from the life of 11-year-old child yogi Bhagwan Swaminarayan (born in 1781) who began this religion. There was a movie on the giant screen with a cast of over 45,000 people and finally a boat ride through the 10,000 years of Indian culture. It was a little like Disney meets God, but done tastefully and enjoyably. There was also a food court where we had some delicious Indian delicacies. Disappointingly, no photos were allowed. From there, we went to Rajpath – a huge boulevard running across the middle of New Delhi flanked by gardens and fountains that are floodlit at night. At the eastern end of Rajpath is India Gate, a 42-meter high arch commemorating the ninety thousand Indians soldiers killed fighting for the British in WWI. At the western end of Rajpath is Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India. It is very large and grandiose. East of the residence are two Secretariat Buildings which house many Government ministries and just beyond them is the circular Parliament building. Tired, we grabbed a rickshaw back home which is always an adventure.

We had dinner and said good-bye to our two flat-mates. The numbers of us left will dwindle until next weekend when another large group (16?) will descend on CCS. We then went out for an ice cream sundae and picked up some cookies and a pint of Baskin Robbins for good measure.

Sunday morning, we were up early and on the road in a rickshaw to Humayun’s Tomb. This was Delhi’s first Mughal mausoleum, constructed to house the remains of the second Mughal emperor, Humayun, He lost Delhi and most of his father’s empire to the Afghan warlord, Sher Shah Suri, but then regained it back from Sher Shah’s son in 1555. But Sher Shah had his revenge when, a year later, Humayun died falling down the stairs of Sher Shah’s mandal (observatory). The main tomb (there are many buildings on the site) is the same architecture as the Taj Mahal. Across from the Tomb, we visited the self-contained Muslim mahalla (village) of Nizamuddin. It is a tangle of narrow alleyways lined with shops and market stalls where you can find goats and chickens wandering among the throngs of Sunday shoppers. A short rickshaw ride brought us to Lodi Gardens. The park is an immense area of manicured gardens where several 15th and 16th century domed national monuments stand. The park is a quiet haven and we took a needed rest in view of a lake with swans and ducks. Another rickshaw ride brought us home where we are finishing up paperwork, our blog, and getting ready for our little ones tomorrow.