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Delhi Delight Day 1
Letter #3
Hi Family and Friends
When they say that nothing can prepare you for the assault on the senses that India brings, they are telling the truth!
From the moment we set out on our journey of Delhi today, we were bombarded with contrasts that overwhelmed our senses. From:
Opulence to extreme poverty
Chaos to serenity
Color to monochrome
Sadness to joy
Aggression to timidity
Honesty to deception
Shocking to familiar
Grandiosity to humility
Decay to new birth
All in the course of a few hours.
I looked into the eyes of many Indians and felt I was witness to their collective pain, triumph, and growth.
India never disappoints.
After feasting on a sumptuous breakfast buffet at our Taj Palace Hotel, we departed from our hotel in two tour buses for a day-long tour of both Old and New Delhi
Father Leo’s leads us with a Buddhist prayer each day and a word of the day. Today the word is “flexibility”.
We were graced with Anita, a superb tour guide who was the official tour guide for Chelsea Clinton and her grandmother. She was impressed by how poised, gracious, and down-to-earth Chelsea is. She says President Clinton is a very “attractive personality”.
Anita is knowledgeable, charming, and funny.
Throughout the day, our eyes savored scenes new to us: of men getting hair cuts road side, men walking their goats, women in colorful saris waiting for a bus, dentists performing dental procedures, mothers carrying an enfant while pleading with us with an outstretched hand, colorful clothes drying on lines, monkey scurrying about, sacred cows meandering (known as “highway queens”), men urinating, (adorable) children performing acrobatic tricks for tour bus passengers at stoplights for $$$, men bathing in fountains, uniformed school girls walking hand and hand, hundreds of men kneeling in prayer outside full mosques at prayer time,…the list of unfamiliar scenes becomes familiar as the day moves forward.
The roads are chaotic harmony. The pot pourri of motorbikes, trucks, rickshaws, carts, bikes, construction vehicles, manual and automatic cars and others coexist with disorderly order. Surprisingly, there are an extremely low number of traffic incidents.
Our first stop in Old Delhi was The Red Fort, one of the grandest palaces of the East that inspired the design of the Taj Mahal. Next, we took Rickshaw Rides (28 in all) in pairs thru a typical bazaar with narrow lanes, diverse merchants, and that was brewing with activity.
It was a feast for the eyes, ears, nose, and soul. We were up close and personal with traditional life.
Next, we visited Jama Masjidithe, the largest Mosque in all India. I actually photographed men at prayer inside the mosque!
We had to remove our shoes and I thought my feet would melt into the pavement—it was such a hot day.
Next we had a moving experience at Rag Ghat, a ceremonial park” where Gandhi was cremated. On sacred ground, barefoot, our group held hands forming a large circle while we meditated to Father Leo’s prayer of peace. We then kneeled toward Gandhi and meditated on his powerful message of harmony and love.
Each time we returned to our tour bus, we were extremely grateful to be handed bottles of cold water. It is HOT here!
In the afternoon, we toured New Delhi including the Parliament Buildings and Connaught Place.
Included in our tour was a visit to a carpet merchant where we received a demonstration of the dying trade. India subsidizes this trade by hiring carpet making directly from Kashmir to promote their products. The proud tour guides were a pleasure to watch. They unfolded one carpet more bedazzling that the next!
Finally, we visited the Qutab Minar complex, containing the tallest stone structure in India.
We returned to our hotel where I took a much-needed two-hour nap.
For dinner, we went to a traditional Indian restaurant where we feasted on multiple succulent Indian dishes. We occupied almost the entire restaurant where we sat at tables of 5-8. The service was impeccable, the food was the best Indian food I had ever had, and some formerly squeamish about Indian food are now converts.
I had great company with Margie, Marty, Rosie, and Marlene.
White-gloved door men welcomed us back to our hotel.
Robbie made arrangement to perform in the lounge. He is a classical guitarist who performs regularly in Las Vegas. He played a wide range of numbers from flamenco to Marvin Gaye—all melodious, all soothing, and all universally appreciated.
Robbyleblanc.com
We are all bonding very well. I am glad we are wearing name tags.
Everyone who has traveled with Father Leo before marvels at how well designed the tours are.
Tomorrow, we will head to Jaipur, a 5-hour drive, where we will spend the next two nights.
Namaste!
Karla in India
