Delhi - Part 2

Saturday - January 3, 1998



Our first full day back in Delhi began with a tour of the crafts museum in New Delhi. Here we found lovely carved wooden boxes, stoneware, and beautiful textiles including the pillowcase shown above. We then visited a Sikh temple where we were treated to a lengthy tour of the temple and a complete oral history of the Sikh religion. We were asked to remove our shoes and wear bandanas to cover our heads before we began the tour. In one large room in the temple we witnessed great numbers of poor people being given a simple meal. We also witnessed the preparation of the bread and vegetables. In another room we saw a man using his bare hands to distribute "holy pudding" (a combination of grains, nuts, and honey) to the faithful. Photography was not permitted.

For lunch we tried Nirula's American Restaurant in Connaught Circle. The mutton burgers were not particularly good but the atmosphere was pleasant. As restaurants go in India, this one was considered expensive and trendy. Upper middle class Indians, particulary the young ones, were the usual patrons.



That evening, however, we enjoyed very good Chinese food at Nirula's Chinese Room in Connaught Circle. By this time in the trip we were getting a bit bored with Indian food and were looking for alternatives.

Sunday - January 4, 1998



We enjoyed a half day at the zoo where we saw some of India's wildlife living in moderately humane conditions. The instructions to visitors were amusing as seen above.



On our way back to the hotel we witnessed the Sikh festival parade. Seeing a crowd of men wearing turbans and wielding swords was almost as scary as the Philadelphia Mummers parade. We enjoyed the parade for a bit, then retreated to the hotel for the rest of the day and evening. During that time we could hear the festival continuing outside into the early hours of the morning.

Monday - January 5, 1998



We hired a car for the day to take us around to finish our gift shopping. We also stopped at the B'Hai temple. This religion is relatively new in India but the architecture of this temple brings many visitors. The temple is shaped like a lotus blossom, which is a popular and sacred flower in India. The grounds of the temple have crystal clear pools of water. The inside, however, looks much like a typical Protestant church sanctuary, modern and bland.

That evening we took a long cab ride to get to the American sector of India. This area included a McDonald's restaurant where we enjoyed vegetarian burgers and french fries with chili sauce. Before we went in we saw a large cow slowly walking in front of the McDonald's finding his way home through the busy crowd. There was something surreal about watching a cow parading safely in front of perhaps the largest beef retailer in the world. There was also a TGI Fridays restaurant and a movie theater where we saw a Steven Seagal movie. I was searched for weapons upon entering the theater and my camera batteries were removed to prevent me from taking photos in the theater. I am still unclear as to why anyone would wish to take photographs inside that theater but my batteries were returned after the movie. The intermission featured a slide show in Hindi and English.

Tuesday - January 6, 1998



On Tuesday morning we decided to see a little more of New Delhi. We took a cab out to the Oberoi Hotel which is an ultra-modern, Western-style, hotel servicing the international business travelers. New Delhi has become a major business center in Asia and five-star hotels like the Oberoi are just as expensive here as in any major Western city. We walked around the shops of the Oberoi and were impressed by the contrast with the overwhelming poverty of much of the rest of Delhi. For lunch, we treated ourselves to a fine meal at the Thai restaurant in the Oberoi. This was easily the finest and most interesting meal we had on the entire trip.

That afternoon we took a tour of the Museum of Musical Instruments at the Sangeet Institute which is charged with preserving native music, dance, and drama. The instruments were fascinating and included a large two-stringed instrument with a hollow cylinder used to lure and catch butterflies. Other instruments were made of human bones and skulls. We were fascinated. The curator invited us to come to morning tea the next day and continue our discussion of the role of music in Indian culture. While we were there we purchased a video tape on tribal Indian folk dances.

The next day we attempted to leave for home.

Trying to get home.