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Delhi. The Bazaar and bizarre
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Delhi, delhi, delhi....... A city more popularly associated with a gastro-intestinal infection and unscheduled bathroom trips than anything else. To say it comes with baggage would be an understatement. It comes armed with an entire set of rheumy-green emotional baggage, weighed down with the expectation of poverty, diarrhoea, chaos and culture shock.
So you can imagine I wasn't all too riled up about my few days in the Indian capital. In my mind Delhi was a place to be endured. A stopping off point on the road to more rewarding and inspiring travel destinations. And you know what? It took my breath away. Not in the "oh my god, I can't believe the colour of that sunset" way or the silent "wow" as you approach the Manhattan skyline for the first time way, but it certainly packs a punch.
I decided to stay in an area known as Paharganj in the city centre - close to Old Delhi Railway station and happy stomping ground for all the backpackers passing through the city. And it does elicit a wow. Looking down through the crowed bazaar it's situated on, teaming with traffic, people, noise and every bit of urban detris known to mankind, you really could wonder what planet you were on. Honestly it was like Blade Runner on a crack comedown. An avant-garde production of Les Miserables, with neon and cow dung. It was full-on, shit-crazy India with a blur of Hindu arms waving at you like a drowning man.
In short Delhi can be an overwhelming place. A few days ago I spoke to a German girl who told me that one of her friends was so freaked out by it all, that she ran to the nearest internet cafe after just three days and booked herself the first plane ticket back home - - so she could presumably once again enjoy punctual trains, boiled sausages and (the occasional) incorrectly oriented swastika (we'll get to them later!)
To be honest the best way to deal with Indian cities is to embrace the craziness. Once you do that, a few days later you will be stepping over the cow-shit, swatting the mosquitoes and dodging the tuk tuk drivers like a native. Even so it will take nerves of steel and a certain brazenness to fob off the sellers/hawkers and general snake oil salesmen that inhabit the streets and bazaars (don't worry you'll eventually get the knack of pulling down your sunglasses and banished all trace of facial expression a la Keanu Reeves in an action movie in order to get them to piss off) Failing that the 'oul native tongue did come in extremely handy. As most of the bazaar merchants have a smattering of English, French, German and Hebrew (there are Israelis everywhere) it helps to have some acquaintance with an obscure language. A quick dose of the "ciunasbotharcailinbainne" worked a treat and as Sky's Kay Burley was wont to say during those interminable Sinn Fein Press Conferences "Oh dear, Mr Adams appears to have lapsed into Gaelic......!"
But as ever that's not the full picture. Further south lies New Delhi, the imperial and grand architectural centrepiece of the Raj Empire. Mother England's ordered and elegant legacy to the "Jewel in the Crown". The contrast couldn't be greater. Wide tree lined avenues. Neo-classical buildings of astonishing proportion (the Parliamnent and President's Palace are jaw droppingly vast). Lush parkland. It's like old Delhi's better educated, more refined and elegant twin. From the India Gate monument (not be confused with the Gate of India!) runs an incredible vista up to the Parliament flanked by manicured lawns and trees satisfying that great British desire for perfectly straight avenues to host processions. No wonder they never fully conquered Ireland. We just love a bend in our roads!
Beyond that there are enough charming parks, temples along with the tourist big hitters of the Red Fort & Jama Masjid Mosque to keep you diverted for a couple of days. (Though a word of warning - if you are heading to the abovementioned Mosque keep your vest well tucked into your drawers. You have to run the gamut of a teaming bazaar and yours truly was relieved of his very lovely camera en route by a sneaky pickpocket. There are so many people bumping and colliding against you it's a fairly easy lift for anyone with light fingers. It was a lesson learned!) It's also worth noting that the area around there is also an unsettling microcosm of India's glaring inequality. While all around commerce and daily life heaved with that unmistakable Indian clamour, there on the road-side, crawling and crying out for help, lay the twisted stump of a man missing two of his limbs. The indignity and sheer inhumanity - matched only by the indifference to the man's plight by passers-by - was one of the most disturbing things I've ever witnessed.
So a city not for the faint-hearted but if you allow it - Delhi will leave a lasting impression not just in your belly but also your taste-buds!
Latest Comments (1)
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like AA Gill on Crystal Meth! (reply)
Oct 13, 2008 14:50 EST by jordanaya
Well Well Well, it must be the fact that you are socially isolated amongst the kazillion Indians, that you are still wanton to share your experience with those of us chained to our desks..
Oh how I want to be amongst the drowning limbs and the cowshit...! NOT!
You are amazing, your reports are better than a Christian Amampour ever offered from some other pit of depravity. Keep it up a... show all
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