Back in Delhi

  Delhi, India
Monday, September 25, 2006

It's been nearly ten days since we were in Delhi and unfortunately Becca has a jet plane to catch so we've returned to the City of Djinns. Our 14 hour train journey from Jodhpur passed through some beautiful countryside where the bright blue sky came down to meet the vivid yellow/orange fields of marigolds. They grow them here, along with gorgeously fragrant Jasmine flowers, to make garlands to offer the gods at Hindu temples.

It wasn't all picture postcard scenes though - the landscape did change dramatically when we started to pass through the suburbs of Delhi. At every station we've visited in the last two weeks (and there have been quite a few now) we've been constantly struck by the number of people bedded down on the platforms, beside the tracks and along the walkways. They range in age from the smallest babies to the oldest men and women and yet they all have one thing in common - they have no where to go and so just look for some relative safety in which to eke out an existence.

05 Delhi street scene

India is a desperately poor country and everywhere you travel you're reminded of it. The sight that greeted us on our slow approach to Old Delhi station was miles upon miles of shanty town housing along the side of the tracks. Built with care from whatever materials were available, these didn't just provide temporary accommodation - this is where thousands of children are growing up. While they don't have any running water or sanitation - some of them do curiously have electricity. I've read that up to 40% of power in India is stolen from the mains and judging by the dangerous tangle of wires knotted above these shacks, that is no exaggeration.

03 Inside the Jama Masjid (which can take 25,000)

Last time we came to the capital we concentrated our sightseeing in New Delhi so this time we set aside some time to explore the massive Jama Masjid mosque and the famous Red Fort. The British travel writer William Dalrymple waxes lyrical about Delhi and its history. He's particularly fascinated by the great Moghul emperors and their lasting monuments. One of the most impressive of these is the Jama Masjid. Built by Shah Jahan, it took 5,000 construction workers between 1644 and 1656 to complete. It's India's largest mosque and can hold 25,000 worshippers.

04 Inside the Red Fort

From the mosque, you get quite an impressive view of the Lal Qila or Red Fort - which rises up 500 metres to the northeast. This complex was built on the banks of the River Yamuna in what used to be the edge of the old city of Shahjahanabad (see what he did? he named the area after himself!). It covers an area of almost 2km and is subject to quite stringent security checks by the army - inside though it's beautifully peaceful and with a little imagination you can conjure up the image of the Maharanis bathing in the Hammam before visiting the Maharaja in his marble palace.

Such scenes of tranquility are to be savoured in India as a whole and Delhi in particular. The noise on the streets is difficult to describe to anyone who hasn't witnessed it themselves. But to give you an idea, imagine that every cyclist, rickshaw driver, motorcyclist, car, truck or bus driver crawls along the heavily congested streets with the palms of their hands permanently jammed against their horns. The cacophony is unbelievable and inevitably counterproductive; as a pedestrian the initial fear gives may to dangerous insouciance as you can't guess what size the vehicle behind you is based solely on how loud their horn is. Even little mopeds are fitted with unfeasibly large hooters.

In an effort to retain our sanity we're leaving Delhi and heading south. We waved goodbye to Becca yesterday and so for the first time since Samarkand in July, we're travelling alone. We've decided to hotfoot it to Goa for a week on the beach to recharge our batteries before moving on. Updates when and if we're able (to get ourselves into gear that is!) ;-)