"Thou hast made me known to friends whom I
knew not.
Thou hast given me seats in homes not my own.
Thou hast brought the distant near
And made a brother of the stranger.
I am uneasy at heart
When I have to leave my accustomed shelter;
I forget that there abides
the old in the new,...
when one knows thee then
alien there is none, then no door is shut.
grant me my prayer,
that i may never lose the bliss of the touch
of the one, in the play of the many."
Gitanjali by Tagore
This trip to India was years in the planning. Tom had been there twice before and each time he felt defeated by the country. But for fifteen years it kept calling him back. His fascination with the richness that it has to offer coupled with his determination to go back to see it again (without the body rash provoked during his last visit by his strong emotional reaction to the overpowering contrasts of life in India) were the driving forces behind this trip. His passion for returning to this amazing culture was contagious. So finally this long awaited trip became a reality.
About nine months prior to our journey Tom began serious preparations for the trip. First he researched organized tours but none went to all the places he wanted us to visit. Besides we like to travel on our own as much as possible, so we opted for a customized itinerary. Working very closely with Harish Lawania, of Lawania Adventures , Tom was able to put together the trip that included most of the places he hoped to return to and other places he wanted to see for the first time. The itinerary took us to Delhi, Varanasi, Khajuraho, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Mumbai, and Aurangabad with stops along the way at Ajmer (where we visited Dargah Sharif, the holiest Muslim site in India), Orchha, Pushkar, Ranakpur, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and Elephant Island.
This was not a pleasure trip or vacation and when we arrived home people asked us if we had "fun." How to answer that question? Finally as we process our experience we realize it was more of a pilgrimage than anything else.
We transversed India by air,
railroad, van, "auto" (a 3-wheeled taxi pictured at right), rickshaw, taxi,
jeep, boat, foot, elephant, solar rickshaw, ferry, bus, and electric rickshaw. In
addition, one of our party got a camel ride and another got a palanquin ride.
Along the way we shared the road
with cars, vans, buses, jeeps, people walking, camel carts, ox carts, large trucks,
motorcycles, bicycles, cows, bulls, goat herds, sheep, wandering donkeys, boars, pigs,
"autos", rickshaws, tractors, stray dogs, camels just "hanging out",
horse carts, elephants, bears, monkeys and even an occasional peacock --- each vying for
space on the road..
We experienced
massive traffic jams and all sorts of vehicles coming from every direction and little
understanding of what the rules of the road were (what were those white lines for?).
However, we were blessed with excellent drivers who chalked up many narrow misses and
always got us to our destination without mishap. Amazingly we only saw a couple of
accidents along the way.
Since it was winter in India we did not have the overwhelming heat that
Tom had experienced the first two trips and the smells were not as overpowering. Our
weather was excellent with no rain and temperatures in the 80s during the day with cool
evenings.
We were fortunate to be in India
during one holiday, Diwali (the festival of lights that symbolizes the victory of good
over evil), celebrated with many fireworks, strings of lights that are reminiscent of
Christmas displays and garlands of marigolds that represent the color of the sun...
and during the Muslim observance of Ramadan (Ramzan). This picture
from the Times of India was taken in Delhi at Jami Masjid (the largest mosque in India) on
Eid-ul-Fitr, the last day of Ramzan, the feast of the sacrifice. The picture was taken
just a few days after we had been at this site.
We experienced the richness of Indian religions: Sikhism, Baha'i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Parsi, and Islam and learned quite a bit about India's history and culture.
Our hotel accommodations were quite satisfactory with few exceptions and no one in our party got sick.
We met many interesting people along the way,
And finally, we enjoyed the food immensely.
All in all a trip of a lifetime and a life changing journey......
We begin with our arrival in Delhi.
November 4, 2004
We arrived in Delhi late at night and were met at the airport by Mr. Lawania and Naresh (on the left), who was to be our driver for more than half of our trip, and Ajit (on the right), his able assistant. We soon found out why it took both of them to manage the van. Naresh drove and Ajit signaled from the passenger side, helped find parking places, and directed Naresh in tight spaces. We grew quite fond of both Naresh and Ajit and can't thank them enough for their professional attentive care, patience, and superior maneuvering skills. We always felt safe in their care.
Our first task was to get out of the tightly packed parking area at the airport, no small feat in itself. Horn honking started as soon as we got in the van. The backs of trucks read "Honk your horn," and everyone did. It was not a signal of frustration as you would find in the US, but instead a courtesy to let people know where you were, what your intentions were, when you were passing, etc. As we drove through heavy truck traffic we learned that trucks cannot use the roads of Delhi during the day and must transport their goods from early evening through early morning.
After about an hour drive, we arrived at Hotel The Park. We were pleased that it was well located near shops and just a couple of blocks from a major mall area. It was an area of Delhi that we could safely explore on our own on foot, our favorite mode of transportation.
After going over our revised itinerary and making certain that our accommodations were suitable we were left to get a full night's sleep and to begin to explore the city the next day.
November 5, 2004
Delhi, the capital of India is divided into two parts, "new" and "old". New Delhi was developed by the British when the city became the capital of the British Empire in India. It was completed in 1931. It is the governmental and commercial capital of the city distinguished by official buildings, Connaught Circle shopping area, impressive homes and embassies, wide streets and the city's major hotels.
The contrast with teeming and vibrant old Delhi is obvious. Far more interesting with its narrow crowded streets, it is here that the people of Delhi patronize the thousands of shops and eating places.
The first afternoon was spent getting acclimated to New Delhi. We left our hotel and after a short walk found ourselves at Connaught Circle. It was tempting to visit some of the shops selling goods from all over India, but the walk had been fairly traumatic because of the profusion of persistent hawkers and beggars. All in all though, the brief excursion was a good first exposure to what we would encounter throughout our trip.
We were pleased to find the Kwality Restaurant within about a block from our hotel, where we had several meals. The food was good, people were very friendly, and we are comfortable recommending it to others.
Our first official city tour started with a visit to the impressive Qutb Minar complex. The area contained the ruins of ancient Hindu and Jain temples and the remains of a 13th century mosque where 10,000 worshippers could assemble.
The entire area is dominated by the 278 feet tall Qutb Minar which was built to commemorate the Mughal victory over the Hindu rulers of Delhi.
The most interesting object at the site may be the 1600 year old iron pillar. Coated with a fine patina, the pillar has never rusted. No one knows why. Only a few western writers suspect aliens.
Given no choice by our guide, we were taken next to the memorial of Human. The son of Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire, he is best remembered as the father of Akbar, one of history's great rulers. Not only does the memorial contain Humayun's tomb but also those of his wife, children and his favorite barber.
This memorial is said to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.
It was now late in the afternoon and it seemed we would have little time to visit the Sikh Gurdwara (temple) that Tom had wanted everyone to see. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) as an attempt to bring together Hinduism and Islam. His teaching rejected the caste system and idol worship, but kept the Hindu belief of karma and rebirth. Sikhism was originally a pacifist religion but suffered so much persecution from Muslims that in the 17th Century Sikhs were required to learn to defend themselves.
Sikh men are recognizable by their unique turbans, beards and the steel bracelet worn on the right wrist. Representing only two percent of India's population, Sikhs make a contribution to Indian society and the economy out of all proportion to their numbers. They are prominent in business, agriculture, engineering and the military. Also, they seem to control the taxi business in Delhi.
It was too late in the day to get good pictures of the temple but we would see Sikhs throughout our stay in India, including the one riding a motorcycle in Delhi traffic and wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jacket!
Getting to the Gurdwara around sunset, the temple was aglow with electric lights. It was a lovely sight we would have missed if we had come earlier in the day. After discarding our shoes, we entered the sanctuary and could observe the reading of their holy scriptures, the Granth Sahib, which they see as the symbol of God.
November 6, 2004
The Baha'i house of worship is a special sight and is referred to in India as the "Lotus Temple". Baha'i began in Persia (Iran) and teaches the oneness of humanity. The house of worship is open to people of all religions to pray and meditate. A fair distance from the main attractions of Delhi, it is often overlooked by visitors, or omitted by tour guides. Our guide had seemed reluctant to go there but Tom kept insisting until it was clear we would be going there. Completed in 1986 and built of white marble, the design represents the opening of a lotus blossom (an Eastern symbol of enlightenment). It is a spectacular sight and not to be missed. While leaving, we asked a volunteer about the persecution of Baha'ist in Iran, only to find out that she was from Iran! She was in India visiting the temple but would be returning home shortly. She was open to discussing the plight of Bahais in her country.
When Mohandas Gandhi visited Delhi he sometimes stayed at the home of the Birla family -- one of India's richest. He had an apartment in the front part of the house. On several occasions he conducted his famous fasts here to force the British government to change its policies. In the gardens behind the house, he conducted prayer services in the early evening. It was while walking to one of their services that he was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by a Hindu extremist.
The complex is now a memorial where you can see where Gandhi conducted prayers and where he was killed. We saw the room where he stayed, the chair where he sat to conduct his services, and the cast footsteps of his last walk --- to his death. We also spent some time exploring the Gandhi museum on the site.
Ironically, across the street from this memorial honoring the ultimate pacifist is the headquarters of the National Defense Department.
We visited the site where Gandhi was cremated and we took some time to reflect on his life and the message in it for us.
All in all, Delhi was a good starting point for a three week tour of India. A modern city, it contains the crowded and busy streets of old Delhi and gave us a taste of the continuous harassment of beggars and vendors that we would encounter throughout our trip.
Too soon it would be time to travel to the railroad station to board the overnight train to Varanasi.
The most intense segment of our trip was about to begin.
