New Delhi Day 2 Time for REAL tourism

We spent the day with three individuals who have defined modern India. These three men were Mahatma Gandhi, Shah Jahan and Emperor Ashoka, the Great. Mahatma Gandhi lived in the mid 20th century, and was instrumental in India's independence from British rule. Most people know Shah Jahan for the exquisite white marble tomb he built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. He was a great military ruler and city planner, building many castles and edifices to worship God and literally defined the layout of many major Indian cities today. The last and possibly the most influential lived thousands of years ago, and preached tolerance, peace and acceptance. One of the symbols of a united India is the seal of four lions sitting back to back to back, which was created by Ashoka the Great the the 3rd century b.c.e. 

We started the day off visiting a beautiful red sandstone mosque built in the mid 1600s by Shah Jahan. I wish we had time to explore the Shah's other famous red sandstone structure in Delhi, the Red Fort of Delhi. This is not to be confused with the Red Fort of Agra, which we do intend to visit. I will include some pictures of the Mosque. We were respectful of the prayer space, removing our shoes as requested and respecting the dress request. The scope of the edifice was simply impressive, and achieved its goal of demonstrating the power and loyalty of the Mughal empire, even these hundreds of years after the fall of the empire. Shah Jahan is clearly saying "I love God more than you do, and He loves me back!"

Our next stop was the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. The world truly lost a great man when he was assassinated, but his impact is felt each day by peoples within India and those throughout the world who are touched by the preaching of strength through tolerance and nonviolence. 

 

And of course, the star of the day was the wildlife, from brown-headed crows, to common kites to "mini-bear" chipmunks and mina birds. The call of morning doves frequently rang out throughout the Gandhi memorial, and Josh suggested they were really "mourning doves." Kinda spot-on, really. Most of the wildlife was shy, but this little chipmunk was too busy enjoying Indian food to worry about hiding from the camera! I think that Mahatma Gandhi would have been pleased that even this most timid of creatures could find safety and peace at his memorial. Sometimes living memorials are more powerful than anything that can be created by human hands.

From there, we went shopping. Yeah, we embraced the tourist. We went to a government approved market called Dilli Haat. The vendors are all approved by the local government, and shoppers are required to pay an entry fee. My father turned to me, a little confused, asking if people really pay to come spend money here? Yep, but I think it was worth it, because it was clean, the food court had lots of options and the vendors were very respectful. They did not come out of their shops and get pushy. Ever. I think if they did, they would quickly be replaced. I felt completely safe at Dilli Haat, and the kids felt safe to be fairly independent in this little part of India. Personally, I kind of like to shop, rarely buy. I like to touch things, to feel things, to smell them, and we even went to the food court to taste them. It's funny that in India, shopping without buying is seen as negotiating, saying "I'd like to buy it, if you made the price right!" Sometimes that is the case, but mostly, I am trying to decide of what they offer fits in to my life. I didn't really see much, except picking up a gift for my mother. But I won't spoil what that is!

While I did like some of the artwork depicting the Tree of Life, I just didn't see how that might fit into my little house, so I didn't pick one up. Still, it's cool symbolism. So many cultures have the tree of life as an important motif! 

One note: the twins each got a banana split, because... yum. My father and I got lassis in earthen cups (I asked him to order milk shakes, but he ordered lassis. It's not quite the same, but still... yum.) The twins noticed something interesting. The sprinkles on the banana splits were much better than US sprinkles. Huh? Yep. Indian sprinkles are yummy. American sprinkles are waxy, but Indian ones have crunch. 

The twins were tired, so went back to the hotel by rickshaw and Josh, myself and my dad went off with Dilip, our driver, to one of Delhi's pillars that dates back to 250bce, in the Ashokan empire. I could tell that the driver wanted to go anywhere... but there. The pillar was located by a unremarkable stretch of road, surrounded by wilderness and protected by a stone wall and tall metal fence. In 20 years of giving tours, our driver had never heard of this cultural site, and had never taken anyone to see the artifact.  That artifact was old before many major world religions, such as Christianity, were founded. 

There was no parking nearby, and monkeys were patrolling the nearby walls. Monkeys are cute, but can be crafty and very strong. I like seeing them, from a distance. If push came to shove, I think a monkey might beat me in a fist fight (yeah, I think that way sometimes...) 

Back to Ashoka. He ruled almost all of India, from Afghanistan to the Himalayas and most of the Indian subcontinent south. The symbol of the dynasty, called the Mauryan empire, was four lions sitting back to back to back to back. For years I thought it was a three headed lion, but instead it was a capitol that rested on the pillars. One such existed in a museum, but not a museum that I will be able to visit this trip. It was an honor to be so close to teachings carved in stone such as instructions to honor parents, be kind to other humans and animals, serve God and seek to do good every day. The most important thing for me, is that Ashoka is credited with being the first person in history to make a formal training school for nurses. I learned that he directly referenced nurses on his pillar, likening them to the 'rajjukas' high administrators that served under and reported to the king. That was exciting, but I am still not closer to determining if or where that first school of nursing may have been. This has been an multi-year hunt for me, and I am a couple steps closer now. Kind of exciting! 

I also had a bit of a gastronomical adventure with my father. He thought the hotel room service menu was too expensive, and that we could do better in the neighborhood around the hotel. Google said there were a couple eateries nearby and so we headed out to check them out. We crossed a busy street, literally dodging cars, busses, bicycles and other pedestrians (the cows and stray dogs were smart enough to stay off the main roads, generally) and learned that most of the food places on Google maps had closed or didn't appear to exist at all. We walked around and found out that this area has plenty of car and motorcycle shops and sells lots of jewelry. So... if anyone wants to fix a blinged out motorcycle, I know where to go... In New Delhi. 

We finally did find a place serving mostly take-out. They were busy doing deliveries so we had to give them an hour, but I saw something on the menu that Josh has been searching for: paneer patty burger. It was a vegetarian burger apparently made with a paneer patty, which makes sense because paneer is a grilling cheese, it's just that I haven't found anyone selling one. We walked back to the hotel, got Josh and returned to order a paneer burger... but they were out. Not all is lost! This was a chain and has branches in Agra and Jaipur, so we will continue hunting for the illusive paneer burger. Only time will tell...