DELHI

John, Liz and I left Minerva for Colombo airport and our flight up to Delhi. There were 22 of us from the cruise who had opted for the extended Golden Triangle tour. At Delhi airport we met our Swan Hellenic escort, Karylin, and our local guide, Kapil, both of whom turned out to be truly excellent. Our introduction to Delhi was slow via a massive traffic jam, which we were to learn is a regular feature of Delhi life. Our hotel was one of the Taj Group and we were royally received there, as we were at each hotel, with the traditional greeting of 'Namaste', with hands in the prayer position, and duly garlanded.

There was time for little else than dinner and early to bed ready for an early start the next morning - another regular feature we were to get used to.

Our first stop on our tour of Delhi was at the mosque Jama Masjid. Lapis told us this was built by the 5th Mughal Empereor, ShahJahan, in1658. It is one of the largest mosques in India able to accommodate 25,000 people. Its main construction is of hard red sandstone but with bulbous domes and minarets built of marble (a favourite material of this Emperor). Kapil told us that the Emperor's grandfather, Akbar, also a great builder, preferred the sandstone, as we would see later in the tour at Fatehpuri Sikri.

ShahJahan rebuilt Delhi and created Shahjahanabad in the area that is now known as Old Delhi. It is regarded as the seventh of the so-called 'Seven Cities of Delhi'. It is said that the intricate lanes of the 'walled city', it's bazaars and way of living seem to exist in a time warp.

We soon got some feel of this 'time warp' as we left the mosque and took cycle rickshaws for a tour. I shared with Anna and unfortunately our bike's chain continually came off and our rider spent much time pushing his bike, with us seated behind, between abortive efforts to replace the chain.

The continual loss of our cycle's chain did however give us ample opportunity to view the chaotic, crowded, narrow streets with traders of all types squeezed into the smallest of premises.

Above them a mass of electric cables stretched down to their shops and stalls and gave every appearance of the traders having plugged into the public lighting system. The risk of fire must be high.

Because of our mechanical problems we were well behind the others and I learned that Anna was a barrister, a QC and a part time judge. Her husband had died a few years ago and he likewise had been a QC. She had only booked on this Golden Triangle tour at the last minute, because she had found it so easy to make friends with people on Minerva.

Anna and I were relieved eventually to get back to the coach park with our somewhat downcast rider. We hoped that our tip would enable him to buy a new chain.

 

We then travelled to the memorial to Gandhi, Raj Ghat. This is a simple square platform of black marble with an eternal flame, marking the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated in 1948. Not where he died.

His death occurred after Independence in 1947 and the partition between India and Pakistan. He was shot by a Hindu who believed that Gandhi was giving away too much to Pakistan. He is still very much revered for his long non-violent battle for Independence. There were many cheerful children visiting the site.

After lunch at a local restaurant, ironically of Italian cuisine, we visited Qutub Minar. This is an example of Indo - Islamic architecture began in 1193 to mark the first Muslim rule in India.

It has the world's largest brick built minaret. Like an inverted cone, the base has alternate rounds and angles; level two just rounds; level three just angles and levels four and five of marble. This final section was not added until 1368.

The area surrounding the Minar, known as the Qutub Complex, has many ancient ruins, including those of the first of the 'Seven Cities of Delhi'. It was built by Prithviraj Chauhan in the 10th century as defence against Muslim invaders. There had been a thriving city for several centuries and this gets its 'first city' recognition on the basis of no previous recorded facts.

The Minar was itself built on the ruins of the Hindu citadel and it is clear from Brahamic inscriptions on some of the walls that remains from the old citadel were used in the Minar's construction.

Prithviraj had ben defeated by Mohammed Ghori in 1192, who left his slave, Qutubbudin Aibak, as his viceroy. Aibak captured Delhi, which became the capital of the 'Slave' dynasty. Aibak enthroned himself as the first sultan of Delhi. Hindu temples were destroyed and Islamic structures replaced them, including the Qutab Minar. Thus the start of many centuries of Islamic rule and the creation of the second city of Delhi.

The 'Slave' dynasty was followed by a line of Khilji rulers, one of whom created the third city of Delhi, Siri. That was ended by a Turkish invasion and a governor, Tughlak, who built Tughlakabad as the fourth city of Delhi. Another Turkish governor, Firoze, built Firozabad as the fifth city. Little remains of all these except ruins. But then enter the Mughals in the 16C.

Our next stop was at the tomb of the second Mughal emperor, Humayan. This first garden tomb of the Indian sub-continent was begun in 1562 in memory of the second Emperor. He built the sixth city at nearby Purana Qila, now also in ruins. But this is said to have been built on the site of Indraprastha, the legendary first Delhi - so take your pick!

Humayan's tomb became the standard for later Mughal monuments, most notably Taj Mahal. It is set in the middle of a geometrically arranged Char Baghdad garden, divided geometrically in four parts - an Islamic concept of paradise. The large terrace to the tomb looked over the gardens, as the light faded.

We were visiting the Taj Mahal, at Agra, the next day and had a very early start to catch a train to Agra. So, back to the hotel for as early a dinner as the Delhi traffic would allow. And to bed, to dream of all those Delhi cities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Cole