Delhi overcrowded, diverse
It takes only one word to describe India: Crowded. It takes a bigger word to describe the capital, Delhi: Overcrowded.
With 1.2 billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world and with its explosive population growth, by the year 2030, it will have overtaken China as the world's most heavily peopled land.
Because of the huge population, diversity is the norm. India has 15 official languages. Hindus, Moslems, Christians and Sikhs all exist side by side. As our tour guide for this trip, Prince Chhibber, said by way of greeting: "Welcome to India, land of three million Gods and we worship them all."
This 17-day tour of India was a radical departure from my normal methods of travel. No truck treks, no backpacking journeys on local chicken buses, no hostels in rat-infested neighborhoods. This time I was taking an organized tour with air-conditioned buses, expert professional tour guides and first-class accommodations with all meals provided in the hotels.
Travel conditions in India are among the most chaotic in the world. The traffic situation in the cities is the worst I have ever seen. The vast crowds of people make walking on the sidewalk a nearly impossible feat. Travel from city to city by bus is so slow and unpredictable that our tour guide could never gives us an estimated time of arrival. "This is India," he said. "We'll arrive when we get there."
So I ended up being really glad I was on a deluxe tour. In the blasting heat of India, the air conditioned bus was a lifesaver. I especially appreciated the bus driver's assistant who would personally bring us each a bottle of ice water after one of our guided tours in the heat.
Delhi, India's second-largest city behind Mumbai, is also its capital. India follows the pattern of Great Britain and has a parliamentary system of government. Dehli is like Washington, D.C. in that it is loaded with government buildings, including acres and acres of public housing, as all government employees are provided a home in which to live. Prince, our tour guide, pointed out the large groups of monkeys living in the government compound trees. "We say we have two types of monkeys living here," said Prince. "The monkeys in the trees and the ones without tails." It was nice to see that Indians hold their politicians to the same high standards as ours.
One of the main attractions in Delhi is the Chandi Chowk, the main street of the old portion of Delhi and an area that is crammed with shops. It is so packed with people that our guide hired rickshaws to take us around the narrow streets and alleys. It seems that people would get out of the way for rickshaws and motorcycles, but wouldn't move out of the way for each other. Even in the rickshaw, the area was cramped and dark and smelly, as well as sweltering. But the colors of the goods were amazing. Indians love color and the saris of the women are stunning in their bright and unusual colors.
Located in the Chandi Chowk is the Jama Mosque, the largest mosque in India. India was conquered by the Muslims in the 12th Century and this mosque was built in 1656. Like all mosques, people must remove their shoes before entering. Unfortunately, the strip of carpet laid down to cross the sunny stone courtyard only goes halfway. I'm afraid I disturbed the solemn nature of the mosque by hopping, skipping and dancing my way across the hot stones while saying oooch-ouch-ooch. Other travelers were smart enough to leave on their socks.
There are many fine examples of Muslim architecture in Delhi, but the best collection may exist at the Qutub Minaret. This imposing 240 feet high tower was begun in 1193 to commemorate the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. The tower actually has five different levels made of alternating sandstone and marble for a colorful checkerboard effect. The tower was not completed until nearly 200 years after it was started, in 1368.
At the base of the Qutub tower is the first mosque ever constructed in India, the Might of Islam Mosque. The original Mosque was surrounded with courtyards and other structures over the centuries and standing in one of these courtyards is one of the strangest and most mysterious objects in the world. It is a 22 feet high iron pillar, which was erected almost 2000 years ago. There's a Sanskrit inscription that states it was originally built outside of a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu.
What the inscription does not say is how the pillar was made, as scientists report the iron is of exceptional purity. Nor does it say how it could have stood in position for nearly 2000 years and yet not have a speck of rust on it.
The last thing we saw before leaving Delhi was Humayun's Tomb. It was built in the mid 16th century by Humayun's senior wife to hold his body. What makes it so spectacular is that it contains many of the floral designs that were later to be built into the Taj Mahal. Designs that depict living things such as flowers or animals are actually forbidden by the Koran, so this particularly Hindu form of Muslim architecture exists no where else.
As much as I enjoyed Delhi, I was looking forward to Jaipur in Rajasthan, where we had a chance to see tigers in the wild and to get some meat. In India, beef is forbidden to Hindus and pork is forbidden to Moslems. Our highly-spiced vegetarian diet was wreaking havoc with the digestive tracts of our small group of tourists and it would be a treat to travel through a section of India that cooked more meat, especially the delicious tandoori dishes.
