Sledging down the
valleys of Kashmir and landing atop the Camel in Rajasthan. We smelled the
tranquility in the monasteries of Sikkim and soaked our selves in the
archipelago of the Andaman Islands. So now, lets brace ourselves to be embraced
in the warmth of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The moment we say
Delhi the Parliament, the grandeur of the Rashtrapati Bhavan or the Qutub Minar
flashes before our eyes. But there is lot more to the capital of India.
Adorning the traveler’s hat we take a detour and decide not to reconnoiter
places that fall under the tourist attraction menu of the package tour.
Stepping out of the
cosmopolitan Delhi we stepped into the historical labyrinth called ‘Dilli’. Located on the banks of the River
Yamuna, Delhi was inhabited since the 6th century BC. It is
also widely believed to have been the site of Indraprastha, the
legendary capital of the Pandavas during
the times of the Mahabharata. In
1639, Mughal emperor Shahjahan built a
walled city in
Delhi, which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1649-1857. And as
we reckon this information we arrive at Shahjahan’s walled city’s legendary
major street called the Chandni Chowk.
Chandni Chowk today might appear choked with congestion
but saunter down and you will see the ancient beauty through the creeks of this
congestion. Chandni Chowk is adorned with many a havelis, its by lanes are
clogged with small shops selling everything from strands of yarns to fully made
heavy sarees. The very famous sweet house the Ghantewala Halwai or the lip
smacking Paranthe waali gali, will draw you to this place more than the words
of this article! The most striking thing about this place is that people of all
faith live together in great respect and modern India has never witnessed any form
of communal violence. If there is the Jama Masjid, the foundation of which was
laid by Shahjahan in 1650 AD on one side then there is also the Sis Ganj Sahib
Gurudwara constructed on the martyrdom of the 9th Sikh guru Tegh
Bahadur. And if there is a revered place for the Gauri Shankar Temple built by a Maratha general Appa
Gandgadhar in 1761, then there also stands the Christian Central Baptist Church
erected in 1814.
Absorbing these
facts and after a palatable food for thought and appetite, we headed for our
next destination, and this time we chose a locomotive that stands as a jewel in
Delhi’s crown, the Delhi Metro Rail.
The metro rail is a blessing in avoiding traffic clogging and kudos to the man
who engineered such a marvel. The rail is swift, low cost and conveniently drops
us at our destination in a couple of minutes. We crawled onto the violet line
of the metro and until our journey halted we could safely say that it was a
very comfortable journey and indeed technologically way advanced. Mr. E.
Sreedharan is undoubtedly a deserving recipient of the Padma Shri award.
Out of the Kalkaji
metro station and in we were at our next haven, the Bahá'í Temple or famously called the Lotus Temple. Bahá'í is
a faith that preaches monotheism. The Bahá'í laws emphasize that it is a
gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational
restrictions. Apart from its pristine reverence, the place holds you with its
magnificent architecture, which is akin to a lotus. It’s designed by Fariborz
Sahba and the structure has won many laurels to its’ credit too. The best time
to be here is at the evening. As you sink yourself in its floral garden and
wait for the sun to bid adieu, the lights around the temple are lit and your
eyes are treated to the beauty of a giant lotus half unfurled. The structure purely
looks immaculate.
Apart from these
modern day structures the glory of the city has been upheld by the ancient
architectural manifestations, the Red fort- that features in UNESCO’s World
Heritage Sites. Mughal Emperor Humayun’s majestic Tomb, the President’s domicile
the Rashtrapati Bhavan and in it the famed Mughal
Gardens.
Flanked with
embassies on either side, we drove down the Shanti path, a pleasant boulevard
for those who love to drive amidst serenity. And within no time we stood in
front of Rashtrapati Bhavan’s colossal entrance. I was lucky to get a
peek-a-boo into the president’s abode as we walked down its corridor’s to reach
the sprawling Mughal Gardens. The garden is opened
to the public for a month, most usually for the month of February, as part of
the annual 'Rashtrapati Bhavan Udyanotsav'. It showcases a combination of the
formal Mughal style with the British garden designs. We were fortunate to have
strolled in the traditional Mughal Garden, Musical Garden, Spiritual Garden,
Herbal Garden, Biodiversity Park and bewildering was the fact that in a
metropolis like Delhi we could taste the smell of oxygen, which I thought was
limited just to the chemistry books.
Ladies
reading this article will bow in acceptance, as to how can a travel end
without, ‘shopping’! Though there’s a trail of shopping malls mushrooming
across the city but shopping in bazaars
still has its own charm. Markets like Sarojini nagar and Karol Bagh offers you
the best footwear or casual dresses and markets like Lajpat Nagar and Chandni
Chowk are a paradise for traditional north Indian outfits and jewelry. And if
you wish to own an accessory of a certain state, you still wont be disheartened,
as a line of state emporiums in Connaught place come to your rescue. After a
days’ heavy shopping if your stomach grumbles Delhi offers you a multitude of cuisine too. Be it the Mughlai food at
the Karim’s in Old Delhi, the south Indian food at Sarvana bhavan or the
Bengali sweets tickling your taste buds at the Bangla Sweet House in Connaught
place. And if you wish to relish this all these flavors at one place, it is the
Dilli Haat, which offers a plethora of food items from the length and breadth
of secular India.
Winding
up this bird’s eye view of Delhi my brain starts pondering that if Tamil Nadu
is an abode for tamilians, Punjab for Punjabis or Calcutta for Bengalis, Delhi
can safely be called a cosmopolitan, as we see people from all walks of life,
with their multitude of languages and culture, painting in the color of
secularism and in true sense illuminating the fact that it is a mini India. So,
is Delhi on your checklist as the next place to traverse???
