Delhi Old and New

Happily for me, my second weekend in Delhi fell on Diwali, which meant many firecrackers and candles but also an extra day off!  Determined to see a bit more of the city, Saturday saw me setting off once again by foot along the long tree-lined avenues of New Delhi in search of the Mahatma Ghandi museum.  A tranquil place, the museum is based in the house where Ghandi lived out his last years and in fact he was assassinated in its garden in 1948, a series of stone footprints leading to the memorial marking the spot where he died.  Ghandi’s wish was for an India with no class system, he probably turns in his grave frequently since the contrast between rich and poor in India is more marked than ever; three bedroomed apartments in the fashionable satellite suburbs of New Delhi boasting price-tags well in excess of a million dollars, rubbing shoulders with vast quantities of people with nowhere to live at all.

Sunday saw my initiation into Old Delhi, which was predictably noisy, trafficy and bustling – I took a cycle rickshaw to the Red Fort piloted by a strong young man who weaved in and out of the traffic with ease, in fact at times he got up quite a speed leaving me clinging on for dear life as we bounced over potholes, scattering pedestrians in our wake.  The Red Fort is predictably fort-like, but what fascinated me more was the Jain Temple opposite housing the bird hospital, in all 5,000 birds in various stages of ill-health, mainly pigeons but also a fair amount of budgies, parakeets and even two huge black kites.  They are brought into the hospital after traffic collisions or other accidents befall them and nursed back to health before being released again – though to be honest, a fair few looked to my untrained eyes to be a lost cause.  There was even one tiny baby bird nestling in some cotton wool next to the guy on reception, who fed it with a bottle every few hours….

My last destination of the weekend was Humayan’s tomb – on the way passing a Rajhastani camel trotting happily amidst the traffic – the tomb was built in the 16^th Century by the wife of the second Mughal emperor.  It was a delight and a revelation, being a smaller version of the Taj Mahal set in lovely peaceful gardens – in fact it is said that it was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, and was great for a wander around without the frenetic bustle of the Taj.  There’s much more of Delhi to be discovered, but I will have to leave that for another weekend…