Delhi Day 2

This day was the low point of the trip, I think. I spent most of the time unconscious or uncomfortable or (mostly) both. We were going to take a tour bus to see the sights of Delhi, but the costs of admission to the monuments are exponentially higher for foreigners than for Indians (i.e. 20 rupees for them and 250 for us) so we decided it would be more cost effective to hire a driver to take us to the places ourselves and then if we wanted to go in we could, or we could just look at it. It sounded like a good decision, but an entire day spent in a hot un-AC-ed car is absolutely no fun. Half the things we only saw through the window or over trees: “Oh, look, that’s the biggest mosque in India! Look, there, can you see it? That’s the Red Fort, a great example of Mogul architecture…too bad we won’t go in.”
The morning we spent looking for Hindi books for Nidhi’s IB, and I truly don’t remember much, I was asleep most of the time. This never used to happen, but I seem to have serious problems staying awake in any kind of moving vehicle for more than half an hour here. It’s useful, actually, it makes the time pass a lot faster, and you don’t notice how hot and sweaty you are when you’re asleep. Plus the snatches of dreams are entertaining.
In the afternoon we went around to various monuments and things to see, and when we were out of the car it was better, because there was a slight breeze and I could stretch my legs and appreciate the things we were looking at.
We went to two temples, one Hindu temple which was huge and amazing and full of fantastic pictures of gods and their deeds. I’m getting better at the temple ritual now: ring the bell when you enter, bow, receive the blessing (in the form of a red dot or sweets or both) then walk around the temple contemplating religious-ish things, then ring the bell when you leave, and touch the steps and touch your forehead.
The other temple was the Lotus Temple, which isn’t actually a temple; it’s a place of religious worship for all and every faith. From the outside it looks like a lotus flower just blooming (hence the name) and from the inside it’s a beautiful wide, sunlit room with marble benches facing a podium that could support preachers from any faith. You’re not allowed to speak in there, so the room is filled with the sound of the shuffle of bare feet and the slight jingle of anklets. It’s a wonderful place, and so peaceful.
We also went to Gandhi’s grave, which is surrounded by wide expanses of grass (which you can’t walk on) and flowers on an artificial hill which drops off to a stone courtyard with Gandhi’s moral remains in the center in a large black marble box with flowers all over it and the words “He Ram” (Oh God – his last words) set into the front. It, too, is a very peaceful and powerful place, thinking of the man who did so much for this country and the world.
In the evening we went to visit a succession of Nidhi’s relatives and her father’s friends, and drank so much tea and juice and water I felt like I was going to burst. We changed clothes at her cousin’s house to go to the wedding (that started at 9-9:30) but we were late, so we didn’t get there until 10:00. We went through the brightly colored archway hung with flowers and sparkly cloth and downstairs where the wedding hadn’t started yet – they were waiting for the groom to arrive with his huge parade of dancers and merry-makers – and were just about to settle in when Nidhi’s father came back to us saying, “oops, wrong wedding. Ours is upstairs.” Unfortunately in our wedding we had missed the parade – the couple had already exchanged wreathes of flowers and were posing for photos. So we ate and then sat there, wondering if anything was going to happen until 11:30 at which time Nidhi and her dad said, “the next ceremony won’t start until 1 or 2 am, so we may as well go.” What a let down, I was so excited to see an Indian wedding, and all it entailed was eating and looking at two people dressed up getting pictures taken.
We went to the India Gate afterwards, a huge gate (very like the Arc of Triumph in Paris) in the middle of a wide plaza that commemorates all the soldiers who died in the World Wars. It was nice, and interesting to see it in the dark when the crowds had mostly gone away.
End Day 2