New Delhi

Last month I took a weekend trip to New Delhi. There was a lot to see in just a few short days, but I think I managed to see most of the landmarks.  There are few things I can say about Delhi that are different from Baroda, where I'm staying.  Delhi is a much larger and more modern city.  The roads and traffic also seemed to be more organized, although still not anywhere close to what it should be and still chaotic.  On a few occasions we sat at a stoplight for over 5 minutes (yes, they actually have stoplights).

There isn't much I can say about the landmarks I saw other than they have a history that I didn't pay much attention to.  I was more interested in the intricate stone carving and enormity of some of the structures.  You can see what I mean in some of the pictures below.

To the left is the Lotus Temple.  It is called such because of it's resemblance to a Lotus flower.  It serves as a place of worship for people of all religions. It has received numerous art and architecture awards since it was built in 1986.

After seeing the Lotus Temple, we were on our way to see Old Delhi and I snapped the picture below.  The man had 5 propane tanks strapped to his pedal bike.  I actually saw this a few times in my short stay here.

In Old Delhi, there are few major landmarks.  One is the Jama Masjid which is the largest and best-known mosque in India.  It sits at the top of a hill which has a very narrow road and only bike-rickshaws are allowed up.  Cars must be parked at the base of the hill.  The bike-rickshaw driver has a tough job going up the hill as he can have up to 3 people on the back while pedaling all the way to the top.  The narrow street was lined with street vendors and various shops.



Once we got to the top of the hill to enter the mosque courtyard, I heard an all-to-familiar sound over the loudspeaker.  Again, I happened to arrive just as the Muslim prayer was beginning.  So I waited for almost a half an hour until I could enter the mosque.  There is still a large Muslim population in India to follow these prayer times, although it's not near as large as it is in Saudi.


We went back down to see the Red Fort which sits at the base of the hill.  Its perimeter walls are close to 2.5 km in length.  I only saw the outside but that was impressive enough.  The walls were so massive and strong that it was hard to believe it was constructed without modern technology.  Some pictures are below.

The next morning I went to see Qutub Minar which is the tallest minaret in India at 72.5 meters.  Minarets are a distinct feature of Islamic mosques and historically, its main function is to provide a point where the call to prayer can be made.  Today, I think it mainly serves as a visual feature for the Islamic community, since most of the calls to prayer are done through loudspeaker.  The complex around the minaret has various tombs and monuments for many past Indian rulers.  Most of these monuments have very intricate carvings covering every surface of the stone.  It was very impressive to see.  Some pictures are below.        





















Following the Qutub Minar complex, I went to see the Tomb of Humayun.  Not sure who Humayun is or what his significance was but his tomb was there and the architecture was incredible (see below).  There was a lot to see here and I'm glad I took the trip to Delhi.

Kite Day

I know it's been a super long time since my last post.  Sorry.  Until now, I haven't had much time to sit down and write.  Things have settled down some at work so I have a little bit more free time now. This post is from my experiences from almost a month ago.

On January 14th, the state of Gujarat has a holiday called Kite Day that originated in Baroda.  There is no religious significance to this day and I'm not really sure of the significance of it.  No one works, all the businesses are closed, and every gets up on their rooftops and flies kites.  That's pretty much the extent of it.  I went to the downtown area and stood atop one of the private hospitals.  By the way, I hope I never need to go to the hospital here because it wasn't a pretty sight in there.

Once I got up to the rooftop, I was amazed at the thousands of kites in the air as far as I could see.  There was hardly any wind that day and I developed a great appreciation for the thousands of people who were able to get their kites in the air.  I remembered back to when I used to fly kites as a kid, but that was always in an open field with plenty of wind.  I didn't realize how difficult it would be to fly a kite from a tiny rooftop (surrounded by 5 others trying to do the same thing) with no wind.  I tried for about an hour and then gave up, failing miserably.  The pictures don't really do it justice, but it was the best I could do.

Obviously, no room to get a running start to
get a kite in the air.  It wasn't unusual seeing
at least 15 people on a roof like this with no
railings or walls to keep from falling off.

Not sure if you can see all the kites but this was all around me.

The kite strings everyone used is actually coated in glass, so most people put tape on their fingers to avoid getting cut.  The reason for the glass-coated string is that people have "kite battles" by which they try to move their kite string into another's kite string and cut it.  Whenever this happens the winner usually gives out a yell similar to the yell those blue people in Avatar give when when they're riding the dragon-like things.  The kites are sold along the streets at makeshift shops and are bought in packages of about a dozen for around 2 dollars.   They are made of strong tissue paper and flimsy sticks, so it wouldn't be a big deal if someone cuts your string. I, on the other hand, would have been pissed if I spent an hour trying to get a kite in the air and then someone came along and cut my string.

Fireworks were plentiful in the distance and right above,
lit off from many of the rooftops.  The hot air balloons filled
the air as well.

Once the sun set, the sky became lit up with fireworks and mini hot air balloons let off from rooftops.  This, again, was like nothing I had ever seen before.  The firewoks for any 4th of July party were nothing compared to this.  Again, the pictures don't do it any justice, so you're just gonna have to trust me.

These are the mini hot air balloons.
A little wire basket holds a kerosene
soaked block under the balloon.

I arrived back in Baroda on January 8th and I'll be here until March 30th.  Today is Super Bowl Sunday which I won't be able to watch for the second year in a row (see previous posts).  I tried to go golfing today, but there was a tournament scheduled so I wasn't able to.  Hopefully, next week will work out.  I have been eating meat probably one meal a week which isn't enough.  I'm ready for a big, greasy bar cheeseburger.  I think I'll have to wait until I get home for that one :(.