Delhi day 2

Breakfast gets worse, egg omlettes obviously cooked from a mix many hours earlier, veg cutlets far too spicy for English am taste buds ( though nice for lunch, I took a few for a picnic), bread as the toaster doesn't toast, and 'coffee' I'm sure is minus caffeine but so sweet my blood sugar level took off.

On the metro, now familiar with the Indian bureaucratic system of complex tickets and lengthy bag/person searches, complete with face mask. The country is in the grip of swine flu epidemic and swine flu panic. I'm trying not to worry as there’s not much I can do except take the usual precautions, but Delhi is so crowded and so filthy the usual procedures are impossible. Hand washing needs water...my hand sanitizer habit has given me eczema!

First stop: the Jain temple opposite the Red fort. Jains are yet another group I am very ignorant about, although I do know they believe all life is sacred, even insects. Leather as well as shoes have to be left at the door here. The attached bird hospital was rather sad. The birds were trapped in such tiny, tiny rusty wire cages I was not convinced. Good theory, bad practice.

Jain Bird hospital

Jain temples are intricately decorated, with gorgeous domed ceilings. The altar gods show a striking similarity to Buddhism.  My sense is that Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist share the same allegiance to dharma, the belief that this life is a time to do good to achieve progress towards enlightenment. The Gods themselves (or not, in the case of Buddhism) define individual worship but the overall faith is universal.

From there a short fraught walk through Delhi’s crowds/traffic/roads under maintenance/ and I made it to Jama Mosque. The largest mosque in India, it was built in 1656, seats up to 20,000 people and has another of Delhi's tourist scams. 'They charge 300 rupees' an indignant visitor told me as I entered. I had been warned by the tourist office about this. The charge is for a camera, the mosque is free. I stood my ground at the gate and refused to pay. Ten minutes later when I was clearly not going to go away or give in I was finally let in.

Jama Mosque....

... from the outside

...and the 'backside'

The three majestic black and white marble domes are the most photogenic feature and can be seen from miles around. Inside is an open space with an inner hall decorated in marble and shady courtyards where I had my ‘picnic’.

Outside the Mosque lies a maze of bazaars and markets. Discretion won over thrift. I took a cycle rickshaw to Raj Ghat (he asked for 200, we settled on 50). Here is site of Mahatma Ghandi's cremation, a sacred pilgrimage for Indians. The well tended, fragrant gardens which surround the plinth and the unusually somber mood of those visiting made this a moving experience. Standing amongst the many from young to old with heads bowed in respect demonstrated the immense love of India for 'the father of the nation.'

by Raj Ghat , Ghandi shrine

I walked back through the green parkland dotted with shrines until the turrets of the Red Fort loomed into view. Following the ruby red outer walls led me back to the labyrinth that is Chandri Chowk. Fighting cheek by jowl with the world and his wife carrying their worldly goods I made it back on the Metro in the relative calmness of New Delhi.

The stunning Red Fort dominating Old Delhi 

Miles of Red walls

Delhi is a 24 hour city but I am content to watch from my high rise window as darkness sets. Fireworks go off every night, God (whoever she is) knows why, giving me free entertainment while I struggle to work the expensive and useless wifi and put off the moment where I find out yet again there is no hot water.

The monuments are impressive, a tribute to Delhi's past glories, but the present day is a mess. Modern buildings are half finished, roads are dug up for yet more promised Metro extensions, the infrastructure is creaking under the weight of too many people.

you see all sorts here!

As I climbed over yet another homeless family tonight I caught out of the corner of my eye a naked child sitting in the gutter happily building a sandcastle from filthy mud. He had painstakingly created a turreted model, singing away to himself, absorbed in his task until a sixth sense alerted him to my presence. Whereupon, instead of launching himself at me with cries of ' a hundred rupees please' as is usual, he simply gestured at his work and smiled with sheer joy.

A lesson in realising that much as I find Delhi a nightmare, with its constant noise, hassle, scams, dirt, crowds, filth, etc...How much worse for those who cannot shut the door on these hellish city streets.