Delhi

My 2018 trip to Bhutan went through Delhi, India. We arrived in Delhi at night, spent two full days there, and departed early the next morning for Bhutan. We passed through Delhi on the return home, but did not do any sightseeing. We were fortunate to have fairly clean air in Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities. However, haze is still visible in some of the photographs.

This collection contains most of the photographs with people that I took in Delhi, along with a few photographs to place them in context. Consequently, many of the photographs are not of the quality I would normally show to others. A few of the photographs appear on other pages in this website, but not many. Disclaimers: (1) Many photographs are cropped, sometimes severely, to give an appearance of closeness that did not actually exist. (2) Some photographs are not in focus due to being shot ‘on the fly’ before auto-focus could properly function. and (3) Some photographs were taken through bus windows so colors needed to adjusted, often not successfully. There may be an inordinate number of photographs taken at a Sikh temple (Gurdwara) and the area around the open-to-the-sky Jama Mosque. I hope the overkill gives a sense of what each site was like.

A brief note on Sikhism, the fifth largest religion worldwide, will help put the photographs at the temple in context. Sikhism originated in the late 15th century in northern India. Sikh temples offer free meals to anyone who shows up at mealtime. This is a tenet of faith and a key part of the Sikh religion, which emphasizes selfless service to the community at large, not individual salvation like Christianity and Islam. Also, in contrast to Christianity and Islam, Sikhism rejects claims that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly on Truth.

Day 1 Activities

Qutb Complex: monuments and buildings begun in the 14th century by an Islamic empire. Most of it is in ruins, but it must have been fantastic when in good repair. I included a picture of a still standing tower (minaret?) to give a sense of how impressive the complex must have been.

Sikh temple: a sizable complex of buildings with a large lake. I believe the lake is used for ritual bathing. There was a religious leader speaking to a group of people. I do not know whether this was a formal religious service. There were many people socializing in the courtyard, as though it were a community center. The Sikh community feeds thousands of people every day in a large room that would dwarf most ballrooms in hotels. There were long mats on the floor on which people sat. Sikh service personnel went down the rows handing out stainless steel trays and flat bread. This was followed by people carrying buckets of food that was ladled onto the trays. It was a very efficient way to feed large numbers of people.

India Gate: a large memorial arch for Indian soldiers who died in World War I. The memorial was not particularly interesting, but the vendors and people in the surrounding park made up for it. The memorial is similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but smaller.

Day 2 Activities

Government buildings near India Gate: large government buildings left over from the British Raj, British rule from 1858 until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. We did not go in them.

Raj Ghat: a large memorial at the site where Gandhi was cremated January 31, 1948, a day after his death.

Jama Mosque: built in 1650–56. The mosque is open to the sky except for covered walkways (cloisters) on three sides. The open area is a large square that can hold 25,000 worshipers.

Rickshaw (two passenger) ride: through a labyrinth of shops in a Muslim area near the Jama Mosque, We then walked along some of the streets.

Gandhi Smiriti: a 12-bedroom house where Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and where he was assassinated on January 30, 1948. It is now a museum. A small gazebo in a large grass courtyard marks the spot where Gandhi was shot.

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