Travelogue - New Delhi, Agra and Mathura

I undertook this holiday during September last year as it was supposedly one of the pleasantest times of the year for a visit to the northern parts of the country. I have been waiting to write a travelogue ever since.

Well, time just flies...I landed in New Delhi around 9.40 pm on a cold, rainy night. The weather had been for the worse and the flight was delayed for about an hour as a result. It was a very turbulent journey. And what more! When we were nearing Delhi, the captain couldn't get a landing clearance! So, the plane circled Delhi for about half an hour! It was a lovely sight, to watch all those tiny sodium vapour lamps flickering and brightening up the air around. Delhi is probably the most wide-spread city I have ever seen aerially. The plane flew pretty low and I could see many old fort-like structures and also huge well-lit domes which I later realized (and was surprised to know) were old Hindu temples.

Finally the eagle landed and I rushed out to the lounge collecting my (overflowing) baggage to be greeted by a very enthusiastic uncle! It was especially nice since I was meeting him after quite a few years and we humoured eachother on the changes in our appearances. Then we began the long drive home. Uncle's house is situated in Faridabad, Haryana. It is about 2 hours drive from the New Delhi Domestic Airport (considering decent traffic flow, not too heavy and not too sparse either) and on the way, I could glimpse through some metropolitan Delhi, areas like AlakNanda (a very posh locality - where almost every other house you see has a Ford Phantom or a Porsche!), Greater Kailash II, Nehru Place (a famous commercial area - you can get any kind of electronic equipment here) and then when we rounded a bend, the beautiful Tughlaqabad fort came into view; this magnificent structure is mostly in ruins, but around half the circumference of the outer fort is still intact. And it has been provided with beautiful night-lighting! Somehow, I have always loved this style of lighting from below (the light faces upwards and is inclined at a particular angle from the ground). It gives the structure a whole new dimension! We reached Badarpur, where the traffic was surprisingly dense even at around 11 pm, I was told that it was the border between Haryana and Delhi, so, many heavy vehicles cross the area especially at night. I soon reached my uncle’s “humble quarters” (as he worded it!) and after a sumptuous welcome dinner of hot rajma masala (with that irresistible blob of half molten butter) and sukha rotis, snuggled up to bed dreaming about forts and palaces that I built and ruled and reigned supreme ;)

The day dawned bright and clear and I woke up to the smell of melting ghee used to fry pyas(onion) parantas! After breakfast accompanied by a draught of hot masala chai, my aunt and I sat down to chalk out the day’s plans. We had planned to visit most of Old Delhi – the Lal Quila and Chandni Chowk especially. Considering the distance, we decided to spent all day outdoors and return home for dinner. And in the light of the day, I peeked out of the balcony to see the landscape outside the house. The balcony was overlooking a lush green park, dotted with see-saws and swings. The houses were all mostly 2 storied and huddled together. In those parts, it is a rule that the adjacent houses share atleast one of the 4 walls, meaning, most houses are sort of “stuck” together atleast on one side (to explain further, it was very remotely resembling an Agraharam – but a little too posh for one, most houses had metal gates tinted with black and gold!). After my little exploration, it was action time for our plan! But just as we were about to venture out, came a huge gale, making the windows and doors bang furiously, followed by a raging downpour ruining the already slushy red-mud roads. There went our plans, in a puff of smoke! So, we were forced to remain indoors the whole morning and I was trying to reconcile with the fact that one possibly eventful day was wasted away helplessly. My aunt nevertheless, quickly conjured up (she was so fast!) a typical Punjabi meal, plain parantas, aloo jeera and the left-over rajma masala (upon my vehement insistence – she didn’t want to serve the day-old food!) followed up with unlimited lassi :)! So, I was satiated physically and lulled to sleep after the heavy fare. Evening came, bringing with it fresh showers, making the lanes impossible to tread on. And to add fuel, ‘BANG!’ went the transformer in the next lane, taking away my only means of respite, the idiot box. I could almost hear the impish sniggering of the bad pixies mocking my spate of sorrow! Dinner comprised of simple South Indian fare of adai and mango pickle followed by a big blob of butterscotch ice-cream (my uncle and I share our love for this flavour! And I especially love the candied bits of cashew that dot a slice of it).

Day 2 dawned clear again but this time, we didn’t make any elaborate plans, to reserve the disappointment! We paid a visit to my aunt’s old parents, who lived a few yards away. The rainy spell continued the next day and the next :( That morning was totally uneventful and I just lolled away watching some silly Hindi movie that turned out to be worse than the worst soap opera. Afternoon came bringing with it tides of good news! The weather seemed to be getting better and after a quick lunch of plain rotis and dhal fry, we set off to the bus terminus to board one bound for Janpath which is about an hour’s journey.

En route to Janpath, the bus passed through the circular Parliament Building (with its huge strong pillars – a very pretty sight) and cut across the Rajpath, the road that leads to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, the residence of the Indian Head of State. I also got the opportunity of seeing (up-close) the India Gate, our very own ‘Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel’! This tall, stately arch stood in the centre of sprawling lawns, on the other end of the Rajpath. We also passed through the various ministry head quarters of the Indian Government and the houses of former Prime ministers and Cabinet ministers. They were all posh and had enormous grounds!

Janpath is in the heart of Central Delhi. This area is like the Times Square of New Delhi. It buzzes with activity throughout the day. ‘Janpath’ literally translates to ‘a street (path) full of people (jan)’. I was greeted by a very pretty sight of bright colours everywhere…all kinds of cheap jewelry – silver coloured chains and bracelets, having a blackish tinge at the edges to give them the ‘antique’ look, intricately designed pendants, stone studded bangles, huge dangling earrings and trinkets of all shapes, sizes and colours, crushed skirts that wrung about from the asbestos sheets that acted as the ceiling to those quaint little shops, jute sacks on which were piled all kinds of beautiful wooden pieces, ragged looking shoulder bags that hung from rusted metal hooks, juthis (slippers) embroidered with thousands of tiny beads, ill-fitting jeans, wrought-iron lanterns fitted with coloured glass and all kinds of knick-knacks. The street was really filled with all kinds of people – from street vendors selling everything from hair-clips, brushes and bands to tibetian momos and gol-goppas (Delhi’s version of pani-puri) to women taking a break from work to buy baubles for their kids and yes, Indian tourists such as me and phirangs - phirangs who were trying to feign Indian-ism by wearing baggy ethnic Indian kurtis over their fluorescent coloured leggings, complete with rudraksh beads about their necks and ridiculously huge wooden bracelets that they just purchased (bargaining unsuccessfully) at the bazaar. My heart jumped for joy at these sights and I set off on an indulgence spree :) After all it is not always that one gets to see so much of colourful stuff in so many varieties! But yes, one thing is, if you do not know Hindi, you are done for! You have to bargain with the shop-wallahs and bring down the rate to almost half the quoted price. It is that exorbitant! I must mention the piping hot white momos with their tantalizing red coloured super-spicy dip and I think they were most heavenly to have, considering the weather and those people-filled streets!

Next stop was Palika Bazaar, a one-of-its-kind shopping centre. This one is diagonally opposite to Janpath. And the weird part is – it is an air-conditioned underground labyrinth!! This place is again packed with hoi polloi; I told you before that it is akin to Times Square. But Palika Bazaar is not a 24X7 shoppers’ paradise. It is open only till 6 pm everyday. If you are looking for cheap but unreliable jeans-wear, backpacks (made of authentic leather (!) as the shopkeepers tactfully lure you!!!), slippers/shoes, mobile covers, key-chains, t-shirts, Chinese goods etc., this is a must-visit place for you! But watch out for your pockets at these crowded places! Also, don’t miss to try the hot, crisp and freshly fried jalebis, paneer pakoras (huge chunks of home-made cottage cheese dipped in batter and fried) and samosas with green chutney, which will make a health food freak guilty for life!!

Well, we were almost done for the day and it was beginning to drizzle again. So, we rushed off to the bus stand and left for home. One thing I noticed is how bus drivers care tuppence about people. They just stop where they like and don’t even wait till all the waiting people board the bus. They are plain rude, ruthless and totally rash when it comes to driving. So, if you are one of those posh kinds, not used to the hustle and bustle of city-life, then you had better reconsider your decision to take the bus! And secondly, autos are the best means of exploiting innocent people in Delhi. So, I prefer to use the bus anyday! It was late evening by the time we reached the house. The condition of the roads was still pathetic, dirty water stagnated everywhere and it was impossible to walk our way to the house. So, we took a rickshaw. Believe me, the rickshaw-wallahs are one of the physically strongest people I have ever noticed. They don’t look macho, but they are all capable of pulling 2 considerably sized humans, sometimes even 3 of them single-handedly! And you won’t believe the speed at which they can ride. It was the first time I ever took a rickshaw and it was very funny and scary too at times, because, all you could see was muddy water (where there should have been roads) and it made me feel that even a small stone, the size of a marble, could topple the rickshaw any minute! Well, on returning home, I found my uncle grinning gleefully and soon enough I came to know why! He had bought 3 plates of the popular chaat speciality raj kachori from Haldiram’s (a famous sweet shop based in Nagpur, but having a nice big fast-food joint in Delhi). It was delectable! That was followed by several creamy scoops of the remaining butterscotch ice-cream!

The following 3 days were spent paying courtesy visits to relatives and meeting friends. I must mention one particular area that I had been to, near the New Delhi Domestic Aerodrome. To reach this place, we would be driving through a fly-over (or skyway) which is probably the longest in the country (it stretches for as long as 6Kms!!). The place is called Dwarka and I was told that this is Asia’s biggest housing locality. When I passed the huge apartment complexes, I really felt as though I was in Manhattan!!

On day 6, we geared up for a trip to Agra and Mathura. Aunt and I packed a picnic lunch and set off. We left Faridabad by bus, around 8 am. Agra was 3 hours away. The bus just breezed through the well-laid highway. We passed the town of Vrindavan and Mathura and several villages too. Soon, Agra came into sight (but it wasn’t time for the Taj to show itself yet :)). We passed the Akbar-ka-Sikandara on our way to the Agra fort. The sun was up, bright and enthusiastic! It was late afternoon and finally, I could experience clear weather after a week of heavy showers. Soon, we were outside the huge and beautiful Agra Fort. This is a red-sandstone building and most of the prime attractions of this fort have been destroyed or closed for Public viewing – like the Sheesh Mahal (made entirely of Glass) and Moti Masjid (pearl-shaped Mosque). The entrance to the fort is marked by a huge archway where there is a counter to buy entry tickets. Tourist guides throng the place, to explain the vast and magnificent history of the fort, which was once the stronghold of the Mughals. The entrance leads to a corridor lined with very huge stone walls and laid with coarse marble flooring which is as strong as the walls. The guide explains that this corridor was where the Mughal troops on elephants once trampled thousands of enemy warriors. My knees began to shake at the thought of how each stone holds a testimony for the bravery of the warriors who fought for their kingdom with their lives. Past this corridor, to the right is the fort complex, where there are a number of inter-linked rooms and the courtyard. In the centre of this courtyard bordered by lovely arched corridors, is a huge patch of lush well groomed lawn. The major attraction about this fort is the view of the Taj Mahal in all its grandeur, standing magnificently, on the banks of the winding Yamuna, from one of the arched marble balconies. It is a feast to any amateur photographer! This fort also houses the Diwan-i-Aam (the hall of Public Audience) and the Diwan-i-Khas (the hall of Private Audience) built by Shahjahan. I bought several postcards of this picturesque place and left for the bus, eager to see the ‘Crowning Glory of India’.

From the Agra fort, our bus passed through dingy, old and badly laid lanes, apparently boring the brunt of the recent rains. We crossed a quaint old railway bridge built over the dirty polluted Yamuna. It was very shocking to think that so many national and international dignitaries have passed through the same lanes en route to the Taj. I really hope the Indian Government cares to set them straight very soon so that the approach to the Taj is atleast half as beautiful as the monument itself. It is a stark contrast in reality – the Taj Mahal is bedecked with gold and precious stones and is the epitome of being rich in every sense of the word, while downtown Agra is generally so pathetic, with ditches overflowing everywhere, walls of houses riddled with pan juice and donkeys and stray cattle sitting pretty in the middle of the streets!

The gates to the Taj Mahal are about a kilometer away from the main entrance archway. There are umpteen battery operated vehicles which will ferry you to the ticket centre. From here, you will have to leave your electronic belongings (like Mobile Phones, PDAs etc) and shoes at the counter and it is pretty safe in my experience. There is a small archway-gate where security checks are done, entering which, to your left, you can see a beautiful huge red sandstone and marble archway, the Taj Mahal’s main gateway. It is a beautiful domed structure with a lot of Persian carvings and filigree work. Once you pass through, you come to the grounds of the monument. The pathway to the Taj has very well maintained gardens on either side of it and little fountains with small pot-like bases, in the centre. There on a platform, you can see the famed white marble seat, where Heads of State from all parts of the world and Royalty of every kind, have posed for a permanent record of their visit to this supposed ‘Monument of Love’. All one can hear when you step on the platform, is the furious clicking of the cameras around. I think there is nothing new I can state about the Taj Mahal. The 3 dimensional filigree work bearing inscriptions from the Holy Quran, the 4 towering minarets around the main mausoleum and the insides of the tomb bedecked with precious stones are awe-inspiring. However, what we are allowed to see, the so-called tombs of Shahjahan and Mumtaz are in reality not the actual vaults. The original vaults, beneath which they are buried, are in the sanctum sanctorum in the basement of the building. We clicked some pictures and it was time to get back to the bus. After one last longing look at the monument and at the blackish river that snakes its way behind, I walked back to the battery operated vehicles and subsequently to the bus. There was a long wait for some co-passengers, a bunch of college students who were still reveling in the beauty of the monument and it was pretty annoying. After some verbal roughing-up, we all settled ourselves. We were then whisked to some restaurant which the driver claimed to be Haldiram’s. Actually, it was just a franchisee of Haldiram’s savouries and not a fast-food joint run by the group itself, but the huge board carrying the name, is completely deceiving! We had anyway carried along our picnic lunch of ghee parantas and capsicum stuffed with aloo (those anardhana seeds in the stuffing gave it a lovely tangy taste!). We also sampled and bought varieties of the famous Agra-ka-Petha (candied and crystallized white pumpkin pieces) and Dalmoth (a form of namkeen or ‘mixture’, as South Indians call it). Post lunch schedule was originally to travel to Fatehpur Sikri, the domain of Akbar the Great, but due to the huge delay at the Taj, we had to give it up. So, we traveled to Mathura instead.

Mathura, is a town famous for 2 reasons – Krishna Janma Bhoomi and the oil refinery. The temple of Mathura is believed to house the birth place of the Hindu God Krishna. The approach to the temple was no different from that to the Taj! The temple is not huge and is not any kind of architectural marvel, it is just a simple place where there is small enclosure which is supposedly where Krishna was born. The place, I felt was full of positive vibrations (yeah, I may probably be biased!). And after paying our respects, we left to do some way-side window shopping. We bought Mathura Peda (made of highly condensed milk, it is a must-have!) and began our 3 hour journey back to Faridabad. We stopped at a road side dhaba for dinner which served delicious makki-ki-rotis!

Back in Delhi, I spent another few days doing a lot of shopping in Sarojini Nagar market (another road-side market, pretty huge one though, but not as colourful as Janpath! But yeah, check out the footwear!) and Ansal’s plaza (this is a typical mall, for high end shopping). And that brought me to the end of my Delhi sojourn. I would on the whole suggest that, to visit Delhi alone, one would need atleast 10 solid days. The places that I really missed were Chandni Chowk, the Red Fort, both in Old Delhi area, Birla Mandir, Jantar Mantar, the Qutub Minar and Dilli Haat (now, am sure you would think my trip was useless without so much as a glimpse of these places!). Sometimes, I even feel I saw more of Delhi from the airplane than on the road:( Anyway, there’s always next time ;)

Looking back, I feel Delhi is the right mix of Indian tradition and modernity. It has adapted itself with time, but has still not lost its old world charm. The people of Delhi are generally non-interfering and cordial and surprisingly conservative, considering it is the capital and the largest metropolis of India. In a nutshell, Delhi life is pretty fast, breakfast is usually had in cars while waiting at junctions for the green light, traversing from one place to another takes a very long time, lassi and kulfi falooda are still loved more than cola and pizza and girls wearing spaghetti strapped tops are still stared upon! This city is a gourmand’s dream (Mughlai cuisine is at its tastiest best! And besides, my aunt and uncle fed me like a sacrificial goat!) and a shopper’s paradise (especially for girls who love costume jewelry and ethnic clothes – here is where trends are set)! Delhi is one city of which I am sure I will never get tired of, visiting and writing about! Until next time, namashkar!