South Delhi

Happy Indian Birthday to me!  When I planned my trip, I decided that I was going to spend my birthday in India.  Today was the day!  And a somewhat off-the-beaten-path type of day it was.  Who’s ever heard of South Delhi, right?  The southern part of Delhi contains many ancient monuments and remains, plus some that aren’t so ancient.  And I appreciated the area’s variety of religious representation.  For most of my trip so far, Islamic culture dominated the sights I was seeing.  On Day 8, it was a nice variety–Islamic, Bahá’í, and Hindu (the religion you’d most expect to find in India, after all).

I had arrived from Agra at the train station back in Delhi very late the night before.  I knew that I had to turn right when leaving the station, and I would eventually come across my hotel after .  The further I walked, the more dark and desolate the road became.  I was started to get a little nervous when I saw a bright light up ahead.  Yes!  It was bloomsrooms, my high-efficiency hotel.  It was spotless.  The room had everything I needed from a hotel, and not much more than that.  Just what I love!

Mehrauli Archaeological Park

In the morning, my first stop was Mehrauli Archaeological Park, an area rich in architectural ruins and remains.  Because of poor signage, I wasted a lot of time finding my way into the area, let alone trying to find my way around it.  But there were interesting things for me to find once I entered the park.

The structures in the park go back 500 to 1,000 years.

Mehrauli

I was running behind schedule because the area was so confusing.  So I followed a trail through the woods, hoping it would be a short-cut.  I needed to get to Mehrauli, a very densely populated, ancient village that has been inhabited for 1,000 years.  As a matter of fact, Mehrauli, previously known by other names, is the 1st of the 7 cities of Delhi.

Leaving the friendly fauna behind, I headed downhill and passed through an increasingly densely packed village.  I was able to find my first site in Mehrauli with relative ease.

After the Jahaz Mahal, I couldn’t find my way around the warren of narrow passageways in the village.  And I continued to get further behind schedule.  So I hopped a tuk-tuk and asked the driver to help me find an Islamic shrine I was looking for.  He could only take me part way there because the passage became too narrow for even his tuk-tuk.  When I got close, I had to store my shoes in area filled with racks for just this purpose.  Of course, it was expected that I leave a tip for the shoe-minder.

For the first time on my trip, but not the last, I noticed that some holy Islamic areas were gathering spots for severely disabled beggars.  I saw people with missing limbs and with hanging limbs that looked like broken bones must never had healed.  It was quite disconcerting.

Qutb Complex

I was so far behind schedule by this point, I decided to skip a few other sites I had intended to see.  Instead, I jumped on a tuk-tuk and had the driver take me to the main event of the first part of my Indian birthday:  Qutb Minar and its Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Qutb Minar (“Victory Tower”) was begun in 1199 by the founder of the Delhi Sultanate.  It’s 240-feet tall and has a spiral staircase inside.  (The staircase has been closed to the public for decades since an accident that resulted in several deaths occurred.)  The first 3 stories are made of the omnipresent red sandstone.  The 4th is marble.  The top story is made of a combination of sandstone and marble.

Qutb Minar is not the only towering structure built at the complex.

Lotus Temple

After having spent the morning in the archaeological, I did my afternoon sightseeing in a different area of South Delhi.  I started off at what is probably Delhi’s most modern landmark, the Lotus Temple.

The Lotus Temple is a stunning building, but I didn’t really enjoy my visit there.  There’s a long line to enter.  Once you enter with a group of visitors, you get shushed by the staff.  (I found it interesting that the staff was primarily of European descent.)  I was expecting something to happen once everyone was shushed.  But nothing happened.  Gradually, people started getting up and leaving.  I guess everyone has to leave before the next group gets in.

Kalkaji Temple

My last sightseeing stop in South Delhi on my Indian birthday was the funnest.  Kalkaji Temple sounded like a cool Hindu temple to visit, and it’s close to the Lotus Temple.  I could have walked there, but I was tired and running behind.  And I was a little confused by the geography.  (That’s not surprising because just about everything in India is confusing.)  So I took a tuk-tuk.  The driver totally overcharged me.  I was happy to get out of the tuk-tuk and arrive at Kalkaji Temple.  But in true Indian style, I couldn’t find it!

I could tell from Google Maps that the temple was at the end of road about 1/4 mile long.  When I arrived, I saw a busy paved walkway with lots of vendor stalls on both sides of it.  I figured it must be the road I had to go down.  The vendors were selling all sorts of religious items.  Loud Indian music was playing.  The walkway was alive with people walking through and stopping at the stalls to buy items of worship.  I kept walking and walking, but I couldn’t find a temple.

I was enjoying the ambiance.  But I was confused.  Eventually, I came out to a main street.  I wasn’t sure how I missed the temple.  But I was sure I was at the right place.  I turned around and retraced my steps.  Finally, I broke down and asked someone, “Where is Kalkaji Temple?”  I was utterly surprised when he pointed directly at the pavement.  It took me a second to realize that he was telling me that the whole area I had been walking through, countless vendor stalls and all,  was, in fact, the temple.  I thanked him and kept walking.

At around the midpoint of the walkway, I saw a small structure I had passed by earlier.  It finally dawned on me that this very small structure was the interior part of the temple I had been seeking.  It was a real “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” kind of affair.  Locals were streaming into it.  I tried to get good pictures from the outside.  But I didn’t want to go inside in case it would be considered disrespectful.  Suddenly, a man on his way inside beckoned to me.  He let me know he was okay to enter.

The interior of Kalkaji Temple felt like the world’s most cramped display of religious ecstasy.  I felt privileged to be inside.  And the worshipers didn’t pay any attention to my presence.  They didn’t even care if I took pictures.

The young Hindu priests were more than happy to see me though.  There was a place to make donations on the way out.  Of course I didn’t have any small bills on me.  I left the equivalent of about $20.  The attendant was delighted.  In fact, he gave me a coconut!  A couple of the priests invited me to join them behind the barrier keeping the worshipers in the front part of the temple.  I felt pretty excited about it.  But the guy who originally beckoned me shot me a glance and said, “It’s not necessary.”  He told me they would just be asking for more money.

As I continued to make way out of the cramped, vibrant space, I passed a young boy, possibly a teenager, sitting on a sill that opened to the outside.  He had a lot of coconuts, like maybe he was selling them.  So I gave him mine.  I didn’t know what else to do with it.  Right after that, I passed by a chamber filled with coconuts.  I wondered if I had been supposed to give my coconut to the 2 guys in the chamber with the coconuts.  Oh well.

Still while making my way out of the temple (for such a small space, it sure took me a long time to exit), one of the young priests tied a Hindu bracelet around my wrist and placed a bindi (powdered dot) on my forehead.  I was made an unofficial Hindu for my birthday!

Finally out of the temple, I again passed by the kid with coconuts sitting on the sill.  He swiftly passed the coconut back to me?  Now, what was I going to do with it.  I guess it was a birthday gift from India.

There were more donation-giving opportunities in the open-air space of Kalkahi Temple.  I left some small change at a small shrine.  And I passed a man who let visitors take part in a small ceremony.  I bowed while he patted my head with a peacock feather.  I was promptly asked for a donation after the feather ceremony.  I had nothing left to give.  (I wasn’t going to turn over any more large bills.)  He wasn’t happy.  But that’s India!

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]