Delhi

Friday, 11 September 2009

Jackie Lallier wrote: "It was still raining when we got up at 6:00, had breakfast at 7:00 and were on the bus at 8:00 to explore New Delhi. We saw the highest minaret in India and, the Tower of Victory. The neem tree is green all year around, the branches are used for brushing teeth and insects don't like it. The Japanese fly over here on weekends to play golf and fly back home.
When the moguls invaded, they tore everything down, then rebuilt the town and mosque for the "Victory of Islam over Hinduism" AND they employed Hindu workers to do it. A beam & bracket system was used for support columns. It was built up in the 12th century and start of the 13th century. Supposedly, a holy man (Quuwatul Masjied) lived here (1193-1197) of nonndenominational religion who gave advise and to all that came, it came true. From here we were off to the Design Center (a cooperative society of 700 Kashmir families). There are 3 kinds of knots in the world - Turkish, Chinese & Indian - with up to 28 colors in a rug. Silk is stronger than wool. We were shown the difference between "hand made" (factory) and "knotted" (by hand). All carpets are one of a kind and never repeated.
At noon we had a Chinese lunch at the Lotus Pond where we enjoyed don kha gai (soup made with coconut). This afternoon we went to a Sikh temple (Gurvuduara). The belief is that Sikhism takes away the evil ofIslam and Hinduism; it was started in the 15th century. They have no caste system and no rituals. To work is to worship. They believe in unity of mankind and equality (humanists) instead of religion. It started in Punjab. The people don't cut their hair as they believe it takes away from
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their character so they roll it up and wear it under a turban. They wear metal bracelets like shields and a very small dagger under their garments for protection The men wear a comb in their beard in order to fold the beard under to keep it neat. They would never bow to the moguls and refused to be converted. They don't believe in putting nicotine in the body. Twenty five percent of the population (27 million) are Sikhs. Most cab and lorry drivers are Sikhs.
We went back to the hotel at 5:15 for a surprise in Suzanne's room - a Birthday Cake! At 6:00 we were off again for a homeehosted dinner. Juyoti (widow) served good food and does some catering. THE RAIN FINALLY STOPPED! The people here have water t8nks on top of their condos so have to get up at 7:00 AM to turn on a pump for an hour or else they won't have water for the day. There are five universities here and BLOCKS of buildings with "call" centers. "