January 26 Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Our tour staff is excellent! Sujay Lall, our group leader uses only his first name because he is Brahman and prefers not to have his caste and religion define him as he takes us around the country. He is a vibrant man with an easy and assured manner. His passion for India is very infectious and makes us all want to learn as much as we can during our time together. Our local guide in Delhi is a quietly beautiful woman named Ritu who is obviously delighted to share her city with us. Officially, there are 13.8 million people in Delhi, but the population is really closer to 16 million. Our group of 16 should be an interesting mix of people since we are from all over the U.S. with most of us retirement age and beyond. We have a few doctors, a nurse, business people, a university professor and your favorite civil servants. Yes, that would be Joan and I. We started the day late since the tour group arrived yesterday from New York. First stop is Old Delhi to a lotus-shaped Bahai Temple, the exterior of which resembled the Sydney Opera House. We stood in line with several hundred people, removing our shoes as we entered the temple . We had a lecture about the principals of the Bahai faith which include equality between men and women and the senselessness of violence. Good ones. After lunch, it's on to the largest Muslim mosque in India, Jami Masjid. Its black and white marble domes are awesome. The temple is an open structure surrounded by a huge courtyard. Here, we purchase temple socks for when we cannot wear shoes inside the holy places. We hasten to remove our shoes (not easy for all of us) and pay a camera tax of 200 rupees (about $4) and, for the women don what looks like a floor-length hospital gown. We hurry because it's almost time for the call to prayer and we must exit the mosque before that occurs. Photos cannot do justice here. Once finished, we gather outside the mosque where each of us selects a likely bicycle rickshaw and driver for a ride through the narrow alleyways of the adjacent bazaar. One side Muslim shopkeepers and butcher shops with live animals only (no refrigeration) and the other side Hindu shopkeepers. Many are closed because this is India's Republic Day. Our rickshaw driver is smaller than Joan and he works mightily. God I regret those extra pieces of roti and naan (breads, what else?) We are in sensory overload: people, colors, food, goods, animals motorcycles, tuk tuks and rickshaws passing by so closely that we are breathing each other's air. Above, the wildest tangle of wires ever seen - electricity purloined from God knows where to light up the shops. We fly along the last bit of road, stopping miraculously in front of our bus. We are breathless. Our last stop is at the Gandhi memorial. It is the peace and serenity I have been looking for in Delhi. The grounds are lovely - roses blooming and birds singing in the wide tree-lined walkway. There are no lines or crowds and people simply walk in. We end up atop a wide path, looking down onto the memorial which has been decorated with flowers for Republic Day. It is generally unadorned with only an eternal flame so it is especially beautiful today. Joan and I found it extraordinarily poignant and fought back tears as our guide talked about Gandhi Gi's last days.