Dennis and David and Bob and I were having a nightcap in the bar before going to bed when a woman at an adjacent table asked me the date of the American Civil War. “Was it before, or after the forty-niners?” she said. I was surprised but, of course, answered her question. As it turned out, that was the wrong thing to do. It led to a conversation that resulted in her and her husband joining us at our table where she completely took over. I guess she was bored with her husband and needed a new audience. She pontificated on many subjects, some of them interesting, but most of them not and she allowed no one to interrupt her train of thought. I finally had to excuse myself and go to bed. So ended Tuesday.
Yes; I’m way behind. Although my watch says it’s still Thursday, the 25th, I know it’s actually Friday. My poor watch has not yet caught up. The last time this happened, it took weeks for it to adjust, no matter how many times I set it. So, let me try to catch you up as well.
Wednesday, February 24: Last night at dinner, three of us asked the waiter for separate checks. When the bills came, he had split all the items each of us had had into three, so the totals were the same. Rather than just sign the bills as they were, we tried to correct the amounts, figuring out which of us had had what thing. It was fruitless. So we just signed the bills as they were, reminding ourselves that even though we all speak English, something does get lost in the translation and that not all minds think alike.
Back on the bus, we made our way to Orchha, to see the palace and fort of a Hindu prince. The building was very Indian in feeling, with those covered guard towers that look like little temples peeking up on the ramparts. The palace was built in Hindu/Islamic fashion because the Mogul emperors of the time were Muslims and the prince, who was subservient to the power in Delhi wanted to show his loyalty. After all that, the prince only entertained Shah Jehan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, one night in this incredible building. The entrance to the palace/fort was at right angles to the bridge/entry so that elephants couldn’t get up enough momentum to storm the doors, which were studded with iron spikes. We climbed all over the building – up and down and back and forth, not unlike the many monkeys who lived there and were doing the same thing.
Then it was on to Jhanci a city in central India named for a queen who supported the Sepoy uprising against the British in 1857. (I always wondered how Jancy, the Rosen’s bartender got her name; now I know.) Here, we waited at the station for the train, the Shatbdi Express, back to Delhi. The station was very crowded, with every kind of humanity, women sitting in the dirt in bright colored saris, beggars crawling along with their hands out and many, many people waiting on the platform. We were advised to look at no one and to keep our bags close. The train finally came and although billed as deluxe – perhaps by Indian standards it was – the four hours to Delhi were very uncomfortable. The seats were close together and I never could quite get into a comfortable position, crammed up against the window with Dennis on the aisle beside me. Men in colorful costume served dinner, a course at a time, on little trays. Called Meals on Wheels, the food was much like airline food. The dessert was a little round container called a Soan Cake that contained (I kept the label) sugar, what flour, hydrogenated edible vegetable oil, husked gram, almonds and pistachios. It looked and tasted like sweetened shredded wheat. Anil told us that the Indian train system is the largest single civil employer in the world. It also carries an enormous number of people. While waiting for our train, several others came into the station and they were all so crowded that people were hanging out of the windows.
When we finally got back to our original Taj hotel in Delhi, at about midnight, there was a mix-up about the rooms. Mine was fine but Dennis’s and David’s had only a double bed, which the hotel intended to supplement with a roll-away. Dennis protested and there was a big todo about finding him another room. This was finally accomplished and they got to bed about two o’clock in the morning.
Some miscellanea: dogs and cows and bulls and monkeys are everywhere. Cows have the right of way on any road or street. No one wants to hurt a cow. The traffic is intense, everyone trying to take advantage of the least opening to get ahead. I wonder that there are not more accidents but like fish in a school, everyone seems to be aware of others around them and slip in and out at what we in America would consider impossible openings. There is a road tax here, collected by each state. We were stopped once so the authorities could be sure our driver had the proper documents. Anil told us a little bribe could/would be paid if the driver didn’t have them. A bicycle, the most common mode of transportation, costs about $40.00, a scooter about $800.00. Mr. Tata, an Indian industrialist, plans to make the world’s least expensive car, to sell for about $2000.00. I wonder where they will put them.
Thursday, February 25: in Delhi. Today is the start of the main tour so we were joined by three couples and one single. The couples are Tom and John from Lexington, Kentucky; Bill and John from Denver; and Don and Jim from Minneapolis. The single is a wispy little man (perfect for Caesar) who insists we call him William, not Will, or Bill. I’d guess that Tom and John are in their late 40’s; the others all seem to be in their 60’s. We’re not a young group!
Anil gave us lots of information on the bus about India but the fact I found the most startling was that even though the birth rate in India is going down, the population is still advancing alarmingly. There are 28 children born every minute. I find that truly astounding. Bob, who has been to China, suggests that in the race for development between China and India, China will win. The totalitarian state has taught the population discipline that no democracy can match. He says, for instance, that there is no paper on the streets in Beijing, whereas there is paper everywhere here. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but he does make a point.
I knew that New Delhi was built by the British adjacent to “Old” Delhi but I hadn’t known that old Delhi was on top of seven previous ones. So in the old city, there are relics of many previous cities. (The Muslim suffix for “city” is “-bad” as in Islamabad or Hyderabad; the Hindu suffix is “-bur” as in Khybur.) In the old city Delhi, there are 90,000 people in every square mile. Delhi was ruled by the Muslims from the 16th C. until 1857. Shah Jahan, the fifth Mogul ruler, wore clothes so covered with jewels that he had to be accompanied by two men, who helped him walk.
We visited the Gandhi crematory site, a large park on a mound with a walk all around a central depression that marks the spot, with an eternal flame. It was very quiet and peaceful there, unlike the bustling city. Then it was on to Humayun’s tomb, a huge Muslim memorial in a large park. We were given time to wander around and because of the exact symmetry of the place, I tried to go out of the wrong gate and got lost. There were a few panicky moments before I found the tour again.
This computer keyboard is sticking, making thinking about what I’m writing almost impossible. I’ll continue later. Stay tuned.
Yes; I’m way behind. Although my watch says it’s still Thursday, the 25th, I know it’s actually Friday. My poor watch has not yet caught up. The last time this happened, it took weeks for it to adjust, no matter how many times I set it. So, let me try to catch you up as well.
Wednesday, February 24: Last night at dinner, three of us asked the waiter for separate checks. When the bills came, he had split all the items each of us had had into three, so the totals were the same. Rather than just sign the bills as they were, we tried to correct the amounts, figuring out which of us had had what thing. It was fruitless. So we just signed the bills as they were, reminding ourselves that even though we all speak English, something does get lost in the translation and that not all minds think alike.
Back on the bus, we made our way to Orchha, to see the palace and fort of a Hindu prince. The building was very Indian in feeling, with those covered guard towers that look like little temples peeking up on the ramparts. The palace was built in Hindu/Islamic fashion because the Mogul emperors of the time were Muslims and the prince, who was subservient to the power in Delhi wanted to show his loyalty. After all that, the prince only entertained Shah Jehan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, one night in this incredible building. The entrance to the palace/fort was at right angles to the bridge/entry so that elephants couldn’t get up enough momentum to storm the doors, which were studded with iron spikes. We climbed all over the building – up and down and back and forth, not unlike the many monkeys who lived there and were doing the same thing.
Then it was on to Jhanci a city in central India named for a queen who supported the Sepoy uprising against the British in 1857. (I always wondered how Jancy, the Rosen’s bartender got her name; now I know.) Here, we waited at the station for the train, the Shatbdi Express, back to Delhi. The station was very crowded, with every kind of humanity, women sitting in the dirt in bright colored saris, beggars crawling along with their hands out and many, many people waiting on the platform. We were advised to look at no one and to keep our bags close. The train finally came and although billed as deluxe – perhaps by Indian standards it was – the four hours to Delhi were very uncomfortable. The seats were close together and I never could quite get into a comfortable position, crammed up against the window with Dennis on the aisle beside me. Men in colorful costume served dinner, a course at a time, on little trays. Called Meals on Wheels, the food was much like airline food. The dessert was a little round container called a Soan Cake that contained (I kept the label) sugar, what flour, hydrogenated edible vegetable oil, husked gram, almonds and pistachios. It looked and tasted like sweetened shredded wheat. Anil told us that the Indian train system is the largest single civil employer in the world. It also carries an enormous number of people. While waiting for our train, several others came into the station and they were all so crowded that people were hanging out of the windows.
When we finally got back to our original Taj hotel in Delhi, at about midnight, there was a mix-up about the rooms. Mine was fine but Dennis’s and David’s had only a double bed, which the hotel intended to supplement with a roll-away. Dennis protested and there was a big todo about finding him another room. This was finally accomplished and they got to bed about two o’clock in the morning.
Some miscellanea: dogs and cows and bulls and monkeys are everywhere. Cows have the right of way on any road or street. No one wants to hurt a cow. The traffic is intense, everyone trying to take advantage of the least opening to get ahead. I wonder that there are not more accidents but like fish in a school, everyone seems to be aware of others around them and slip in and out at what we in America would consider impossible openings. There is a road tax here, collected by each state. We were stopped once so the authorities could be sure our driver had the proper documents. Anil told us a little bribe could/would be paid if the driver didn’t have them. A bicycle, the most common mode of transportation, costs about $40.00, a scooter about $800.00. Mr. Tata, an Indian industrialist, plans to make the world’s least expensive car, to sell for about $2000.00. I wonder where they will put them.
Thursday, February 25: in Delhi. Today is the start of the main tour so we were joined by three couples and one single. The couples are Tom and John from Lexington, Kentucky; Bill and John from Denver; and Don and Jim from Minneapolis. The single is a wispy little man (perfect for Caesar) who insists we call him William, not Will, or Bill. I’d guess that Tom and John are in their late 40’s; the others all seem to be in their 60’s. We’re not a young group!
Anil gave us lots of information on the bus about India but the fact I found the most startling was that even though the birth rate in India is going down, the population is still advancing alarmingly. There are 28 children born every minute. I find that truly astounding. Bob, who has been to China, suggests that in the race for development between China and India, China will win. The totalitarian state has taught the population discipline that no democracy can match. He says, for instance, that there is no paper on the streets in Beijing, whereas there is paper everywhere here. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but he does make a point.
I knew that New Delhi was built by the British adjacent to “Old” Delhi but I hadn’t known that old Delhi was on top of seven previous ones. So in the old city, there are relics of many previous cities. (The Muslim suffix for “city” is “-bad” as in Islamabad or Hyderabad; the Hindu suffix is “-bur” as in Khybur.) In the old city Delhi, there are 90,000 people in every square mile. Delhi was ruled by the Muslims from the 16th C. until 1857. Shah Jahan, the fifth Mogul ruler, wore clothes so covered with jewels that he had to be accompanied by two men, who helped him walk.
We visited the Gandhi crematory site, a large park on a mound with a walk all around a central depression that marks the spot, with an eternal flame. It was very quiet and peaceful there, unlike the bustling city. Then it was on to Humayun’s tomb, a huge Muslim memorial in a large park. We were given time to wander around and because of the exact symmetry of the place, I tried to go out of the wrong gate and got lost. There were a few panicky moments before I found the tour again.
This computer keyboard is sticking, making thinking about what I’m writing almost impossible. I’ll continue later. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment