Delhi … surprises all over the place…

Like a swiss watch , at 11 this morning Satish ( Rahuls friend and driver) was at the hotel to pick me up.

I had no idea of where I wanted to go or what I wanted to see , most of the time I am lost in the world inside my head .

Before getting to Delhi I had only few time to research about the city and its wonders , so I was pretty much ready for anything.

Satish was very helpful and kind , I was dazzled by his peaceful way of talking and doing things. Told him to take me wherever he wanted, so on the way we started talking about his family , is weird but since I decided to be a parent I get more interested in people kids. It seems like there is a wise advice in every person that already has a kid…

So , the first place he took me was the Lotus Temple. This is a Baha´i Faith Temple built in 1986. Is a unique building not only because of its shape and design but also because is the only Baha´i Temple in Asia. For those of you that are not familiar with Baha´i Faith , is based in the Oneness of God, the Oneness of Religions, and the Oneness of Mankind. Here is the link of the Lotus Temple , read it you will enjoy it very much: http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in/.

The line to get in was very short , the weather was perfect so everything was going smoothly. Is amazing but as soon as you walk in the Temple , peace and quietness surrounds you in a very special and deep way. Maybe I was still amazed by the fact that I was able to  distinguish at least people from 5 religions sitting peacefully  at the same temple , thanking and talking to the same God or energy or whatever they believed in. Is this the kind of union and peace  that should unite mankind? … Maybe.

After walking for a while , Satish was ready for the net surprise , he took me to the Tomb of Humayun that is the tomb of one of the Mughal Emperors built around 1569 AD.It was built with red sandstone and te complex is extremely beautiful. Here is some info and story about the tomb: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Humayun                                                                                                                        

The gardens surrounding the complex , are very nicely taken care of , full of little trees with white flowers , the color totally catch my attention. If you ever go to Delhi , take the time to discover this site and its information centre because it is quite interesting to understand how it was built and the implications of it.

              

The place was so peaceful that I spend almost 2 hours just walking around the complex , a tomb where one of the Great Emperors is buried.

Back to the car with Satish , our next stop India Gate. This monument was built in 1931 in order to commemorate the 90000 indian soldiers who lost their lives while fighting at the British Raj in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. When you look at it , you can say that India Gate resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris , but India Gate has a great engraving on the front that reads: “To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders Mesopotamia and Persia East Africa Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afghan War”.

Near India Gate there is an empty canopy that is now used by  President and the Prime Minister, as well as visiting Guests of State, to pay homage at the site on occasions of State ceremonies, and each Republic Day, 26th January, the Prime Minister pays homage to the soldiers along with Heads of Armed Forces, before joining the annual parade at the Rajpath.

India gate is surrounded by a big and nice park. I was walking  around and i saw a game of cricket for the first time… still don’t get the game but it was interesting!

Hunger started to strike once again , so went back to the car and Satish took me to a very good restaurant. I had a great lunch that consisted of: butter chicken , spicy sweet and sour chicken with red curry , rice and a big bottle of Kingfisher Lager Beer…. yum yum.

I asked Satish to join me for lunch but he refused. By then I was not aware of the Caste System in India. Here is some info about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India. i now understand is a cultural issue , but still made me feel a bit uncomfortable knowing that he was not allowed to eat with me 😦

This was the morning part of my day , I will tell you about the afternoon ont he next post… don’t miss it because is about a must see in Delhi!!!

Thank you for reading, I love sharing this with all of you.