The Shadows of the Raj
Our last full day in India (for now) gave us the chance to see some of Delhi proper; not least because a combination of heavy overnight rain and action by the government to ban half of all cars on any one day, had cleared the air considerably, and there was actually some hazy blue sky and sunshine. And heat!
The day proved to be one of many contrasts.
First up on the tour plan was a rickshaw ride through the streets around the Jama Masjid mosque. This was uncomfortable in more ways that one. The streets were absolutely packed and choking with traffic and exhaust fumes – and they were the best of the smells! They were also full of potholes and other hazards and S was far from convinced that we would actually manage to stay in the thing. But the poor guy pedalling us was about half my size, only had flip-flops on his feet and the wretched contraption had no gears at all. How he got it to move was beyond our understanding. And the streets and ‘shops’ were both fascinating and yet full of appalling hardship. For the first time, this felt like ‘poverty tourism’ and we spent the rest of the day thinking about this.
After thankfully escaping from the rickshaw, we went into the Mosque itself, which involved depositing our shoes in a huge pile outside and wondering if we would ever see them again. S, despite being very appropriately clad, had to wear something that looked a bit like a duvet cover which I couldn’t help but feel owed less to religious sensitivity and more about the opportunity to make a point.
The mosque was being prepared for Friday prayers and our guide, although a Hindu, was very knowledgable about it. Indeed, all of our guides of whatever faith were very happy to discuss both religion and politics in a friendly and informative way. Of course, they all had their points to put across. Our Muslim guide pointed out that the Hindus had subtle ways of re-writing history and that his community was feeling a bit hard-done by these days. On the other hand, the Hindu chap was pretty clear that they had two hundred years of nonsense from the Brits and had been under the Muslim Mughals for four hundred before that, so now that they had finally got the top jobs, they weren’t about to roll over for anyone!
But they both agreed that in the past, both faiths had happily mingled and lived with each other and also the Christians and that if only the priests and politicians would butt out, all could do so again. Unless, of course, you happened to be a Pakistani…
Then to a Sikh temple and ‘Gurdwara’ – which is a huge community kitchen and eating place, with bulk catering on a primitive but industrial scale. We wandered around, both fascinated but also dreading being asked to partake! “What shall we do if they ask us to?” whispered S, desperately. “Faint!”, I suggested, suspecting that this wouldn’t require much acting on her part. Fortunately, they were wise to western sensibilities and no such offer was made.
Naturally, the one ‘delicate’ topic is the Raj! The very name ‘New’ Delhi refers to the city area purpose-built at the height of empire at the end of the 19th Century. It is truly colossal in scale, with huge buildings and massive boulevards, centred upon the viceroy’s palace. In one of the worlds most congested cities, this created epic amounts of carefully manicured green spaces and parks. The Indians definitely have not the slightest favourable view of the empire; the English place names are disappearing and the regal statues have long since gone. But there’s no denying who created this area and the Indians seem conflicted by it.
We went to see the vast park around the site of Gandhi’s funeral pyre, which is almost the spiritual home of modern India. Our guide told us that at the time of the funeral, the then British Foreign Secretary somewhat acidly pointed out that despite Gandhi being opposed to everything that the Empire represented, the British had managed to keep him safe for over thirty years; the Indians themselves couldn’t mange it for even three months. He said that this is still a source of great shame to the Indians.
On the way back, he also told us that whereas a lot of tourists ask only basic questions (or in the case of the Chinese, none at all!) the Brits were a nightmare because they already knew a lot before they came and expected lots more specific detailed information. However, he said that the interest showed by the Brits was deeply appreciated and tactfully failed to add this this was even more the case because nowadays, they remembered to go home again after their visit!
An unexpected highlight was to be dropped off by our ‘tour team’ at the national railway museum! We – or at least, I – spent a couple of happy hours roaming amongst engines great and small and then as we were leaving, to my immense smugness, it was my turn to be kidnapped for photo’s with locals! Big guy, blue eyes – it was kind of inevitable! Not all in our party agreed….
Then it was a final, suicidal TukTuk ride back to the hotel. On the way, we had a great idea for a new video game – it’s going to be called “Delhi Driver’!