Delhi and Amritsar

Funny, I'm posting from Delhi on a stopover on my way to Nepal! I was here less than a week ago! I spent some time shopping for books at the Jahawarlal Nehru University with a friend's boyfriend, Ankush. (If anyone knows where I can get a copy of the Therigathas -- preferably in Nepal, I would really appreciate it!) Then we visited Qutb Minar, a tower planned by the first Muslim Indian ruler Qutb-ud-din Aibak, I was amazed with the intricate carvings, and I'll probably go back some day just to take some photos in different lighting. The surrounding complex was built from the rubble of Hindu and Jain temples that were originally on the site, continuing the age-old culture-wide tradition of knocking other people's buildings down to build your own on top. The shorter unfinished tower was meant to be taller, but they just couldn't get it up.

The next few days I spent sick in bed, with a brief and traumatizing train trip to Amritsar because I bought my ticket before I got sick. I was lucky to stay at Hotel Grace, where the owners were incredibly friendly, checked up on me regularly, and even made me a snack once! Basically I lived on biscuits and water for almost five days.

Once I recovered I took the short trip to the Pakistani border to watch the border closing ceremony at the only land crossing between the two countries. It was fascinating! It's a combination of pep rally -- including a dance party with Bollywood tunes -- and choreographed border guard demonstration.

I also visited Jallianwala Bagh, the walled park where British soldiers fired without warning on a peaceful demonstration and killed hundreds of people. The park is a beautiful but sad monument to the tragedy. I've included a photo of the Martyrs' Well; people jumped into the well trying to escape the bullets.

Lal Devi Temple was one of the more memorable Hindu temples I've visited. It's like a funhouse! You climb up and down ramps and stairs, cross over bridges, crawl through passageways, and double back on the path. There's a rack of bells that everyone loves to ring, and some of the passageways are tiled in mirrors. Through one passageway you even walk through ankle-deep water, which delighted me and more than one child. After the fun, I sat for a while to listen to women singing devotional music to the saint.

Finally, the best part of Amritsar: The Golden Temple is the holiest site for the Sikh religion, and I spent almost a whole day there. Sikhism is known in the west for the turbans Sikh men wear to keep their uncut hair tidy, and for the kirpans, the ceremonial daggers which are rarely functional weapons, but often controversial. Uncut hair and the ceremonial dagger are two of the five symbols of the Sikh brotherhood; the others are a comb, undershorts, and a steel bracelet. The turban is a cultural, rather than a religious symbol, and women rarely wear it.

I found the people here very welcoming, and everyone must remove their shoes and cover their hair. The temple also includes a langar, or community kitchen, where anyone can eat for free. The traditional guards, Sardars, are both friendly and intimidating. While I'm still taller than average, in Amritsar I didn't feel quite as monstrous as usual, since the Punjab region is known for tall men and women.

I stood in line for about 45 minutes to pray in the gurdwara, take some prohibited photographs on the roof, and listen to Sikh men singing devotional songs and recite the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, which is also the living guru. Finally, I sat and watched the sunset from the marble walkway around the pool. As usual, I took many photos, which you can find if you access Facebook. At sime I'm looking forward to taking even more photos with my new DSLR camera, on which I blew an entire month's budget yesterday.

Delhi: The Old City

I haven't posted a blog for some time, mostly because India has been kicking my butt for the past six weeks. Let's just say that I was in a six-week whirlwind relationship with bureaucracy, and they decided they didn't want to see me anymore. So I'm leaving Pune for Kathmandu, Nepal on Tuesday morning, for a few weeks. On top of that I sprained my ankle badly, and then I ended up with some sort of stomach bug that knocked me down for almost five days.

The good news is I went to Delhi, and I took hundreds of photos! I started out at the Red Fort (Lal Qila), but the lineup was huge so I decided to return another day. From there I walked to Raj Ghat, where Gandhi was cremated. The words on the front translate roughly to "Oh God," Gandhi's last words when he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.

The Jama Masjid was the next visit, and I was surprised to find it the first religious site where I didn't feel welcome. (I suspect that comes from being a woman travelling alone, in the conservative Old City of Delhi.) The mosque is beautiful though, following the red sandstone and white marble theme of many of the historical buildings in Delhi. A short stop at the India Gate, commemorating Indian soldiers, and a brief look at the Parliament buildings, which are mostly enclosed by high walls.


Back to the Red Fort to spend half a day wandering around the old buildings. The immense outer walls are built of red sandstone, and most of the inner buildings are white marble. The Mughal emperor Akbar had a personal mosque built here. Many of the buildings had pietra dura, or semi-precious stone inlaid in the marble. Where water meant wealth (and still does, to some extent), it was incredible to see the complex of fountains and waterways, and to imagine the display of power it represented. Although most of the waterways are dry now, the wealth is still displayed in the green lawns.

A short stop for Old Dehli's famous jalebis, then onward. I planned to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra on this visit, but "Delhi belly" stopped me. I did manage to complete the other "bookend" to the Taj Mahal; in Aurangabad I visited Bibi ka Maqbara, built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and influenced by the Taj Mahal, and in Delhi I visited Humayan's Tomb, built by the wife of the Mughal emperor Humayan, and a precursor to the Taj Mahal.

Stay tuned for Part II of my north-western Indian adventures!

Some Canadians Visit... and Some Thoughts on the German Bakery

If you're a regular reader you probably noticed that I haven't posted a blog for a while. My mom and stepfather Kirk were visiting from London, Canada for two weeks. This past weekend I spent in Lonavala with a side trip with the Firelords overnight. That means this will be an epic blog post.

Pune became Indian front-page news February 13, 2010 when a bomb exploded at the German Bakery in the Koregaon Park neighbourhood, killing 9 people and injuring 60. It's suspected to be a terrorist bombing because the German Bakery is popular with foreign visitors and locals alike. I'm safe, and all of my friends are safe as far as I'm aware, but it has affected all of us. I took my mom and Kirk for a coffee there two weeks ago. Some friends were at the cafe only 30 minutes earlier, and other friends were driving past when the explosion happened. I'll be thinking of the families and friends of the people killed, and the recovery of the injured. For me, it's important not to be afraid. Pune is a great place to visit, and a cool city. A minority of violent people can't ruin a city for everyone else. It's important to continue with our lives and demand our right to live freely and peacefully.

The last week of January and the first week of February I showed my mom and Kirk around Pune for a week and a half, then we visited Mumbai for three days. After their flight arrived on Monday we went shopping to buy a kurta for mom at FabIndia, then walked around my neighbourhood. The men in the local sweet shop were delighted. Then a quick tour of my flat before heading for Parvati Hill. We spent a lot of time eating and riding around in autorickshaws, and I saw some new things, although I also took them to places I'd visited before.

Tuesday was the 60th anniversary of Republic Day. (India became independent in 1947, and became a republic in 1950.) We visited Shaniwar Wada, and as I promised, took a good photo of the front. Laxmi Road Market gave a good idea of how the locals shop, and since it was a holiday, it was especially packed. Kirk lagged behind because he "didn't want to shove old ladies out of the way" only to have a demonstration of an old lady shoving me out of the way.

Wednesday we visited Pune University, where I showed them my regular canteen thali. Mom had read about Alice's grave before. From there we went to Rajiv Gandhi zoo to visit the famous snake park. We were really impressed with the zoo, since there was obvious care and effort put into creating a few habitats for animals native to India, rather than trying to squeeze in as many animals as possible from around the world. All the tigers were hiding, except for the white one.

Thursday we visited the Raja Kelkar museum, which is filled with local and Indian art and tools. I've included a photo of a Yali, which is a South Indian protective demon. Perhaps this is the same creature I photographed in the Hampi carvings?

Friday we spent a quiet day, then went out with the Firelords motorcycle club for a ride. The next day, much of the same, only we met for dinner with the Firelords at Kishor's place. Sunday mom and I ate dinner with my flatmates then walked to the temple that I can see from my flat.

Monday we visited the Tribal Cultural Museum, which was small but worthwhile. I was impressed by the warli painting, the metal jewelry, and the woven baskets. From there we stopped by Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road, where the tourists shop, and where I stayed when I first arrived in Pune.

Tuesday we travelled to Lonavala to visit the Karla and Bhaja caves. I disagreed again with my guidebook which recommended Karla for the large chaitya. I loved Bhaja because of the many water tanks, and the collection of carved stupas lining the path.

Wednesday early morning we caught the bus to Mumbai to spend three days. We stayed right by the Taj Mahal Hotel, at the Moti Mahal. The first day mom and I walked around Colaba. This time we went into Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue! On the way out we were delayed by the convoy for the German President, which continued to block our direct travels for the rest of the week. We also went into the High Court and checked out the carvings of wolves in lawyers' clothing and peeking monkeys with the scales of justice. Thursday I sent mom and Kirk to Elephanta Island.

Friday we shopped and took some photos of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), then mom and I travelled see the dhobi ghats, Hajj Ali Mosque--because it was Friday, some men were singing devotional songs on the porch--Mahalaxmi Temple, and Chowpatty Beach for bhel puri and mango kulfi. Saturday we returned to Pune to catch their evening flight back to Canada.

This past weekend I spent in Lonavala, which included an incredibly cool trip. Sadly I don't have any photos because I wasn't prepared, and didn't bring my camera. The Firelords planned a trip to the "Slopes of Hell" (or whatever they call it) which involved each of them riding up a steep incline to the top of a mountain in the Western Ghats. The communications tower at the top justifies a "road" with steep drops to either side, loose rocks, and overgrown cobblestones. Very few of them made it up without stalling. Then we spent the night on the mountain, and rose with the sun to travel home again.

Lonavala is a hill station selling chikki at four out of five shops, unbelievable traffic at night, and gorgeous panoramic views of the Western Ghats.

Boulders! Ruins! Hampi!

First I want to mention with sadness the death of a former colleague on Tuesday. Evadne Sutherland was one of my favourite people at the Lifesaving Society Ontario Branch office, and I'll really miss her.

At Hampi in the state of Karnataka the surrounding monuments are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. More than 550 ruins are here, and it's easy to share the builders' view of the sacred, clearly present in the landscape. The capital of the Vijayanagar empire, according to the epic Ramayana, lies in the historical home of the monkey people. They feature on many of the carved pillars. I've included one pillar of Hanuman, the monkey king, kicking some butt.

The best views of Virupaksha Temple, founded in the 7th century and dedicated to Shiva, are from Hemakuta hill to the south. Temple ruins are scattered among the boulders, and carvings were chiseled directly into the stone.









To the north is the Tunghabadra River, where coracles cross to the ruins and villages on the other side. They were building a bridge, but it fell down.






Inside Vittala Temple is a famous carving of a chariot which is a shrine itself.







One of my favourite sites was the stepped tank fed by an aqueduct. Here I captured a few of the hundreds of school children who wanted to say hello, ask my name, and have their photo taken. They're about to swarm me!





The Elephant Stables are inside the Zenana. It was difficult to capture how grand they are!








I walked around behind the stables to the quieter temples, and took photos of some beautiful working girls who were cutting the grass.






Nearby is the Lotus Mahal, a summer palace for the queen.








The temple architecture was really interesting. Often the base was of stone carved from the boulders littering the landscape, while the spires were built from brick, with painted stucco decoration. South Indian culture has some major historical differences from North Indian culture, and one difference arises in the iconography. This detail is from the Krishna temple. The Laxmi Narasimha monolith was also new to me--and fascinating! This is Vishnu in his man-lion incarnation, worshipped mostly in the south.

The final day I went for puja at Virupaksha temple. As always, you must remove your shoes to enter a temple. I included this photo of the central shrine from behind three nandi because I stood in something disgusting to take it. Including it in my blog makes me feel like it was worth it!




Then I rented a bicycle and cycled around at my own pace. I recommend this method of exploring most highly. Just make sure you get a bicycle with a seat that stays up! I visited the Underground Temple, and the Queen's Bath; only the Octagonal Bath made the cut in for the now-common Facebook B-list.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all my old and new friends!

To celebrate the new year I travelled just outside of the city to the Big Wheels Motoring Club party. Lots of fun with friends, a huge dance floor outdoors, and a partial eclipse on a blue moon. Here are some photos of the fun with me, Yogesh, and Dhruv; Anita and Kishor; Neha and Shona; and Dhruv and Yogesh again with Vijay. I also unexpectedly met my former flatmate Richa.

There was one bad note to the night when I sprained my ankle badly. Of course it seemed okay at the time, so I spent the rest of the evening dancing, but then I woke up in pain at 5 in the morning. A trip to the doctor on New Year's Day supplied me with some painkillers and anti-inflammatories. It's still a little stiff, but at least no early morning painful awakenings!

This week I attended one evening of the Sawai Gandharva classical Indian music festival, where I heard Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya play the santoor, and Pandit Jasraj sing. Both performers were amazing!

I also have some new flatmates, Rinki and Sarita, who are filling the flat with energy. We decided to have a cook, which is awesome, and we also have internet at home. So look for me to chat!