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Travel through north India II.

Published: 20.4.2009
This is a travelling through the seventh greatest country of the world, with more than seven millions of ipeople, many cultural ways, variegated nature and busy towns.

3rd day (Sunday, 8th February 2009)

In the morning, we are getting up quite early, at 6 o´clock, as we have busy programme for this day ahead. After breakfast, containing from biscuits and tea, we go on foot to the first church- Jhandemala Deviji Temple,. The entrance is possible again, with barefoot only. As it is Sunday, the temple is overcrowded with people, there is taken place a religious rite, worship of Indian Gods - Shiva, Krisna and others. All people carry a plate, full of yellow-brown flowers and burnt aromatic stakes. After praying while, in front of God´s statues, all people start to throw coloured flowers. The church seems to be quite nice, but it is overcrowded, so we give up its sightseeong and go out, in order to take our sandals from checking room. Outside, I buy a bunch of eight bananas for INR 10,- - this is reasonable price, indeed! Our next stop is modern Lakshmi Temple and Narayana, known as Birla Mandir (according to rich family of businessmen, which financed this building). This Hinduistic Church is in excellent stage (for local conditions). It is obvious from number of tourists who visit this place. In entrance room, there is necessary to take off the shoes, and continue, up the staircases, to great open courtyard, in front of main sanctuary, consecrated to Lakshmi God (Lord of wealth). Inside, there are to be found further sanctuaries, consecrated to Ganeshi Lord (with elephant head) or Hanuman (Monkey God).

In back part of complex, you can have a rest in pleasant park with statues, altans, waterfalls and seats. It is a pity that you cannot take photos inside sanctuaries, the entrance is free of charge. We paid (and haggled) INR 80,- for moto-rickshaw and go, from the temple to Rastrapati Bhavan, President´s Palace. Central palace with copper cupola is a dominanta of the whole complex. Inside spaces of all buildings, within scope of Presidential Palace, are inaccessible for public, you can enter the park on west part only.

The park is open throughout whole week, except Sundays (what bad luck!). In front of Presidential Palace, there is passing Radzpath (King´s Way). It is wide straight boulevard, bordered with parks and fountains, which leads directly towards Gate of India. This imitation of Victory Arch in Paris was constructed as a memory of 90000 soldiers who died in various wars in past. We pay other INR 100,- and drive to Lotus Church (its name dedicates to its architectonical appearance). White roof was constructed in a form of flower of this plant.

This building is also known under name of Respect House, and serves to religious purposes. The respective divine services are taken place here twice a day. The respect is expressed in such way, that you do not speak at all, staying inside the temple. The entrance is free of charge, and you have to take off your shoes again. This time, we decided to do the change and took a bus, driving to Kutub Minar Complex. Twenty minutes drive costs INR 10,- per person. We had good luck, the bus was not overcrowded. Kutub Minar Complex is local oldest Moslem monument, situated approx. 13 kms in south direction from Connaught Place. At present, there are crumbled buildings. Minaret Kutub Minar - a tower from red sandstone is arising over.. The walls, 72,5 metres high, are decorated with rich ornamental patterns and caligraphic sentences from Koran, cut out into stone surface.

Just nearby the tower, it is possible to see the ruins of first Mosque, constructed in India (Kuvvat´l-islam) which was built from material obtained from ruins and rests of 27 Hindu temples. You will be attracted, for sure, in detailed decorations of walls, vaults and arches, created by Hindu handycraftsmen. Iron pillar, 7,2 metres high, constructed in 4th century, is other attraction of this complex. It is manufactured from nearly pure iron (98%), so its main attraction is a fact that this material did not get rusty, and so, this is absolute mystery. Nobody knows, from which place this column was delivered to Delhi.

The entrance into this complex costs INR 250,-, again, any reduction granting is impossible. We return back to our quarter Pahargan to take our late lunch. So, I order 5 pancakes of tschapati(similar to Arabic bread) with several sorts of sauces-all this costs INR 48,-. Frankly speaking, I am not accustomed to its burnt tastes, so, it is necessary to „put out“ my mouth with cold Coca Cola. In the evening, we visit local market and have the intention to walk through more quiet streets of the town. In spite of the fact that Hindu have a chaos in many things, the system of shops is solved in quite clever way: there are the streets, where there is offered and sold vegetables only, in other streets the hairdressers offer their services, the textiles or baker products are sold, in some other streets, there is sold a tea only, etc. When you wish to buy something concrete, you find wide choice on one spot – in a street. Within our night walk, we are contacted by various individuals, offering us all, in what „white men“ could be interested in. One young man held me for 5 minutes at least and offered all possible sorts of drugs. It was obvious that he took some of it. Anyway, you find here enough internet cafees (or plain-desert rooms with several computers). The prices for service move from INR 10,- for 30 minutes, nevertheless, you have to present your passport and register into „visitors´ book“. I send some e-mails only, so, everythying is O.K., and when I wish to leave the room, the boss requires to pay INR 25,-. I show him the price noted in the window, pay INR 10,- and go out. You have always to pay attention to such situations! Before we go to sleep to the hotel, we order a cup of tea – masala, in one restaurant Later, just in hotel room, I take and enjoy my first warm shower and drink a drop of plum brandy, as a matter of medicine preventive measure.

4th day ( Monday 9th February 2009)

The second day of our stay in Delhi is started with exit with moto-rickshaw from our quarter to Railway Museum (we fix return way, this costs INR 240,-.) However, unpleasant surprise waited for us, we found that Monday is the only day, when museum is closed. We helplessly look at the fence, when one watching policeman saw us. We persuade him, and after hush-money of INR 200,- he allows us to enter (it is true, that official ticket costs INR 15,- for one person but we have no time to visit this place once more!). Nevertheless, this museum is worth to visit! You can see and admire most beautiful Indian Kings´carriages, including ancient locomotives (engines).

The museum exhibites - in open air- 27 locomotives and 17 carriages. You find here, for instance, saloon carriage with gilded decoration, used by Maharaja of Baroda, teak carriage of Maharaja Maisur, interior inlaid decorated with ivory and gold, coupe, used by Prince of Wales in 1876, and other very interesting carriages. Most of exhibited railway carriages are procured with plates and inscriptions in English.

At noon, we have to check out, so we go to reception desk to pay for two nights stay. The patron requires INR 700,- but for 1 night, it means INR 1400,- altogether. A hard dispute begins, the reception hall is shortly full of hotel employees and curious persons from outside. Anyway, we present him a confirmation, where there is written a price relating to INR 700,- the boss does not accept this confirmation. I get to be quite angry and surprised how I am able to argue in English. After 10 minutes, the patron understood finally, that we are no group of German „luggage travellers“ and he does not obtain more money at all. He continued to cry for a while, but we did not listen to him any more and went out, in railway staion direction. Our first booked train to Benares would leave at 16,20 h, from platform No. 14 (there are approx. 20 platforms on this railway station). We know this fact from lighting table approx., one hour before departure. This railway station is gigantic and crowds of people are streaming up and down. On each platform, there are placed several shops, where you can buy some drinks (soft drinks, tea, coffee) or to eat (biscuits, chips, sweets,etc.) and there are also to be found here shops offering newspapers. There are plenty of „walking salesmen“ available, you can buy from them various things, such as bananas, watches, chains and padlocks for binding rucksacks in the train. These station salesmen walk in train during the drive. There are present also beggars, represented in many individuals.

The train arrives finally and it is overcrowded quite quickly in the meantime. So, we do not loose our time and start to look for our places in the 2nd class coupe. Several Hindu are just sitting here, anyway, they do not have many pieces of luggage with, so we bind to, by means of chains, our rucksacks below seats. We close the padlocks and take our seats. This way of security is worth while especially within night transfers. When you fall asleep you can hardly rely on the fact that somebody from local persons would look after your luggage. You can order a meal in the train (dinner or lunch) but I do not enough courage to try it. I order masala tea for the time being (cost INR 5,- for one 150 ml cup). The train drives slowly, so a book rescues me from spleen. Later, we start with Olda to discuss with Hindu-woman from next coupe. She could be 30 years old, and despite she is jovial lady, we get nothing of our conversation. She does not speak English at all, so we try to use basic sentences only from our book-dictionary guide. However, when we manage to pronounce some simple sentence, her reply is absolutely intelligible for us. Nor drawing on paper or gesticulation by hands or legs, all this did not helped. us. It is a pity, so we enjoyed a lark in the meantime. In next stop, I go out for my fifth cup of tea. The trains in India are driving quite slowly, and give the sign by means of whooping before moving, so you catch someting to buy. Later, we fold down our beds and go asleep, it is 2 a.m. In the morning.

Text/photo: Jakub Štantejský, Infoglobe redactor



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