The buses claim to be eco-friendly too but the lorries still belch clouds of diesel and the interminable noise of horns is still deafening. The use of rear view or wing mirrors is unheard of so a warning of overtaking is necessary. The larger vehicles have "Horn Please" painted on the back and all the drivers oblige. All the while, hoards of bicycles, scooters and some bicycle rick-shaws nip in and out with scant regard for life (theirs or anyone else's). In places there are shanties by the side of the road - makeshift tents made from strips of torn cloth with bits of stick and scraps of rope to hold them in place. According to our driver, the occupants of these tents are not necessarily poor, but they have come to the city to seek work and there just isn't enough accommodation available. The overwhelming evidence of one's eyes is that they do, in fact, have nothing. Alongside the shanties, shops and stalls jostle with high rise banks and the one sign that we really are in the 21st century is the frequent sighting of Internet cafs. After the hustle and bustle of the city streets, the Raj Ghat, with its flower beds and trees is a welcome relief. This is the cremation ground of Mohandes Mahatma Ghandi, who died in 1948 and who the Indians refer to as "The Father of the Nation". The memorial is a black marble plinth engraved with his last words, "He Ram" ("Oh God"), where flowers may be placed and where a flame burns constantly. A short walk further is the cremation place of Indira Ghandi, Prime Minister of India from 1966-1977, murdered by her bodyguard in 1984, marked by the upright palm of a hand carved from a single huge piece of stone standing several metres high. Next is the cremation place of Rajiv Ghandi, Prime Minister 1984-1989, he too having been assassinated in 1991, although not while in office. This memorial is shaped like a large lotus in full bloom carved out of stone surrounded by 46 small lotuses to signify the years he lived; rocks from all the states of India are spread around. Nearby in this haven of peace are memorials to Jawaharlal Nehru, Sanjay Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri also. Once more out into the traffic and because this is Friday, we need to hurry to get in and out of Old Delhi before the faithful converge on the Jama Masjid mosque for the most important prayers of the week. So to the mosque, where we part with our shoes for the first of many times and don the garments provided to make our Western dress acceptable inside. This mosque, build by Shah Jahan (he of Taj Mahal fame), fifth Moghul Emperor, is the largest in India and has a 100 square metre courtyard, capable of holding 25,000 devotees, enclosed by arched colonnades with a stone-canopied pavilion at each corner. From here you can see the Red Fort. The prayer mats are being laid out now, so we must leave. |
