Touring Delhi

One of the joys of life living in megacity Delhi is that there is so much to see – from Luyten’s grand tree lined avenues to hundreds of ancient tombs scattered across the city, and most of the places we want to see have been easily accessible by the Metro.

This weekend though, thanks to a friend who knows a friend (I don't normally do advertising but I said i'll give him a plug!) we had an air-conditioned car with driver to chauffeur us - so we took advantage of this to enable us to visit some of the harder to reach places.

First up was the Rajghat, the site of Gandhi’s cremation. We had already visited his Delhi residence and site of his assassination a few weeks earlier. The residence is now a well presented museum with a mix of interactive displays, Gandhi’s teachings and thoughts, and historical artefacts. The Rajghat is a beautifully kept and peaceful memorial to the man who has inspired so many.

Next, we took a trip 12 kilometres north of New Delhi to a wasteland that was unknown to our guide and driver. I navigated him to what is now a large derelict ‘park’ – and was the site of the 1911 Durbar.



The 1911 Durbar cost over £1 million to mount, and was over a year in preparation. Over 200,000 people attended the events taking place in Delhi’s Coronation Park that saw King George V (the only reigning monarch to visit India) announce that he was now their ruler and that the British would be moving the Capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The ‘park’ is, unintentionally, a fitting memorial to the folly of imperialism. Despite all the pomp and grandeur that would accompany this Durbar, and that even in this year, the one hundredth birthday of New Delhi, it is now consigned to a semi-forgotton history. Eventually, New Delhi was built many miles south as Luytens and Co. wanted to build the Viceroy’s Palace on top of a hill - and the flat, marshy land to the north just didn’t suit! And by the time New Delhi had been completed the British were already on their way out. Still, I think New Delhi is a beautiful legacy and quite a contrast to old Delhi (and the other 6 or so cities upon which Delhi is built).



To commemorate where King V stood





The 1911 Durbar



We then travelled into the heart of New Delhi to see one of the many creations that give lie to the fact that this city isn’t quite as new as its title would let you believe. Agrasen Ki Baoli (message to mum – click here) is one of the many step wells dotted around the city. Tucked away in a side street, and effectively hidden from tourists, so unless you knew where and what it is you wouldn’t be able to find it.

Finally, we went further south to visit the Lotus temple, the Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi. It is a building that I've passed many times on the way to work. Completed in 1986, it has a complex design which is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sidesdesigned to resemble a lotus flower.