Wednesday, May 30, 2007
23 May 07 -- Art! Café! News!
Ah….la vie en vacances!
Got up late today, perhaps because I was soooo busy the day before. Found a place to rent a car for a day ($20), so I booked one for tomorrow and proceeded on my plan for the day. When I was in Delhi ten years ago, I bought a couple of large watercolors from an artist, and I still owed him some money for them. I had contacted him from the US, and I called him when I got to Delhi so I could meet him at his gallery to give him the balance. Was he surprised! Unfortunately, he had to go back to Rajastan for some family emergency, so I just dropped off an envelope for him at the gallery. However, I took advantage of that time to talk to the gallery owner about photography and got the contact information from a couple of photographers here. I plan to stop by to see them tomorrow, when I have the car.
Unbelievably, it was lunch time by then. I went to a nearby restaurant that looked dark and cool, and I had a pretty nice lunch there – my second stuffed potato. It’ll be hard to go back to cheese stuffed potatoes after this. Here, the potato is baked and prepared with lots of different spices and vegetables. At this particular restaurant, they used what I call the “sweat spice.” I don’t know what it is, but there’s some spice here that doesn’t taste hot but makes me sweat like a….drowned rat. So there I was in my cool, dark restaurant with my Dollar Store hankie, dripping like a leaky shower. But that potato was so good I’d do it again without a moment’s hesitation.
Of course, it was then nap time. Then café time. I got a newspaper and headed down the road to my usual café.
The news here is always interesting to me. It’s hard to pick out the major stories, but here are a few:
Pepsi bottle explosion – A guy opened a bottle of Pepsi, and the bottle exploded, injuring the man’s arm, chest, neck, shoulder and jaw. He sued and got nearly $400. I have to think this is India’s version of the hot coffee suit against McDonald’s, but at least it’s finally some bad publicity for a Coke competitor.
Serial killer – A guy was arrested for killing six men. He decapitated them and removed their limbs. He threw the heads in the Yamuna and the limbs in the garbage, and then he dumped the torsos near a local police station. He said his motives were that one of the guys ate too much meat, another spent too much time talking to women, and another smoked too much. This is creepy, but it’s interesting to see that psychosis takes a cultural expression. That hadn’t occurred to me.
Punjab unrest – The situation with the Sikh religious leader is still in flux, and now there are rumors that Pakistan is trying to incite the conservative Sikh establishment to riot against the “moderates.” However, I have to say that, every time anything bad happens here, the press seems to say Pakistan did it. And the only news I see from the US here (outside of movies) is related to American relations with Pakistan.
The Sikh thing has brought up an interesting law here in India – it’s illegal to insult or disrespect a religion (this new guy is being charged with disrespecting the Sikh religion and its 10 gurus because he dressed up in imitation of them and postured himself in their mode). Given my incredibly low opinion of religion, you might expect that I’d dislike this law, but it’s interesting that here, in a very pluralistic state, it’s illegal for one religion to promote itself over another one. Proselytizing, for example, is illegal because it’s showing a lack of respect for another faith. Of course, when an artist here recently did an exhibit that showed genitalia on Shiva, he was charged under this statute, and so would be people who drew images of Mohammed (like in Denmark). But I have to say that a statute like this, a statute that says to leave people alone and let them live their own beliefs has a certain appeal. I’m not sure I have a problem with a law that essentially says to respect the beliefs of others. And it clearly helps ensure a bit more peace in a diverse country.
Election – The party of the Dalit caste (untouchables) won a flat out victory in the Uttar Pradesh state elections, which is pretty much unheard of. With 18 parties in the election, they still won well over 50%, and the country is waiting with bated breath to see the implications in the rest of the country.
CEO compensation – Prime Minister of India (kind of a laissez-faire economist) called on Indian CEOs to limit their pay so as not to make the underpaid, lower classes resentful and thus destabilize the state.
AND – last night, a frontloader operator was working on an overpass in Delhi and accidently dropped a huge block of cement over the side. The block landed on two people sleeping there (because of the heat), killing them instantly, and then bounced onto two others, killing them, too. Sometimes, events in this country are so terribly poignant.
Got up late today, perhaps because I was soooo busy the day before. Found a place to rent a car for a day ($20), so I booked one for tomorrow and proceeded on my plan for the day. When I was in Delhi ten years ago, I bought a couple of large watercolors from an artist, and I still owed him some money for them. I had contacted him from the US, and I called him when I got to Delhi so I could meet him at his gallery to give him the balance. Was he surprised! Unfortunately, he had to go back to Rajastan for some family emergency, so I just dropped off an envelope for him at the gallery. However, I took advantage of that time to talk to the gallery owner about photography and got the contact information from a couple of photographers here. I plan to stop by to see them tomorrow, when I have the car.
Unbelievably, it was lunch time by then. I went to a nearby restaurant that looked dark and cool, and I had a pretty nice lunch there – my second stuffed potato. It’ll be hard to go back to cheese stuffed potatoes after this. Here, the potato is baked and prepared with lots of different spices and vegetables. At this particular restaurant, they used what I call the “sweat spice.” I don’t know what it is, but there’s some spice here that doesn’t taste hot but makes me sweat like a….drowned rat. So there I was in my cool, dark restaurant with my Dollar Store hankie, dripping like a leaky shower. But that potato was so good I’d do it again without a moment’s hesitation.
Of course, it was then nap time. Then café time. I got a newspaper and headed down the road to my usual café.
The news here is always interesting to me. It’s hard to pick out the major stories, but here are a few:
Pepsi bottle explosion – A guy opened a bottle of Pepsi, and the bottle exploded, injuring the man’s arm, chest, neck, shoulder and jaw. He sued and got nearly $400. I have to think this is India’s version of the hot coffee suit against McDonald’s, but at least it’s finally some bad publicity for a Coke competitor.
Serial killer – A guy was arrested for killing six men. He decapitated them and removed their limbs. He threw the heads in the Yamuna and the limbs in the garbage, and then he dumped the torsos near a local police station. He said his motives were that one of the guys ate too much meat, another spent too much time talking to women, and another smoked too much. This is creepy, but it’s interesting to see that psychosis takes a cultural expression. That hadn’t occurred to me.
Punjab unrest – The situation with the Sikh religious leader is still in flux, and now there are rumors that Pakistan is trying to incite the conservative Sikh establishment to riot against the “moderates.” However, I have to say that, every time anything bad happens here, the press seems to say Pakistan did it. And the only news I see from the US here (outside of movies) is related to American relations with Pakistan.
The Sikh thing has brought up an interesting law here in India – it’s illegal to insult or disrespect a religion (this new guy is being charged with disrespecting the Sikh religion and its 10 gurus because he dressed up in imitation of them and postured himself in their mode). Given my incredibly low opinion of religion, you might expect that I’d dislike this law, but it’s interesting that here, in a very pluralistic state, it’s illegal for one religion to promote itself over another one. Proselytizing, for example, is illegal because it’s showing a lack of respect for another faith. Of course, when an artist here recently did an exhibit that showed genitalia on Shiva, he was charged under this statute, and so would be people who drew images of Mohammed (like in Denmark). But I have to say that a statute like this, a statute that says to leave people alone and let them live their own beliefs has a certain appeal. I’m not sure I have a problem with a law that essentially says to respect the beliefs of others. And it clearly helps ensure a bit more peace in a diverse country.
Election – The party of the Dalit caste (untouchables) won a flat out victory in the Uttar Pradesh state elections, which is pretty much unheard of. With 18 parties in the election, they still won well over 50%, and the country is waiting with bated breath to see the implications in the rest of the country.
CEO compensation – Prime Minister of India (kind of a laissez-faire economist) called on Indian CEOs to limit their pay so as not to make the underpaid, lower classes resentful and thus destabilize the state.
AND – last night, a frontloader operator was working on an overpass in Delhi and accidently dropped a huge block of cement over the side. The block landed on two people sleeping there (because of the heat), killing them instantly, and then bounced onto two others, killing them, too. Sometimes, events in this country are so terribly poignant.
22 May 07 -- Shopping
Several major discoveries today. First, I found that, if you wear sunglasses, sellers don’t bother you as much. That’s GREAT to know as the closer you get to the big tourist hotels, the more you get hassled. Now, if I can just avoid breaking my last pair of Dollar Store sunglasses, I’ll have it made.
Second, and bigger, discovery is that I finally got out of the overprice bubble I’ve been in. I’d about given up on getting anything really cool on this trip because things seemed just too high, but I saw a note about some government-sponsored emporiums in the Lonely Planet, so I decided to drip over there. Whew…this heat. In the government stores, I found a real range of prices. For example, in the Maharashtra store, I found the sculptures I like so well, but they were only marginally cheaper than the ones I’d seen previously, and marginally wasn’t cheaper enough. However, I spotted some tacky, painted wood carvings in the window of the Tamil Nadu emporium, and I’ve learned that, where the wood is painted, there are also often unpainted statues (for the Euro-shoppers). I was right! And a lot of the work was to die for!!! And affordable!!! Whew. Spent a while looking at the great work there, but being on the un-air conditioned top floor of the store and needing food, I decided to adjourn to a nearby restaurant that the salesperson recommended.
Best food I’d had in India, and I was SO SORRY David couldn’t be there! He would have loved this place. At first, I thought I was being seated at a service table because there was a large, metal tray (we’re talking two-foot diameter) with six metal ramekins on the upper edge and an assortment of napkins and tableware on the tray. However, I looked at the nearby tables, and people there were eating food off the tray and out of the ramekins. While I was trying to figure out how this worked, the wave of food started. The style here reminded me of Dim Sum. There was one guy who brought around four different dishes, and he put some of those in four of the little ramekins. Another guy brought around more kinds of food, and another guy brought around a fantastic soup and a little soup bowl. There was water and yogurt to drink, and another brought two kinds of bread; another, four kinds of sauces (dabbed on the tray); and another, two more kinds of bread. Then came two kinds of rice. And the taste of this variety of food was simply the best I’d had in India. It tasted fresher -- sharper and more distinctive -- than the other food I’d had. Oh…then dessert, which I just couldn’t manage. I’ll be back there, for sure.
After the food orgy, I could hardly move, so I sweat-waddled my way back to a nap. Then coffee. Then shopping more. I also found that, in the state government emporiums, while some stuff was high, if you looked, you could find some kind of nice things that were more reasonably priced. It was a great, relaxing day.
Second, and bigger, discovery is that I finally got out of the overprice bubble I’ve been in. I’d about given up on getting anything really cool on this trip because things seemed just too high, but I saw a note about some government-sponsored emporiums in the Lonely Planet, so I decided to drip over there. Whew…this heat. In the government stores, I found a real range of prices. For example, in the Maharashtra store, I found the sculptures I like so well, but they were only marginally cheaper than the ones I’d seen previously, and marginally wasn’t cheaper enough. However, I spotted some tacky, painted wood carvings in the window of the Tamil Nadu emporium, and I’ve learned that, where the wood is painted, there are also often unpainted statues (for the Euro-shoppers). I was right! And a lot of the work was to die for!!! And affordable!!! Whew. Spent a while looking at the great work there, but being on the un-air conditioned top floor of the store and needing food, I decided to adjourn to a nearby restaurant that the salesperson recommended.
Best food I’d had in India, and I was SO SORRY David couldn’t be there! He would have loved this place. At first, I thought I was being seated at a service table because there was a large, metal tray (we’re talking two-foot diameter) with six metal ramekins on the upper edge and an assortment of napkins and tableware on the tray. However, I looked at the nearby tables, and people there were eating food off the tray and out of the ramekins. While I was trying to figure out how this worked, the wave of food started. The style here reminded me of Dim Sum. There was one guy who brought around four different dishes, and he put some of those in four of the little ramekins. Another guy brought around more kinds of food, and another guy brought around a fantastic soup and a little soup bowl. There was water and yogurt to drink, and another brought two kinds of bread; another, four kinds of sauces (dabbed on the tray); and another, two more kinds of bread. Then came two kinds of rice. And the taste of this variety of food was simply the best I’d had in India. It tasted fresher -- sharper and more distinctive -- than the other food I’d had. Oh…then dessert, which I just couldn’t manage. I’ll be back there, for sure.
After the food orgy, I could hardly move, so I sweat-waddled my way back to a nap. Then coffee. Then shopping more. I also found that, in the state government emporiums, while some stuff was high, if you looked, you could find some kind of nice things that were more reasonably priced. It was a great, relaxing day.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
21 May 07 -- Delhi, Old and New
Ah….back in the sightseeing saddle. Since I couldn’t get my money back from Paul’s Rentals for the extra day of car rental, I insisted on a car today, and poor Bharat had to take me around yet again. At least he seems over his cold…I don’t think you can keep a cold in this environment because it just gets sweated out of you. He seems happy back in the heat; I just sigh, get out my Dollar Store hankie, wipe my sweat and move on out.
I decided to take advantage of the car to see things that would be too widespread to see on foot (in this heat). For beginners, I wanted to visit the area that’s roughly similar to the mall in Washington, DC, so I had Bharat take me to the India gate and Rajpath. Architect Edwin Lutyens did the main layout for British New Delhi, and he used a series of axes pointed throughout the city, a la Washington, DC, Paris and, to some extent, London. The main administrative axis is the Rajpath. On Raisina Hill at the top of the axis is the President’s home, but it used to be the Viceroy’s home…the seat of British government when it wasn’t this hot (when the temp went up, they decamped to Shimla). As you’d expect, the former Viceroy’s home is big, imposing and colonial with a colonnaded façade and rotunda on the top that faintly suggests the US capital. Here’s where power was. Leading on down the hill and on either side of the mall are more colonnaded buildings with wings that come out toward the center of the Rajpath. These are administration buildings, and they’re made of the same red sandstone as the Red Fort. The Rajpath continues a long distance down – parks and fountains along the way – until it ends at the India Gate, something like a small Arch de Triomphe that’s both a war memorial and focus for ceremonial occasions. The whole Rajpath is very imposing, grand and imperial. Off to the side is a circular building – Parliament! It’s on another axis envisioned by Lutyens, but you can tell by the fact that it’s not even on the Rajpath that, in colonial India, Parliament wasn’t worth much. Looking at this relatively inconspicuous building, I recalled a quote from the Brit who’d proposed the first ‘representative assembly’ in India to the effect that he’d never have suggested the idea if he had thought it would lead to anything resembling a parliament. Ha!
I knew it’d be closed on Monday, but since it was close, I wanted to see the Bahai Temple. It was
as nice as I’d heard. I think it was built in the mid-80s, so it’s very modern architecture, and its form is meant to suggest a lotus opening. As I recall, the Bahai faith sees each religion as a path to the truth, so the Bahai welcome anyone to worship. I associate Bahai with the mid- to late-70s, but that’s probably just my little late hippie experience. As so many places here in Delhi, there’s a great garden around the temple.
Next, we headed through very intense traffic and development to the 13th century Qutb Minar, and as we were going through all the bustle and construction, a sudden realization came to me. There have been many Delhi-s in history – Hindu rulers established their kingdoms here, Afgan invaders built their capitals beside and over these, the Mughals wanted their own Delhi, and the British built their own: New Delhi. Each of these Delhi’s is still extant (Qutb Minar is part of one), so there is Delhi beside Delhi beside Delhi. After visiting the Rajpath, I realized that the British Delhi, New Delhi, is just as dated today as the Qutb Minar and Tughlaqabad Delhi-s; people live in those older parts among the historic structures, but there is a Newer Delhi shooting up that is a massive, unique response to the movement of power and capital in India. This Newer Delhi has wide streets and parks, but it has malls instead of lines of small stores and medical complexes instead of a peppering of doctors’ offices. The Newer Delhi has gigantic mass transit and, for those who can afford it, parking. Newer Delhi has it’s own structure and architecture, and going through it, I was struck by what a genuinely unique historical moment this is in India; what a privilege to get to see this moment as it is taking form and expressing itself in yet another Delhi, replacing the outdated New Delhi with the Newer.
But I was all keen to get back to an earlier Delhi, so I was glad to get to the Qutb Minar complex. This part of Delhi is, I think, the first Moslem settlement of the city, and it marked the end of Hindu rule in Northern India. The Qutb Minar itself is a tall tower that commemorates the
Islamic victory; it was started in the 1193, but various rulers over the next 150 years added to it. Still…..it just boggled my mind to look at the refined, sophisticated construction in the area -- the elegant mosques; the gracious, polished gateways; the refined courtyards and tombs – and to think that 12th century Europe was the crude gargoyles and the somber, blocky churches of the Romanesque. Seeing this site drove home to me the advanced level of Islamic culture at this time in a way nothing I’ve read has done.
As much as I liked the Qutb Minar itself, there were other things in the complex that were just as beautiful. There was a 16th century Lodi tomb (another group of rulers in Delhi), and a very beautiful, ornately-carved 14th century gate. Of all these though, I especially enjoyed the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, build contemporaneously with the Qutb Minar itself. When I walked into the mosque, I was struck by how ornate everything was, but on further inspection, I realized that there was an awful lot of representational imagery in the mosque’s carvings. In fact, there were human figures (forbidden in Islam) and vegetal decoration that you never see in mosques. Back at the information panels, I found out that Qutb-ud-din, the guy behind these 12th century masterpieces, had put the mosque right on the location of several large Hindu temples. Since the building material was there, he just tore down the temples and appropriated the pieces for into the mosque, kinda like the way the Spanish would later put churches where there had been Mayan temples and incorporate the material from the earlier temples. A pretty effective technique – not only does the conqueror get material to build with, but by tearing down structures of the conquered and using the pieces in the new construction, you’re sending a message about your power vis-à-vis the loser’s. And a last note – acknowledging that my Asian art history is somewhat weak, I couldn’t help but
notice that some of the “Hindu” figures looked lots like Buddhist asparas; I had to wonder if all the Hindu temples had been created as Hindu (and Jain) temples or if there had been Buddhist structures in the area whose parts the Hindu rulers had used when they gained dominion, just as the Moslem victors were later to do.
The last thing I wanted to get a glimpse of was the “Ashoka” pillar in the courtyard of the mosque. Ashoka was a great, early (250 BC) emperor in India, still revered for his reign. Buddhist, as I recall. In any case, this 21-foot high pillar is made of iron, and an inscription on it dates it at late 300 AD. It was apparently brought this site when Qutb Minar was a collection of Hindu temples, and when Altamish added a courtyard to the 12th century mosque, he just build the courtyard around the pillar. It’s amazing that this iron column is 2000 years old and hasn’t rusted yet.
An interesting thing about being a single guy wandering around tourist sites is that people often ask to take your photo. At all these places, 99.99% of the tourists are domestic, and I’ve had my picture taken time and again with Indians who are on vacation. I figure that’s only fair since I’m always doing the same thing, and I’ll usually hit the photographers back by asking to take their photos, too. While I was looking at the iron column, a family from Tamil Nadu started talking to
me, and we all ended up taking each other’s photos. The grandmother in the group was kind and beautiful, and I gave her one of my cards.
At this point, I was hungry, so when Bharat mentioned stopping briefly at a mall, I jumped at the occasion. I’m not above fast food if it’s in air conditioning. However, the “mall” was just a super-high end Cottage Industries place with wonderful crafts at outrageous prices. I looked at some bedspreads and statues, tried to keep a straight face at the prices, escaped the carpet salesmen, and fled to the car. Close call! Stopped by Air India to get a reservation for Leh but found THAT too expensive, too. I’d found a cheaper rate on Orbitz at the Internet café. Good to know. And one more craft gallery. By this time, I’d wised up and asked for a cold Coke before looking at the overpriced merch. Again, the stuff I liked was way too expensive, but I at least had a couple of cold drinks. Dang…the price thing is just disappointing, but I’d rather take back nothing than something far overpriced or something reasonably priced but shabby. What a concept -- my bags might be light enough for me to carry when I head back!
Finally got to an air-conditioned restaurant and had lunch! Love this Indian food, and my tummy is clearly getting used to it. Went back to the hotel afterwards, took my usual nap, and then decided to go out for my usual tea time coffee. From there, I went to my Internet café and booked a flight to Leh. YEA!!!! I finally have some closure on that, anyway. Leave at 5:40 am (!) on Friday. Figure I’ll loose 1-3 days to altitude at Leh and then get to do at least a little sightseeing.
I decided to take advantage of the car to see things that would be too widespread to see on foot (in this heat). For beginners, I wanted to visit the area that’s roughly similar to the mall in Washington, DC, so I had Bharat take me to the India gate and Rajpath. Architect Edwin Lutyens did the main layout for British New Delhi, and he used a series of axes pointed throughout the city, a la Washington, DC, Paris and, to some extent, London. The main administrative axis is the Rajpath. On Raisina Hill at the top of the axis is the President’s home, but it used to be the Viceroy’s home…the seat of British government when it wasn’t this hot (when the temp went up, they decamped to Shimla). As you’d expect, the former Viceroy’s home is big, imposing and colonial with a colonnaded façade and rotunda on the top that faintly suggests the US capital. Here’s where power was. Leading on down the hill and on either side of the mall are more colonnaded buildings with wings that come out toward the center of the Rajpath. These are administration buildings, and they’re made of the same red sandstone as the Red Fort. The Rajpath continues a long distance down – parks and fountains along the way – until it ends at the India Gate, something like a small Arch de Triomphe that’s both a war memorial and focus for ceremonial occasions. The whole Rajpath is very imposing, grand and imperial. Off to the side is a circular building – Parliament! It’s on another axis envisioned by Lutyens, but you can tell by the fact that it’s not even on the Rajpath that, in colonial India, Parliament wasn’t worth much. Looking at this relatively inconspicuous building, I recalled a quote from the Brit who’d proposed the first ‘representative assembly’ in India to the effect that he’d never have suggested the idea if he had thought it would lead to anything resembling a parliament. Ha!
I knew it’d be closed on Monday, but since it was close, I wanted to see the Bahai Temple. It was
as nice as I’d heard. I think it was built in the mid-80s, so it’s very modern architecture, and its form is meant to suggest a lotus opening. As I recall, the Bahai faith sees each religion as a path to the truth, so the Bahai welcome anyone to worship. I associate Bahai with the mid- to late-70s, but that’s probably just my little late hippie experience. As so many places here in Delhi, there’s a great garden around the temple.Next, we headed through very intense traffic and development to the 13th century Qutb Minar, and as we were going through all the bustle and construction, a sudden realization came to me. There have been many Delhi-s in history – Hindu rulers established their kingdoms here, Afgan invaders built their capitals beside and over these, the Mughals wanted their own Delhi, and the British built their own: New Delhi. Each of these Delhi’s is still extant (Qutb Minar is part of one), so there is Delhi beside Delhi beside Delhi. After visiting the Rajpath, I realized that the British Delhi, New Delhi, is just as dated today as the Qutb Minar and Tughlaqabad Delhi-s; people live in those older parts among the historic structures, but there is a Newer Delhi shooting up that is a massive, unique response to the movement of power and capital in India. This Newer Delhi has wide streets and parks, but it has malls instead of lines of small stores and medical complexes instead of a peppering of doctors’ offices. The Newer Delhi has gigantic mass transit and, for those who can afford it, parking. Newer Delhi has it’s own structure and architecture, and going through it, I was struck by what a genuinely unique historical moment this is in India; what a privilege to get to see this moment as it is taking form and expressing itself in yet another Delhi, replacing the outdated New Delhi with the Newer.
But I was all keen to get back to an earlier Delhi, so I was glad to get to the Qutb Minar complex. This part of Delhi is, I think, the first Moslem settlement of the city, and it marked the end of Hindu rule in Northern India. The Qutb Minar itself is a tall tower that commemorates the
Islamic victory; it was started in the 1193, but various rulers over the next 150 years added to it. Still…..it just boggled my mind to look at the refined, sophisticated construction in the area -- the elegant mosques; the gracious, polished gateways; the refined courtyards and tombs – and to think that 12th century Europe was the crude gargoyles and the somber, blocky churches of the Romanesque. Seeing this site drove home to me the advanced level of Islamic culture at this time in a way nothing I’ve read has done.As much as I liked the Qutb Minar itself, there were other things in the complex that were just as beautiful. There was a 16th century Lodi tomb (another group of rulers in Delhi), and a very beautiful, ornately-carved 14th century gate. Of all these though, I especially enjoyed the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, build contemporaneously with the Qutb Minar itself. When I walked into the mosque, I was struck by how ornate everything was, but on further inspection, I realized that there was an awful lot of representational imagery in the mosque’s carvings. In fact, there were human figures (forbidden in Islam) and vegetal decoration that you never see in mosques. Back at the information panels, I found out that Qutb-ud-din, the guy behind these 12th century masterpieces, had put the mosque right on the location of several large Hindu temples. Since the building material was there, he just tore down the temples and appropriated the pieces for into the mosque, kinda like the way the Spanish would later put churches where there had been Mayan temples and incorporate the material from the earlier temples. A pretty effective technique – not only does the conqueror get material to build with, but by tearing down structures of the conquered and using the pieces in the new construction, you’re sending a message about your power vis-à-vis the loser’s. And a last note – acknowledging that my Asian art history is somewhat weak, I couldn’t help but
notice that some of the “Hindu” figures looked lots like Buddhist asparas; I had to wonder if all the Hindu temples had been created as Hindu (and Jain) temples or if there had been Buddhist structures in the area whose parts the Hindu rulers had used when they gained dominion, just as the Moslem victors were later to do.The last thing I wanted to get a glimpse of was the “Ashoka” pillar in the courtyard of the mosque. Ashoka was a great, early (250 BC) emperor in India, still revered for his reign. Buddhist, as I recall. In any case, this 21-foot high pillar is made of iron, and an inscription on it dates it at late 300 AD. It was apparently brought this site when Qutb Minar was a collection of Hindu temples, and when Altamish added a courtyard to the 12th century mosque, he just build the courtyard around the pillar. It’s amazing that this iron column is 2000 years old and hasn’t rusted yet.
An interesting thing about being a single guy wandering around tourist sites is that people often ask to take your photo. At all these places, 99.99% of the tourists are domestic, and I’ve had my picture taken time and again with Indians who are on vacation. I figure that’s only fair since I’m always doing the same thing, and I’ll usually hit the photographers back by asking to take their photos, too. While I was looking at the iron column, a family from Tamil Nadu started talking to
me, and we all ended up taking each other’s photos. The grandmother in the group was kind and beautiful, and I gave her one of my cards.At this point, I was hungry, so when Bharat mentioned stopping briefly at a mall, I jumped at the occasion. I’m not above fast food if it’s in air conditioning. However, the “mall” was just a super-high end Cottage Industries place with wonderful crafts at outrageous prices. I looked at some bedspreads and statues, tried to keep a straight face at the prices, escaped the carpet salesmen, and fled to the car. Close call! Stopped by Air India to get a reservation for Leh but found THAT too expensive, too. I’d found a cheaper rate on Orbitz at the Internet café. Good to know. And one more craft gallery. By this time, I’d wised up and asked for a cold Coke before looking at the overpriced merch. Again, the stuff I liked was way too expensive, but I at least had a couple of cold drinks. Dang…the price thing is just disappointing, but I’d rather take back nothing than something far overpriced or something reasonably priced but shabby. What a concept -- my bags might be light enough for me to carry when I head back!
Finally got to an air-conditioned restaurant and had lunch! Love this Indian food, and my tummy is clearly getting used to it. Went back to the hotel afterwards, took my usual nap, and then decided to go out for my usual tea time coffee. From there, I went to my Internet café and booked a flight to Leh. YEA!!!! I finally have some closure on that, anyway. Leave at 5:40 am (!) on Friday. Figure I’ll loose 1-3 days to altitude at Leh and then get to do at least a little sightseeing.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
20 May 07 -- Delhi Redoux
Yuk! I forgot how bad the coffee is here!Woke up this morning to the discovery that my room is separated from the one beside mine by a simple, thin door, and I can hear the old guy in there shuffling around. He’s fond of Indian music, and he has his TV tuned to some traditional music channel that has typical, singsong Indian music playing 24/7. As if that’s not enough, he sings along, in a very passable falsetto, with the super-high-pitched voice of the singer, sometimes even doing counterpoint and sometimes just hitting the high note accents with the singer. He has a pretty good voice, but I think I’m going to have to change rooms.
Otherwise, this was a pretty relaxing day. I just ambled around and went into shops when I got hot or thirsty. Looked at movie times and offerings, stopped into a couple of cafes, found a few bookstores I want to try to get into when they’re open. Low key, relaxing day which I think I needed after the last week.
19 May 07 -- Drowned Rat Redoux
Work up this morning to an experience I haven’t had in a long time. Slept great last night…best night’s sleep in India, I think, because of really thick drapes, very little traffic outside my window, and wonderful air conditioning. Awake, I headed to the phone to order my usual omelet-and-toast breakfast, and as I approached the drapes, I could tell that that part of the room was warm compared to the rest. It’s always raging hot outside when the window area of your room is 15 degrees warmer than the rest. Sigh….
Nonetheless, it was 8 am, and I was going to see a few last things in Chandigarh before I left. Bharat was ready to go, so we first stopped by the Rose Garden. I think I could live in this city. There are big roads, a huge number of parks, an almost gentile (for India) traffic circulation, and
trees throughout. The whole city, perhaps because it is planned, seems organized, clean and pleasant.
While anyone will tell you I’m no special fan of roses, the Rose Garden was fabulous. It’s a wide-open park, almost as big as Piedmont, with rose beds scattered throughout. As I walked in, and the whole time I was there, I was walking through the aroma of rose blooms. There were also groves of willows and other trees whose names I don’t know, and there was a tree with bright yellow blooms planted throughout. I also saw a really odd bird – huge, orange beak and kinda squat body that was lemony green/yellow on the lower half and lime green on the top. It was defending its nest in a tree cavity from the ubiquitous magpies, so I got a great look at it. I’ll have to check it out. And there were also quite a few people out already enjoying the aroma and
the freshness in the air. Of course, I was sweating profusely, but I had wonderful 40-minute walk there.
We next went to Le Corbusier’s well-known government buildings. Chandigarh is a special zone that isn’t part of any state (like Washington, DC), but the governments of both Punjab and Harayana are located here. The Ministry of Justice has three large, colored, vertical panels that support part of the building, and it’s still a striking structure these many years out. We accidently parked next to a guard station (you couldn’t tell…it was a mud brick house with a few trees in front of it), and an officer in a sweaty tank top came over to say hello. His blue-grey eyes are characteristic of Himanchal Pradesh, where I’d just left, and as he watched sweat drip off my nose, he told me I should go to Shimla. Ha! Behind him in the front yard, a couple of very handsome and hunky soldiers were taking their morning bath. There is a little tension in Punjab today because some Sikh religious leader who had been setting up religious communities was just mildly denounced by the mainstream Sikh religious leaders for modeling himself as the 11th Sikh guru (“mildly” being that they called for dismantling the communes and tossing the guy in jail for five years). Sikh fundamentalist thought the denunciation too mild, and there were riots throughout Punjab and attacks on the communes while I was visiting the Stone Garden
yesterday. Pictures in the morning paper showed angry crowds of Sikh men brandishing swords and calling for the head of the guru. While the government was assuring the world that Punjab was open for business, most banks and stores were closed, and there is a ban on assemblies of more than five people. That’s why the military guy came out to see what I was doing.
Chandigarh was going about its Saturday routine, though. There were walkers in the Bougainvillea Garden (the size of the Rose Garden), and the same in the main park (many times bigger than the Rose Garden and filled with brushy, acacia-like shrubs). Le Corbusier also built a lake in Chandigarh, and there were people milling about there, too, discussing what was happening outside their Chandigarh bubble (in my fantasy of their conversation). Chandigarh really is a lovely, calm, easy city…if you have a car.
And I have a car, but we had to leave the bubble and re-enter unzoned India, with its dust, its chaotic commerce, and its loud, unruly traffic – the road to Delhi.
The trip up wasn’t too bad, even though it was so hot the AC on the Ambassador couldn’t quite keep up. Took a nap, wrote my blog, stopped for a cold Coke (I’m supporting you, David!) and fixed a flat tire at 2 in the afternoon in the heat of the day. What luck…30 minutes from the hotel! It was interesting to watch oblivious Bharat methodically take out the jack and crowbar and jack up the car as lanes of rickshaws, busses, trucks and passenger cars hurtled by honking (just honking, not necessarily at him). Then he inspected the tire in the middle of the road as traffic diverged around him. I sat on the curb sweating in the shade, partly from the heat and partly from anxiety. What do you do if someone gets hit by a car in India?
The rest of the day was business. Tried unsuccessfully to book a ticket to Leh. The travel agency was just booking the ticket on the airline site, so I tried to get the site to accept my credit card. I don’t think Visa liked my cc info and the Delhi phone numbers, and the site wouldn’t let me use American phone numbers. No go. Went to Thomas Cook to change some money to pay Bharat, and joked with the guys there about the rate, which has dropped since Dharamsala. I told the guys to stop working so hard (it was a Saturday) because the rupee was too strong; they told me to blame Bush for my weak dollar.
So it was soon dinner at the York and good, long night’s sleep.
Nonetheless, it was 8 am, and I was going to see a few last things in Chandigarh before I left. Bharat was ready to go, so we first stopped by the Rose Garden. I think I could live in this city. There are big roads, a huge number of parks, an almost gentile (for India) traffic circulation, and
trees throughout. The whole city, perhaps because it is planned, seems organized, clean and pleasant.While anyone will tell you I’m no special fan of roses, the Rose Garden was fabulous. It’s a wide-open park, almost as big as Piedmont, with rose beds scattered throughout. As I walked in, and the whole time I was there, I was walking through the aroma of rose blooms. There were also groves of willows and other trees whose names I don’t know, and there was a tree with bright yellow blooms planted throughout. I also saw a really odd bird – huge, orange beak and kinda squat body that was lemony green/yellow on the lower half and lime green on the top. It was defending its nest in a tree cavity from the ubiquitous magpies, so I got a great look at it. I’ll have to check it out. And there were also quite a few people out already enjoying the aroma and
the freshness in the air. Of course, I was sweating profusely, but I had wonderful 40-minute walk there.We next went to Le Corbusier’s well-known government buildings. Chandigarh is a special zone that isn’t part of any state (like Washington, DC), but the governments of both Punjab and Harayana are located here. The Ministry of Justice has three large, colored, vertical panels that support part of the building, and it’s still a striking structure these many years out. We accidently parked next to a guard station (you couldn’t tell…it was a mud brick house with a few trees in front of it), and an officer in a sweaty tank top came over to say hello. His blue-grey eyes are characteristic of Himanchal Pradesh, where I’d just left, and as he watched sweat drip off my nose, he told me I should go to Shimla. Ha! Behind him in the front yard, a couple of very handsome and hunky soldiers were taking their morning bath. There is a little tension in Punjab today because some Sikh religious leader who had been setting up religious communities was just mildly denounced by the mainstream Sikh religious leaders for modeling himself as the 11th Sikh guru (“mildly” being that they called for dismantling the communes and tossing the guy in jail for five years). Sikh fundamentalist thought the denunciation too mild, and there were riots throughout Punjab and attacks on the communes while I was visiting the Stone Garden
yesterday. Pictures in the morning paper showed angry crowds of Sikh men brandishing swords and calling for the head of the guru. While the government was assuring the world that Punjab was open for business, most banks and stores were closed, and there is a ban on assemblies of more than five people. That’s why the military guy came out to see what I was doing.Chandigarh was going about its Saturday routine, though. There were walkers in the Bougainvillea Garden (the size of the Rose Garden), and the same in the main park (many times bigger than the Rose Garden and filled with brushy, acacia-like shrubs). Le Corbusier also built a lake in Chandigarh, and there were people milling about there, too, discussing what was happening outside their Chandigarh bubble (in my fantasy of their conversation). Chandigarh really is a lovely, calm, easy city…if you have a car.
And I have a car, but we had to leave the bubble and re-enter unzoned India, with its dust, its chaotic commerce, and its loud, unruly traffic – the road to Delhi.
The trip up wasn’t too bad, even though it was so hot the AC on the Ambassador couldn’t quite keep up. Took a nap, wrote my blog, stopped for a cold Coke (I’m supporting you, David!) and fixed a flat tire at 2 in the afternoon in the heat of the day. What luck…30 minutes from the hotel! It was interesting to watch oblivious Bharat methodically take out the jack and crowbar and jack up the car as lanes of rickshaws, busses, trucks and passenger cars hurtled by honking (just honking, not necessarily at him). Then he inspected the tire in the middle of the road as traffic diverged around him. I sat on the curb sweating in the shade, partly from the heat and partly from anxiety. What do you do if someone gets hit by a car in India?
The rest of the day was business. Tried unsuccessfully to book a ticket to Leh. The travel agency was just booking the ticket on the airline site, so I tried to get the site to accept my credit card. I don’t think Visa liked my cc info and the Delhi phone numbers, and the site wouldn’t let me use American phone numbers. No go. Went to Thomas Cook to change some money to pay Bharat, and joked with the guys there about the rate, which has dropped since Dharamsala. I told the guys to stop working so hard (it was a Saturday) because the rupee was too strong; they told me to blame Bush for my weak dollar.
So it was soon dinner at the York and good, long night’s sleep.
18 May 07 -- Return to the Cauldron
Nice morning to get up in Shimla and take a farewell view of the Himalaya before I head back down into the plains and heat. Oh, those monkeys. Heard a loud noise at the window this morning and turned around to see a small monkey looking over the window sill; had I not been here, it would have been rummaging around the room, sans doute. Chased it away and watched a couple of flocks of parrots screech by before getting down to the car.
Just how high was I here? We drove down and down and down. Half the day. The usual parade through different vegetation zones, this time even past eucalyptus and to the flat, Deccan plain. Good bye, Himalaya; hello, hot. Have to say I was more than a little sad to leave the mountains. It was so nice up there…cool and just left alone to wander around.
There is good news on the way to Chandigarh, though – I stop by a restored Mugal garden, Yadavindra Garden. 17th century.
Yadavindra is yet another gem tucked away in the most unlikely place. Outside is some loud, tacky, carnival-like stuff, but you pay the 25-cent entry, and you’re back in an over-the-top
time. I can see the link between the garden where Humayun’s Tomb is and this one. Both are symmetrical and rectangular, and both have a building as the focus. Here, you walk into the garden and come to a long, flowing pool that drops a level and leads to a large, delicate, gazebo-like structure where some people are sleeping out of the heat. There are tall palms on either side of the walks that flank the pool, and behind them groves of fruit trees (mango and something I don’t know). When you come to the covered platform, a delight awaits you as you see five more layers of pools, structures and groves below you. You can’t beat a Mugal garden.
I stayed in the garden for nearly two hours, walking in the various fruit groves and hibiscus plantations and resting at different little gazebos set throughout. Everything was tightly symmetrical, but the garden didn’t have the rigid feel of a French garden, perhaps because of the plants. For example, while I was walking the along the central pool on one level, I noticed two trees symmetrically placed on opposite sides of this axial pool. They were equally distant from the axis and in the middle of groves of other trees. They were the size and shape of live oaks – far taller than the surrounding fruit trees – and were covered in crimson blooms the size of a softball; each had a lounging platform around and under it. A French garden would not have used such large, rambling trees; French gardens feel more clipped and linear, while this one, symmetrical though it may be, is shaggy and symmetrical. It was delightful sitting in the heat
under the large, scarlet canopy of these trees, and I spent time with both of them.
I wonder about the planning and history of this garden. One source says the garden is 300 years old, and the other says it dates back to the days of the Mahabarata epic, when Pinjore (then called Panchpurra) was discovered by the Pandavas, the good gods in that ancient work, during their 12 years in exile. Even when restored to their empire, they would come back here….until they finally vanished into the Himalayas. I like the 1000 BC version of the history of the garden, but there’s more documentation for Mugal architect Fidai Khan’s hand in the design and execution.
Whichever, my point is still this: what kind of vision does it take to plan and create a garden that uses such slow-growing things as mangoes and live oaks? There are ample hibiscus in the garden, so do you plan the long-term garden and overlay that with the more immediate view? Do you use a lot of shrubs and bushes until the larger plantings are established? What a wonder it is to see such a fantastic design in its maturity; how fortunate I was to be able to wander in an environment Khan would never see fully realized.
We were only ten miles out of Chandigarh, so I eventually relented and got back to the Ambassador to head on. Thinking of grandiose, long-term planning, I was looking forward to seeing Le Corbusier’s fifty-year-old planned city.
India seems to excel at experiments with planned cities, and there are lots of ruins to testify to the fact that such planning doesn’t always work; at least two emperors tried unsuccessfully to create cities. Le Corbusier’s city, though, seems to be working so far.
This is one of the BIG IDEAS that the 50s had for the developing world – create a perfect area (in this case, a city) with wide avenues, lots of trees and gardens, logical zoning of housing and work. I’ve seen these in places before – Nairobi, Dakar, Addis Ababa, Lusaka – and they end up as dirty, dusty places with sewage running down the middle of the street and poor people living in the parks, traffic circles and road medians…, usually after they’ve cut down the trees Chandigarh hasn’t gone that way at all. The city is lovely. There are wide, four-lane streets with tree-lined medians, and the sidewalks and bike paths are respected and used, the bike paths by rickshaws. The city is impeccably clean, and people actually obey the traffic signals and even, to some extent, stay in their lanes. And very few drivers use their horns. It’s green, clean, organized, logical and comfortable. Aside from the fact that the city really demands you use a car (or maybe bus), I don’t see any downside to it at all. I’d later notice that Indians like it so much that they’re replicating the zoning and other planning features elsewhere in the country.
Chandigarh is so comfortable and spacious that I had no trouble finding a hotel. Because the city is a government center, there are lots of them, and they aren’t too expensive (for me, anyway). Found a nice one and checked in. Also, had the distinct impression that Bharat was planning to sleep in the car, which made me wonder if he’s been doing that all along. It’s so very common to find public places to bathe, that I now wonder if he’s been sleeping in the car all along to save money. The heat in the parking lot in Chandagarh was just stifling, and can’t imagine not being
able to get to some AC.
Well, I’m paying a lot of the car, and that’s supposed to provide a hotel allowance for him (I was assured that), so it’s Bharat’s choice. Me, I took a nap. In AC. Bharat was at the car and ready to go at the appointed time, and we went to the Rock Garden. Honestly, I wasn’t at all enthused about going. It sounded like a space created by and Indian engineer who liked miniature trains or something like that. However, all that I read said it was a must-see, so I got my sweat hankie and allowed myself to be taken there.
I am so glad I went! What a fantastic place this is! When I first entered, there was a wall made of hundreds of electrical insulators that then broke before the wall continued as stacks of spherical clay pots. Wow, I thought, his is like Finster, only with a lot more awareness of texture and form! Pretty soon I was going through entire environments, some as high as three or four stories, with waterfalls, pavilions, bridges and resting nooks. Throughout there were echoes of Mughal gardens, Thai architecture, and, most strikingly, contemporary art. As I proceeded through the garden, the spaces just got bigger, more spectacular, more wonderful and more engaging. I was simply in awe at being in such a fine, art environment. And a garden, again. I spent three wonderful hours here and would go back at the
first occasion I could. I definitely want to learn more about the artist, Nek Chand.
However, if I ever get to go back, I want it to be in the winter. The heat really took it out of me, and when I got to the hotel, I took a cold shower and went to bed without eating because I was so tired.
Just how high was I here? We drove down and down and down. Half the day. The usual parade through different vegetation zones, this time even past eucalyptus and to the flat, Deccan plain. Good bye, Himalaya; hello, hot. Have to say I was more than a little sad to leave the mountains. It was so nice up there…cool and just left alone to wander around.
There is good news on the way to Chandigarh, though – I stop by a restored Mugal garden, Yadavindra Garden. 17th century.
Yadavindra is yet another gem tucked away in the most unlikely place. Outside is some loud, tacky, carnival-like stuff, but you pay the 25-cent entry, and you’re back in an over-the-top
time. I can see the link between the garden where Humayun’s Tomb is and this one. Both are symmetrical and rectangular, and both have a building as the focus. Here, you walk into the garden and come to a long, flowing pool that drops a level and leads to a large, delicate, gazebo-like structure where some people are sleeping out of the heat. There are tall palms on either side of the walks that flank the pool, and behind them groves of fruit trees (mango and something I don’t know). When you come to the covered platform, a delight awaits you as you see five more layers of pools, structures and groves below you. You can’t beat a Mugal garden.I stayed in the garden for nearly two hours, walking in the various fruit groves and hibiscus plantations and resting at different little gazebos set throughout. Everything was tightly symmetrical, but the garden didn’t have the rigid feel of a French garden, perhaps because of the plants. For example, while I was walking the along the central pool on one level, I noticed two trees symmetrically placed on opposite sides of this axial pool. They were equally distant from the axis and in the middle of groves of other trees. They were the size and shape of live oaks – far taller than the surrounding fruit trees – and were covered in crimson blooms the size of a softball; each had a lounging platform around and under it. A French garden would not have used such large, rambling trees; French gardens feel more clipped and linear, while this one, symmetrical though it may be, is shaggy and symmetrical. It was delightful sitting in the heat
under the large, scarlet canopy of these trees, and I spent time with both of them.I wonder about the planning and history of this garden. One source says the garden is 300 years old, and the other says it dates back to the days of the Mahabarata epic, when Pinjore (then called Panchpurra) was discovered by the Pandavas, the good gods in that ancient work, during their 12 years in exile. Even when restored to their empire, they would come back here….until they finally vanished into the Himalayas. I like the 1000 BC version of the history of the garden, but there’s more documentation for Mugal architect Fidai Khan’s hand in the design and execution.
Whichever, my point is still this: what kind of vision does it take to plan and create a garden that uses such slow-growing things as mangoes and live oaks? There are ample hibiscus in the garden, so do you plan the long-term garden and overlay that with the more immediate view? Do you use a lot of shrubs and bushes until the larger plantings are established? What a wonder it is to see such a fantastic design in its maturity; how fortunate I was to be able to wander in an environment Khan would never see fully realized.
We were only ten miles out of Chandigarh, so I eventually relented and got back to the Ambassador to head on. Thinking of grandiose, long-term planning, I was looking forward to seeing Le Corbusier’s fifty-year-old planned city.
India seems to excel at experiments with planned cities, and there are lots of ruins to testify to the fact that such planning doesn’t always work; at least two emperors tried unsuccessfully to create cities. Le Corbusier’s city, though, seems to be working so far.
This is one of the BIG IDEAS that the 50s had for the developing world – create a perfect area (in this case, a city) with wide avenues, lots of trees and gardens, logical zoning of housing and work. I’ve seen these in places before – Nairobi, Dakar, Addis Ababa, Lusaka – and they end up as dirty, dusty places with sewage running down the middle of the street and poor people living in the parks, traffic circles and road medians…, usually after they’ve cut down the trees Chandigarh hasn’t gone that way at all. The city is lovely. There are wide, four-lane streets with tree-lined medians, and the sidewalks and bike paths are respected and used, the bike paths by rickshaws. The city is impeccably clean, and people actually obey the traffic signals and even, to some extent, stay in their lanes. And very few drivers use their horns. It’s green, clean, organized, logical and comfortable. Aside from the fact that the city really demands you use a car (or maybe bus), I don’t see any downside to it at all. I’d later notice that Indians like it so much that they’re replicating the zoning and other planning features elsewhere in the country.
Chandigarh is so comfortable and spacious that I had no trouble finding a hotel. Because the city is a government center, there are lots of them, and they aren’t too expensive (for me, anyway). Found a nice one and checked in. Also, had the distinct impression that Bharat was planning to sleep in the car, which made me wonder if he’s been doing that all along. It’s so very common to find public places to bathe, that I now wonder if he’s been sleeping in the car all along to save money. The heat in the parking lot in Chandagarh was just stifling, and can’t imagine not being
able to get to some AC.Well, I’m paying a lot of the car, and that’s supposed to provide a hotel allowance for him (I was assured that), so it’s Bharat’s choice. Me, I took a nap. In AC. Bharat was at the car and ready to go at the appointed time, and we went to the Rock Garden. Honestly, I wasn’t at all enthused about going. It sounded like a space created by and Indian engineer who liked miniature trains or something like that. However, all that I read said it was a must-see, so I got my sweat hankie and allowed myself to be taken there.
I am so glad I went! What a fantastic place this is! When I first entered, there was a wall made of hundreds of electrical insulators that then broke before the wall continued as stacks of spherical clay pots. Wow, I thought, his is like Finster, only with a lot more awareness of texture and form! Pretty soon I was going through entire environments, some as high as three or four stories, with waterfalls, pavilions, bridges and resting nooks. Throughout there were echoes of Mughal gardens, Thai architecture, and, most strikingly, contemporary art. As I proceeded through the garden, the spaces just got bigger, more spectacular, more wonderful and more engaging. I was simply in awe at being in such a fine, art environment. And a garden, again. I spent three wonderful hours here and would go back at the
first occasion I could. I definitely want to learn more about the artist, Nek Chand.However, if I ever get to go back, I want it to be in the winter. The heat really took it out of me, and when I got to the hotel, I took a cold shower and went to bed without eating because I was so tired.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)