A short halt in Delhi

While going to Haridwar, I've planned a short halt of 1day at Delhi. Although technically it was not so planned, the real reason behind that our train for Haridwar is going to be departed at midnight & we've reached Delhi in early morning at around 3am. So fortunately we got the whole day to roam around in Delhi. So we kept our baggage at the cloak rooms available at Nizamuddin Railway station & started searching nearby destinations on my phone. So found the nearest one & that was the India gate. We've crossed the over bridge & reached at the backside of Railway station which was full of crowd & beggars. From here we've hired a taxi but we badly stuck in the traffic jam. After 45min we were able to move ahead on the road.

India Gate

The India Gate located on Rajpath, built in 1931 and designed by the architect of New Delhi, Sir Luteyns who also designed the other points of interests nearby such as Parliament, President House and the planned New Delhi. The structure was built as a war memorial for the soldiers from british indian army who had fought in World War 1. It commemorates India's war dead and houses an eternal flame(Amar jawan jyoti). The names of all the soldiers who were martyred are inscribed on the outer walls of the Gate. Recently govt. has constructed a national war memorial spread over large area nearby in memory of all the soldiers from armed forces who martyred in their line of duty. This is a must visit place if you are in Delhi. It's a photogenic historic place.

 

Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's house) is situated at the other end of the Raj path (with all important ministries housed nearby in North Block and South Block, with the parliament house of Sansad Bhawan not too far away). Surrounding the imposing structure is a large expanse of lush green lawns, which is a popular picnic spot. There is also a small pond nearby where one can enjoy boating as well. In the morning many locals come here for jogging as well. At nightfall India Gate is beautifully lit up, including the surrounding fountains. India Gate is also renowned for the grand Indian Republic Day Parade, hosted here every year on 26 January.

 

Rajghat

Then we went to Rajghat which is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. It’s located not far from the river Yamuna and was originally the name of a historic ghat. There was the ‘Raj Ghat Gate’ of the walled city, opening at Raj Ghat on the Yamuna. Eventually, the memorial area was also called Raj Ghat. It was here where Mahatma Gandhi’s last rites were performed on January 31, 1948, a day after his death. A black marble platform marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation, attracting many tourists. His last words, ‘Hey Ram,’ are inscribed on the marble which is always adorned with flowers. 

 

Qutub Minar

After that we board in the metro for the Qutub minar. One interesting thing that happened during my Delhi tour was the funny falls of my co-travelers that occurred two times. First one occurred here after entering into the campus when my mother was clicking pictures of me & in the background all of a sudden a lady fell down on the ground & her fell was captured in my picture but she was not aware about it. LoL!

So after witnessing this funny incident, we started roaming in that huge covered area. The Qutub Minar is a towering 73 meter high tower built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in 1193. The tower was built to celebrate Muslim dominance in Delhi after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu ruler. This tower is the highest tower in India, complete with five storeys and projecting balconies. The first three storeys of the Qutub Minar are made of red sandstone and the last two are made of marble and sandstone. The construction of the Qutub Minar was started by Qitub-ud-Din Aibak, but he only constructed the basement. The construction of the tower was later taken over by his successor Iltutmish who constructed three more stories. The last two storeys were completed Firoz Shah Tuglak. The different architectural styles from the time of Aibak to Tuglak are clearly visible in the Qutub Minar.

 

Apart from the tower, the Qutub Minar complex comprises of the Quwwat-us-Islam Mosque (the first mosque to be built in India), a 7 metre high iron pillar, the tomb of Iltutmish, Ala’i-Darwaza and the Ala’I Minar. The Qutub Minar makes some great photographs, especially when photographed from unique angles. If you remember the popular song of the veteran actress Waheeda Rehman from the movie Guide "Aaj fir jeene ki tamanna hai", a good portion of that song was shot here only in which you can see the actress running on the top of these monuments.

 

 

There were so many foreign tourists visiting the place. It is the apt place to witness global multiculturalism. Here too something very interesting incident happened with me when i was talking with my mom indicating to the big door situated there in one of the historical buildings & i said "it's so big Darwaza", then a foreigner man standing next to me turned to me, smiled & said "Yes, it's a big Darwaza". He amazed me so i asked him that whether he knows Hindi, then he replied that it's a Persian word & since he hails from Afghanistan so he knows Persian language. That moment i was stunned by knowing the fact that easy mixing of other languages into Hindi/Sanskrit/Urdu has made it so common now that many of us don’t know whether the we are using is originated from which language. So guyz! now keep in mind that "Darwaza (دروازه)" is not a Hindi word.

 

Lotus Temple 

In the evening, we reached to the Kalkaji metro station that falls on the Violet Line route of Delhi Metro, which is a short walk away from the Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple is a beautiful structure established and dedicated to the Baha’i faith. The magnificent structure of the building is created in the form of a stunning white petal lotus flower. It also ranks amongst the most visited buildings in the entire world. The shrine, which was completed and ready to open for the public in 1986, was designed and conceptualised by Fariborz Sahba, an Iranian architect. One of the most attractive things about the Lotus Temple, other than its structure, is the fact that this temple propagates the oneness of God, the Almighty. Furthermore, it is open to all kinds of people, regardless of their religion, gender, race or even nationality. Additionally, it is one out of the seven Baha’i House of Worship present in the whole world. Since the temple closing timing is 5PM so unfortunately we could not enter into the temple campus but I've managed to click some pictures of it from across the boundary wall.

  

ISKCON Temple

A beautiful garden is located behind the Lotus temple & a narrow footpath crossing through the garden leads you to the famous ISKCON temple. A famous shrine dedicated to Lord Krishna, ISKCON Temple is known around the world for its exquisite architecture, boasting of classical stonework on the outside and amazing artworks in its interiors. 

 

Here you can spend some time amidst the spiritual ambience of the temple, chant prayers & dance. In the temple many of d foreigners along with other devotees were playing several musical instruments & doing Keertan. Here you can purchase the holy books of Hinduism like Bhagwad Geeta & others. On exit, u may have enjoy the mouth watering prasadam of Rabri. 

 

As I've mentioned earlier about the funny falls occurring during my Delhi trip, the 2nd one was happened in the garden when we were going to the ISKCON temple, when one of the fellow traveler walking ahead suddenly slipped & fell down in the muddy area. Seriously it was the hilarious fall. 

Red Fort

Then we took a city bus to reach at our last destination that was the Red fort. Here we were surprised when the bus conductor didn't charge any amount for our tickets, later we got to know that in Delhi city bus ride is free of cost for all the ladies, that's a good thing. So coming back to our next destination, the Red fort is the most iconic monument of Delhi located at Chandni chawk area in old Delhi. ‘At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom…’ This historic speech marked India’s independence from British rule and simultaneously made the Red Fort in Delhi a politically significant monument, which now acts as the setting for the independence day celebrations each year. However, the Red Fort has been a strategically important monument through the ages, due to Delhi being the capital city for a good part of the Mughal rule in India. Mughal emperor Shahjahan laid the foundations of this palace. This massive walled citadel with red sandstone walls took nearly a decade to complete. This fort was the seat of the Mughal empire for around 200 years, until it fell into British hands. The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was coronated here in 1837, during which time it is said that his powers did not extend beyond the boundaries of this palace. 

Chandni Chowk

If you want to see delhi in its true sense, you must visit Chandni Chowk. Though the area is under renovation to give better experience to the visitor these days, but still you can visit many places. You can visit Red fort to see glory of India. If you want to do shopping for marriage, this could be your first landing place. you can find many varieties for both bride and groom. During shopping, you can enjoy variety of Paranthe in Paranthe wali gali and can enjoy Jalebi and Rabri from many shop keepers. There are places like Khari Baoli famous for dry fruits, Nayee Sadak for Books where you can do shopping.You can visit Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara which will give a divine peace. in short, you should add this place in your itinerary. 

Museums & Crematoriums 

Other than this, there are 25-30 museums in Delhi which you can visit if you want to know more details about India's political & social history. During my 1st visit to Delhi, I've visited many of them. Along with this, there are several Crematoriums & Samadhi sthals of some prominent politicians of India which include Jawaharlal Nehru(1st PM): Shanti Van (Garden of Peace) Lal Bahadur Shastri (2nd PM): Vijay Ghat (Victory Platform), Chaudhary Charan Singh (5th PM): Kisan Ghat(Farmer’s Platform), Rajiv Gandhi(6th PM): Veer Bhumi (Land of Brave),  Indira Gandhi(1st lady PM): Shakti Sthal(Place of Power) & Atal Bihari Vajpayee(10th PM): Sadaiv Atal. I've seen all of them during my first visit to Delhi except the last one as it's the most recent one after demise of Shri Vajpayee ji.

City of Mirza Ghalib

In the words of the famous Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib “I asked my soul what is Delhi? She replied the world is the body and Delhi its life”. That is exactly what Delhi is. This stature that the city has attained it attributed to quite a few things ranging from age-old monuments to some of the best shopping arcades. From typically Indian cuisine foods to some of the best continental food in the country; from being the party hub to having still retained its roots and culture; the place has it all.