It was a long wish from my childhood to glimpse the beauty of India’s capital city Delhi. Surprisingly I got a golden chance visit Delhi in July, this year. Even though it was not the ideal time to visit Delhi, our journey had been planned and all of us eagerly awaited the date of departure. As a group, we had managed to get reasonably cheap tickets on Air India for the onward trip to Delhi from Trivandrum. All of us, including my naughty little son, reached the airport, early morning. Our flight took off on time. Our journey started smoothly and we took a nap after the south Indian breakfast served by the crew. On landing it become a little turbulent and the plane circled Delhi about half an hour for landing clearance so we got a nice aerial view of the wide-spread city. After an almost 5 hour flight we landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the busiest in India in terms of the number of flights operated daily. The T3 terminal canyon wall is fully designed with many mind capturing sculptures . The nine mudras and twelve asanas of the Surya Namaskar were remarkable. Another thing worth mentioning is the travelators which made our walk easy over the vast terminal building.
Our accommodation had been arranged at the Kerala House on Jantar Mantar road. It’s a posh locality where we can see many VIP houses.After having a hot cup of coffe and traditional Kerala breakfast we took short nap to freshen up.The weather was normal, not too hot or cold but bit misty. As the monsoon was delayed this year it was raining in between, but it did not affect our enthusiasm to explore Delhi any bit.
Aftenoon we started our delhi tour .New delhi was built preserving its ancient beauty with wide, tree-lined avenues. Our first tour spot was Qutub Minar. I've read about Qutb, Minar right from my school days and did not imagine that there is anything more than just a tall pillar. But i was pleasantly surprised to discover it to be much more, with a complex of ruins of Mughul architecture. The Minar is situated in South Delhi, standing 72.5 meters tall. Qutub-ud-Din Aibak laid the foundation of Qutub Minar to symbolize his victory and the other stories were built by his successors.
After that we left for Humayun Tomb.Till our tour guide explains about it we were not aware of this beautiful Tomb in Delhi.Those who are coming to see Taj Mahal in Agra not realising that its beautiful precursor also known as "The First Taj Mahal" is in Delhi. Like Taj this is also erected by a devoted wife Hamida Beegam for her husband. The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The tomb is surrendoded by a beautiful garden and water flowing foutains. We couldn’t imagin how are they retaining such a lovely green garden in the heart of Delhi.There ends our first day sight seeing in Delhi and we have retured back to the guest house. I prepared myself for the next day tour of Agra and Mathura which is the main spot of attraction.
Second day early morning I started my trip to Agra. Agra was approx 5 hours away from Delhi. Our trip was through the Yamuna expressway which is India’s largest expressway with 6 lanes. After the inauguration of this road Taj Mahal has come closer to the national Capital. The Buddh International Circuit, the venue of the Formula One Indian Grand prix is spread over acres of land on the right side of high way. From the expressway we took a deviation towards Mathura temple which made our ride a bit bumpy as the roads were muddy slush. But it couldn’t diminish our enthusiasm to see the holy place. Both the sides of roads still remind the Old Yadava style of living with paddy huts, cows and peacocks. The transformation from an ultra modern city to the village living style was very evident which surprised us a lot. The myth that centuries back Lord Krishna lived in a place where we are passing across showers our minds with a positive energy. The colours of amazing childhood stories built by the Yadava boy were dancing on the wall of nature. The road towards the temple was pathetic, dirty water stagnated everywhere and it was impossible to walk to the temple. The temple has a very high security. No camera or mobile was allowed inside. This temple has a prison cell .The prison cell, popularly known as ‘Garbha Griha’, is the exact place where lord Krishna was born. The narrow way followed the idols of Radha Krishna .The Murtis were really looking very beautiful. Now the Jail is renamed as Shri Krishna Janmbhoomi temple which also has a mosque adjacent to it. Our guide was telling us to hurry for our next destination Agra Fort. Agra fort is situated on the right bank of river Yamuna where the Mughal style of art and architecture is truly showcased. This is one of biggest fort which I have seen till now and a well maintained monument. The fort was spread over acres with huge buildings. One of the main attractions of this was the two large twin buildings built by Shajahan for his two daughters which have a great vine yard in front of it. The guide showed us the empty place for the Diwan-i-aam -seat of the famed Peacock throne. Taj Mahal is located just 3Km away from Agra fort. Shahjahan spent the last year of his life here as a prisoner of his own son. During the last days the king become unable to view his creation so it’s said that through the reflection of a large diamond block he was gazing at his noblest formation.
Finally around 3 in the evening we reached Taj. Due to the pollution control our bus was stopped approximately a kilometre from the main gate and we had to choose either rickshaws or battery buses running to and fro. Also we were not allowed to use footwear. Shoe covers were available to buy outside the entrance. The view of one the 7 wonders in the world just took my breath away, no other experience is really like this. Truly Magical!!!!!!!!!!
I have never felt so mesmerized in my life. As an Indian we should once watch this monument which will be an everlasting treasure which we can keep us till our end. Each corner of the memorial is projecting the love story written in white marbles. Unfortunately we were prohibited from entering in to the tomb due to security restrictions. After taking some memorable pictures we left the white beauty around 5.30pm. The day was loaded with the lots of cherishing moments from the beautiful monument. It was getting darker; we rushed off to catch our bus back to Delhi.
One thing which has seen in the city is the rickshaw-wallahs who are some of the physically strongest people I have ever noticed. They are all capable of pulling 2 considerable sized humans, sometimes even 3 of them single-handedly! But somehow I felt sad of seeing human carrying the human.
On returning to Delhi, I went out for dinner with one of our family friends at Fujiyama, the authentic Chinese restaurant. The dishes were really different from many of the Chinese restaurant which I have tried in Bangalore or Mumbai. After a stomach full of dinner we hurried to the room as we had to get ready for the Delhi city tour next morning.
Yet another day arrived with full bunch of energy to explore the ancient and modern faces of the capitol city. The first destination of day 3 was Lotus temple. The temple was very famous for it architecture from our school days itself. The day was very sunny and after crossing the road from the other side of our parking space we came near the divine temple. The temple was constructed in the shape of Lotus to articulate the purity and calmness of the flower. The prayer hall was without any idol as people irrespective of their religion can come and pray peacefully. Lotus temple is made of white marble. Temple is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens. But the lawns are prohibited for visitors. It is a really wonderful sight to the eyes. From there we moved to the Birla Temple or Laxmi Narayan Temple. The temple structure and architecture will definitely leave an impression on you. The last list of temple in our bucket was the Akshardham Temple. The distant beauty of the temple is noted far away from the main road itself. The temple is full of pillars. Except for the majestic architecture there is not much to see and photography is also not allowed inside.
It was around 1.30 when we left the temple and our guide had arranged a traditional Delhi lunch in a hotel. A sumptuous lunch made us more energetic for the next spot. On our way we stopped for a distant view of the Parliament House, President's House and India Gate. My wish to have a walk over the Raj path couldn’t realize as the entry to the India gate was closed after the Delhi incident. From distance we paid our homage to the heroes who sacrificed their life for our upcoming generations. The green lawn around India gate is a prominent evening spot for most of the Delhi people where they cook, eat and have fun with their friends and families
Next we have the 4 major resting places of the legends who lead us from our independence. The first of course Raj Ghat on the bank of Yamuna the final resting place of our father of nation. Close to that itself Shanti Van, place where India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was cremated is situated. Then we proceeded to Shakti Sthal. The most powerful and only lady prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi’s resting place. I have been inspired by her strong determination during my college days. So it was a pleasant feeling visiting her memorial. Unlike the other 2 memorial a big rock has been erected in the middle portion of the memory. Walking towards Veerbhumi we can see many different shaped pebbles which Indira Gandhi has collected from various parts of country have been erected in both sides of the park. Rajiv Gandhi was also cremated besides his mother’s site.
Then we have proceeded to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum. This was the residence of Indira Gandhi which was later converted in to a fascinating Museum. Here we can see a big collection of rare photograph of personal moments of the Nehru-Gandhi family and her childhood. Even the blood-spattered clothes of Indira and her son Rajiv are preserved in the house. .The house is neatly arranged with the personal belonging like her Khadi Saree, Chappal and various gifts. The place where Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her security guard has been preserved near the garden. Then we had a quick visit to the Nehru museum popularly known as Teen Murthy Bhavan. This has a huge collection of Newspaper Clippings and Photographs from the Independence Movement. The residence of Late Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India was converted into a museum after his death
Then we quickly moved to the bus as we have to buy some electronic equipment from Nehru Place a famous commercial area - you can get any kind of electronic item.
On my return I was thanking Shajahan the king of architecture who built such majestic forts and monuments for his descendents. Memories of Delhi would always haunt me and hope again I will get a chance to visit the mesmerizing city
