Gail South
Bird and non-bird pictures are at the end of the narrative
Tuesday, Oct. 27 Delhi to Jaipur and Wed., Oct. 28
Our new driver is wonderful. Very funny and a great talker. Five hours, a good lunch stop, and we checked into a wonderful "Heritage House" hotel, the Shahpura House, originally created for maharajas and with some of the original furnishings and paintings. Met our guide for the city.
The Pink City of Jaipur was founded by Sawai Raja Jai Singh. The magnificent City Palace, Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) with its delicate screen facade, Jantar Mantar (the Royal Observatory and multihued Jaipur Bazaar buzzing with people have all become icons of Jaipur in themselves. The characteristic pink color has now become protected by law and is said to symbolize 'welcome'The Palace was not open to the public and we chose not to go to the museum, but the observatory was great. The Maharajah built it primarily to improve the accuracy of the astrological analysis of birth dates for Hindus.Jaisingh Observatory (Jantar Mantar): Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II ruled the state of Jaipur in Rajasthan from 1699 to 1743. In 1728 he founded the capital city of Jaipur about 200 km southwest of Delhi. The instruments were large masonry structures equipped with protractors and marked grids to aid in the precise measurements of the location of celestial objects.
Dinner on the rooftop of the hotel. Dancing and music were very nice.
Thursday, October 29 Jaipur / Ranthambhore
Breakfast at hotel. Thereafter check-out from the hotel and then drive towards Ranthambor on the way visit
Palace of the Winds and the AMBER FORT. Enjoy Elephant ride at Fort. Continue drive towards Ranthambhor (160 km, 5 hrs). Reach & check-in wildlife resort (Tiger Den Resort). After lunch proceed for jungle safari at Ranthambhor national park. Overnight stay will be at Ranthambhor. Palace of Winds "Hawa Mahal": Jaipur's signature building, the Hawa Mahal, a multi layered palace, was built by Sawai Pratap Singh (grand son of Sawai Jai Singh and son of Sawai Madhoo Singh) in 1799 AD and Mr. Lal Chand Usta was the architect. Famous for it's beehive like structure, the Hawa Mahal is interplay of red and pink sand stone, carefully and painstakingly outlined with white borders and motifs. Named because of the sharp breeze that flows through the stairs of this five-story relic, it's lined with 953 screened windows so that the women of the royal court could watch processions without being seen by commoners.
Amber Fort: The Amber Fort in Rajasthan built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh, is one of the finest examples of Rajput architecture. Perched high on a barren ridge, it commands extensive views over a deep narrow valley and the wider plains beyond. The building was finally completed in the early 18th century when the threat of Mughal domination was receding. From the 16th century up to the foundation of Jaipur in 1727 the Rajputes, both for defense purpose and as residence, used the Amber Fort. Thus behind the mighty walls you'll find charming gardens and magnificent palaces from marble and precious stones, richly decorated with elaborate stonemason works and paintings, representing royal splendor and luxury. We rode an elephant up to the entry gates.
Ranthambore is home to a nearly thousand-year-old fortress. Countless battles have raged around these walls. The Great Mughal emperor Akbar laid siege here and built Lake Palace, summer gardens, temples, mosques, tombs and hunting towers, all overrun now by grass and shrubs. Today leopards and tigers prowl the ruins.. Ranthambore covers an area about 400 square kms. Our Tiger's Den Resort is very nice. We have a nice duplex cottage with all amenities, The dining room is close and we enjoyed the food. We watched a film on one of the female tigers.
Friday, Oct. 30
We had a total of five jeep safaris into the park (three afternoons and two mornings). It is beautiful and there was lots to see: Sambar deer, spotted deer, langurs (not a real monkey), a Nilgai (Blue Buck) antelope, Chinkara (Indian Gazelle: looks like a Thompson's gazelle), wild boar, a sloth bear!!, Three leopards!! And a tiger!! Many birds. We had asked several times about having a jeep to ourselves and were told it was impossible. All the parks are controlled by the government which insists on six people (to limit the number of jeeps in the park), each with a guide and a naturalist. Three of the five safaris were spoiled by having six adults and two children, who invariably cried, whimpered, shouted and screamed. One of the guides just gave up and stopped looking. One of the children got car sick. The other two rides we had only adults and it was better, although one of the men wanted to park and look for things instead of driving about. We then found out we could have had exclusive jeeps, but it was too late for Ranthambore. We will fix that problem for the rest of the trip. I had a lovely facial on the last evening.
Saturday, Oct. 31 Ranthambhore to Bharatpur
Breakfast at hotel. Then we checked-out and then drove towards Sawai Madhopur where got the train to Bharatpur. It was very easy and convenient. We had left most of the luggage with Mr. Singh who was meeting us in Bharatpur. They make no announcements on the train, so we had to pay attention. We met the Mr. Singh and he took us to the hotel, Uday Vilas Palace, a very nice spot with a beautiful pool and lots of gardens with birds. We drove a short distance to BHARATPUR BIRD SANCTUARY (also known as Keoladeo National Park). There we took a two-hour rickshaw ride and saw lots of birds, an antelope (nilgai) and two jackels. The lake is very low due to poor monsoons, and, like most of Rajistan, the country was very dusty and dry. Buffet lunch at the hotel with two busloads of tourists and a business meeting group. In the evening, Mr. Singh took us to a beautiful lake full of wading birds
Sunday, Nov. 1
Breakfast at hotel. Then a five-hour rickshaw ride through the BIRD SANCTUARY. We stopped several times: once to walk to a lake that was very low, but still had some nice birds, and once to another lake with lots of ducks and wading birds. We climbed a tower, but didn't see any birds, only workers in a field and a huge bees' nest. Lunch at a fancy hotel then back to spend an hour or two at the pool. Dinner at the hotel
Monday, Nov. 2
Drove toward Agra, stopping en route at Fatehpur Sikri. This magnificent fortified red sandstone ghost city was the short-lived capital of the Mughal empire between 1571 and 1585, during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Here he visited a Sufi Saint, who predicted the birth of a son and heir. When the prophecy came true, Akbar built a new capital here. First we visited the palaces and pavilions: Panch Mahal is the five-storey, 84-column pavilion used by court ladies ; Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of private audience) dominated by a magnificently carved stone column in the center where Akbar debated with scholars and advisors from all over the world; Parcheesi, a courtyard where Akbar played using slave girls as pieces; three palaces for his wives, the largest for the Hindu wife who produced the son; the Jama Masjid, a beautiful and expansive mosque, completed in 1571 and containing elements of Persian and Indian design; the Buland Darwaza, or Victory Gate, the largest gateway in Asia; and the marble tomb of the Saint where childless women come to pray (and where the guide tried to get us to buy offerings and make a "wish").
Continued to Agra and checked into the Hotel Howard Park Plaza, we had a very nice room after we rejected the smoke-filled original offering. Met our guide VJ and left for the Taj Mahal. We paid 750 Rps each plus 20 Rps for the bus ride up. It was every bit as magnificent as billed. You sort of expect to be disappointed, but we definitely weren't. They screen visitors, men and women separately, and not much is allowed in, only still cameras, water and money. They give you a little bottle of water and shoe covers. The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build by an army of 20,000 men and 1,000 elephants. Our guide said that workers were later mutilated to prevent them from duplicating their work. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum and Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it as a memorial for his beloved second wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In 1631, she died giving birth to their 14th child. Supposedly, shortly after the Taj was finished, Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and imprisoned in Agra Fort for the rest of his life. But when he died in 1666, Shah Jahan was buried alongside his adored wife. All four sides of the Taj Mahal are completely symmetrical. If it weren't for the landscape, you wouldn't be able to tell which side is the front. The 40-meter high white minarets on each corner of the platform make the Taj look so spectacular. They were built just for decorative purposes and lean slightly outwards so that in the event of an earthquake, they would fall away. In the front of the Taj are the gardens and ornamental fountains. On both sides are red sandstone buildings. One is a mosque to the west and an identical building to the east, built only for symmetry and probably used as a hotel for travelers. Behind the Taj is the Yamuna River. The most impressive feature inside is the exquisite pietre dure (marble inlay work), which is made with thousands of semiprecious stones from 43 different types. VJ put a mini-flashlight over the stones and illuminated them. The effect is brilliant. Later, he took us to a store where we had the "opportunity" to buy some inlay work. Then we boarded the electric tram back.
Our next stop was two and a half kilometers away to another UNESCO World Heritage site: the Agra Fort, also known as Fort Rouge, Lal Qila and Red Fort of Agra. The Agra Fort is a walled palatial city and was interesting to see. It has 70-foot walls. This was where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son.Small lunch in the hotel bar. Then a rest. Mr. Singh picked us up at 7:30 for our 8:30 visit to the Taj. It was Purnima (full moon). It turned out to be quite a procedure. We had two pat-downs, two security checks, and they made me remove my camera beanbag because they had never seen one before. Then we loaded onto busses, accompanied by three armed guards, and were allowed thirty minutes at the Taj. A very nice man, Manpreet Sokhi (mansaphotography.com), lent me his lens specially able to take night shots (as I now had no camera support). You can see the results (Photoshopped). We can't get the car into the street where I had hoped to eat dinner, so we went back and ate at the rooftop restaurant at our hotel.Tuesday,
Tuesday., Nov. 4
Agra/Jhansi/Khajuraho: After breakfast we went to the train station for a two and a half hour ride to Jhansi. The new rep met us and we left for Khajuraho. On the way we visited Orchha (or Urchha), a town which was the seat of a former princely state of central India. On a seasonal island on the bank of the Betwa River, which has been surrounded by a battlement wall, stands a huge palace-fort. The fort consists of several connected buildings erected at different times. The Rajmandir is built on a square base and has an almost entirely plain exterior with projecting windows and a line of delicate domes along the summit. The Jahangir Mahal is built on a rectangular base and has a circular tower at each corner surmounted by a dome, while two lines of graceful balconies supported on brackets mark the central storeys. The roof is crowned by eight large fluted domes, with smaller domes between them, connected by an ornamental balustrade. The Jahangir Mahal is considered to be a singularly beautiful specimen of domestic Hindu architecture. Lakshmi Temple, Orchha. There are beautiful paintings, well preserved inside the temples. Numerous cenotaphs or chhatris dot the vicinity of the fort and the Betwa river. Elsewhere about the town there is an unusual variety of temples and tombs, including the Chaturbhuj temple, which is built on a vast platform of stone. The more unguarded and neglected of these buildings are popular hangouts for tropical bees, wasps, and other such excitable stingy creatures. We stopped at a very nice restaurant and had lunch outside under a tent. Then on for about three hours of dusty roads to Khajuraho. Where we checked in at the Hotel Usha Bundela.
Wednesday, Nov 5 Khajuraho
Very good tour of the Western group of Khajuraho temples. The guide was very good. He spent a lot of time at the first, a smaller at the second, and then let us wander. We also saw the Jain temple at the Eastern site. After the tour we walked about a half mile back into town, followed by a brigade of rickshaw and tuk-tuk drivers offering assistance and had .unch/dinner at the Blue Sky Restaurant across from the temples. Walked back in the same parade.
The Khajuraho temples were constructed between 950 and 1050 A.D. during the reign of Chandel Empire. Khajuraho derives its name from the Khajur tree (the date palm tree) which can be found in abundance in the area. These temples are considered the "high point" of Indian architectural genius in the Medieval period.
Originally there were 85 temples, of which only 22 still exist. The amazingly short span of 100 years, from 950 AD - 1050 AD, saw the completion of all the temples, in an inspired burst of creativity.The murals depict the life and times of the Chandelas, and celebrate the erotic state of being.Their style of architecture was also rather peculiar to their times. Each structure stands on a high masonry platform with a distinct upward direction to their build, further enhanced by several vertical projections to simulate the effect of an overall lightness. The three main compartments are the entrance (ardhamandapa), assembly hall (mandapa), and the actual sanctum (garbha griha).
If the temples of Khajuraho can be said to have a theme, it is woman. A celebration of woman and her myriad moods and facets- Writing letters, applying kohl to her eyes, brushing her hair, dancing with joyous abandon playing with her child. Woman - innocent, coquettish, smiling - infinitely seductive, infinitely beautiful. Depicted in a wealth of detail, sharply etched, sculpted with consummate artistry. The philosophy of the age dictated the enjoyment of the delights of arth (material wealth) and kama (sensual pleasures) while performing one's dharma (duty) as the accepted way of life for the grihastha (householder). Hence, the powerful combination of the visual and sensual pleasures combined with the duty attributed to the worship of the Dieties brings about a powerful transformation of the body and the soul. To include all of these aspects of life in one's early years makes it easier to renounce them without regret or attachment as one moves on to one's next stages of life toward moksha (liberation).
The temples are a world heritage site and belong not just to India but to the world. The Archeological Survey of India's dedicated efforts towards their conservation rank them against the best preserved monuments of this antiquity. Most of the temples are built of sandstone in varying shades of buff, pink or pale yellow. They each belong to a different sect, the Shiva, Vaishnava or Jaina Sects, but are often indistingushable from one another to the untrained eye. The temples are lofty with ample walking space separating them. The interior rooms are inter connected and placed in an East/West line. Each contains an entrance, a hall, a vestibule and a sanctum. Windows were added to the larger temples to add a feeling of space and light.
The openings face East with lavishly carved archways. The interior ceilings are carved with geometrical and floral designs. The roofs are a series of graded peaks that resemble a mountain range and in all probability, represent the possibility of higher levels of spiritual attainment. Erotic scenes represent a relatively small part of the carvings but sensuous eroticism prevails throughout all of the sculptures. In general, lower indulgences appear lower on the temple while the dieties appear near the top. Most of the statues are about a meter high. The goddesses and gods represent the many manifestations of the divine Shakti and Shiva, the female and male principles, the Yin and the Yang.
Pieces of the statues from the temples can be seen embedded in the houses of the village. Statues were used as cheap building material for building the roads too.
The Western Group is certainly the best known, because it is to this group that the largest and most typical Khajuraho temple belongs : the Kandariya Mahadev. Perfectly symmetrical, it soars 31 km high.
Lakshamana Temple: The lintel over the entrance of this temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, shows the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva with Goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort. The sanctum is adorned with a three-headed idol of Vishnu's incarnations, Narasimha and Varaha. The latter, the boar incarnation also appears as a nine-feet high statue at the Varaha Temple. There are batallians of soldiers as the Chandels were generally at war when they were not inventing new sexual positions. On the south side is a gymnastic orgy, including one man proving that a horse can be a man's best friend, while a shocked figure peers out from behind her hands.
Kandariya Mahadeo: This is the largest, and most typical Khajuraho temple. There are abput 900 statues. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, it soars 31 m high. The sanctum enshrines a lingam, while the main shrine is ornately carved and depicts various gods, goddesses, apsaras (heavenly maidens) in elaborate detail. The entrance arch, the massive pillars and ceilings are adorned with exquisite carvings, that leave the visitor spellbound. Beyond the archway of the Kandariya Mahadev, lie the six interior compartments; the portico, main hall, transept, vestibule, sanctum and ambulatory. The ceilings are particularly noteworthy and the pillars supporting them have intricately carved capitals. The transept's outer walls have three horizontal panels showing deities of the Hindu pantheon, and groups of lovers, a pageant of sensuousness, vibrantly alive.
Chaunsat Yogini/Devi Jagadamba: The oldest surviving temple in the group (900 A.D.), this is the sole granite temple dedicated to Goddess Kali. Only 35 of the original 65 cells remain and no image of Kali has survived : not surprisingly, since this is the earliest surviving shrine of the group dated to 900 AD. Another Kali temple, which was originally dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is the Devi Jagdambe temple.Chitragupta Temple: Dedicated to the sun-god, Surya, this temple faces eastwards to the rising sun. The inner sanctum boasts of an impressive image of the presiding deity - the majestic sun-god looming 5 feet high, and driving a chariot. The other group scenes depict royal processions, group dances and other scenes of sheer luxury, typical of the Chandela court-life.
Vishwanath Temple: The temple enshrines a three-headed image of Lord Brahma. Lions guard the northern entrance to the structure, while elephants flank the southern flight of steps that lead upto it. The exteriors are profusely carved, and facing the shrine is a Nandi Temple.
Eastern Group has temples of people who converted from Hindu to Jainism
Parsavanatha Temple: The largest in the group of three Jain temples, the Parsavanath image in this temple, was installed in 1860. The sculptures on the northern wall depict everyday activity, in awesome detail. A woman sits bent pensively writing a letter, a lovely young girl removes a thorn from her foot, the master craftsmen of Khajuraho display here their deep understanding of the trifles that make up a human life. Within the temple, a throne faces the bull emblem of first tirthankara, Adinath.
Adinatha Temple: The last of the Jain temples, is dedicated to the Jain saint, Adinatha, and is gorgeously adorned with sculptures of yakshis among others.
Thursday, November 6
Khajuraho / Bandavgarh : Enjoyable and scenic five hour drive to Tiger's Den Resort. This is the best quality yet. The rooms are very well set up, the grounds have excellent landscaping, and the pool is lovely (with many gnats). In the evening we had a BarBQ with hors d'oeuvres and then a native dancing show. The staff is very good. Milan has adopted us and decided that I should receive all "special" (ie spicy) dishes. Though small in size (542-sq-kms),it is the national park known for its high tiger population. The former hunting reserve of the royal family of Rewa; Bandhavgarh was declared a National Park in 1968 and further extended to the adjoining Sal Forests in 1986. The fine trees of Sal cover half of the Bandhavgarh National Park while the higher hills consist of the mixed forests. The wide stretches of bamboo and grasslands cover the entire northern region. It is more lush than Ranthambore, yet it seems to have fewer birds and animals.
Friday, Nov 7 & Sat., Nov 8:
Bandavgarh:This is the procedure: up at 5:30 for tea, then off to the park, which opens at 6:15. Return at 10:30 for breakfast, then rest till 1, have lunch and leave for afternoon safari at 1:45. Return at 5:30 for tea, then dinner at 7:30. Every vehicle needs an official guide and river and the guides are pretty poor. They just sit in the front seat, don't speak, English, and doze. Depend on the driver for sightings and identification. On our fist drive Jerry and I did all the spotting. On drives 2 to 4 we were very fortunate to be accompanied by the excellent hotel naturalist, Jagat, who spoke very good English and was highly knowledgeable about all things natural. Visited a pilgrimage site where devout Hindus come on Holy Days.
Sun., Nov 8
Mon., Nov 10:
Bandavgarh / Kanha
Left at 7:15 for a very pretty drive through well-tended farmland and big fields of mustard. Had a flat tire with lots of roadside managers to help. Our tour company had had bad reports about the lodge where we had been scheduled, so they moved us to Mapple Bundela. We arrived about 1, in time for lunch and a safari. No tigers, but swamp deer, bison and birds. The resort is only one year old and looks and feels brand new. It will be another few years before the landscaping takes hold. The best food and shower yet. We will have a naturalist, Rohit, and a guide-driver for all five safaris.The lush sal and bamboo forests, grassy meadows and ravines of Kanha provided inspiration to Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel "Jungle Book". The Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh came into being in 1955 and forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve, created in 1974 under Project Tiger. The Park's landmark achievement is the preservation of the rare hard-ground Swamp Deer (Barasingha), saving it from near extinction.Monday: morning drive with some nice birds. In the afternoon we spent 45 minutes watching a big male tiger. It started to rain as we drove home.
Tue., Nov. 10
Hard rain in the morning. We put a cover on the gypsy but still got soaked. We decided against an afternoon ride, which turned out to be a good thing, as they closed the park due to slippery, muddy roads. Instead, we watched birds from our balcony. Jerry walked along the river and saw pretty birds. The manager arranged for us to take a short morning safari and have breakfast by a waterfall. It was outside the park, and we could go off-road so saw more than we expected
Wed., Nov 11
Kanha / Nagpur / Kolkata
After breakfast, we started off towards Nagpur. The rains of yesterday meant that the roads were bad and we saw many, many accidents. The truckers don't seem to understand that tires sink in the mud and trucks turn over or get hopelessly stuck. The hotel had packed a lunch (rice and bananas) and, after about five hours, we arrived at Nagpur, a busy market town, not quite as dusty as others we have seen. The flight to Kolkata was fine. We were met by a driver who spoke no English and gave us a wild ride to our hotel (Lindsay). It took over an hour (why can't they find a hotel closer to the airport?) and it was almost nine when we got there. Had dinner on their rooftop restaurant, went to bed and asked for a wakeup call at 3:30. Didn't come, there was no breakfast, and nobody showed up to drive us to the airport. We took a cab through the worst city I have ever been in. Thousands of people sleeping in the dirt on the streets, with cows and dogs
Thu., Nov 12
Kolkata / Guwahati / Kaziranga We found out there is a 10 am and an 11 am flight to Guwahati, so we don't understand why we were booked for 6:10 am. We were met on arrival. Rough drive for first two and a half hours. The Indian method of road-building is unique. They pave a quarter of a mile, then leave two miles unpaved, then pave another quarter of a mile. All construction is done by men & WOMEN who carry materials (rock, cement, dirt) in bowls on their heads from whereve they hadve been dumped. The second half of the drive was very pretty, with brillilant gtreen rice fields and tea plantations. They plant acacia trees amongst the te plants to shade them and protect them from the monsoons, and they plant pepper (black) plants up the trunks. The Wild Grass resort is sort of pre-war charming with hig ceilings and fans and screened-in shutter-type shutters. We are on the third floor overlooking the garden. Our new guide, Konwar, came and took us behind some houses to see the Indian flying fox (really a bat) and then to his home to meet his wife, Bineta, his10-year old daughter, Kolpana, and his 4-year old son, Suroj. Bineta is a weaver who makes the red and white Assam scarves that are traditional to the area.
Fri, Nov. 13
Located on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River in the far North East of India, Assam, Kaziranga National Park covers an area of approximately 430-sq-kms with its swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass making it the ideal habitat for the Indian One-Horned Rhino. Due to limitless poaching of this prehistoric survivor, the Kaziranga National Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1940. We had an early morning (6:30) elephant ride to see hog deer, barasingas and one-horned rhinos. Later a morning safari to the middle section of the park and an afternoon safari to the western. Konwar is an excellent guide, and, by this time, we are mostly interested in seeing new things, mainly birds. Stopped to buy some green tea and black pepper at the company store. Enjoyed a cultural dance program before dinner at 7:30.
Sat., Nov 14
Two drives today, the eastern section in the morning where we saw lots of birds. After lunch we went back to Konwar's house and I took pictures of his family. Revisited the central section in the afternoon. Another cultural program in the evening.
Saturday, Nov. 15
Kaziranga / Guwahati / DelhiDrove back to Guwahati for flight to Delhi.. Checked in at the Hotel Madonna. Went to the Sheraton for dinner. Very overpriced, but a good meal.
Sunday, Nov 16
Delhi - Home
Guide came about 8:30 for a sightseeing tour of Old and New Delhi Had a very nice lunch at a restaurant near the embassies, then Rana had reserved a place for us at a rather seedy hotel where we took a shower and changed our clothes. Went back to the same restaurant for our "Farewell Dinner" with Rana, then to the airport for our 11:30 pm flight. They served us dinner right away (more horrible Indian food) and then we both slept at tleast six hours. I watched three movies.
Jama Masjid (FRIDAY MOSQUE): The streets are completely chaotic. The constant cacophony of horns and sirens became like an anthem of the city. Everyone is beeping their horn, there are street beggars,vendors, whole families on a moped, people carrying supplies on their heads, kids pushing rickshaws, elephants, animals wandering aimlessly, funeral processions, wedding processions � you name it, you might encounter it on the streets of Delhi. There were children tapping on the car window, begging for money as they followed us all the way down the street in the slow moving traffic. It's illegal to give them money and it's absolutely heart wrenching to turn your head and ignore them. But if you look them in the eye, you're in for a long, painful goodbye. It's incredibly difficult but because you're accosted at every turn, it's best to not even acknowledge them
INSIDE THE MOSQUE: Walking up the three flights of red sandstone steps of the Jama Masjid really makes you feel like you're in a foreign country. Jama Masjid is also known as the Friday Mosque for its Friday noon prayer The courtyard of the mosque is huge and can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers! Jama Masjid is one of the best-known mosques in India and is the largest mosque in Asia. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. The mosque took six years to build and was completed in 1656 AD. The three black and white marble domes that cover the prayer hall are majestic.
RAJ GHAT: Our next stop was Raj Ghat, which loosely translates to the King's Court and is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi. Raj Ghat is the spot where he was cremated one day after his assassination. There's a black marble platform that marks the exact spot and an eternal flame. The memorial has the epitaph He Ram, (literally 'O' Ram', but also translated to 'O God'), believed to be Gandhi's last words. The park is free to enter but again there's a 10 Rupee charge to leave your shoes guarded.
Rashtrapati Bhawan: Modern New Delhi centers around this architecturally very impressive building standing at a height, flowing down to India Gate. This stretch called the Rajpath is where the Republic Day parade is held. The imposing plan of this area conceived by Lutyens does not fade in its charm with the numerous years that pass. For lovers of flowers and beauty, the glorious, meticulously tended Mughal Gardens are a bonanza topped by an amazing assembly of roses in perfect bloom.
Old Delhi: (Shahajahanabad) Red Fort: Built in red sandstone this imposing fort is 3 km in perimeter with the height of the wall varying from 18-30 m at places. When the Red Fort was being built Yamuna used to flow on its one side and there were deep moats on the other. Today the Yamuna flows almost a km away from the fort and the moats have dried up.
Flight back was uneventful. Slept most of the way. Herb met us and we were home by 7 AM.
India~October-November, 2009
Non-birds
Birds