Delhi - Old and New
Our group arrived in Delhi on Tuesday night, somewhat rumpled but in good spirits. We were incredibly grateful to check into the hotel, and the kids made themselves right at home.
After the mosque, our group climbed aboard a herd of traditional rickshaws and were given a breathless ride through the Old Delhi marketplace. We skimmed past mopeds, pedestrians, tuck-tucks, and vendors.
We were also able to observe the unorthodox method of bringing electricity to the various shops and stalls, which consisted of every possible wire holding on to each other for dear life. Some of the wire nests even had inhabitants.
After starting the day at an Islamic site, and visiting the memorial for a Hindu, we ended the day by experiencing a Jain temple.
After a quick night’s sleep, we departed the hotel to experience life in the capital city of India. We began the day, as so many residents of Delhi do, in a tremendous amount of traffic. There are over nine million registered cars in the city, and we probably saw half of them today. However, the slow pace was a blessing as it allowed us to really look at the people, buildings, and beautiful public parks of the city.
We eventually arrived at the ancient and enormous mosque, Jama Masjid, built by the same man, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. When he moved the capital of his empire to Delhi, he constructed this mosque so that he and other Muslims would have a place to worship together.
Shoes had to come off and robes had to go on (the girls) in order to enter the mosque.
After the mosque, our group climbed aboard a herd of traditional rickshaws and were given a breathless ride through the Old Delhi marketplace. We skimmed past mopeds, pedestrians, tuck-tucks, and vendors.
We were also able to observe the unorthodox method of bringing electricity to the various shops and stalls, which consisted of every possible wire holding on to each other for dear life. Some of the wire nests even had inhabitants.
After lunch, we traveled to the cremation site and memorial for Mahatma Gandhi. Fittingly, for a man who called all Indians his brothers and sisters, and who emphasized non-violence as the highest guiding principle, the memorial is a public park, full of flower gardens, an eternal flame, and families who have come to honor his memory.
After starting the day at an Islamic site, and visiting the memorial for a Hindu, we ended the day by experiencing a Jain temple.
Here we were able to explore the inside of the temple where people were praying, singing, and meditating, the exterior of the temple, including the healing waters of the adjacent pool, and the kitchens where food is prepared and served to those who come to the temple. Some of our students tried their hands at making chapati.
Hopefully, the students are all asleep now in order to be rested for Day 2 tomorrow when we head to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Today was a beautiful immersion in the diversity of modern India, which is secular and devout, rich and poor, peaceful and chaotic. The iconic American poet Walt Whitman would have approved of this India and seen himself in it I think: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself; (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
Brimmer and May School
69 Middlesex Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
As an inclusive private school community, Brimmer welcomes students who will increase the diversity of our school. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or any other characteristic protected from discrimination under state or federal law, in the administration of our educational policies, admissions practices, financial aid decisions, and athletic and other school-administered programs.