1/3/10
The Lodi Tombs are both tombs and a mosque in the center of the city of Delhi. The tombs are from the time of the Lodi Kings beginning in the 1450’s. Sikandar Shah Lodi was the second king of the Lodi dynasty. This was the largest of the tombs in the garden, and it was interesting because it has a large wall around the tomb when the other large tomb in the gardens did not have a wall but the tomb itself was very similar, which was an octagonal dome with mini domes on the top called chhattris. I wonder if the wall has something to do with the tomb being of a king. Professor Cohen told us a neat fact that when you look at the box that symbolizes the person buried under and you see a straight line down the middle than it was a man, and if there is a little box instead than it was a woman. This intrigued me so I started noticing it on every tomb, which was when I found that one of the king’s stones did not have the line down the middle. He couldn’t explain it when I asked him. Needless to say, I am beginning to question his theory, haha. There is also a large mosque called Bara Gumbad that included a gateway, which was built by the Mughal noble Abu Amjad (I love this name because of Abu… the monkey from Aladdin!). Beyond the tombs and the mosque there were hills and fields of flowers and grass, which was such a paradox to the city that it is sitting in. It was beautiful and it felt like we had taken a break from Delhi. It was beautiful just walking around, and observing the people or the dogs that were resting everywhere through the park, some were strays and some where obviously pets because they had sweaters on =). I thought my little sister Megan would enjoy the dog sweaters so I took some pictures.
We started looking for a place to eat lunch, but stumbled upon the large tomb of Safdarjang, which was the last of the Mughal tombs before the British reign. It was beautiful and looked like a miniature version of the Taj Mahal with a fountain and water pool surrounding it, and a gate with boarding houses on three sides. It was so large and was created for one person, which was astounding to me. However, according to our book, the architecture is not as good as the earlier Mughal tombs because the Mughal Empire was in decline and had limited money, unlike the beginning of the Mughal Period. The stone was not are pure and over time has yellowed and deteriorated and the building is not as sturdy as it should have been. Despite these things, I was still incredibly impressed with how large a building and how beautiful the designs and colors were. The beautiful high ceilings of stone were my favorite part because they were sculpted with beautiful designs that you can’t capture on my little camera.
We decided that we were going to go to a market for lunch, but it was too far to walk and there were too many for one taxi, so we split up and decided to meet at the landmark The Taj Mahal Hotel, which is the 5 star hotel in Delhi. Well, the other group’s taxi driver did not know where the hotel was and ended up dropping them off directly at the market place. After waiting inside the hotel because we were swiftly directed inside because we were Americans and it was assumed that we were staying there (based on the color of our skin, we were obviously treated with much more respect than the other Indians that were walking outside the hotel…. Yes, I have a problem with this, but continuing on…), we never found the other group and were so taken with the beauty of the hotel that we decided to have lunch there instead. There were 5 restaurants in the hotel, and we chose the Japanese restaurant. The menu was overwhelming, and with assistance from the flabbergasted waiter, we were able to make a “family style” lunch of noodles and rice. The waiter thought it was so strange that we were trying to eat as inexpensively as possible and it was clear that he assumed we had unlimited amounts of money that we should have spent. What a stereotype us Americans have shown to the world.
After the amazing lunch, we just walked around trying to find something that we wanted, to do. We found the only Jewish Synagogue in all of Delhi, where there are only 10 Jewish families. It was really cool because the caretaker/rabbi/ all of the above let us in and gave us a tour and told us about the families and their activities. We met his family, his son who was having band practice, and got to see a people group that was a complete change from the culture we had been seeing everywhere else. One of the girls in our group is Jewish and I think it really left an impression on her to see how Jews live outside of the communities that we are familiar with. I really enjoyed that.
We continued exploring and found a “habitat center,” and we had no idea what that was so we decided to find out. We walked into the center of a group of buildings and behold to us was a diner! The All American Diner, which was crowded with many Indians attempting to experience the American stereotypical 50’s diner, which they advertised as if a diner was found in every city in every state! It was funny because when we walked in we were treated as movie stars, and the little girls at the table next to us started saying “look! I touched one! I touched one!” haha. It was precious. Needless to say, we were really excited to have some American desserts and malts, but what did it for me was when the jukebox started playing The Monkees song Daydream Believer. This of course is my sentimental childhood favorite tv show/ band. It really made me smile that even in India they were known. I really thought of my Dad and my brother Ray who both share in the love of this 60’s phenomena… I am starting to miss home a little bit.
Overall, I am starting to navigate my way around a city that I first thought to be rather un-navigable. It was a good idea on the teacher’s side of things to force us to get around the city on our own so we could really have the full Delhi experience that isn’t a guided tour. I am getting used to the differences between Delhi and America, and I am starting to overlook the dirt and trash and see it as a real city, just like any other. The more and more people I have experienced the more I am really starting to relate to them and enjoy listening to their stories in broken English. I wish that I could speak Hindi! Whoever said that everyone in Delhi speaks English was very wrong. Only the upper class has ever been taught English, and the store clerks have picked pieces of it up after many experiences with tourists. If I want to live here, I have to take language classes.
1/4/10
This morning we had an early lecture, which was really interesting because we discussed a poem in the religion of the Sultanate Period of India, Sufism. Chandaya, the poem, discussed two lovers whose names meant sun and moon that were both married but had an adulterous affair. The woman was supposed to represent Allah as an allegory of the love between humans and God. The poem described their love and their feelings towards each other. This surprised me because it was incredibly similar to the Song of Songs in the Bible, but they made it a sinful relationship instead with the adultery. This really baffled me because they overlook the sin and say that this is how a relationship with God should be as a complete devotion. What I love about God is that it is impossible for Him to be in the presence of sin. This poem makes Allah appear to have the same sinful nature as man, who cannot control his carnal desires. The poem was adapted to also cater to Hindu culture, and the characters are depicted as Indians. I wonder if the writer of this poem was responding the Song of Solomon. I am probably going to research this more when I get home because I am sure that someone has written something on this because it’s so similar. I love the way that Song of Solomon is completely pure in their love, which is what makes it beautiful. This poem was dirtied because of the sin that it was based on, which made it very ugly to me. I do not see its appeal, even though many use this poem as their form of worship.
After lecture we went to Purana Qila, which was a walled in city that was built before the Mughals, but Humayun renovated it. It had a beautiful mosque, the remains of a roman looking bath, and a large library in the center that was octagonal in shape. The architecture was so intricate and they used colors like blue, white, red, and yellow to make designs on the walls and ceilings. The rest was made with red sandstone. You could walk along the wall, and climb on the ruins to see the top. I made a few friends with the little children that were begging inside the walls. They followed me around for a while, a little girl probably about 7 and a little boy that could not have been any older than 4, and unlike many other people that I saw tell them to go away I tried to talk to them. Although I did not have any food, I wanted to cheer them up somehow because it was so heartbreaking to me. So I got out my camera and took pictures of them and showed them. Their faces lit up and they started talking in Hindi and I am pretty sure they were saying “Is that me???????” while they were jumping up and down pointing at themselves. They absolutely loved it and I realized that they had probably never looked through a camera before. I let them take pictures, and I knew that it might not be the best idea to hand them my camera, but I could feel the Spirit leading me on because I was probably the only light that they were going to have in their lives any time soon. This fact really made me wish that I could speak to them and explain how Jesus loves them and just wants to wrap his protective arms around them. Well, I sat down, gave them gum, and we just kinda played together until our group came by telling me that it was time to go. How do you deal with beggars and those around you? It is so hard to just walk away and ignore it, and I wish that there was something more that I could do then just trying to make them smile. However, one thing that did impress me was that they were still willing and able to smile, even though they were malnourished and living without life’s necessities. I am beginning to understand the hearts of people like Ghandi and Mother Theresa. I was reminded of the old Amy Grant song, All the Children of the World, where she says “I’ll carry on for the Children of the World, every single little boy and girl, Heaven plants a special seed and we must have faith for these. Red and yellow black and white, they are precious in the Father’s eyes. Like a father may receive, that they have a destiny, and give them the light of love to lead.”
After we left Purana Qila, we went to Humayun’s Tomb, which was more magnificent than the tomb we went to the day before even though it was the same size. It was what the Taj Mahal was modeled after. Humayun was the second king of the Mughal Dynasty back when it was a very wealthy and strong empire. They were able to hire the most experiences architects and had a lot of manpower to build it. It is a special place where the last Mughal Emperor fled to when the British entered Delhi. It was a place of safety for the people. It was beautiful.
That night we decided to go to a Bollywood movie at the movie theatre near our residency. We had been seeing music videos and advertisements for The Three Idiots. I went expecting the kind of stupid American films with strange titles like Dodgeball or American Pie, but this movie grabbed a piece of all of my emotions. We were laughing, crying, dancing, shocked, and excited. It was a very fun and well made movie. It was a very long movie, and movies here have intermission. We paid 20 cents extra for premium seats, which had pillows and fully reclined, versus the economy seats. It was a fun experience, and we now have all of the bollywood songs stuck in our heads because some people bought the soundtrack=). It was a fun night.
Alright my loves, I miss you very much, and I really appreciate it that you are keeping up with me and reading all of this=) It really means alot to me. I will try to post more soon internet willing!
Love,
Christy<3
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