Yesterday was our last day in Delhi, but I’ll be back two more times on this trip. Today we head to Jaipur.
Because I have extra time in Delhi later on in the trip, I haven’t pushed myself to see anything beyond our regular tour program. I’ve used my free time to catch up on sleep and to organize photos — and to write. Now it’s 6am. I’m all packed, but breakfast doesn’t start until 6:30, and we leave at 7:30, so I’m taking a moment to give a brief rundown about yesterday.
Humayun’s Tomb
Our first experience yesterday was a visit to Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here’s what UNESCO says about it:
This tomb, built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.
I feel like a little history lesson is called for, but I’m going to make it very little, since I don’t have a lot of time.
History
The Indian subcontinent was ruled by various empires and dynasties, sometimes powerful ones that controlled most of the region and beyond, and some that fragmented India into separate smaller entities. Culture flourished with the rise of Buddhism starting in the 6th century BCE, and Hinduism gradually supplanted Buddhism between the 6th and 12th centuries CE.
Muslim invasions began in the 12th and 13th centuries. leading to the establishment of the first Muslim state in India and the eventual formation of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206. Over the next four centuries, they fought off continual invasions by the Mongols.
In 1526 Babur, a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan, defeated the Delhi Sultanate at the First Battle of Panipat. He established the Mughal Empire and was its first ruler. His son, and the second Mughal emperor, was Humayun. And that’s whose tomb we visited.
Humayun died in 1556. On 24 January, he was descending a staircase from his library with an armload of books when the muezzin announced the call to prayer. It was his habit, wherever and whenever he heard the summons, to bow his knee in holy reverence. Trying to kneel, he caught his foot in his robe, slipped down several steps and hit his temple on a rugged stone edge. He died three days later.
That’s enough history for now. There’s more, of course, but I’ll save it for later.
The tomb complex
Humayun’s tomb is not just his tomb. It’s a huge complex that serves as a “garden of tombs.” It contains more than 150 graves of Mughal royals. Humayun’s mausoleum, which his wife commissioned, was the largest structure of its time to be built of red sandstone. It was also the first tomb to be surrounded by a large garden, setting a precedent that culminated seventy-five years later with the Taj Mahal.
Raj Ghat
We made a short visit to Raj Ghat, a memorial honoring Mahatma Gandhi.
Hindus are not buried; they are cremated. There is no grave, no tombstone, and normally no memorial. Their ashes float down the river. But for Gandhi, a place to honor his memory seemed necessary. This memorial sits at the location where Gandhi’s cremation took place after his 1948 assassination. It was created in the immediate aftermath of this tragic event.
Old Delhi
Sometimes it’s not all about seeing major sights, even if they are UNESCO-recognized. The highlight of the day for me was our visit to Old Delhi.
What’s Delhi?
I have to explain some terminology, mostly to get it clear in my mind. Maybe you already know the difference between Delhi and New Delhi (and Old Delhi), but I didn’t. So here’s a quick explanation:
- Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a megacity and a union territory of India. (Union territories are similar to states, but they are governed directly by the central Indian government and do not have their own government systems.) There are over 20 million inhabitants, and close to 30 million in the metropolitan area.
- New Delhi is the capital of India that lies within the NCT of Delhi. Until 1911, under British rule, the capital was Calcutta. But political violence led them to move the capital to Delhi, and they began construction of an urban enclave within Delhi. Most of the construction took place after World War I. New Delhi was formally inaugurated in 1931. It forms a small part of the urban area of Delhi, with a population of roughly a quarter million people.
- Old Delhi is the colloquial name for Shahjahanabad, which was the city founded by the Mughals in 1648. It was the capital of the Mughal empire until the British Empire took over. It comprises the central part of Delhi
Today Old Delhi is a diverse neighborhood, largely Muslim. The streets are narrow and labyrinthine with many alleys. It is vibrant and bustling and crowded and chaotic-feeling.
Our visit to Old Delhi
We took a pedicab ride through a section of Old Delhi before stopping for lunch.
The feel of this neighborhood was so utterly different from the area where our hotel was located. (I say “was” because I’m finishing this post a day later, and I’m no longer at that hotel or in Delhi at all.) I have to say it’s an indictment of how the British ruled India that they built a charming colonial city for their own people but left the local population to live in relative squalor. Today it feels very rundown, but also vibrant and joyful. The chaos is part of the charm and character of this neighborhood.
I didn’t feel unsafe, but this was a wonderful chance to step outside my comfort zone. I have to say I rode through that neighborhood on that pedicab with a huge — probably gawky — smile on my face. This was the culmination of three days of experiences that opened my mind and my heart.
Here’s my photo album. I’ll be adding to it later in this trip when I’m back in Delhi, but it’s complete for now.
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