New and old Delhi

Delhi is not an easy place to like. World famous for its multitudes of scams, we got a bitter taste of this very early on when we arrived. Arriving at 4a.m. with no hotel reservation, we were asking to be eaten alive by all the predators of tourism industry (hotels, touts, autorickshaws, travel agents all work in tandem to cheat). Knowing that we were exhausted from our journey and badly needed our sleep, the hotels showed no mercy. Waiting for us outside the hotels like vultures are autorickshaws who had seen this episode unravel many times. We were offered terrible deals for terrible rooms so we went from one hotel to another (on these autos) until finally about two hours later we found a reasonable place in Paharganj's main bazaar, a somewhat Thailandesque tourist street. (I said then this was a nightmare but what was in store for me in curfew-imposed Jammu was to become much more challenging).

Rainy day at the Jama Masjid. Terrible picture!

Outdoor wudhu' area.

Entrance to the main prayer hall.

Faithfully symmetrical as are all Mughal architecture.

As often the case, I can't help but to compare India and China - two giants, loosely speaking, of similar size and complexity. New Delhi is far behind its counterpart Beijing. In the Chinese capital for example unpaved roads or potholes are either rare or well away from the main commercial, cultural or political district. I didn't see municipal failures such as overflowing sewage, especially at monuments. Delhi however, also an old city like Beijing, was riddled with these problems. Sewage overflow is ubiquitous and embarassing for the capital of the world's fastest economy. This is especially true in Old Delhi where residents had to live with infrastructure of a past era. Here I'm not talking as tourist but in sympathy towards the daily drudgery that I saw among the common people.

On the other hand, as if to symbolise India's beautiful contradiction, Delhi has one of the best metros in the world.  Not only it is able to carry huge numbers of passengers, much more than KL's measly LRT, but it is network extensive (even now as we speak the metro is being expanded at a rapid rate). We loved the metro as it freed us from the risk of being overcharge by autorickshaws and give us complete freedom to do whatever we want without worrying about traffic.

I stayed in Delhi the longest but it seems like I did very little at all. There's a lot of things going on but we needed a local to take us through te events. We ended up sticking to tourist routes around the city centre, and even then we missed so many of the main sights. The city is too big. Secondly the rain was still going on and not letting down, so we were hampered from even sticking to tourist trails.

One of the great buildings along the administrative district in New Delhi.

Jama Masjid.

Jama Masjid.

But some areas soon become familiar to us. My favourite is the bazaars around the Jama Masjid where it seems to have changed very little for hundreds of years. As Eid looms ahead, the marketplace became frantic with people who were doing some last minute purchases. This is the first time in India that I see widespread use of Urdu in signboards and advertisements. There tucked at the back alley of the bazaar is a restaurant ran by descendants of the royal cook of the Mughal court - a must try if anyone comes to Delhi.

The mosque is also a stunner. We were prepared for some rude treatment from mosque authorities an was unsurprised to get the usual - a barrage of questions (what an ignorant bastard) and then a hefty INR300 to enter! We were more incensed about paying so much to enter a mosque than the racist attitude we had to endure. Once in, we calmed down for a bit. The mosque is a great beauty, as one wpuld expect of any Mughal architecture. I have read and seen the mosque in pictures since I was very young so I was in trance, gaping in wonder. Its beauty lies not in elaborate decoration or luxurious materials, like in the Taj, but rather in its restraint from grandeur or becoming bejeweled, again like the Taj. It has a sense if modesty, despite its size and scale, appropriate to the ethics of Islamic architecture. Unlike many mosques, it does not come across as a symbol of religious vanity. We were relieved that although we were met with some hostility inside the prayer room, there were also warmth and kindess from many.

I spent my Eid here in Delhi and was excited about wearing my kurta and looking all resplendent for the morning prayers. In the night before, I even practised a line (in a rather bad Urdu) as a pre-emptive attack on mosque officials who'd give me the attitude at entrance. As it turned out, I woke up really late and missed the whole Eid experience. I went to the Jama Masjid anyway and did the prayers on ny own. Mosque officials didnt notice me, the congregation had left, so I had a serene time. Afterwards I went to my favourite restaurant next to the mosque, Karim's, purportedly run by the family who was the cook of the Mughal court. The food was fantastic (it was my third time in the restaurant).

With the rest of the day ahead of me still before my flight to Amritsar, I took the auto and had a tour of the administrative district of the Central Government, a rather Utopian landscape of emptiness, gardens, majestic architecture - all that speaks of power and pride. Just needed to have a peek at this famous work by Edward Lutyens. I must say the British wasted tonnes of money doing palaces and big buildings but they look really good (footnote: The new and wasteful Istana Negara looks like a multipurpose hall, at best a gaudy wedding shop).

Just before I left, the hotel was forcing me to get their taxi, insanely expensive compared to the metro, but won't budge when I said no. Running rather low on patience and with the return of the devils post-Ramadan, I had huge go at them for testing the limit of my patience and gave a lengthy angry deeply un-Malaysian sermon that shut them all up. Jangan bagi aku mula berleter, sumpah kau mati.

With that final outburst, I knew it's time to say goodbye to this rather unkind city.