Tag Archives: Delhi

Old Delhi Walking Tour: Saari, Kinaari, Bazaari!

I own two saris – a turquoise bedazzled number that caught my eye early on in India and which I now realize is cheap and gaudy, and a quality bright-orange hand-spun cotton one I purchased after a special afternoon at Sari School last year. Both sit in a closet, never used. I’ve only worn a sari once, and it was borrowed. Still, I remain entranced by the “unstitched garment.” That’s why I jumped at the chance to poke through Old Delhi’s sari market April 18 with one of my favorite tour guides, Himanshu Verma of Red Earth India, on his “Saari, Kinaari, Bazaari!” tour.

The ad for Himanshu’s walking tour said,

Chandni Chowk, the commercial centre of the city, presents a shimmering spectacle. On this Saree Walk, we will wander into Kinari Bazaar, the wholesale market for fabric trimmings and soak in this most colorful part of the city, where any saree can be accessorized with a relevant trim. A popular destination for bridal shopping, Chandni Chowk also offers us access to an array of Saree shops – from the hand-woven to bling and cheap synthetic sarees.

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Himanshu took us into sari shops, including this tiny space.
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At larger stores, he helped us distinguish between hand-woven and machine-made, traditional and trendy, silk and synthetic sarees. It was all so interesting, but also overwhelming. Rather than shop for my own saree, I far prefer watching Indian women do so. Often, the whole family sits together on low stools while the shopkeeper unfurls the sarees. A baby sits on his father’s lap. A woman holds up the end of a saree to her chest and looks to her sister for approval. A grandmother reaches out to pull a saree closer for inspection while the shopkeeper shakes the next one out of its plastic package. The sarees drape across everyone’s laps and pile up on the table. Soon, the group is swimming in a sea of silk. Mesmerizing.

We also popped into several emporiums stocked from floor to ceiling with rolls of ribbon, lace and trim of every imaginable color and design for adding a kinari – or border – to a saree or other garment. Himanshu encouraged us to buy something fun to jazz up our clothes, and I eyed the collections with plans to add trim to a pair of jeans. In the end, I simply couldn’t commit to anything; I loved it all! However, now that I know where to find this stuff, don’t be surprised if all my western clothes get a touch of Indian flair.
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Our group paused for snacks a couple times at places we never would have tried without Himanshu’s trusted recommendation. This sweets shop offered up delicious milk-based desserts.
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This man, whose little stand was unfortunately located directly across the narrow alley from an open urinal, whipped up golgappas, which are hollow crunchy balls filled with a watery mixture of tamarind chutney, chili, masala spices, potato, onion and chickpeas. He also served one of my favorite Indian street snacks – bhelpuri, a mixture of puffed rice, tamarind chutney and chopped veggies. Despite a momentary hesitation (no doubt triggered by the combination of the urinal smell and the sight of our snack-maker’s bare hands scooping the golgappa balls through the pot of water), we all gobbled up the treats and found them a bit spicy but tasty.
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Eventually, Himanshu led us up a flight of dark narrow stairs to a busy eatery, where people lined up to get fresh bread straight from the tandoor. The breadmaker sat on an elevated structure and reached into the oven with long mental tongs to pull out the hot naan. We ordered paratha, a pan-friend flatbread stuffed with potatoes and spinach. Diners sat on cracked plastic chairs at long rickety tables; this was clearly not a place that catered to the hoity-toity expat crowd. In fact, I doubt any of us could find this place again. I always relish experiences like this, when I get a glimpse into the lives of locals in a way that doesn’t make me feel like a voyeur. It was pretty special, and the food was great!
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The labyrinth of Old Delhi can be daunting with its twisting alleys packed with pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycle rickshaws. Himanshu shared his expertise about the district and the iconic sarees, but he also brought a sense of curiosity and calm to a chaotic place, reminding us of its rich history and current relevance. I can’t wait to join him for another eye-opening tour.

Devil’s Circuit – down and dirty in Delhi

October 12, 2014

Last year, an adventurous group of AES teachers participated in a local mud run. I asked if they passed out Z-packs at the end of the race and joked that the free beer should include a shot of hepatitis vaccine. I mean, Delhi is a dirty city in the best of times. We take off our shoes when we come in the house. We rinse off our feet if we step in puddles. Do I really want to intentionally roll around in Delhi mud? Then … an email announcing this year’s event appeared in my mailbox, and this time I couldn’t control my hyperactive FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Before I knew it, I had sent a “reply all” adding my name to the list of participants.

Today was the day. The Devil’s Circuit.

With an eye on the “best costume” prize, our leader and first-grade teacher, Kate, urged us all to dress in school colors or otherwise promote the AES Tigers. She had tiger tails and hats made for us. I wore knee-length yellow and white socks (which were yellow no more within minutes), an AES “Game Day” T-shirt, my tail and tiger hat. Middle school drama teacher Beth brought the face paint and managed to decorate much of our crew despite the bumpy bus ride.

Clint got a very scary tiger mask made.
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After a very long bus ride, we arrived at Wave City, where the sign reads, “Welcome to the city that thinks for you.” Here’s the scoop from the Wave City website:

Wave City is one of India’s largest Smart Cities, which is spread across an impressive 4500 acres. It is built on the Smart City concept by IBM. World renowned AECOM is its Town planner & Landscape designer. Wave City is constructed keeping in mind contemporary design and new–age architecture. With the luxury of open spaces and modern designs, this city ensures a pampered, secure and luxurious lifestyle. It boasts of more than 750 acres of green spaces, wide roads & congestion-free BRT network for smooth traffic flow, mechanized garbage control systems, fiber optic connectivity for each resident, 24×7 security systems, healthcare provisions including hospitals, medical university, ISKCON Temple, educational institutions, local shopping centers, malls and multiplexes – among many other facilities. It is a city full of vigor and vitality, which makes it the perfect place to enjoy a comfortable, convenient and uncluttered lifestyle.

Ummm… right. We didn’t see much “vigor and vitality.” But there was tilled parched earth as far as the eye could see with an occasional little park and clusters of concrete buildings. Lots of signs promoted communities of the future, such as Greenwood Enclave. It’s hard to imagine any enclave here being green or woody. For some reason, roadblocks prevented our bus from using the marked route to the Devil’s Circuit. We actually went off road, rocking and bumping on a pitted dirt path, to reach the race.

This sign cracks me up! That “sample built-up” ain’t gonna happen.
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tails

Right off the bat, we slogged through thick slippery mud, climbing over or ducking under hurdles. I skipped quite a few of the obstacles, particularly those that predictably plopped competitors into a mud pit. However, I did conquer a few, including:
* hopping across wooden poles stuck upright in the mud,
* climbing a wall and rappelling down the back,
* scurrying up, over and down a rope spider web arch,
* pulling myself out of a deep pit with mud up to my shins,
* scooting across a beam stretched over a mud pit while holding hands with my friend Beth, who was doing the same on a parallel beam, and
* carrying a sand bag from point A to point B (I dumped out about half the sand … shhh.).

Wow, I’m racking my brain and I can’t think of any more. I started to tackle the monkey bars, but the bars were too big and wet to grip, so I quickly gave up. I managed to stay dry from the knees up until we came to the last obstacle. There we had to lie down face-up in a muddy trench and use the chain link fence covering the opening to pull ourselves through the water to the exit. We emerged completely soaked and muddy. The finish line included a tank of icy cold water. We climbed out, shook our tails for the cameras and then claimed our participation medals. As the only group in costumes, we also won the costume contest!

Brave Tami!
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Kate and Kathryn came up with a creative way to get across the pit, so Beth and I followed suit.
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More pics.
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The Devil’s Circuit Facebook Page featured this shot of us as their banner for a few days. Pretty hilarious!
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Everything old is new again … Old Delhi through the eyes of visitors

Tony’s sister Liz arrived March 30 and hit the ground running! No time for jetlag…

Although Old Delhi is a must-see attraction, it can be pretty intimidating. A bicycle rickshaw tour is marginally safer and less scary, so that’s how we kicked off Liz’s India tour. Theresa, Tony, Liz and I climbed aboard two rickshaws, disembarking to visit the spice market, Jain Temple and sari market, essentially following in the same footsteps as our first Delhi rickshaw tour.

Ratan gets ready to chauffeur Tony and Liz.
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Off we go, straight into traffic.
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A view from the top of the spice market. I’m not sure what those yellow things are drying in the sun.
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Stringing streetside flower garlands.
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Theresa and me. Dang, I forgot our driver’s name!
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Barely squeaking by a watermelon salesman.
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Driving through the wedding market.
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That’s my handsome groom!
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Tony takes the wheel (handlebars?).
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Following lunch at McDonald’s (Theresa got the McVeggie, a paneer patty), we walked to the Red Fort.
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A colorful crowd heads in to the fort.
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Emperor Shah Jahan (the same guy who built the Taj Mahal) constructed this fort starting in 1638 after he moved his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad, in what is now Delhi. (Remember when Theresa and I visited the FIRST city in Delhi? This was the SEVENTH!) It served as the Mughal Empire capital until a failed uprising against the British in 1857. At one point, up to 3,000 people lived in the fort complex.

Love those Mughal-style archways! This was the Diwan-i-Aam, a pavilion for public audiences with the emperor.
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The Diwan-i-Khas was used for private audiences with the emperor.
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Yes, yes, we know … we’re fabulous. But how many photos of sweaty foreigners do you really need?
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Field-tripping through historic Delhi

Last week, the whole third grade visited two historical sites – Humayun’s Tomb and Purana Qila – just a short drive from the American Embassy School. My group visited Humayun’s Tomb first, clipboards in hand to record notes in their “See-Think-Wonder” booklets. I was thrilled to meet Gayetri, a third-grader’s mom and a New Delhi native, who joined our group and shared her expertise on the two sites. As the kids sketched pictures inside the austere 450-year-old tomb, I looked up at the carved lattice screens and imagined veiled women standing on the balcony praying over the marble memorial of their fallen emperor. How fortunate are these students who get to walk in the footsteps of people they study in the classroom? How exciting to see the excavation and restoration first hand!

Construction on Humayun’s Tomb started in 1565, 14 years after his death. The second Mughal Emperor, he ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. (During the gap, the region came under the rule of Pashtun noble Sher Shah Suri, but Humayun’s army ultimately won back the territory.) His tomb was the first “paradise garden”-concept tomb on the Indian subcontinent and inspired many architectural innovations. Stone channels criss-cross the complex, providing water for irrigation. We strolled through the peaceful gardens, climbed steep steps to the terrace, and entered the 47-meter-high tomb. We all agreed the low-lying fog added to the tomb’s mystique. As we were leaving the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the children excitedly spotted a worker painting designs in a restored alcove.

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If you’re interested in learning more about Humayun’s Tomb, Wikipedia has a nice page about it. The Aga Khan Development Network website explains the restoration work under way at the site.

After a short bus ride, the kids piled out at Purana Qila. Emperor Humayun founded the city of Dina-panah (the sixth city to be located in what is now Delhi) in 1533, and Purana Qila was the city’s inner fort. Some highlights for the students and me included the ruins of a hamam that had cutting-edge steam rooms and running hot water (which is more than I can say for my New Delhi apartment); a baoli (well) with 89 steps leading down to the fort’s source of fresh water; and the Qila-i-Kuna Mosque, where our students hunkered down for a few moments of quiet. They even knelt in the mihrab, facing Mecca, to emulate Muslims praying here. I wasn’t sure whether that would be offensive to anyone, but the kids found it meaningful, so I just let it go.
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Another fascinating building at Purana Qila was the Sher Mandel, Humayun’s observatory and library. On Jan. 24, 1556, the emperor had been star gazing when he reportedly rushed down the stairs to evening prayers. Tripping over his long robe, he fell and died of his injuries two days later.
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Good ‘ol Wikipedia does a fine job reporting on Purana Qila, if you want to read more.

Seeing history unfold era by era is one of my favorite parts of exploring India. At both our field trip destinations, I was reminded of Humayun’s son, Akbar, and great-grandson, Shah Jahan. I visited some of their old stomping grounds – including the Taj Mahal – near Agra last August.

My posse and me.
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