Anju collected us at the hotel ( minus Nig 2 and Kevin who had decided to go it alone ) and we started with India's largest mosque, the Jami Masjid.
Cover up decency was the order of the day - can I just point out however that I really haven't put on all that much weight - I have my rucksack on under here.
We then walked along one of the main wide boulevards Chadni Chowk to visit a Sikh temple, which I found to be much more interesting. The Sikh temples ( Gurdwaras ) are open to people of all religions, and are generally open 24 hours a day. They offer shelter and food to any one in need, provide care for the sick, elderly and handicapped and are centres for promoting culture and health. The Sikh scriptures are recited or sung and sermons are delivered. The Langar in a Sikh Gurdwara is the community kitchen and every Sikh is expected to take part in the running of the kitchen. He may pay towards the expenses, bring provisions or personally contribute his labour, by cleaning utensils, fetching water or fuel, or taking a hand in the cooking or distributing the food. Anju took us all around the various parts of the temple and in the main bread-making and cooking area Margaret proved a dab hand at flipping the naans. It seemed so different from the exclusion we had felt at the mosque.
The rest of the day we were led through the different bazaars of Old Delhi -
very narrow lanes with hardly any natural light - and very interesting wiring!
Kinari Bazaar specialises in tinsel accessories for weddings
Khari Baoli is the biggest spice market in Asia, and you get the aroma from 2 streets away. One street away and I started sneezing, as the cumulative effect of pepper, cumin, mustard seed, garam masala, cloves et al got too much for my overwhelmed olefactory system.
We must have walked miles today - but it was all endlessly fascinating. I don't think The Lanes in Carlisle will ever do it for me again. Anju had given us the whole whistle-stop experience of Old Delhi, and had given us the confidence to dip in and out on our own now. The whole day has been remarkably hassle-free.
Cover up decency was the order of the day - can I just point out however that I really haven't put on all that much weight - I have my rucksack on under here.
We then walked along one of the main wide boulevards Chadni Chowk to visit a Sikh temple, which I found to be much more interesting. The Sikh temples ( Gurdwaras ) are open to people of all religions, and are generally open 24 hours a day. They offer shelter and food to any one in need, provide care for the sick, elderly and handicapped and are centres for promoting culture and health. The Sikh scriptures are recited or sung and sermons are delivered. The Langar in a Sikh Gurdwara is the community kitchen and every Sikh is expected to take part in the running of the kitchen. He may pay towards the expenses, bring provisions or personally contribute his labour, by cleaning utensils, fetching water or fuel, or taking a hand in the cooking or distributing the food. Anju took us all around the various parts of the temple and in the main bread-making and cooking area Margaret proved a dab hand at flipping the naans. It seemed so different from the exclusion we had felt at the mosque.
The rest of the day we were led through the different bazaars of Old Delhi -
very narrow lanes with hardly any natural light - and very interesting wiring!
Kinari Bazaar specialises in tinsel accessories for weddings
Khari Baoli is the biggest spice market in Asia, and you get the aroma from 2 streets away. One street away and I started sneezing, as the cumulative effect of pepper, cumin, mustard seed, garam masala, cloves et al got too much for my overwhelmed olefactory system.
We must have walked miles today - but it was all endlessly fascinating. I don't think The Lanes in Carlisle will ever do it for me again. Anju had given us the whole whistle-stop experience of Old Delhi, and had given us the confidence to dip in and out on our own now. The whole day has been remarkably hassle-free.
No comments:
Post a Comment