Getting lost in the crowds in Delhi

I’ve lost Adrian.

Not lost him entirely. I know he is here at Qutb Minar with me. I just can’t actually see him.

You see we’ve been swamped by a group of school students all on an excursion to this popular tourist destination in Delhi.

He is somewhere in the middle of the group, while I’m trying to take a photo of them all.

Somehow, we’ve become the central attraction. At one point, I sit on a rock reading about the history of the Qutb Minar when a group of school kids walks past. One asks to shake my hand, so they all shake hands with me. One after the other they line up to shake my hand.

Just when I think they’re done a teacher comes back with two kids.

They didn’t get to shake my hand, he explains, would it be ok if I did so now. Of course I oblige, all the while wondering why we are so interesting to the local students. Wondering too, if this is what it’s like to be Kylie Minogue.

When we arrived in Delhi two weeks earlier, we pretty much took the first train we could out to Gwalior, so we really didn’t get to see any of the city. But this time the reality of the place hits us completely.

It is a city quite unlike any other place we’ve ever visited. It is a city of contrasts – a city of extreme poverty and excessive wealth. A city packed full of people, but most of all a city of intrigue.

Delhi, more than any other part of India, is exhausting. But like the country overall, it gets under your skin and is with you long after you leave.

Pahar Ganj is the oldest part of the city. It is dirty and grungy and you can buy pretty much anything very cheaply from the markets in the main street. But it is also so very interesting.

It is a stark contrast to Connaught Place, the new part of the city, which could rival the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

There are more than 1000 monuments in Delhi, far too many to visit in any one trip, but it does mean there is always something to visit regardless of your tastes or your mood.

While most of the buildings have stood for centuries, the Lotus Temple is a newbie, built in the past 100 years by the Baha’i Faith. It is a place of multifaith worship, and the temple looks remarkably like the Sydney Opera House. The temple is far more impressive from the outside than it is inside.

The UNESCO World Heritage listed Qutb Minar is the tallest tower in Delhi at 72.5m high. Building began in 1199. It was built in celebration of Qutb-Ud-din Aibak’s triumphs in northern India and to celebrate the eastern frontier of the Muslim world.

The minaret was open for tours until the 1970s when a group of schoolchildren got caught inside when the lights went out. Many of the children died in the resulting stampede and the minaret has been closed ever since.

Evidently, it is still a popular attraction for school groups, however, and it’s no wonder. The site is really interesting, even if you can no longer go inside.

The Jama Masjid and Red Fort are also well worth a look, that is if you’re not over visiting forts yet.

Fast Facts

We travelled in 2007.

We stayed in Delhi for three days.

Was it long enough? No! There is so much to see and do here, not to mention all the restaurants and streets to wander through you could spend weeks. But three days was enough to give us the highlights and a sense of the place.

Highlights: Meeting the very polite and charming school kids at Qutb Minar, wandering the streets of this crazy city.

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