Pottering Around The Eternal Capital...
Krishna Ramkumar
1 April 2007, 18:23I had started out writing a travelogue a couple of years ago and never got around to actually finishing. I recently decided that I would like to share exerpts and bits from my travails. This will be the first of what I hope will complete a series of pieces that can help complete a journey…
An excerpt from an email to friends and loved ones dated March 3rd, 2005:
Sometimes I feel (as everyone knows..) that I never learn my lessons. My usual knack of leaving things hanging on a thread till the last possible moment caused some moments of alarm…
After getting home from work much later than planned – closer to 2 AM, I suddenly woke up at 5.25 AM only to realize that my packing was not over, my transport was not organized, my breath smelled foul and I needed to be in the airport in 15 minutes!!! (the flight was at 6.35 AM! )
My poor father was yanked out of bed and deputed to drop me off at the airport which I reached within a staggering 30 mins of waking up. In the process of course I did not do a lot of things left to do in the last minute… but managed to get the most important stuff onto the plane on time… i.e, me, myself and the cameras!
I reached Delhi at 9.00 am. Walked out into a beautiful morning. The weather here was so lovely, and imagine walking out of blistering Madras into a 20 deg Delhi…mmm… Just love the place. It is so vibrant and I realize that the only reason that Delhi lives on eternally is because it respects the past but moves on so progressively. At times though, I feel like Madras (and at times even Bangalore/Bombay) is such a hick town compared to here while at others moments it is like stumbling back a few centuries.
New Delhi is the latest city in the series of cities that have sprung up over the last 3000 years on the site. What is unusual is that these cities have always been capitals and have seen various tides of war, culture and fate… Though I have traveled to Delhi before, I have not had the opportunity to extensively wander around and made up my mind to explore at least one major monument this time.
The old city of Mehrauli was built by the first of the Islamic dynasties that ruled from Delhi. This covers a geographic area of almost 200 acres with over a hundred monuments spread around. The most important monument and world heritage site is of course, the Qutub Minar.
The Qutub Minar Tower was started by Qutub-ud-din Aibak in 1119. The sultan’s successor Ilttumish completed the edifice. I never realized that the ruins at the Qutub Minar Complex were so extensive and captivating… I clicked till I dropped… (at least until I ran out of film!).
The place was absolutely captivating. The entry facade and lot of buildings were typically islamic architecture…but going into the complex I realized in shock that the pillars, domes, ceilings were from Hindu and Jain temples. The god and goddesses were defaced and disfigured to resemble patterns (Islamic architecture does not allow human or beast forms – only geometrical shapes, inscriptions and floral patterns).
For a moment, I was caught up in the moment realizing that these were the very structures torn away from the ancient temples of Somnath, Kashi, Mathura to build the first Islamic Monument / Mosque in India – The Qutub Minar/ Quwwat-ul-Islam (original name meaning “Might of Islam”).
Qutub-ud-din was in a hurry to proclaim Mohammed Ghori’s victory and the new kingdom as an islamic dynasty and gain acceptance from the caliphate. He really did not have enough time to build a mosque/monument from scratch and recycled all the material he could from the very temples he tore down. The Qutub Minar complex itself is on a site of what was probably a Vishnu temple. There is a famous iron pillar in the middle of the courtyard and a 4th century Sanskrit inscription proclaims it to be a “Vishnudvaja” or a standard/flagstaff of Vishnu – one of the hindu trinity.
The amazing thing about this pillar is that it has not rusted and stands strong after more than a thousand years of being exposed to the ravages of weather. A legend goes that anyone who is able to circle the pillar with their arms backward (behind them) can wish for whatever they want… and that their wishes will come true.
After spending a few hours at the Qutub, went onwards to meet some family friends. Sukanya Aunty a childhood friend of appa (my dad) and my athai (dad’s sister) asked me to come over in the afternoon. She is the wife of Pandit Ravishankar, sitar maestro and mother of Anoushka Shankar (step sister of Norah Jones). Anoushka is a childhood friend of mine and we were born just a month apart. The family have lived all over the world and finally settled down in New Delhi a couple of years ago to build their home and the lovely Ravishankar Center for Music attached to it.
I had a lovely time there – Anoushka was doing some recordings with a group of musicians from all over the world; Amazing stuff – blew my mind away. That girl is a genius! The creative air was so absorbing… a mix of indian classical, resonant shlokas, saxophone blues, tabla beats and some amazing drumming left me speechless. Anoushka was the fulcrum of action, bouncing all over the place.
There was a documentary film maker (Art) from London who was everywhere, filming everything… Sukanya aunty insisted on bringing up an amusing 1985 video (which she had played them) at my cousin Preetham’s upanayanam (thread ceremony) with my cousin Roopa and Anoushka doing a dance for some rhymes/songs on stage and me (4 at the time!) trying to do a hash job on stage with the girls (obviously… I HAD to be on stage!!!)...
Went on to meet my friend Krishi (another Krishna) at about 10. We then went to a typical dhaba (north Indian term for roadside eatery) where I had the best parathas in all my life… (mmm…) adventurously ate some of the pickled chilies that were served alongside and paid for that the next day!
(Parathas are flat unleavened bread usually stuffed with cottage cheese, potatoes, and vegetables; and grilled in an Indian clay oven)
After lazing around the next morning, went and got tickets to my next destination – Haridwar. That would be my first rendezvous with the Ganges during this trip. After packing my stuff, left for the rail station-on the way I stopped off at a pub in Connaught Place (the heart of New Delhi) to grab a quick meal.
A very surprising sight met my eyes – an older European/American guy was having a casual drink and conversation with… a swami in ochre! (A swami is an Indian holy man/hermit who lives as a renunciate of the world and earthly pleasures.)
As accepting and unorthodox as Hindu Philosophy is, you would hardly expect to bump into a swamiji in a bar! You would usually picture them to be strictly abstinent and possibly meditating under a tree – not casually smoking a cigarette, swilling whiskey in a pub. However, as surprising as this was – the man did not seem incongruous or even fake. I did happen to be seated fairly close and did eavesdrop (not on purpose) on their conversation… they were having an indepth conversation of Indian philosophy.
I quietly had my meal washed down by a couple of beers and was about to leave when the swami beckoned to me. After respective introductions and a casual conversation finally left holding on to his email address that I was asked to write to.
Rushed into the station in time to catch my train to Haridwar, the gateway to the Himalayas, the Ganges… Holy Haridwar – Ancient ‘Mayapuri’, one of the legendary 7 holiest cities in the land.
Hi Krishna
Very interesting write. Correct me if I’m wrong but some sources claim that Delhi has been a capital city all the way back to the Mahabharatha. I guess it was called Indraprastha then? Just regurgitating something I heard, so not sure if its fact.
I have a hilarious incident in connection with Delhi that I must relate. I was in Delhi last year, working on installing some wireless equipment. Line of sight issues for the wireless signals pose big challenges and we always look for workarounds. As I scanned the horizon, I saw this tall tower and asked the local Delhi based field engineer if we could find permission to mount the radios on the tower. With a completely deadpan face he refused in heavily Punjabi accented Hindi several times, then finally pointed out….“Naaa ji, woh tho Qutb Minar hai, permission nahin milegi”!! ...and that was my introduction to that historical structure :)
— Venkat · Apr 1, 22:22 · #