Tuesday 9th April 2019 Returning to our hotel by tuk-tuk from a different direction one day we realised just how close we were to the Gandhi Smriti, or Gandhi Remembrance, a memorial marking the place where he was assassinated in the gardens of the then Birla Bhavan on 30 January 1948 on his way to conduct his nightly multi-faith prayer meeting. On our last morning in Delhi we decided we would visit the Gandhi Smriti and learn more about this legendary man who used non-violent means to lead a struggle over decades against British rule in India and inspired many more to use civil resistance and non-cooperation as a method of protest. There is a wealth of information about Gandhi inside this luxurious building where he spend the last 144 days of his life. Stone footprints lead poignantly along the path where he took his final steps towards the Martyr’s Column in the garden marking the place where he was shot. His words are inspirational but it seems mankind still has a long way to go to make them reality. “There is enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.” “Live simply so that others may […]
2019 India
Monday 8th April 2019 Robert spent some time studying the map of the city in conjunction with the map of the metro and planned a route for the day on air-conditioned public transport. Our first destination was the Lotus Temple, also known as the Baha’i House of Worship, and although we had realised that it would not be open – many of the major sights do close on a Monday – we wanted to go and see the exterior. Even from outside and from afar it is worth a look. As we made our way from the metro to the perimeter of the temple, we were surrounded by a group of young girls. It is one of the truly unfortunate sights in India. The very poor have no proper accommodation, sanitation or food. As a foreigner, you are constantly confronted by children and mothers with babes in arms gesturing for food. Despite feeling a ready sympathy for their plight, and being very conscious of the difference in your own circumstances, all the guide books, and even notices around the station and public places, advise against giving any money. Normally a polite “no” and avoiding eye contact makes people give up. […]
Sunday 7th April 2019 Having used the New Delhi Metro on Saturday, the places we wished to visit on Sunday were spread out around the city and were not necessarily close to metro stations so we decided to revert to travelling by tuk-tuk. Our first stop was Safdarjang’s Tomb which was built between 1753 and 1754 by his son and features an ornamental two storey gateway, a courtyard, mosque and channels to carry [currently non-existent] water to various pavilions. Safdarjang was the Governor of Awadh Province and later prime minister for the Mughal ruler, Mohammad Shah. From Safdarjang’s tomb [above] we headed towards Humayun’s tomb but we had not realised quite how many other memorials and mausoleums there would be at the Nizamuddin Complex. This is a medieval settlement which includes the graves of the poet Mrza Khan and Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan’s favourite daughter, as well as Humayun himself. First we visited Isa Khan’s garden tomb [below] which is twenty years older than Humayun’s mausoleum and is apparently the only surviving octagonal enclosed tomb complex with walls, gateway and mosque all intact. Humayun was the second Mughal emperor and his tomb is said to be the first great […]
Saturday 6th April 2019 On Friday 5 April, our final train journey from Amritsar to New Delhi ran to schedule but as it was an eight hour trip and we were up at 04:30 we decided to award ourselves an afternoon of rest and recuperation, to cool down in the pool and plan our sight-seeing for the next few days. Robert felt that as we were now in a cosmopolitan capital, he could wear shorts so that he really knew he was on holiday. The air-conditioned metro is just a short walk from our hotel and as we were walking there a passer-by complimented Robert on his shoes and advised us to be careful on the metro as it would be crowded and therefore pick-pockets could take advantage. In fact the metro was not only cool but relatively quiet. Our first stop was the Jama Masjid mosque. We read the signs regarding rules of entry and one of the requirements was no shorts, so on one of the only days that Robert has indulged in this, his sartorial preference on holiday, the shorts proved to be a barrier to our plans to see certain sights. We did see coaches disgorging […]
Thursday 4th April 2019 – Afternoon Jallianwala Bagh is close to the Golden Temple and was the scene of an infamous and bloody massacre, on 13 April 1919 by British troops under the command of General Dyer, of unarmed Indian men, women and children who were gathered in a walled garden to celebrate a festival. Many were killed or wounded and others jumped into an open well [below, bottom right] to escape the firing and were drowned. The bullet marks are still visible on the walls [below, bottom left] and it is said that this horrific and unjustifiable incident was a deciding factor in hastening the end of British rule in India. Strangely, this is a calm and tranquil park, as it must surely have been on the day of the massacre before the troops arrived. The topiary provides an ingenious and poignant commemoration of the event, using organic natural forms to create figures of firing and advancing soldiers. Robert had identified the Maharajah Ranjit Singh Panorama museum as somewhere he wanted to visit. Our guide was obviously nonplussed by this request but took us there nonetheless. It was not at all what we had expected but the formal gardens […]
Thursday 4th April 2019 – Morning We had secured a guide the day before to show us round the Golden Temple and the very knowledgeable, polite and solicitous Mr Singh met us in the hotel lobby at 10:00. Turning left out of the hotel we soon saw a different side to Amritsar. The streets opened out and we passed the statue of last king of Punjab, Maharajah Ranjit Singh, also known as the Lion of Punjab who provided the gold to bedeck the Golden Temple. We also passed the Partition Museum, housed in part of the imposing red-brick Town Hall building, and originally the headquarters of General Dyer [more about him in the next post]. Other parts of the Town Hall are being renovated in an on-going programme of restoration. The museum was opened in August 2017 and is intended to document the post-partition riots following the British withdrawal and the creation of Pakistan and India. On our way to the Golden Temple, Mr Singh pointed out a vegetarian McDonalds which, situated in close proximity to this holiest of shrines for Sikhs, does not serve any meat. It is in fact, the first ever vegetarian McDonalds in the world. Before […]
Wednesday 3rd April 2019 With an early train to catch, we had to leave before breakfast and found ourselves in a carriage with a party of British tourists we had previously seen on the train down from Shimla, although they had disembarked the Himalayan Queen part way down the hill. We sat with a Welsh couple and Robert was able to while away the four and a half hour journey discussing rugby, politics, holiday destinations and more rugby. As our train from Chandigarh to Amritsar travels at an average speed in excess of 34mph it is classified as a “Super Fast” express. When we found ourselves waiting just a short way outside Amritsar Station for about half an hour, we felt the average speed had to have been affected and we should be due a refund. However, when Robert looked this up, the average speed excludes stops. Having checked in to our room, Robert was shocked to discover that he had booked a four star hotel where there was no bar. The bell boy told us as we were going up in the lift that we were within 200 metres of the Golden Temple complex and apparently alcohol and meat […]
Tuesday 2nd April 2019 In 1950 Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India commissioned the building of a new city to serve as the state capital for Punjab as, when India gained Independence and East and West Pakistan were created, Lahore became the capital of West Pakistan. Chandigarh is a city and a union territory, governed directly by the Union Government, and serves as the state capital of both Haryana and Punjab. We visited The Le Corbusier Centre, the Old Architect’s Office, which was one of the first buildings to be constructed in Chandigarh and was used for its original purpose until 1965 when the Department of Urban Planning relocated elsewhere. It includes many interesting documents about the commissioning process and the building works. Nehru engaged the French-Swiss architect Charles Edouard Jeanneret [who adopted the name “Le Corbusier” and seems to have received most of the accolades and kudos] but his Swiss cousin Pierre Jeanneret, together with the English husband and wife team of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew were also responsible for much of this large civic architecture project. The city is laid out on a grid pattern and divided into 57 sectors, though we could not find […]
Monday 1st April 2019 Having climbed to these Himalayan heights there is always the journey back down and, as a mark of respect for this impressive little narrow gauge railway, Robert dressed to match The Himalayan Queen, as this ‘Toy Train’ is known. We were bemused by the yellow signs (see above) on several of the carriages which read, “Ball and sausage packing”. This is still a mystery but it appealed to our sense of humour. Shimla Railway Station is very clean and orderly having had, as a sign informed us, a “Heritage upgradation cum restoration” in 2018. As previously mentioned, the view is always different on the way down and we were pleased to be able to spot the Viceregal Lodge and its turreted profile perched high above us. The train left just seven minutes late but by the time we reached Kalka it was right back on schedule. We did think that the management of the DHR could benefit from some consultancy advice. We caught the train from Kalka back to Chandrigarh and were greeted by the same “Meals on Wheels” member of staff who had pointed at Robert’s stomach on the previous trip. We realised we may […]
Sunday 31st March 2019 It is easy to forget that, following Viceroy of India John Lawrence’s decision to move the capital of the British Raj from New Delhi to the hill station of Shimla in 1863, for six months of the year this was the headquarters of the government of India. In our guide book, the address of the Viceregal Lodge is given as The Mall and although this road spans four miles, as this has been a more sedentary holiday than we usually have we thought we would try walking. A more accurate address, which is given elsewhere, would be near Observatory Hill. There are no tuk-tuks or cows on the streets of Shimla and the traffic is therefore calmer than in other towns and cities. There are many hairpin bends on the roads to cope with the steep gradients but there are plenty of traffic police wearing curious shiny white hats shaped like those worn by Canadian Mounties, to direct and control the flow of vehicles. Our route took us back past the Post Office [below right] and the Railway Board Building [below left], which was built between 1896 and 1897 using cast iron and steel to ensire it […]
Saturday 30th March 2019 In 1864, Shimla became the summer headquarters of the British government in India, hence the building of the narrow gauge railway, and today it is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Although the forecast predicted rain and 18 degrees, the day was sunny, warm and bright. The upper entrance/exit to The Combermere Hotel is on The Mall, the four mile long main street through the town and we walked up and along part of this past many of the important old buildings of the British Raj. Some have been impressively restored to their Victorian splendour, such as the Gaiety Theatre, and the town hall and, whilst others are almost derelict, there are clearly plans to repair them. We climbed up to the eastern end of The Ridge to Christ Church, built in the gothic style in 1846 and the first church to be built in north India. This is not open to the public before 10:30 so we planned to return. The Ridge is an open area which is 7,316 feet above sea level and boasts views across to the Himalayas . . . . . . as well as the slightly incongruous mock Tudor library. The […]
Friday 29th March 2019 We had arranged a car to take us to New Delhi Station but the rush hour traffic was so bad we could not get close and in the end we got out and walked the last 200 meters. As we waited on the platform for the train to Kalka we were joined by two English ladies who were also travelling on to Shimla via Kalka and who, perhaps sensing Robert’s burgeoning Tour Manager skills or perhaps simply attracted by his Hawaiian shirt, thought we would provide a buffer between them and the many people who kept trying to accost and “help” them in the station. For this leg of our journey, we travelled executive class [EC] from New Delhi to Kalka which proved to be a very civilised experience. However, Indian Railways seemed incapable of booking groups or couples travelling together in adjacent seats but after some trading of places with others in the carriage, everyone seemed happy. The catering is provided by Meals on Wheels who we have experienced before and we were offered complementary water, tea/coffee and biscuits followed by breakfast. In an interesting local variation, although we had not ordered this ourselves, the […]
Wednesday 27th March 2019 As mentioned previously our hotel, in Jaisalmer, looks old but is actually very new. There is a huge amount of building work going on in India, Jaisalmer included. What sets Jaisalmer apart is the wonderful and fantastic sculptured sandstone buildings created by the skilled local craftsmen. Whilst trying to find the best spot in the hotel for WiFi, Robert started chatting to the owner and better WiFi speeds swiftly ensued. As the owner is also an architect, a discussion of hand drawn versus 3D computer drawn building designs followed. The owner’s brother and business partner is starting to create all the new designs in Google 3D Sketch-up. Robert is familiar with this software, obviously, and was able to give them a few hints, and further discussion about 3D printing sandstone was unavoidable. As it turns out heavy machinery is now used extensively to cut the sandstone into slabs of the specific required thickness. These are then either ‘distressed’ by hand or with a ball-bearing gun, or are intricately carved by chisel. This led to our next day’s adventure. The hotel owner arranged a trip for us to see the skilled craftsmen at work at the stonemasons […]
Tuesday 26th March 2019 We had our bespoke breakfast [no pre-prepared buffet here as everything is cooked to order] ready to go into the town to look round the sights. Staff were very helpful in stopping us from over-ordering food in the evening and again at breakfast. We both asked for hash brown potatoes, expecting a portion, but we were wisely advised to share what turned out to be a single hash brown the size of a desert plate. The combination of the view and the food made this one of the best breakfasts we have had. Jaisalmer is known as the Golden City because of the colour of the stone and indeed it has the lovely, warm, golden tones of a Cotswold village. Partly because it is built out of sandstone and partly because of the rounded crenellated battlements, Jaisalmer Fort does look like a child’s sandcastle, made by up-ending those shaped buckets you can find at all British seaside towns, whether they have sandy beaches or not. Jaisalmer Fort is described as ‘India’s only living fort’ as, rather than a monument, it is a walled city where an estimated 4,000 people live and work. We took a tuk-tuk […]
Monday 25th March 2019 Today was an early start, our train was timetabled to leave Jodhpur at 05:30, so we had arranged a taxi from the hotel at 04:45. Getting up at 04:00 it was dark, and the first job was to check the PNR number of our ticket, so we could find out our carriage and cabin numbers. Unfortunately our PNR gave us an error: not an auspicious start. When we arrived at the station we checked with the ‘Reservation Counter’ and we were told we were in HA-2, C and C. So a first class AC1 carriage and both in cabin C. The train arrived into the station on time at 05:00, not bad when you consider it had travelled over 400 miles from Delhi overnight. We found the HA-1 carriage, but we were told we were at the wrong end of the train because it was splitting at Jodhpur and the other end was the one going on to Jaisalmer. We duly walked down to the far end of the train only to find there was no HA-2 carriage. Robert had a lengthy discussion with the guard and it transpired that there was in fact no first […]
Sunday 24th March 2019 We took a brief trip into the old city to the Clock Tower and the Sardar Bazaar. On walking out of the hotel, the helpful doorman who stands in front of the part of the palace which is still a regal residence, told us the price we could expect to be charged for a tuk-tuk. Whilst this was still a “tourist” price, it was helpful to have some guidance. The Clock Tower, or Ghanta Ghat, was built in 1912 by Maharaja Sardar Singh who also gave his name to the market in the surrounding streets. The Fort looms up behind the Clock Tower, which is now the main focal point. Although Ghanta Ghat is illuminated at night, there is a wind blowing dust or desert sand around the city and as we have an early train to catch we are not planning on seeing this. The staff in our hotel are appropriately and smartly dressed in tunics and the distinctive churidar trousers which were the basis for the famous Jodhpur trousers. Jodhpurs were developed by Sir Pratap Singh, a keen polo player and member of the Rathore clan of Rajputs who ruled in Jodhpur. Originally a […]