Astrophysics in India: New Delhi

Indian Bee - For Jacob

Arriving in New Delhi we were excited to finally get there. It had been like 28h+ without anything resembling sleep. We arrived at 05:30 Thursday, 9 June and the temperature was already 34C. We had not planned any reservations at any hotels. We were about to get our first taste of India. We mosied up to the rent a car counter. There we asked about hotels in Delhi. Not very many people speak English well in India. Simple present tense English please! We ended up getting a driver to take us from the airport to somewhere.

The Ivory Palace eh?

At this point we did not know the value of the Indian Rupee. As it stood, it was about 45Rps = 1USD. We thought paying 500Rps. for a taxi was OK. It turns out that one can get a car for the whole day for about 600Rps. We should have paid no more than 150Rps. The next few days would be a steep learning curve.

Anyway, the driver took us to a travel agent against our will and threatened me for a tip. He actually tried to pickpocket me right in front of me. I should have clocked him but my gentle nature forbid me. (I tipped 200Rps which I am sure made his day)

Sleeping while Connie and I call the Canadian Embassy to
see if wee got schmuzzelled.

At the travel agent we were introduced to Raj, a 30-something man who knew splendid English (apparently he lived in New York for a while). He sold us a 43,500Rps trip that had us spend one day in Delhi, one day in Agra, and two days in Jaipur, including a driver and sight seeing along the way. We got the short straw of that deal (that's a lot of money for what we got).

Anyway we were excited to get to our hotel and rest. The Ivory Palace Hotel was definitely not a palace. I didn't mind the heat or conditions so much or even the the people always trying to take your rich white man money.

A woman with a baby (possibly not hers) begging for 5Rps. The
babies have a dim future ahead of them. I borrowed 10Rps from
Connie to give. Weirdly I didn't get a sense of satisfaction at
doing a good deed.

What I saw made me sad. The people of India were forced to live in squalid conditions. The men treated women as objects, not worthy of intelligence. The rich lived far above the poor. Disease infected everyone. Military presence everywhere kept the peace. I felt that many of the people were starved of freedom.

Tourism was as much an economic tool as a means of communicating the country's most dire problems. And yet the people are very happy. Children run through the streets (so do cows) and are safe from harm.

In retrospect, while the majority of Delhi was filthy and poor, it seems as though the people care for one another. They may not have much but what they do have they share and provide for those in need.

I sneak-climbed up to the roof of our hotel. From there the view is
amazing.

In fact, when entering a shop where the inhabitants could speak some English we were often offered hospitality Though water was expensive they would provide it to a strange that would share their roof.

There are however quite dangerous parts of Delhi and we were warned not to go there. But then again most cities have dangerous places.

All people everywhere are a product of memory and history and India certainly has a vast history. Parts of it are beautiful. Parts of it are deplorable. Parts are unknown to me. I like it here though I would never choose to live here.

Possibly another for Jacob.

As we left Delhi we stopped at this temple. It is a rather new religion I think. It is known as the universal religion. It is the realization that all people have different beliefs. This is an efficient way of clumping them altogether and saying that all are equally beautiful. One thing is certain though. The universal temple tries to remove stratification between people of differing faiths. If we can live in peace then everyone will be happy.