Central Delhi

Today was another sunny and busy day, with my explorations broken up by three meetings early in the afternoon. I started the morning by catching an autorickshaw to Shri Laxmi Narayan Temple. It was built on the initiative of Mohandas Gandhi with the goal of serving all castes – a very progressive idea for the time. Although quite glamorous and expansive on the outside, the interior of the temple is not overly ornate, with little to attract the eye beside the statue of each shrine’s main deity.

Within walking distance of the Shri Laxmi Narayan Temple lies the Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib, a Sikh place of worship. I flailed about for a while trying to discover the exact procedure for visiting, though it was really quite simple. All I had to do was deposit my shoes at the counter, put a little cloth on my head, and walk to the stairs through a shallow pool of water. Purchasing and making an offering, I concluded, was not compulsory. A ceremony was underway in the temple, with the incantations written on electronic boards and translated into English.

Once again, I walked to my next destination: the old astronomical observatory. Just like the one in Jaipur, New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar was constructed by Maharaja Jai Singh II. It is perhaps somewhat smaller than its better-known cousin and does not have as many instruments, but it reinforces its uniqueness with its bright red colour, as opposed to the pastel shades of Jaipur’s. Finally, I stopped by Agrasen Ki Baoli, a massive step well that now serves as a place for young people to hang out and chat.

By the time my meetings ended, the weather had turned markedly inhospitable. The wind picked up and for a moment, it even started to rain. I was near India Gate when the first drops began to fall, but my intuition told me it would not last. After letting a few autorickshaw drivers fight over me, I found myself fighting the winner, who tried to convince me to visit a bazaar instead. Saying the roads would be full because of the bad weather, he took every instance of traffic as proof of his assessment. As both my optimism and will were inflexible, though, he could do little but alternately complain and gloat while driving me to Sunder Nursery.

By the time we reached Sunder Nursery, I had been proven right. It stopped raining and after some time, the sky became blue again. I walked around Sunder Nusery, admiring the beautiful ceilings of the different tombs and enjoying the park’s greenery. I’d also just checked my emails and discovered that I had received a job offer, which lifted a heavy weight off my chest.

Just across the road from Sunder Nursery is the entrance to Humayun’s Tomb. Really, the name of this complex is shorthand for a collection of impressive tombs, of which Humayun’s is simply the most monumental. Seen as a precursor to the Taj Mahal, it too is a highly symmetrical structure with its domed building standing atop a vaulted pedestal. Unlike the Taj Mahal, however, Humayun’s Tomb is made of red and beige sandstone. The other major tomb in this complex is that of Isa Khan, which is octagonal in shape and more colourful than many of the rest.

There is something intriguing about the figure of Humayun, who had to flee Delhi to Persia and only reconquered the city with the help of the Safavids fifteen years later. Son of the Mughal patriarch Baber and descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, Humayun would go on to father the great emperor Akbar, who himself was the grandfather of the famous Shah Jahan. Upon his return from Persia, Humayun was accompanied by a number of artisans and nobles who brought their culture and exerted significant influence over the prevalent styles in Delhi.