I must confess that I did not do lot of research before embarking on this trip of a lifetime. Cintra and I had always known that one day we would like to visit the country of our forefathers. We knew a little about the places we planned to visit from school geography, news reports, conversations with people from India or who visited South Asia.
Although I would now strongly recommend doing some intentional research before travelling, we enjoyed some of the surprises and “Wows” that come with seeing things with a fresh perspective.
That was true about our visit to the city of Chennai and even more so about the capital city of Delhi. Chennai introduced us to the insane traffic, population density, extreme heat, and a city struggling to cope with the demands of growth. Yet it is rich in history and in many ways a realistic picture of India.
Then two days ago we arrived in Delhi. My, what a contrast! Our host, Wilfred Balraj, brother-on-law of our friend Rev. Mathias Ross, met us at the airport and greeted us like long lost relatives. Wilfred and his daughter, Abigail, have been the most generous and gracious hosts. Wilfred’s wife, Sunitha, is away in Iraq on Unicef business, and is returning home for a short while.
Wilfred took us on a long route to his apartment, so that we could be introduced to the city. All we could express during the drive was one surprise after another. First the streets where all the embassies are located, then palaces and temples and one architectural wonder after another.
The beauty of the landscaping was another shock. We had never seen anything like it. My myths of India were shattered.
For two days, we had the chance to drive along the streets of Delhi on our way to places like restaurants, malls, church, market and so on. On each of these trips we witnessed scenes that amazed and surprised.
One cannot drive through any part of any Indian city without seeing disturbing signs of poverty, homelessness, disrepair and pollution.
The positive signs for us were generally more orderly traffic, environmental awareness and modern lifestyles.
We have not done any touristy things, given the short time until we leave for Agra. However, we found some time for mall and open market browsing as well as enjoying some exceptional dining places.
We have been in India for four weeks and this is the first Hindi speaking place we have been. We were no longer surrounded by Tamil, Singhalese or Mallayam.
The commonly used languages here are Hindi and English.
As we plan to leave for Rajasthan, we look forward to returning to Delhi on two more weekends and hope to enjoy more of what this bustling, beautiful and thriving city has to offer.
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