Discover Delhi IX: Old Delhi Walk IV: The spiritual Trail

Old Delhi to me will always remain a very big and busy Indian Bazaar, despite the nostalgia that it may evoke, the culinary delights that it may offer and the old world charm that it exudes. Not many may notice, but it has a very secular trail of spiritual places hidden in it, almost echoing the secular nature of the business that flourishes here. This walk took me down the shrines of Jains, Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus that are in the vicinity of each other, each at least a few centuries old, each one living and providing the spiritual stop to its devotees and co-existing with its counterparts.

Jain Temples: There are two Jain temples in old Delhi, one belonging to the Digambar sect and the other to the Shwetamabar sect. Both the temples are at walking distance from each other and the kind of work done in the temples is quite similar and also indicative of the fact that they are belong to the same period and were probably built during the time of Shahajahan and survived the invasions by his son Aurangzeb. The beautiful paintings in red, green and blue colors, carvings, gold plated walls and richly painted ceilings also indicate the influence of the Islamic art form in these temples, and may have been done under the patronage of Mughal kings. Of course, these temples have been constantly maintained by their Jain devotees and patrons. Jains are traditionally the business community and wealthy people and are said to donate with an open heart to build temples. This is evident in the brilliant temples that exist across the country and most of them are being constantly expanded and maintained. It can also be read across temples where the stones carry the names of the donors along with the amounts donated. Most of the times donations are made by people in memory of their parents or their spouses, and the names of both are put on the stones.

Digambar Jain Lal temple is more conspicuously located on the main road, bang opposite the red fort gate. The temple has a simple ground floor, with the temple office, a huge bookstore and a mediation center which seems to have been recently built. The meditation center is nice and inviting, but there were big mousse all over the place, making it difficult to sit there and it is impossible to even think of closing your eyes for meditation. The stairs take you to the first floor which houses the idols of various Jain teerthankars, the painted walls and ceilings in rich colors and embellished in gold. In fact the first impression that the temple gives you is that of a Buddhist temple which are usually done in bold gold and rich red. The idols are in precious stones, marbles and few of them in silver and plated with 24 karat gold. The outside of temple is like a usual temple that you see everywhere in India, but inside it may be one of the richest temples. There are multiple points provided to a visitor to make any donation to the temple. There are a series of donation boxes kept in a line where you can put your donations, if you want a receipt of your donation, there are temple’s officials sitting with a receipt book on a table and chair as visibly as possible. The boxes can be better designed to gel with the décor of the temple, as of now they act as an eye sore and are almost like shouting for donation. There is a model of the temple complex kept on the outer edge and a Karan mantra ghanta in a glass case which is worshipped. Digambar Jains are also called sky clad, i.e. they do not believe in wearing clothes, so be prepared to see a stark naked person cleaning the place. A devotee who visits the temple everyday explained that you have to take permission from the Mahavir and Padmavati before you do anything, otherwise they may not allow you to accomplish anything. The white marble pillar outside the temple has lot of Jain symbols engraved on it. One of them shows the lion and the cow drinking from the same vessel and nurturing each others young one, depicting the epitome of non-violence and peaceful co-existence, which is the core principle of Jainism.

A part of Digambar Jain temple houses the bird hospital, established in 1929, which they say is one of its kinds in the world. There are many hospitals that treat domesticated animals and cattle, but not the ones dedicated to birds. The usual patients at this hospital are the birds that get hurt by getting stuck in fans, get cut by the flying kites or by the stones thrown on them. If you look at the ceilings in the temple and in the hospital you would see that the fans are put in a cage so that birds do not get stuck in them. There were rabbits, peacocks, parrots, pigeons and many other types of birds. Being a Jain hospital, only vegetarian birds are treated here. The ones under treatment are kept in individual cages and the ones who are slightly better are kept in large cages where they can fly. On the above floor there are treated birds, and the ones which are completely treated are set free every Sunday. The roof of the hospital is full of water and food containers for birds. From here you get a top view of the area, red fort looks nice. The attendants and the doctor there are quite friendly and would take you around and show you the birds and would take any questions that you may have with a smile.

Shwetambar Jain temple was big surprise for me in this walk. It looks like a small temple hidden in the bylanes of Kinari Bazaar. The Naughara lane which has this temple also has a few old Havelis with traditionally done facades. At the end of the lane on the right hand side you would see a small entrance to the temple where you would be asked to leave off all leather items and wash your hands before you go up and see temple. At the ground floor the place may look like a not a well maintained place, with books in one room and a collection of lot of artifacts kept randomly in another big one. But as you take the narrow and steep marble steps to the first floor, you are definitely in for a big surprise. It’s an incredibly beautiful temple with white marble painted in vibrant colors, gold being the most prominent one. Most of the paintings are old, but they are being restored now with the stone colors and gold. The ceilings are so intricate and rich that you can look at them for quite some time. There are murals and there is depiction of dancing girls with musicians with all the kinds of musical instruments. The walls all around have been recently done with reverse glass paintings depicting the life and times of Lord Mahavir. An aged priest, who is taking care of the temple for last 45 years will explain you all the idols and the stories with a lot of affection, which is very nice given the age of professionals that we live in. He explained his daily routine and how he takes care of the precious idols and the paintings that may go off if not cleaned properly. You have to see the temple to believe it beauty. Of all the monuments in old Delhi, it terms of sheer beauty, this is probably the best one.

Gauri Shankar temple is next to the Digambar Jain temple, and the construction of this temple is quite recent. It is an ancient but small temple, built during the days of Shahjahan, when the road outside it used to be a river. The small shrine is now being expanded constantly, with marble pillars, marble floors, idols of almost all representative Hindu deities and extensively carved doors. The idols are beautiful and you would admire them. The story of Appa Gangadhar Rao, who got this temple in prize from a king, is the only known history of this temple.

Gurudwara Sheeshganj is an important one in the history of Sikhs. This is the place Guru Teg Bahadur attained martyrdom in 1675. This is the place where he took his final bath, did his last prayer and was executed below a tree which is now preserved within the premises of the gurudwara. The historic spot is located below the spot where Guru granth sahib is now kept and is read everyday. The well can also be seen and though the well is closed, the volunteers will give you the water from the well, which is believed to have healing powers. Not sure how much of this is true, but I believe it is the faith of the devotees which makes it special. The huge community kitchen in the gurudwara feeds thousands every day. It is always a pleasure to visit the gurudwara community kitchens and see people working there with lot of seva bhav or the emotion of serving. The feeling is to serve the God by serving his people. Community service is something unique to the Sikh faith and is worth emulating. Gurudwaras are always run by people volunteering their services and not by paid services. The bookshop in Gurudwara offers literature on Sikhism. I picked up two books with a hope to read and understand this religion that I have always admired, a little better. They also allow you to take pictures anywhere inside the gurrudwara, unlike temples and mosques which do not, and I do not understand why? If you have time, sit there for sometime and listen to the Gurbani, and observe the serenity with which it is sung. Simply divine!

Just opposite the Sheeshganj, across the fountain chowk, which is also am important place for Sikh history, there is Bhai Mati Das Bhai Sati Das Dyala Museum. This double storey museum contains paintings depicting the life and times of all the 10 gurus of Sikhs and other important historical figures, including the recent war heroes. The huge paintings say the story in pictures though the descriptions are written along with each painting. You can spend some time and drown yourself in the Sikh history and the proud with which they treat it.

In the lane next to Sikh museum is a small Kali temple, which was closed when we went, but it is also said to be from the same period as the whole area. Adjacent to the Sheeshganj is Sunahari Masjid, a small non-descript monument, you can give it a miss, but for the fact that this is the place from where one of the worst massacres in the history was led by Nadir Shah. It is said that more than 30 thousand civilians were killed in the massacre, some estimated put the figure to about 150,000 killings in as single day. We could not find anyone who could explain anything else about this place.

While walking on the streets for this trail, look around and notice the old buildings, the SBI building is also a heritage building. When you see McDonalds and Café Coffee day housed in these heritage buildings, you suddenly see the past and present existing within each other. Notice the protruding balconies on the first floors of the buildings. Look for the old sign of famous ghantewala shop saying Ghantewala Shahi Halwai on top floor of the current day shop. For the food stop, there are famous Paranthas at Paranthe wali gali and opposite the Gauri Shankar temple at Manohar Dhaba you can sample the Japani Samosa, which is nothing but a small stuffed patty, made to look like a wonton. Talk of innovation in this place that holds so many heritages in its arms. Walk through the lane where garlands are being made out of fresh flowers and you would suddenly feel the flowers in the air, a sudden smoothening of the nerves with the fragrance all around.

This is one of those trails that you can always do, weather you live in Delhi or you are just visiting it.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux

This is the second book by the author that I read and I am tempted to read his other books as well. This book is about his journey from London to the Japan, covering the whole of Asia and back by a trans-Siberian route. He had taken a similar journey more than 30 years ago in early 70s. There are places in this voyage that he had visited earlier, some of which he found have not changed at all and some of them had changed beyond recognition. There are parts that he could not visit then and has visited for the first time and some of places are visited more for nostalgia than anything else. Most of the journey is done on train, across countries, continents, cultures and climates. Author traveled alone for months, meeting people on the trains, in the restaurants and in the streets.

At lot of places, author tries to spend time with the renowned authors of that country, like he meets Orhan Pamuk in Istanbul, Arthur Clarke in Sri Lanka and Pico Iyer in Japan. The interactions between the authors are interesting. He also wanders around in the streets of a city or a town and observes what is going on around. More often than not, he gets to see the trades of the dark and he keenly observes and writes about them. He also makes an attempt to talk to his fellow travelers even when he has a language barrier, he describes his food and it’s after effects in details. The description of the place, people, references to his past journey and a train travel is what forms a typical chapter in the book. This nearly 500 pages book also has lot of random things that at times you feel could have been avoided. There is an attempt to see and hence show the place without the layers that usually cover a place, like in Cambodia he does not talk about the famous temples but about the fields which are used for genocide.

What I loved about the book was these small pearls of wisdom that the author keeps giving throughout the book and he himself calls them the Tao of Travel. Having traveled solo in big and small cities, I could relate to them completely. He takes away the glamour of traveling and reveals the insights of a traveler. Sure, someone who travels solo for so long is bound to have an authority to be able to write Tao of travel. Some of which are:

• Travel is one of the laziest ways on earth of passing the time.
• Travel writing is the lowest form of literary self indulgence.
• Nothing is more suitable to a significant departure than a bad weather.
• In travel, disconnection is a necessity. It is a good thing that people don’t know where you are or how to find you. Keep your mind in the country you are in.
• Who doesn’t have a rapacious taxi driver story?
• Travel gives you glimpses of the past and the future, your own and other people’s.
• Travel is at its most rewarding when it ceases to be about your reaching a destination and becomes indistinguishable from living your life.

There are others which I prefer not to quote here.

This is the first time I read about the not so great experience of travel through India, the claustrophobia that it gives to its visitors, the recent enthusiasm or rather the over enthusiasm of people, the lack of trust and just the crowds that unnerve them. At the same time, he also says that India is larger than the world. Most of the times when we talk to people in person, they have only good things to say about your country. In fact that is what the author does in the book too. It reminds me of the Linda Goodman Sun signs, where you feel elated when you read the chapter on your sign only to read the not so good things about your sign when you read other zodiac signs.

Read it if you like reading travel books…

Discover Delhi VIII: Old Delhi Walk III – Salimgarh Fort or Swatantrata Senani Samarak

On my walk within Red Fort, I came across Salimgarh fort which is about a km left of Red Fort. After you cross the Bazaar in red fort, on the left there is board saying Swatantrata Sangram Sangrahalaya or Independence Struggle Museum, which is housed in a building which is from the British period. This double storey museum houses paintings depicting various revolts during the independence movement. There are maps of India depicting British areas at various points in time during their rule. There are statues of important people who played a role in independence struggle and models of events like Jalianwala bagh massacre. There are patriotic poems written all over the place again reminding one of the school days, which is probably the only place where these poems are recited.

As you come out of the museum you would read a board describing the Swatantrata Senani Samarak and a sign board pointing to show the path. The description can lead you to confusion if it is talking about the same building that you came out of or a different one looking at the sign board as both have a similar sounding names. You have to take a long and deserted walk to reach the Samarak and the sign boards keep pointing you all along the path. In between you would cross a lot of army barracks, some of which seem to be under renovation. The path leads to an over bridge which you have to use to reach the Samarak. As you land from the over bridge you would see some army barracks which have been converted into museums. There is a museum dedicated to Indian National Army (INA). There is jail which was built by Aurangzeb, but used by British to imprison the freedom fighters, which even when it is empty feels scary, with prey birds fluttering on the roofs and rooms across a very narrow corridor.

There is another barrack converted into a museum displaying artifacts that have been excavated from the site some from the mughal era and some even dating back to the time of Mahabharata. There are pictures of excavations that indicate that this was a living area way before the mughals came and created a city here. On the outskirts of this complex you would notice the fort wall which has circular bastions and remains of an erstwhile gate. The wall is thick indicating a strong fort. The fort was built in 16^th century by Sher Shah Suri’s son Salim Shah and is hence named after him. It was initially supposed to be on an island within Yamuna. After being conquered by Mughals, this was linked to red fort via an arched bridge across Yamuna. It was later used as a prison primarily. A map depicting the formation of the fort would give you an idea of the how the fort must have been in its hay days.

Salimgarh fort and Samarak are a part of the red fort complex, though if you do not follow the signs you also most likely to miss it. This part of red fort complex was absolutely deserted. I was the only tourist here for more than 2 hours and could only see a few Army jawans here and there, in shark contrast with the crowd at Red Fort. If you are not keen on Indian Independence movement, there is nothing much to see here. A guided tour of place would help but I am not sure if there are guides who have been trained on the history of this part, on the face of it, it does not look like so. Be careful in taking pictures around this area, though no sign tells you not to take pictures, but the army personnel around the area would tell you that it is a restricted area.

For me Salimgarh was chance discovery while trying to explore Red Fort.

Discover Delhi VII: Old Delhi Walk II – Red Fort or Lal Quila

Red fort in Delhi, a UNESCO world heritage site, is probably one of the most visited monuments in the country, competing with Qutab Minar and Taj Mahal. My second walk after Jama Masjid, started outside the majestic red fort. The first thoughts that red fort brings to my mind is the 15th August celebrations that happen here and the journalist’s patriotic voices on TV explaining the secular nature of the view from the Red fort, as you can see a temple, a mosque, a gurudwara and a church all at once.

Across the road from Red fort in Old Delhi, the business starts bustling in the morning, the road side vendors are preparing to open their shops, laying down the clothes in piles, and ready to shout out to the passerbys for the rest of the day. Small eateries start popping up, some on push carts, some in small shops and some even on cycles. Stop by and see a complete mobile shop being operated on a bicycle. The rear carrier of the bicycle fitted with a wooden plank on which a stove is fitted to prepare the food, a tin box fitted in front of the handle to hold the prepared food, a few polythene bags hanging on the handle with the raw material and the disposable plates to serve. You don’t need too many frills to be an entrepreneur, do you? It is always a pleasure to see a city waking up, when the people are still to put on their masks for the day.

As you walk on the road leading to the Lahore gate of Red fort, you would see vendors selling all kinds of touristy things mainly targeted at children. There are colorful flowers, glass animals and games, all of which are priced very reasonably. Even on a weekday, ticket counter is crowded and you have to stand in a long queue to get your ticket, and then stand in the security queue before you can enter the fort. The view from the outside is that of a majestic fort that appears impenetrable. The cascading domes add to the magnificence. The Indian flag fluttering on top of it makes you feel patriotic and reminds of you all the songs that you sang at the school assembly. If you turn your back towards the fort, you see the Lal Madir, which is built in nagar style amongst the green tress it makes a good view against the blue sky on a clear day.

As you enter the fort after security check, you can see stairs and some other parts which have probably been added later and as you move in you see the bazaar below the arched roof, selling all kinds of artifacts, lot of marble based items, jewellery, clothes, puppets etc. The bazaar overall gives a very colorful and vibrant look with people checking out the items and shopkeepers making an impactful pitch for selling the same. Come out of the Bazaar and you have a circular garden with a beautiful red building with a topping of white marble on the top and lots of barracks on the left hand side. This is the drum house called Naqqar Khana which was used to play music five times a day during the mughal days and now houses the war memorial museum. Go through the gate and on look back on the carved wall and you will find typical mughal motifs called phool patti, or flowers and leaves all over the wall.

Since the fort has had a living history, and is still partially owned by Indian Army, there have been constant modifications that have happened in the fort. The part of the fort which can be classified as monument is probably as it used to be. Unfortunately, most of the worth seeing parts of the fort are not accessible to the public. The throne is Diwan-e-aam is covered with net, depriving you of the detailed view of the intricate carvings on it, the birds engraved at the back of the throne, which are not a usual feature in Islamic architecture. The ropes around the pavilions do not allow you the complete view from most angles and wherever they let you do so, the ropes come in the view, making it unpleasant. The Hammams are totally closed and the forced view through the glass windows hardly shows you anything. The moti masjid is closed with a dis-aligned copper plated door. The Diwan-e-khaas and Khas Mahal, which are the most beautiful and magnificent part of the whole fort, can not be observed from close, you just have to take a long view and be content with that. The rang mahal is closed and the lower storeys of the same remain unexplained. The tower at the corner is out of bound. Apparently there are repairs going on at various places, but I could not see any work in progress. There is no water in any of the canals that criss cross the gardens of the fort and hence no fountains were working. I was told the water has been removed to avoid dengue, which is a fair reason as there are millions of people visiting this place, but at the same time I feel sad as it takes away all the beauty of the place. It feels like a ruin whose soul has been lost. There are too many people using it as a picnic spot and there are countable number of people who are interested in it as heritage place. Most of the people interested in the history were not Indians.

Red fort is a cluster of many small monuments and many more museums that it houses. There is Archeology museum, which has the history of Mughals in India depicted. It has collection of various age old Qurans, various farmaans issues by various mughal rulers, paintings depicting their bravery and their lifestyles, games they played like chess and pachisi, miniature paintings, ivory and marble items, hookahs, clocks, various artifacts like potteries including some from China, delicate perfume boxes, carpets and silks used by them representing the crafts of those times. Some writings would remind you of calligraphy as an art, which is almost forgotten in the age of computers. And of course the war equipment without which a museum is never complete. This is irrespective of the fact that there is a complete war memorial museum on top of the Naqqar Khana or the drum house, which has everything that was used in the independence war, from uniforms, to insignias and ribbons of order, to flags, to guns and bullets, to models of ships, boats and trucks, to communication equipment. There is a gallery showcasing the young martyrs’ paintings.

A Unesco sign says that it is a world heritage site, but having been to 20 other heritage site, I must say this was the most badly maintained site I have visited. There is garbage and filth all around, the stone slabs everywhere were broken, there was construction material lying all around. The trees have been cut and the gardens carry a sad look. The sign boards hardly tell you anything, they are one liners and do not tell anything about the details of the place. I am sure there are lots of things which made the fort made it to the heritage list, but where are the details. There are small things like an intricate jaali on a wall, but no board explaining its random appearance in the fort. The world heritage series on red fort was not available, which I have found even in remote places like Bhimbetka. There was no literature available whatsoever to take and read. There is lot of history, culture, architecture and even mathematics to learn in the fort. For example, how the pavilions were made in such a way that wherever you stand you could see the emperor. If it is not possible to run the fountains, some video or a painting of how the place would look with all of them running would help. It is explained that the engraved marble slabs were studded with gems and precious stones, so can there be a sample placed in one of the museums to showcase that. There are inscriptions and motifs that need to be explained. The guides are as usual focused more on giving you a quick tour with spiced up stories. The restaurant inside the old tea house is virtually empty even at the lunch time and the manager there tells me that most people come here to sit and hardly eat anything as they find this place very costly. This restaurant is the cleanest part of the whole fort. There is a small shop on the side near the bazaar where you would see people eating and this place can definitely be made to look better and fit into the ambiance of the fort so that visitors have a overall better and coordinated experience. Something needs to be done to make this monument more attractive.

I was told by the museum maintenance office that on an average about 10-15 thousand people visit red fort everyday and on a Sunday the number goes up to 20+ thousand. With an average ticket of Rs 10/- also, the revenue should be good enough provide the basic maintenance of the fort of such importance. What I liked about the visitor population of Red fort was that it had representation of all kinds of people, large school groups, college groups, visitors from across the country with fair number of people from remote areas, local families, foreigners and dignitaries. Having that said that I am not too sure, if this place should be allowed to be used as a picnic spot, as groups and families spread themselves on the lawns and leave the garbage behind, with least interest in the heritage value of the place. Another important thing that I noticed was that there were no beggars anywhere around red fort or even in roads around it. There were lots of small time vendors, some even carrying the merchandise on their arms, but no one was begging. In fact I had some extra food that I wanted to give away, but could not locate anyone to whom I could give it and hence had to bring it back home.

You should go to red fort with loads of imagination. Whatever you would have read in history books, the grandeur you would seen in movies and whatever you would have expected to see here will have to come alive only in your imagination. And it has to be a very strong willed imagination, as you would have to remove so many layers of people around you, the noises, the filth, visualize the missing pieces, ignore the aberrations and then imagine how it would have been in those days to live in forts like this.

Red fort is an important piece of Delhi’s and India’s history and hence deserves a visit.

Discover Delhi VI: Old Delhi Walk I – Jama Masjid, Meena Bazaar, Chawri Bazaar & Nai Sarak

Old Delhi has always charmed visitors from all over the world. In recent times the Mumbai filmmakers seem to be fascinated by Chandni Chowk. Walking in the streets, which were a part of Shahajahanabad, takes you back to the cities as they used to be, probably without the density of crowds. The narrow lanes, and each lane dealing in a specialty, the parapets overlooking the lanes, interweave of lanes, the chaiwalas and restaurants spread across and the tall monuments standing in between all the chaos, take you eras away.

Me and a friend, decided to discover Delhi by walking around and plan to start this by doing the walks from the book ’10 easy walks in old Delhi’, and we started with walk 2 from the book, which covered the parts mentioned in the title. Metro is the best way to travel to old Delhi without getting lost and without loosing any time. So get down at Chandni Chowk metro station and either walk or take a cycle rickshaw to Jama Masjid. Check at the gate the timing of the Namaz and if it is going on what time will it end and entry be allowed. If you have to wait for the entry, go to adjoining Meena Bazaar and come back to the mosque when the entry is allowed.

Meena Bazaar always had an opulent image in my mind. From what I had read in the history books, it was the bazaar where the royal ladies use to come shopping for their silks, for their jewels and for their bangles. It was located between the mosque and the red fort, hence easily accessible to them. What you would see now is nowhere close to your imagination. It still sells the clothes and that too meant for special occasions like weddings. It sells blankets in bright colors and whole lot of religious items associated with Islam. What definitely remains even today, probably from the Mughal era is the Islamic character of this bazaar, where not only are the buyers and sellers primarily Muslims but also the merchandise sold has some imprint of Islam. I wish the market was cleaner and better smelling. As it exists today, you have to think many times before you step in and go through its maze. The items sold are reasonably priced but I am not sure how much business these shops do as I hardly saw any buyers in the market. There were tourists here and there but they hardly buy such items. I tried striking a conversation with couple of shopkeepers to find out how their business is, but surprisingly they were very reluctant to talk.

Jama masjid, is often called the largest mosque in India, but I think the Taj-Ul masjid is Bhopal is definitely bigger than this is size, though not as well known. It is a monument that stands tall on the edge of numerous busy streets. Like typical mughal buildings, this is also made in red stone and white marble and has all the nuances of mughal architecture, the huge gateways, the minarets, delicate and intricate jaalis, a water body, corridors running around the building and big courtyards. If you climb the minaret, what you get to see is probably the best view of Delhi. It is interesting to stand at the narrow top of the minaret and identify the landmark buildings around it. Since most of the area around Jama masjid is not high rise, you would enjoy the view. In fact the high rise buildings on the periphery of the old city, make you feel as if you standing in the middle of a bowl. Going up the minaret can be scary and claustrophobic as the stairs keep getting narrower at the top and there is hardly any light inside the stairs. I strongly advise against going alone on this, though you would always find people climbing it. The roofs leading to the base of the minaret are not clean, so take care of your feet. Interestingly women and children are not allowed to climb up the stairs if they are not accompanied by an adult male, but I and my friend were asked no questions and we just climbed the minaret on our own.

Jama masjid has some of the relics that are definitely worth having a look at. There is a hair from the Prophet Mohammad’s beard. There are only 3 such hair that are supposed to be there in the world, the other two are in Turkey and Hazrat Bal in Kashmir. Along with it there are two Korans, written by the son-in-law and the grandson of prophet, both on dear skin and one of them written without the Maatra. There is camel skin sandal belonging to prophet, now preserved in a glass case and covered with flowers. There is marble with a footprint of prophet and this is the item that you are allowed to touch. I do not know if this is pure psychological or it is spiritual, but the marble slab did have some energy as everyone felt uplifted after touching it. All these relics are stored in a beautiful white dome like Almirah. A usual visitor who does not know the existence of these relics may miss them as they are usually kept under lock and key. There can be some amount of convincing required to make the incharge of the relics open it for you. The incharge is the 14^th generation descendent of the first caretaker of these relics in Jama Masjid. He also says that he is a descendent of Prophet Mohammad himself, and a small booklet given by him traces the family line.

You can sit on the stairs outside the prayer hall and look feel the place, you can look at people coming there with devotion, some with awe and some irritated after being hassled to wear something that do not want to. As you look at the Masjid from one of the streets leading to it, you would see a lot of loudspeakers on the facade, which you really wish were not there as they take away the symmetric beauty of the place. You would also notice a part of the corridor covered with walls to cover the things kept inside and you wonder could the things not be kept somewhere else. There are small shops just outside the gate, which can definitely be more aesthetically placed. We really need monuments management to maintain the monuments as they were and not play around with their structure and ambience.

Just opposite the main gate of Masjid is Matia Mehal lane, where again you get all kinds of items. There are restaurants that serve food, I guess primarily for the traders around and for the tourists which also form a major chunk of population on any given day. If you go around lunch time, you may see lot of people squatting outing the restaurants with their hands folded. I could gather that they are looking for free food, and it was apparent from their faces that they were regulars at this place and knew that they would be provided with food. As I was looking around, a person from Garib Nawaz hotel called and asked about us, and when I asked him if he feeds these people, he very interestingly replied ‘No, it is you guys who feed them’. It took me a minute to understand that there are people who place orders to the restaurant to feed a certain number of people. Then I suddenly saw a flurry and I was told that we have just been asked to feed 10 people. Having said that, Mohammad Aslam, the owner of Garib Nawaz hotel ordered an ice cream for us and simply refused to take any money for the same. I was later told that he is known for his hospitality and is usually found doing this. My point if view on this: Both me and my friend had cameras and were clicking pictures, I was taking notes and the smart businessman knew we are potentially going to write about him. He did verify with me by asking who do I write for? Can our much written about B-school pass outs ever do business like these businessman who have inherited businesses in their blood, who strive and thrive in the most competing places, without always appearing in the media and with minimum overhead expenses.

As you go around Jama Masjid, you cross the spare parts market, which was known as the Chor Bazaar few years back, when people would never get their vehicles near this area with the fear of having to buy parts of your own vehicle. It is said that you can buy anything to do with any vehicle here. The shops are small and the parts are literally spilling out of the shops. I wonder how they fit them back in their small shops during the night. As a traveler you can probably just pass by this street at the back of Jama Masjid. If you are interested, you can always talk to one of the shop owners but most of the times they are too busy with their business to interrupt it and talk to you, though they may be keen to oblige the foreigners.

After a small walk the road joins the Chawri Bazaar, which is the hub of stationary trade. What you would see all around on display is the wedding cards, primarily Hindu but also for other communities, in bright shades with lot of decorations and space to print the specifics of the invite. Red and off white are the pre-dominant colors though there are other ones too. Although the display is of weddings cards only for the retail buyers who come here once in a while to buy invitation cards of latest designs, but these shops deal in all kinds of stationary. Here you can find papers of all sizes, thickness, texture and quality. Anything that you can think of in stationary is available here, but you have to buy them in numbers, nothing less than the minimum packing is available. There are few antique shops also there which you can browse around, though I can not recommend buying as I found the prices too high almost like boutiques which probably also buy from the same place. Items sold here are not really antique but are made to look like antique. Art pieces are sourced from all over the country and primarily from UP, where there are towns which produce lot of brassware.

As some point, Chawri Bazaar crosses road with Nai Sarak. Nai sarak is no longer new, but still goes by this name. This road specializes in books, primarily educational books, school and college books, medicine and engineering books. It is crowded like any other road in the area, but if you are a bibliophile, you would love the site of books all around you. I am not too sure if there are many people who come to pick up books from here, but I am sure all the retailers come here and this road is an important link in the books supply chain across the city. You would also see some clothes and Sari shops on the road. If you eat or drink anything on the road, do remember to ask the price before hand, otherwise you will be obliged to pay whatever they ask for.

Old Delhi is a must do on any traveler’s itinerary, but it essentially remains one of the busiest business areas in the country and everyone working in this area is a hard core businessman, and more so a trader. There is nothing that gets manufactured here, but all that is manufactured across the country can be found here to be re-distributed again from here. Nonetheless you would enjoy walking around these streets which have all the old world charm while being the hardcore business district.

Unsung UP - III: Khurja - A Potters town

Khurja a small town, about 100 kms east of Delhi is one of hidden gems for travelers, which has not yet been explored as a travel destination. It is in western UP, a part of Bulandshehar district. Now what makes it special is the huge pottery industry that it has, with a history dating back to few centuries.

Food is one of the parameters that define a place, an important part to explore in a traveler’s itinerary, and if you look around any place, however small it may be, you will always find something special that the place has to offer. So in Khurja these specialties are Khurchan and Kanji Wada. Khurchan is a sweet but a very mild one. It is made with layers of Malai and sugar and like a cake needs to be eaten with all the layers intact. Surprisingly, though made of Malai and sugar, it is neither very heavy nor very sweet and leaves just a perfect taste in your mouth. Kanji Wada is a variation of Kanji, a popular winter drink in north India. Kanji is nothing but the fermented water, made from Rai (mustard seeds), salt and red chilly and at times with Heeng (asafetida). Usually red or black carrots are added to this water. This drink with a tangy taste is a strong appetizer and will make you feel hungry after minutes of having it. What you get in Khurja is Dal Wadas added to Kanji instead of carrots. The small wadas are left in the water and they soak the fermented water. It’s a sheer pleasure to put it in your mouth. You would love this dish if you have a chatpata tooth i.e. if you like spicy street food.

While on food, if you are not a vegetarian, you may want to stop at Sikandarabad for the famous Aas Mohammad Qureshi’s biryani. He sells chicken biryani in the morning and evening and beef one in the afternoon. I am told that he sells at least 1000 plates a day at a price of Rs 25/- for a plate of 250 grams. Can you do a back of the envelope calculation and see how much business it translates into. If you look at his infrastructure, his kitchen is back of his house and his shop is a platform to make and serve kebabs and a push cart. His restaurant area is 3 wooden benches fitted on a metal frame in one row against a street wall. He is located in not so clean area, almost on the road which has busy traffic, but in spite of all that within his premise you would find relative cleanliness. The benches were cleaned as soon as one set of customers finish, there was an attention paid to every customer and a huge smile on the faces of people serving. Unfortunately, being a vegetarian, I could not taste this famous delicacy, but I could read the satisfaction on the faces of my fellow travelers as they were eating the biryani.

Then there was Masterji ka dhaba, just after you turn for Khurja, midway between Bulandshahar and Khurja, where you get stuffed Tandoori Paranthas. Masterji, who was teacher in his earlier avatar, runs this spacious dhaba almost in the middle of nowhere. Apart from the tasty pranthas what you would appreciate is Masterji’s humble demeanor. His hospitality was amazing, as he brought us Kadhi Chawal and Kanji from his home. He made us taste all the pickles that he had: Mango, Garlic, Carrot and Radish. Being Tandoori, the paranthas were light on the stomach while being an absolute delight to the tongue.

There is a 2 km long street that is the potter’s market in Khurja. As you walk on the road, all around you see ceramics and ceramics, in all possible colors and shapes. You can get ceramics for your kitchen, for your garden, for your bathrooms and for decorating your house or office. We went to Fayaiz Bhai’s pottery palace and were lost in choosing our picks. There were so many things that one would like to pick but you get limited by the space you have to carry back things. There were small little ceramic boxes embedded in wood which I could think of for storing masala or even jewellery. There were bowls of all sizes for your kitchen and dining table. There were fruit plates and bowls with delicate floral paintings on them. There were multipurpose plates in the shapes like a fish which would make an appetizing platter for serving snacks or salads. There were antique style kettles and surahis, which I am not sure how much we can use in the era of microwave but can be used as a reminder of bygone era on your display shelves. There were innumerable pots and vases for your plants in sizes that can be on your apartment window to the big ones that you can keep outside your main gate. You may have tough time choosing the design as lot of them may attract your attention. There were small curios that you can use with your imagination, available almost at a throw away price.

Most of the ceramics has mughal style paintings or motifs on them, and that is kind of obvious as the lineage of potters goes back to earliest mughal migrants in the country. At the same time, there were some which have a global appeal like the ones with Moroccan paintings. Fayaiz bhai told us that all the pottery was lead free and hence can be absolutely used in microwave. While we could take a tour of the manufacturing facility as we were getting late, I was told that the ceramics are baked at a temperature of 2000+ deg, and a whole lot of paintings are done by hand. The town has more than 500 potters and they supply ceramics across the world. We saw a lot of pieces that were supplied to up market chains like Fab India and various designer boutiques. Most of the restaurants get their potteries made here including international chains like Pizaa hut.

I look forward to making another trip to Khurja to see the manufacturing process and specially the painting. I would also like to talk to the people engaged in the industry as they are the major players in a ceramics ecosystem. This is my second discovery in UP after Amroha. It such a learning experience to explore these hidden centers of excellence in the country. If you know of some more such places, please do let me know.

Front End Retailing

Some time back I had written about my retail experiences as a customer or consumer. The posts made their way into almost all major retail chains, and a few of them interacted with me to get the first hand feedback. Head of one of the retail chains said that they always suspected the pilferage by the staff, but could not nail it down in the absence of a proof. Today, I look at another rising aspect of retailing, and specifically the traditional retailing which I observed and I am not sure if it is something that is helping the consumer. I choose to call this trend Front End Retailing.

Let me start with anecdotes that lead to this piece and thought. Last month in Bangalore, I needed to get a broken glass put in my spectacles. Only one glass was broken, as I primarily wear contact lenses and use spectacles only as a backup, so I wanted only one glass to be replaced, of the same quality as the one which was intact. I went around 5-6 opticians, most of them in the upcoming areas of Bangalore, and to my surprise all of them came up with the same answer. They all quoted the same price, they had no idea if they can get me the same quality as my intact glass so they suggested I change both the glasses. They very casually suggested that it is only going to cost you a few hundred Rs extra. They can not do the job in less than 48 hours, as they have to send the frame to the workshop and they do it only once in a day, at the end of the day, and can only guarantee the delivery day after at the earliest. The front end staff had no knowledge of the kind of glasses available. All of them assumed that I had bought the glasses from them and asked me to quote the customer number, and when I said it was not bought here, they had apprehensions about repairing items what has not been bought here and had to check it with their bosses on the phone if they can repair it, thankfully the answer was Yes this time.

We are in Gurgaon and we need to get some furniture made, and we have some idea of what we want. We go around furniture shops in and around Gurgaon, everyone claims that they make furniture to order, they have some display pieces lying around which you can pick if you like. No one is able to calculate the cost of furniture given the exact dimensions and material, all of them need to speak to their carpenter in the invisible workshop before they can tell the price. They all have catalogues, where you can choose the design and they will get it done in the workshop. For any customization in size, upholstery, material, they need to check with their carpenters and get back. Minimum time required for delivering any order varied from 2-4 weeks, and even a small item could not be delivered in less than 2 weeks.

I want a small ear ring made in gold with a pearl, something that slips into the ear and needs no screw to tighten, again from Jeweler’s point of view a very simple requirement. But no jeweler I went to was confident that he can make what has been asked, and suggested picking up something that was available in his tray. All of them were willing to sell what is in the store, and can be sold as such. Any customization is highly discouraged. And if you insist, they would quote ridiculously high price so that you change your mind.

What happened to customized services that were so readily available a few years back? What happened to the knowledge that the business owner used to have not only about his domain but also about what customers need? What happened to the small consulting that customers used to get as part of buying customized stuff from the shops?

Knowledge of the trade has suddenly gone missing in the process of exponential growth. It appears the focus is only on providing a sophisticated front end to the business, which they assume would be perceived by the customer as being equivalent to good quality of work. Actual work is done in some central workshop in some remote corner of the city for all these front end guys. I am not even sure if they all have their individual workshop, in all probability they are being catered to by a single or a few back end guys.

As a customer, do I like the suave environment that I get to walk into, the answer is definitely yes. Do I like it that most of the times that I walk in someone walks up to me with a smile (though rarely genuine), and says ‘Can I help you’? , answer is may be or at times. What about the experience after this? Most of the times, staff has lesser knowledge than the customers on the subject. Customers today have information on their fingertips, and if they are buying a high value item they do their homework before they step out of their homes to purchase the item. While the staff is trained on how to talk in English, how to please customers, but most of the times they are not trained on the product that they are selling. That apart, since the core work related to the product does not happen in the same premises, the staff has no knowledge of how the product is priced, what material goes into it, how is the costing of the material and the service provided done, what goes into providing the product, how much time should it take. The back end is a black hole for them, where they only know that they can send the product and expect it to be back in certain number of days.

Is this helping the retailers, I am not too sure. They have many more retail outlets spread across the city, giving them access to customers thereof. They are making themselves available to customers, but when the customers do reach them, ‘are they able to help them’ is the question that they need to answer for themselves. What is the goal of these enterprises? After all, all these swanky outlets and more than required number of staff come at a cost. Going by the volumes per outlet I am not sure if they are able to recover the costs incurred.

Another way to look at it is that this is the step one of organized retail, spreading out geographically, and the next step would be to provide depth to the products and services offered to customers. My view is that this fast growth to spread to as much areas as possible or the no of outlets opened should be balanced with the quality of services offered; otherwise it may lead to a disaster. Retailers need to balance their growth paths, complimenting their breadth with the qualitative depth as well. And of course, there is a dire need to focus on giving business knowledge to their font end staff, so that they can help the customer. Soft skills are important but they only compliment sound knowledge of the job at hand, by themselves they can only annoying for the customers and hence for the business.

As I was posting this piece, I came across this related story at Dare Magazine.

2 States by Chetan Bhagat

After reading Five point someone, I had decided never to read Chetan Bhagat again, I mean there was hardly anything to read, but his rants about IIT. For some reason, I did pick up his latest book 2 states, which obviously talks about a marriage between people from different states. I did not expect much from the book, but the book had nothing at all. It seems to have been written with a bollywood script in mind. The author continues to talk about his IIT IIM pedigree and leverage on the dream that the youth of this country have to live in both these campuses.

He talks about a Punjabi boy and a Tamilian girl’s romance that develops at IIM Ahmedabad, and how the boy and the girl have to please and like each other’s families and how they are torn apart by their respective families, but finally the story has a happy ending and everyone is a big happy family. There is a sneak peep into the investment banking world and what the IIM A guy does there. The girl goes and works for HLL, the other high point for any IIM pass out.

Every bit of the book is predictable. On a lighter note, Chetan, Krish does not sound like a Punjabi name, and how come Krish did not have a pet name like ‘Bablu’ or ‘Bunty’, or you did not want to share your pet name with the word. And how come you did not talk about the IIM dorm names...:-)

If you have couple of hours to kill, read it…

Mesmerizing Madhya Pradesh VII –Bhojpur

The moment I heard of Bhojpur, I was reminded of the famous Hindi saying ‘Kahan Raja Bhoj, kahan Gangu teli’, a phrase which is commonly used to highlight the contrasts. The image of Raja Bhoj and hence his kingdom Bhojpur is that of something that has grandeur and prosperity which is incomparable. What you may not know is that he was actually responsible for building lakes in and around the present day Bhopal. He belonged to the Parmaar dynasty which ruled the region almost a millennium ago.

What is left in Bhojpur now to see is an unfinished but practicing Shiva temple in dark stone, known as Bhojeshwara temple, built in early 11th century. This temple is famous for the huge Shivalinga that it adorns. But as you may know Shivalinga has two parts Linga and the Yoni. The lower platform like part is called Yoni. The yoni in this temple is the probably the biggest you would ever see. The linga part is definitely not the largest, as a temple in Khajuraho has much bigger Linga. The yoni is huge and beautiful.

The roof of the temple is ornamental, with design in the form of concentric circles, quite like the temples in Khajuraho. There are four pillars inside the temple and the walls seem to have been put later or may be restored recently as they look too bland in comparison to the rest of the temple. My guess would be probably the temple was open standing on the four pillars, like many other Shiva temples, but I have no data to support that.

The temple is built on a huge platform, as was prevalent in those days, and on the right side of the temple there is a ramp, which was probably used to bring the stones up on the platform for constructing the temple. But for this ramp, we would have kept wondering how the huge stones and sculptures were ported on top of the platform and even to build the platform how the stones were ported. There are two small temples outside the main temple which are again practicing ones. The outer wall on the right hand side of temple has some unfinished artwork, which gives you a glimpse of how the work progressed as the temples were built.

Apparently the excavations at the place have revealed that the intent and plan was to build many more temples in this place, probably a kind of campus of temples like the one in Khajuraho, but it could not be done and even this temple had to be left unfinished. Though the idol was set up in this temple and the worship must have started, as this is still a practicing temple.

As you stand on the huge temple platform and look around, you would see what Jawahar Lal Nehru would have called the temples of modern India and what our future generations may blame us for polluting the world that we pass them on. You would see a line of huge factories, throwing a constant stream of thick black smoke from their gigantic chimneys, forming the skyline of the neighboring industrial town of Mandidweep.

How I wish I had lived in the times of prosperity in this land instead of going place to place tracing ruins after ruins.

The Penguin Book of Indian Journeys by Dom Moraes (Editor)

Recently I gave a talk on All India Radio on travel writing, and while I was writing the script for my talk, I realized there is not much travel writing by Indians or even on India. And just after the recording, I came across this book, right in my own library, a book which is probably the best collection of selected travel writings on India. The 35 pieces selected by the editor, create a fine panorama of the space and time that India is today. The pieces have been carefully selected to represent the nooks and corners of the country, ranging from big cities to the tribal interiors. It contains the traveler’s point of view, the inhabitant’s point of view, the back to home view, a journalist’s view, guide’s view and nearly everyone involved in the process of a journey. It has stories of mundane living and adventurous lives, ordinary and not so ordinary lives. It talks of the changing India, its changing demographics, landscapes, thought processes, perspectives and still a common invisible thread binding it together. What is this common thread is probably as elusive a question as ‘Who am I’, and would need some serious thinking. If India is a jig saw puzzle then this book at least manages to pick up quite a few pieces of that puzzle and put them together in the form of this book.

Most pieces are very interesting. More than anything else I discovered so many travel books that I can now pick up to read. There are so many writers who have written about their travels, and most of the times they have undertaken the journeys solely for the purpose of writing, at times it has been a part of their jobs and at times just a reflection on the travel that would be taking for other purposes. Lot of pieces will actually transport you to a different world and you would feel you have been there or would want to pack your bag and be there. There are pieces from eminent writers and journalists. There are pieces written at various points in time and would take you to the time before or after an important event in the history. In terms of spaces it covers Leh to Ghats of Benaras to interiors of Bihar to Darjeeling to Cherrapunji to Calcutta to Orrisa to Chennai to rural Karnataka to interior Gujarat to Mumbai to Delhi to Amritsar and the interiors like the land of Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi, and to some known and some not so well known places.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every chapter. In fact you may need to pause between chapters to be able to switchover from one time and space to another. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes to travel around the country and for those who would like to do some armchair traveling…