Day 9: My Dear God

I think I’m developing a head bobble of my own.

My travel mates are liking our tour guide Raj quite a bit. So am I. There seemed to be no fleecing today. We’re quite happy with his playful banter and offerings of insight into Indian culture. I was surprised to learn that the caste system is still strong in rural India. Urban India is different, where the system works in the lower caste’s favor for hiring, sort of like “Affirmative Action” back in the US.

Canon camera owners and packers Crispin, Andrew, and Tom were picking on me the sole Nikon guy. I felt out-numbered and cornered. Chris came to my rescue with a supportive rebuttal. Thanks mate.

New Delhi is the national capital; India's version of Washington DC. It’s relatively clean, orderly, secure, and full of monuments. I’m hoping to see a real slum (up close) before we leave. I certainly won’t find it here.

It was hot (43C/110F) this afternoon. We had to stand in the line for foreigners and pay more for our tickets. Those in the other, shorter line were sweating too.

One thing that seems consistent across Indian cultures and religions historically (and it seems even now typically) is that there was no alcohol consumption. I don’t think they had alcohol here before Western influence. I’ve got a bottle of sauvignon blanc sitting in front of me. I’ll open it just as soon as this blog is done, or maybe sooner. It has written upon its label, “Produce of India”.

Qutb-Minar (Andrew at bottom for scale)

I don’t typically have much of a reaction to man-made monuments. I think they’re cool and all; just not my cup of tea. But when I saw the top half of this one above the tree tops, I immediately fell spellbound. I couldn’t grasp the sense of scale as I approached, and layers of detail began to appear. It captured all my attention to the point that I don’t remember anything else those first few minutes. I knew when reached its base, I’d have a good idea of size. My eyes shifted from base to top and back again as I went. I stood at the bottom and looking up completely floored. I then backed far away so I could get as much of it in my telephoto lens as possible and exclaimed, “My Dear God”. It became my first photo of the day.

Qutb-Minar (lower of its balcony levels)

The site is called “Qutb Group of Monuments”. It's a World Heritage Site, and its center piece, its master piece, is a tower called “Qutb-Minar”. This minar was built by invading Muslims as a victory over the defeated Hindus that they displaced. It sits upon an original Hindu site. Its construction was started in the 12th century and completed in 1,230 AD. The base has a diameter of 14.3 meters (47 feet), the top has a diameter of 2.8 meters (9 feet), and the height is 72.5 meters (238 feet). It’s the tallest stone tower in India and considered to be “the most perfect example of a minar known to exist” anywhere. The shapes, balconies, lattice detailing, Arabic inscriptions, red sandstone, and overall craftsmanship were nothing short of breathtaking.

A hundred years later another ruler began another minar at the same site. It was to be double the height of Qutb-Minar. Construction stopped upon his death. The still impressive, massive first level rough-out remains.

They chose Laura

I can relate to why Indians want to take pictures of us now; something I found odd at first. I realized I’ve been wanting to, and succeeding at, taking many pictures of them. It’s not correct to take pictures of Muslim men with beards though. Tom also found out it’s also not polite to take pictures of Sikhs. He was confronted for doing so.

We visited Mahatma Gandhi’s home, which is now a museum and the location where he was assassinated. It was sort of a spiritual, quiet, enlightening experience to walk the halls and grounds.