Location: 28.61 degrees north latitude; 77.23 degrees east longitude Elevation: 784 feet
Weather: Foggy, mid 70s.
Delhi has been an important center of commerce for literally thousands of years as it sits on a n ancient, major west-east trade route. In 1911 the British announced that they would move their capital from Calcutta to Delhi and proceeded to build the new Delhi (appropriately named New Delhi). Construction was finally completed in 1931. However, only 16 years later India would win independence from British rule and Delhi became it's new capital.
My flight from Agra back to Delhi is cancelled due to poor visibility. What to do? There is only a single flight from Agra back to Delhi every evening, and the weather could be just as bad, if not worse, tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. Delhi is only about 200km (120 miles) from Agra. When the airline cancels the flight I turn to the gentleman standing next to me and ask "Would you like to split a cab up Delhi with me? It's probably better to be stuck there than here". He says "I absolutely agree". At this point in time I still naively think there's a chance that I'm going to make my Delhi to Bangalore flight as it's only 6pm and that flight doesn't leave Delhi until 8:45pm. 120 miles in 2.5 hours? Why not? I'll tell you why not: this is India. What should be open highway between Agra and Delhi is the usual chaotic mess. It takes 3.5 hours. So I spend the night in a hotel near the airport and arrange for an almost-half-day tour of Delhi before my next-day flight departs at 3pm. The other casualty of the trip is my camera battery, which is totally drained from the past two days in Agra. I then discover that I have forgotten to pack the recharger. I have also failed to pack clean clothes for this unexpected extra day. I do manage to find a little shop near the first tourist spot (the Red Fort) that sells those little disposable cameras. It's better than nothing. I should have bought two, as I discover, after I'm already inside the Red Fort, that there are only 28 exposures on the little thing. I immediately put myself on a photo diet; taking a picture only when I really feel the need.
I see a lot in the 3 hours, my camera does not.
I return to Bangalore and get the camera film developed and the images put onto a CD in order to transfer them to my laptop (and then to this blog). I pop the CD into the drive and copy the images. I open one of the images just to see what I have. . .and what I see is this. . .
. . .and the other 27 images look just as bad. Crap. I try various image manipulation tools to see if they are in any way salvageable. I finally hit on something that is less than horrible. . .and upon reflection (probably more like rationalization) maybe even appropriate for a city as old as Delhi. . .
Here is the record of my brief, 3 hour, photo-limited, color-challenged, whirlwind tour of Delhi. . .
The Red Fort
The Red Fort was built during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame and Ackbar the Great's grandson) and completed in 1648. Emperor Jahan never completed his move from Agra to Delhi; he was deposed and imprisoned by his son in 1658. Every year on Indian Independence Day (August 15) the Red Fort hosts the prime minister's address to the nation. It really is red (sandstone). . .
Jama Masjid
This mosque is the largest in all of India. It was built by Shah Jahan and closely resembles the mosque built at Fatehpur Sikri.
India Gate Memorial
The India Gate Memorial is dedicated to all the Indian soldiers who fought and died in foreign wars. . .
The Central Secretariat
and the President's estate. . .way back there in the haze. . .this is as close as one is allowed. . .
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