New Delhi

I've been in New Delhi since tuesday. The city's several degrees north of Jaipur, so temperatures are more moderate. Georgie and I were here to check out the Delhi Sacred Arts Festival, which brings music and creative arts to sacred spaces (cathedrals, mosques, etc.).

We arrived on Tuesday night, and spent the evening in Hotel BB Palace in Karol Bagh. This hotel is strangely empty. I've only seen one other guest since we arrived.

On wednesday we had some free time during the day, so we went on a bit of sightseeing. After admiring the literal post-colonial decay and rejuvenation on Connaught circle, we walked through a market selling various nicknacks (sunglasses, clothing, etc.). We met a man named Ahmed who spoke unusually good english–with what sounded to me like an American accent. Thus interested, Ahmed led us to his shop, directly underneath a mosque in the area.

Ahmed in his shop

Georgie ended up somehow in possession of two lacquer-wood boxes with matching coasters. Very nice, and a decent enough deal. We went to the Tibetan market nearby:

one of the better finds

Then it was off to the Capital for India Gate and the Presidential palace:

a makeshift town for workers improving the area before the 2010 commonwealth games.

Some nice-looking gentlemen, who just happen to be leaders of the BJP, one of India's more racist, reactionary parties.

Most of the sidewalks we went down looked like this

Here it is. India gate.

A view of the Secretariats' buildings, with the Presidential palace in the distance.

'Round about this point in time I spotted an entry in my guidebook for the "National Philatelic Museum". So began an hour-long quest on foot to find this no-doubt amazing museum near parliament. We walked back and forth, getting conflicting accounts as to its location from different people on the sidewalk. At a certain point I realized it was almost 1 pm and we would need to leave to get lunch. "Maybe we should just give up, I said."

Georgie emitted a shriek and turned me around. Behold:

Too bad it was closed due to lack of public interest. Oh well.

We then went to Khan market to purchase some linen pants. After a refreshing lunch of meat-coated pizza and American 60's music at "The Big Chill" (a cafe paradoxically serviced by Northeasterners or even people from Hong Kong) went to Lodi Gardens:

Tired out, we went back to the hotel, changed quickly, and then went to see David Hykes perform at The Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Yesterday morning Divya arrived for a meeting with David. After a day working, we headed over to Penny's house in South Delhi for dinner. Suitably cheered up on several bottles of beer and a few heady discussions of Indian development, malls, Bollywood film culture and the like, Divya and I headed back to the hotel. Today we're going to a workshop in the afternoon and then taking a night train to Jodhpur. I'll have another post up this weekend about this leg of the journey.