A list of good things

This entry was going to describe all the parts of my day that made me angry or uncomfortable, like visiting a sexist Jain temple or getting leered at in the street, but then I remembered that I was here to study Buddhism, which is all about the middle path and also that if you focus on happy things, you see more of them.

Commencing:

This morning all of us took the metro. Firstly, Delhi metro makes you go through security- a pat down and a bag scanner. While this did not slow us up significantly, one of the TAs and I got into a debate about whether or not more subways should adopt security measures.

Secondly, the metro was packed. When I say packed, think rush hour times a lot. Surprisingly, between the first and second stops the car was totally silent, which was strange.

We got off the metro and walked to old Delhi, which a Shah and his daughter built in the 1600s. Walking around the market was crazy. It was colorful, loud, and the alleyways were so narrow that you couldn't tell if it was day or night until you looked up. The sliver of sky I saw was always bright and blue, but I couldn't tell the time on the ground since many shops had florescent lights.

About eight of us squeezed into a tea shop along the road to have chai, which was my first here. Squeezed in the literal sense, since the space was probably six feet in width and not very deep. Four of us crammed onto a bench on one side and the rest stood while the proprietors fired chai and other things in the front of the shop facing the street.

The market also had random deities or mosques in stalls in the middle of shops selling scarves and tea and whatnot. One of my favorite things about India is how people don't let others get in the way of worship. For example, at every religious site we've visited, people are praying while we tour and little kids run around screaming. That is impressive but also functional, and I want to incorporate the ability to remain unfaded in the face of distraction.

Eventually we turned off a busy market street to a side street where people apparently live. The houses were old and rickety and painted in colors that made me think of the Mediterranean. At the end of the road was the aforementioned Jain temple, which lost points because the priest only wanted to show things to the three boys but gained them back when a second priest answered our questions and even rang the bell they use for the call to prayer. The temple had an onyx statue of one of the gods and an elaborate gold and colored glass mosaic upstairs. It was also over 1000 years old.

In the afternoon we visited the largest mosque in India, which can hold over 20,000 people. The main part had Korans for public use with brightly colored covers and shiny silver bindings, which looked absolutely amazing when contrasted with the old red stone.

The best part, though, was going up to the top of the highest pillar. I am a firm believer that the best way to see a city is from above, and from here I had a really good view of the bazaar below and the red fort in another direction. Delhi has really poor air quality, though, which made it a little less picturesque, but there is nothing like walking up a 400 year old tiny spiral staircase in bare feet.

Finally, for the last part of the day we split from our chaperones, aka the staff. some of us went to the market, then one other girl and I went to the red fort. Its unclear to me exactly what it was built for, but a shah used to give public audiences there, and it has cool old buildings and open spaces, which Delhi, or at least the parts I've been, lacks.

Getting home definitely was the highlight of that adventure. I hired a rickshaw to drive us back to the YMCA for only 50 rupees. For comparison, our TAs got quoted 180 rupees for a much shorter ride. Seriously proud of that accomplishment.

Tomorrow I get to wake up super early and drive for somewhere between 9 and 14 hours. While that is not really a good thing, pretty much everything else is.