Purani Dilli (Old Dehli)

There were flocks of pigeons, flying around the three red minarets. As they settled down on the cement, my view oriented towards the vast space. The maroon walls were thousands of feet apart from each other. People were praying, washing their feet in water, and walking on the inside of the mosque. The beauty of the Jama Masjid cannot be described in words, but only in exposure. The crowded Chandni Chowk had narrow streets packed with small stalls, shops, and people squeezing through each other. In the middle of all of the chaos was one of the World’s largest mosque.

With the lack of English speakers and the large crowds, it is difficult to travel as a foreigner in Old Delhi. In order to see the landmarks around the city, we booked a tour. In this tour, we visited the Red Fort where the famous King of India, Shah Jahan, lived. This king and his heirs to the throne had constructed and destroyed parts of Old Delhi. In order to maintain peace between the religious communities, many places of worship were created by Shah Jahan. However, when the Shah Jahan’s son came to power, he had begun to divide India by religious persecutions. Such events had been described by the tour guide.

Not only were there famous monuments, but also famous food and supplies. On a specific alley, there are 20 stalls that make the best parathas. Parathas are flat breads that can be stuffed with anything. The guide said people stuff from fruits to spicy cheese in the parathas. There were also stalls that sold pakoda, desserts, and lime juice. The smell of all this food would lure people to grab a snack. However, due to the heat, we were not very hungry. There were other alleyways that is dedicated for selling wedding invitations, glasses, and clothing. For larger weddings, family and friends would receive invites in boxes. Inside the box would be some Indian dessert, invitation card and some sort of religious object. The shops would make 100’s of these boxes.

At the end of the tour, we visited Jama Masjid. The mosque was created by Shah Jahan for his own prayers. Besides the Red Fort, this was one of the most mouth-gaping artifact in Old Delhi.

“The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.” — Benedict Cumberbatch

Every weekend, I could stay in my dormitory and watch Netflix or work on my research paper. However, at the end of the day, I would feel like I wasted my day. There are a lot of people and chaos outside of the walls of the Sehgal Foundation which makes me a little uneasy. When we went to Old Delhi, I was very uncomfortable. With thousands of people on streets that were 15 feet in length, it was a bit of a nightmare. As the tour went on, the stories, monuments and my surrounding distracted me from the fact that I was in suffocating in a pool of heat-radiating bodies. At the end of the day, I respected the ways in Old Delhi.