Air pollution is at dangerous levels at the moment in Delhi. Apparently it's pretty common in the months of October-December, down to a myriad of factors including (but not limited to) road dust, vehicle pollution, burning garbage and cold weather. Delhi also clocks in as having the worst air quality of any major city in the world, according to a recent WHO (World Health Organization) study.
We were determined, however, to explore during our limited days there. We clocked a solid school session with the girls at the hotel after breakfast. After a few hours, we were all ready to get out & explore. Much to the chagrin of the girls, we put on our face masks and headed out. They knew the masks were non-negotiable, though, so they quickly realized they had to just get over it.
Bite to Eat
We had our Uber drop us at a convenient spot near Old Delhi, not far from Jama Masjid mosque (more on that later). The girls were hungry and Doug had read about a spot called Karim's.
Jama Masjid Mosque
After lunch we walked through nearby Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques. It was built in the mid 1600s and constructed of red sandstone & white marble. Doug & I were not appropriately dressed, so we needed to pay to wear covering fabrics. Mine was like a floor-length smock; Doug's more like a long skirt. Between the coverings & our face masks, the girls thought we looked like such goofballs and couldn't stop giggling.
A good amount of people were praying in the mosque. Others were just hanging out in the massive courtyard. Oddly, there were signs all over the inside courtyard, stating that Tik Tok is strictly prohibited. What on earth were people doing creating short music & lip sync videos inside a mosque? And a scale that required not one - but several - signs clearly stating that its use is prohibited within the mosque? Totally bizarre.
Smile for the Camera
Several Indians approached us, asking if they could take a picture with us. They were unexpectedly gentle (kind, not pushy) in approaching us, always asking first to take a photo. We typically obliged, in spite of how awkward it is for us. Then again, we've talked to the girls a lot about how people will stare at them & ask for their photos in certain parts of the world. We've explained that it will not come from a mean place, but from a place of curiosity & delight, because the girls look different than what they're accustomed to seeing, or have ever seen up close in person. Our experience shows that it goes both ways :) These Indians may have only seen a few fair skinned/haired people like us in person.
The only times we ended up saying no to a picture request was when they asked specifically to get photos of/with Sadie, and she was too shy/uncomfortable to do so. We don't want to force her to do it, especially when she so visibly finds discomfort in it. Sadie has come a LONG way in our travels, going out of her comfort zone and engaging with people she doesn't know. We want to continue to celebrate & encourage that, but not force it when it's clearly hard for her.
Old Delhi
Walking around Old Delhi was a completely fascinating and eye-opening experience for all of us. Doug & I had both separately been to India previously (me to Mumbai in 2011 for work, and Doug to Delhi & Bangalore in 2003 for tennis tournaments), but weaving around Old Delhi was mind boggling anew. And for the girls, it was equally shocking and intriguing.
Old Delhi Observations
We clocked close to 10,000 steps roaming around the streets and narrow back alleys of Old Delhi. Some of our general observations:
So.Many.Darn.People!! This area of the city is electric with the hustle & bustle of an insane amount of people, animals (cows, goats, dogs) and vehicles (tuk tuks, cars, bicycles, carts). Unlike anything any of us have ever seen.
Poverty was extreme and abundant. Hard to see at times. There were a few moments that sucker punched me in the heart, and I had to look away & hold back tears.
We were uncomfortable at times by what we saw, but it was equally fascinating & exhilarating to join the buzz of this vibrant place.
An obscene amount of electrical wires were exposed everywhere.
Shockingly few locals were wearing masks to help protect from the air pollution. Then again, it sadly reflects either a) their inability to purchase masks and/or b) their acceptance that poor air quality is a fact of life there.
In another surprise, we saw virtually no one smoking! We're coming off a few months in Europe where we encountered a ton of people smoking. So this one (pleasantly) surprised us.
There was a polite calmness to the chaos. Sadie actually picked up on it herself. The way she described it was "they would move to the side and let us pass, but they wouldn't do that for people that are from here".
Printing Paradise
As we were wandering around Old Delhi we were following (loosely) a walking route laid out in Lonely Planet. That lasted for about 15 minutes and then we were blazing our own trails, distracting by things we saw & wanted to explore more. At one point we ended up in what I can only call their "Paper District". One stall after another selling reams of paper and paper-related products. Doug & I got a kick out of it, given his business acumen of printing, built working at Mimeo for many years, and my love of all-things-paper-related (note cards, wrapping paper, etc). We paused to watch one man cut huge reams of large format papers into smaller dimensions, all on an old-school machine. At a certain point, you have to wonder if that many paper vendors are really needed. But what do we know :)
Spices Galore
An hour or so - and many, many turns & dead ends later - we ended up finding the Spice "district". This time it was stall after stall of spices. We turned off a main road to find a narrow street that looped around, putting us back into the legit spice economy. There was a constant flow of men carrying massive bags of ground spices on their heads, headed out from these back alleys onto the main road to (presumably) plop them onto a vehicle for further distribution. And there were hundreds of these same big bags of spices piled every which way back in the alley. It was fascinating to see this specialized corner in action. We couldn't stop sneezing from inhaling all the spice fumes :) Doug promised the girls they could each pick out a spice at the market. We found a vendor, ruled out any of the spicy ones, and they ended up with a turmeric and chili powder. More later on what they were used for :)
Food Everywhere
We stopped to gape at all the street food being prepared around us. There were so many tasty looking concoctions we wish we could have tried, but we were playing it safe and sticking to spots where we knew food was being prepared hygienically. Last thing we want is for any of us to get sick on this trip, if we can take steps to avoid it.
We watched this vendor for a solid 5+ minutes, mesmerized as he made chai tea for his clients.
This guy must have forgotten his knife :)
This guy was throwing raw meat to stray dogs
Old Delhi will standout in our trip memories as an afternoon that stimulated us in ways that we haven't been up to this point. The sights, sounds and smells are captivating. There's an energy about those streets that is unparalleled. Any moments of discomfort we felt were outweighed by a sense of awe & intrigue at what we were walking amidst. So glad we took the time to explore Old Delhi and show the girls this eye-opening place.
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