1 post tagged “jama masjid”

After about a week in Delhi, I am now back in Bangalore.  I had a really nice time in Delhi, since I last wrote, Neelmoy and I visited Old Delhi and got to see a lot of the more traditional sights and sounds of the city.  We visited a mosque, the Jama Masjid, and climbed one of its towers.  The tower had a tiny staircase twisting up hundreds of feet, and once you got to the top, there was a small area to stand and sort of hang on to the grated windows to see all of Delhi.

In Old Delhi we also got to ride the bicycle rickshaws.  A guy literally has a cart attached to the back of a bicycle, and you are slightly elevated to have a nice view of the chaos around you.  It's amazing how these skinny guys can pull so much weight biking around all day long.  Neelmoy and I both think that if India recruited some of its athletes from this population, with proper nutrition, these guys would be winning medals.  I read similar musings on a NY Times blog, "Two for the Road," where they wrote about bicycles in Africa, and how they are used for both transportation and income.

Yesterday I left Delhi for Bangalore.  As soon as I got to the airport, I felt more at ease knowing that I was relatively familiar with the place, and maybe 10% proficient in the local language, Kannada.  It's nice to be back though, in my old room at Mantri, and to see familiar faces again.  The sounds of the city are also very familiar, as the nearby temple is now broadcasting vocal music and some sort of talking along with the typical clanging of the bells on the loudspeaker.

I'm also excited to go back to the school that I worked in last summer, but from what I heard, things have deteriorated and there are now more students and fewer teachers than before.  I'll go on Thursday and report back after that.  Until then... tata!