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| Subz E Burj |
Another Sunday and our souls were itching for an outing.As usual getting leave and giving into our wanderlust seemed impossible and we got the car out and headed out, without flipping a coin this time. We decided that since this was the holy month of Ramadan we would explore the remnants of the mughal rule in India and savour the delicacies that the muslims dish up.
Delhi has pockets where one can experience Islamic architecture and cuisine and even though Old Delhi is more popular on the tourist circuit , there are other pockets, equally good, if not better.
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| Sunderwala Burj |
We decided to explore the Nizamuddin area - we earmarked a few monuments to explore- Subz e Burj, Sundarwala Burj, 64 Khamba, Barakhamba tomb, Aga khans tomb, Kha i khanans tomb, to name a few.
Once done with Sunderwala burj we walked into Khan i Khanas tomb- a replica of the Humayun's tomb in structure but not half as grand- we had to pay an entrance of INR 5 per head(its INR 100 for foreign nationals) and a camera fee of INR 25. The vigillant guards came running down to us because our camera was launched on its tripod and apparently tripods are not allowed on the premises unless there is written permission from the Archeological society of India, the governing body for all these monuments. Weird logic but no one was in a mood to argue - and we deposited the tripod at the gate and walked in.
We stayed away from Humayuns tomb intentionally because that monumnet has been covered extensively on the tourist circuit.
A lot of renovation work is going on and most of the tombs are closed to visitors till December 2014.The security posted at Sunderwala burj were kind enough to allow us to click a few photographs of the place , which we shot from a distance. This monument is situated bang opposite the main entry of Humayuns tomb and yet gets skipped over because it lies within the premises of Sunder nursery , a government owned Nursery.
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Khani- Khanas tomb |
Once done with Sunderwala burj we walked into Khan i Khanas tomb- a replica of the Humayun's tomb in structure but not half as grand- we had to pay an entrance of INR 5 per head(its INR 100 for foreign nationals) and a camera fee of INR 25. The vigillant guards came running down to us because our camera was launched on its tripod and apparently tripods are not allowed on the premises unless there is written permission from the Archeological society of India, the governing body for all these monuments. Weird logic but no one was in a mood to argue - and we deposited the tripod at the gate and walked in.
Its at this tomb we came to know of an emerging trend in middle class weddings.
This is called Pre Wedding Photography of the bride and groom, capturing them sharing intimate moments. In this case this couple is all set to tie the knot on 3rd September( the mother proudly told us). This shoot started at 7am. Different locations , different postures,different angles and voila we have filmy moments up for public viewing on large screens commonly put up at the wedding venue on the actual day of wedding
Pashatuks kept prudently quiet and walked away keeping all personal opinions to themselves. Journeys can be so enlightening and this one defintely was an eye opener
The renowned Karims from the mughal era has a eatery in the bylanes of Nizammuddin- but thats not where we had our lunch. Previous experiences of long waits and food quality not matching the prices had us exploring the place for authentic mughali cuisine and we walked through the very visibly palpatable excitement of the forthcoming EiD, looking for a place to eat. We walked into a reltively smaller but clean place called Iqbals and sat down. Due to the fact that its the month of fasting the place was empty when we walked in and a sombre faced waiter told us that there was just chicken biriyani, mutton biriyani , mutton korma and mutton stew available for lunch. In the evening we would get the rest of the stuff available on their menu. Tough job this guy was doing, staying without a sip of water and serving food. We were okay with his dourness. We ordered mutton biriyani and stew with rotis.The food did absolute justice to our expectations of authentic mughlai cuisine, specially the biryiani whose flavouring was subtle and yet so appealing to the taste buds. We were 4 people and our bill was a reasonable INR 515
Lunch over we walked into the gulley trying to control the burps , and looking for 64 Khamba, supposedly the most beautiful and often ignored Sufi monument - a monument said to house Mirza Ghalibs tomb. At the entrance is also the Mirza ghalib academy.
Pashatuks at this time cannot comment much on this spot as this was also closed on account of renovation.
The vibrancy of this place has to be personally experienced to appreciate really, men in spotless white with skull caps firmly on their heads going about their business, ladies and girls with their heads covered, eyes lowered arguing and haggling with the vendors, the different smells of food and perfumes, vendors selling articles for worship at the dargah, beggars calling out for alms in the name of allah( most even wish you loads of riches and loads of sons to continue the dynasty)
Suddenly, typical Pashatuks style we decided that no one has geen a Gurudwara, the place for worship for Sikhs. So we hit off for Gurudwara Bangla sahib- the only one we knew of and drove into their enormous underground parking( 6 levels of parking underground) and walked into the shrine
The serenity of the place despite the volume of devotees had us very impressed. The concept of "seva" which had an absolutely old gentleman barely able to walk, taking our shoes with both hands and keeping it away. There were high society ladies painted toenails and lips wearing designer outfits with brooms in hand cleaning up the temple complex. No work is too small or too big- we are all equal in the eyes of God- very impressive concept and one feels truly humble in the face of such humility. PashaTuks is not overtly religious and feels all religion takes you to just one destination, yet the clean and organised working of a religious centre does deserve a special mention in our travel travails
A trip to a Gurudwara can be a good outing option even for a non religious person- the clean environs and the serenity of the granthis singing melodiously in front of the religious scriptures, the 24 hour community feeding, the hot halwas as prashad , the water(whixh they call amrit or nectar) the sarovar or pond within the complex can make one spend some time here. Another Sunday well spent and we were ready for home and looking forward to yet another sunday.
Pashatuks at this time cannot comment much on this spot as this was also closed on account of renovation.
The vibrancy of this place has to be personally experienced to appreciate really, men in spotless white with skull caps firmly on their heads going about their business, ladies and girls with their heads covered, eyes lowered arguing and haggling with the vendors, the different smells of food and perfumes, vendors selling articles for worship at the dargah, beggars calling out for alms in the name of allah( most even wish you loads of riches and loads of sons to continue the dynasty)
Suddenly, typical Pashatuks style we decided that no one has geen a Gurudwara, the place for worship for Sikhs. So we hit off for Gurudwara Bangla sahib- the only one we knew of and drove into their enormous underground parking( 6 levels of parking underground) and walked into the shrine
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| Gurudwara Bangla Sahib |
The serenity of the place despite the volume of devotees had us very impressed. The concept of "seva" which had an absolutely old gentleman barely able to walk, taking our shoes with both hands and keeping it away. There were high society ladies painted toenails and lips wearing designer outfits with brooms in hand cleaning up the temple complex. No work is too small or too big- we are all equal in the eyes of God- very impressive concept and one feels truly humble in the face of such humility. PashaTuks is not overtly religious and feels all religion takes you to just one destination, yet the clean and organised working of a religious centre does deserve a special mention in our travel travails
A trip to a Gurudwara can be a good outing option even for a non religious person- the clean environs and the serenity of the granthis singing melodiously in front of the religious scriptures, the 24 hour community feeding, the hot halwas as prashad , the water(whixh they call amrit or nectar) the sarovar or pond within the complex can make one spend some time here. Another Sunday well spent and we were ready for home and looking forward to yet another sunday.
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| PashaTuks at the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib- central Delhi |
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