I have almost another full day in Delhi before a long over night train journey to Mumbai. I met a lovely couple in Shimla and we decide to spend the day together.
We agree to visit the Tomb of Humayun. Humayun was was a Mughal Emperor. On his death his Persian wife built his mausoleum. It was built with a mixture of Mughal and Persian styles with balance and symmetry and set in flat broad gardens. The Tomb complex was built before the Taj Mahal and it is obvious the design of the Taj Mahal was heavily influenced by it. I might have missed this visit. I am so glad I didn’t. It was one of the highlights of Delhi certainly and a lovely place for a gentle stroll and quiet reflection about India and what we were seeing. It is a stunning place indeed and while set in the heart of Delhi - very tranquil in the relative mayhem surrounding it.
The other place we had the opportunity to visit was Gandhi Smitri. This is the place where Gandhi stayed for the 144 days before he was assisinated by a fellow Hindu who thought Gandhi was going to far in standing up for the Muslim minority leading up to Partition. There is a modest stone monument erected at the exact place of his death by gunshot. The path to it is marked with foot prints and you can follow Gandhi's actual foot steps. There is also a superbly presented museum on the site that sets out Gandhi's remarkable life and achievements in the form of photographs and model depictions of important points in his life.
I am not easily moved but I think the wisdom of Gandhi justifies special attention and I plan to read accounts of his life once again. Certainly he is most highly revered and deeply respected as an Indian who transcends faiths and loved by Hindu’s and Muslim’s alike. The difficulty I guess is Gandhi sets the moral bar so high but he does show it can be done.
Delhi offers many challenges but I am sure I have just scratched the surface of what it can offer. I would say get stuck in. Give it a go. Yes you are likely to scammed in some form or another but I never felt really threatened (apart from the Delhi air quality which is reason I think to keep your visit relatively short).
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| Gandhi |
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| Tomb of Humayun |
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| Leading up to the Tomb plinth |
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| Add caption |
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| Where Gandhi was slain. |
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| Humayun enterance |
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