In preparing our itinerary I found recommendations for a walk by a former street kid working with the Salaam Baalak Trust, and thought that would be an interesting contrast to our monument and museum visiting. We reached the group about 20 minutes after today's walk started...but that wasn't a problem as we had an extra guide to supplement the main one for the group of c. 12 (from Denmark, mainly, it seemed). Fortunately, our Delhi guide went along, and could help make sure Kenneth could keep up, and help us understand what the Trust guides were saying. While they are well trained and their English is good, following the pronunciation can be a challenge. It turned out to be a fascinating walk through the area around the big train station - 2nd biggest in India (but not the area behind the station, where young girls forced into prostitution work). In many ways it was an interesting parallel to our Mumbai slum tour, complete with kids doing recycling. You might enjoy reading more about this impressive organization:
Salaam Baalak Trust And now another opportunity for me to encourage you to read
Behind the Beautiful Forevers, the non-fiction National Book Award winner this year, about life in a Mumbai slum.
On the way there, we found a Catholic church. And we stopped long enough to me to snap one of the official Delhi tuk-tuks.
This young fellow met us and caught us up with the group. His story is like most in the program - father abusive, not enough money, left the village for the city, found other kids and the Trust. Participates in cricket and soccer and theater through the Trust. Hates India. Wants to go to US. Both the guides seemed poised, sharp, personable.
We set off through a warren of small lanes, with all the regular business of living going on. This very dusty bicycle seemed a good first shot.
Some of the lanes are very very narrow. This one stretch has plaques with pictures of assorted holy figures. They were put up, we were told, because people would stop peeing on that wall when they saw the images!
A figure of the last one sits on our Delhi driver's dashboard! Of course the area includes large shopping streets as well, full of cheap merchandise and busy with shoppers. Also of course, the smog continues.
The area around the train station was congested with people, of course. We saw a shelter location where the Trust takes in boys (an average of 40 runaways a day arrive in Delhi, they said). Then we walked back into the neighborhood's small lanes, where my my favorite part was the food vendors offering a a grand variety of fresh hot fare.
 |
| Outside the train station |
 |
| Washing the restaurant dishes in a public spigot |
 |
| Making fresh orange juice |
 |
| Gathering for recycling |
 |
| Tandoor cooking: He pulled out delicious looking chicken "kebabs" |
 |
| A potter at work in the lane |
|
| Fresh squeezed orange juice |
 |
| Fresh naan |
 |
| Sweets |
 |
| So sad: a once-beautiful haveli |
 |
| Rag pickers' collection, I think |
 |
| Delivering cooking fuel |
This fellow made the monkey in the dress dance to a beat. One aspect of it was very cute, but it made me think of stolen girls required to perform for a fee, and I was happy to move on quickly.
Our destination was a Trust shelter - an apartment up three flights of stairs (the first two grimy, with paint peeling), with a kind of metal cage door like old-fashioned elevators. Art classes were taking place in two rooms, with a number of volunteer teachers and a group of kids around each project. After awhile we were crammed into a small room where we had a little "message" on the Trust -- how it got started, how our funds could help, success stories. It appeared everyone had made a reservation through some agent and had a voucher. The conclusion was a personal story by the lead guide for today. A condensed version: He never knew who his father was and then his mother brought someone home and the man made him work in a factory making purses and the manager gave him money to get something from the store one day and he ran away. All this at 7. He's now 20.
 |
| Up to the third floor |
 |
| Bulletin board shows Trust programs |
 |
| Art work in progress |
 |
| The gated entry |
A walk back toward where we'd find our driver, then, and off we went to see the Bahái'í Temple, built in 1986 in the shape of a lotus flower. As was the case everywhere, there were great lines of school children along with families and much picture-taking.
 |
| Our guide bagged our shoes and "filed" them and we inched the long way forward uncomfortably. |
 |
| A beautiful peacock gate at the property entry |
On our way to lunch we passed through some of the business district with modern high-rise buildings.
The guide selected a restaurant he heard was new and good, and he made a good choice. The menu was very "multi-cuisine"and we were able to enjoy non-Indian food, happily. Kenneth tried a new tomato soup and I shared my Lebanese
mezze plate with him - perfectly cooked little chicken kebabs, the best pita bread I've had outside Jordan, hummus, baba ganoush, and raita sauce. Perfect!
 |
| From the rooftop terrace over the restaurant |
Underneath the restaurant was a McDonald's. I snapped a photo of the menu before I heard
No photos! No beef here, but some very-Indian sounding choices.
It was 3 now, and we had time for one more stop. We chose the estate where Gandhi was living when he was murdered, now a memorial property of course. It was very interesting, with lots of photos, quotes, and mementoes.
 |
| Garlands on the gate at the entry (and a zillion more inside) - marigolds and ashoka leaves |
 |
| The bed he sat on, his writing desk, his stick and sandals top right |
 |
| Guide and Kenneth with Gandiji |
 |
| Steps mark Gandhi's path to the spot where he was killed |
 |
| An ashoka tree |
We ended the day with another fine meal at the hotel's 1911 verandah...without wedding entertainment.
We set off through a warren of small lanes, with all the regular business of living going on. This very dusty bicycle seemed a good first shot.
A figure of the last one sits on our Delhi driver's dashboard! Of course the area includes large shopping streets as well, full of cheap merchandise and busy with shoppers. Also of course, the smog continues.
The area around the train station was congested with people, of course. We saw a shelter location where the Trust takes in boys (an average of 40 runaways a day arrive in Delhi, they said). Then we walked back into the neighborhood's small lanes, where my my favorite part was the food vendors offering a a grand variety of fresh hot fare.
The guide selected a restaurant he heard was new and good, and he made a good choice. The menu was very "multi-cuisine"and we were able to enjoy non-Indian food, happily. Kenneth tried a new tomato soup and I shared my Lebanese mezze plate with him - perfectly cooked little chicken kebabs, the best pita bread I've had outside Jordan, hummus, baba ganoush, and raita sauce. Perfect!
It was 3 now, and we had time for one more stop. We chose the estate where Gandhi was living when he was murdered, now a memorial property of course. It was very interesting, with lots of photos, quotes, and mementoes.
No comments:
Post a Comment