As cliché as it may sound, in a span of a whirlwind month, Delhi has become one of my favorite cities in the world. Any time I try to decide what to post about, I panic – there have been so many experiences, ranging all the way from heartbreakingly difficult to near-euphoria. Looking back at this past month, my mind jumps between the dozens of sites that we have already visited, and I thought : why not just make a top three list? It really is quite Buzzfeed of me, but also I feel as if I chose only one moment I would regret not choosing another just as incredible moment. So, as tacky as it is, here’s a list of my top three moments/places/stories of my time here over the past month.
3. Firuz Shah Kotla
Firuz Shah Kotla is a stronghold in Delhi built by Tughlaq, a Mughal ruler with a strong influence in medieval Indian history. The structure is primarily a fort, but it features an incredible old mosque and a sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C.E. that is from the time of Ashoka. We visited Firuz Shah Kotla on a Saturday morning, just hours after the Islamic Friday worship, and the faint smell of incense still was present in the complex. Verdant lawns now dominate much of the fortress inside the ancient walls, but the mosque was my favorite part of the entire complex. The mosque itself was light and airy, but the structure was enveloped by a large maze of near pitch-black chambers, where hundreds of bats nestled in the eaves and the faint smell of incense would waft through the corridors. It is fabled that the djinns of Islamic mythology reside in these alcoves, which certainly provided for an eerie experience. We ducked through the narrow archways as bats swooped overhead (which I suppose freaked out a fair amount of my peers, but bats are one of my favorite animals and I was quite excited to watch them roosting). Bats weren’t the only creatures we saw in the chambers – we even saw a couple of puppies bumbling around in the cavernous structure. Also, who knows – there were probably some djinns hiding in the shadows…
2. Tughluqabad
If you couldn’t tell by the name, this is another site associated with Tughlaq, the same Mughal ruler who built Firuz Shah Kotla. Tughluqabad is 14th century Mughal stronghold that overlooks modern Delhi from its position atop the tallest of the hills that encircle the modern city on three sides. It was incredible how the grandeur of the fort and palace complex was still so palpable even though only the skeleton of the ruins remain, and it was fun to get a little hike in despite the fact that the temperature hovered around 100° and there wasn’t a tree or any other source of shade in sight. The position of the complex high up on the hill gives an unobstructed view of the modern city (smog included).
High on Tuqhlaqabad was a lonely goatherd… But seriously, the goats were cute.
- Mehtab Bagh
A couple of weeks into our Delhi adventure, we woke up well before dawn to set out to the train station, where we would board a two hour train to Agra. The countryside whizzed by as we chugged along to the city of the Taj, and I couldn’t help but feel I was on an Indian version of the Hogwarts Express since my peers and I occupied the bulk of one of the cars and we were served tea and Digestive biscuits. Sadly, there was no slow-motion running to the Kinks while Wes Anderson’s saffron-colored glasses filmed our journey, but this scene from the Darjeeling Limited startlingly resembles the train stations we journeyed through.
Our first night in Agra, we ventured to the Mehtab Bagh, which was a garden along the river Yamuna, and we were shocked when we were greeted with a clear view of the backside of the Taj Mahal, which was positioned just across the narrow waterway. The gardens were immaculate and the Taj was illuminated against the sky as the sun began to set. I struggle to put into words how otherworldly it all was, and how it all felt so much like a dream.
Whoops more goats. Can you tell that I’m a bit obsessed?
Bonus moment!
The same night that we arrived in Agra, we went back to our hotel still in awe from the Mehtab Bagh. My roommate and I decided to take advantage of the pool at our temporary accommodations, so after dinner we took a quick dip in the cool water. I’m not usually a huge fan of pools or water that isn’t used for bathing or drinking, but the few minutes we spent floating in the pool are ones I doubt I will ever forget. I floated on my back as the evening call to prayer melodiously blared out from a nearby mosque, and fruit bats darted overhead in the darkness of night, occasionally swooping down towards the surface of the water. It was a cherished moment of tranquility and peace amongst the whirlwind journey here so far in India.