Indian expedition (12.02.08)

I forgot to describe what happened two days ago.
When we finally got all the tickets for all our journeys, we met with our Indian friend, Varun. He's Gaetton workmate, a very nice guy. And we spend almost the whole day with him and visited many interesting places.

Firstly, Parliament and President's house. The whole area is extremely clean and tidy. As if it wasn't India anymore. I'm impressed. A completely different world. Streets are empty and the drivers do follow the traffic rulers. The buildings seem to represent a power of land, proud and great, tremendous. At the end of the lane there's a President's residence. The gate is closed, guarded by serious looking guys. We shoot some pics and go towards a nearby park. Crowds everywhere. Indians are staring at us again, family with kids came here to do a picnic, playing, eating, watching us. Again some people want to have a photo with us. Well, ok. We should be more assertive.
Wow, and now Indian Gate. Looks a bit like the French triumphal arch. But just a bit.
I'm happy Varun is with us. At least it's safer, men are not so aggressive, I mean the way they observe us. Everything is easier, even haggling goes smoothly.
We visit Dehli Heart as well. It's a huge market. The entry costs 15 r. but it's worth it. All typical Indian products are sold here. The colours and scents create a different world. Joyful, quite peaceful. So we let them guide us and order few Indian dishes in an outdoor restaurant. No idea what their names are, but it's delicious. And spicy. Varun says it's what he eats every day and he admits he has never eaten pizza. Wow. Well, in fact there's nothing to regret. Indian food is so much better:)

Then we go to Shatur Bur. It's a complex of Indian temples. As Varun says – it's a Hinduism in a nutshell.
Woooooow! It's huge. Unbelievable. Many shrines, large statues, the largest one portrays the god Hanuman. Suddenly a woman stops us and says she's from Indian TV and would like to interview us. Ok. Sounds cool. She asks us about our impressions, what we think and feel when we're in such a holy place, whether we believe in God/gods and if we have any wishes to God. If yes, we should touch the holy tree, just behind us and say the prayer. Well, I tell her what I think and feel and I admit I do like it here. Then I follow her words. Turn around and touch the strange tree. This is weird. I do have “wishes” to God but now my head is empty...

There's a Shiva temple in the middle. People gather inside and honour him. They do some strange rituals involving flowers and gestures.
We visit another temples, too. There are plenty of Ganesha's images. Vishnu and Lakshmi are also popular. Some people bring offerings (fruit or milk) to gods and pray to them in silence. The air is full of holy and respectful atmosphere. I feel like an intruder...
We receive an Indian blessing, a red dot on the forehead and a white “cookie”. I do feel the presence of some major forces here.
And the Hanuman. It's at least 100 m high. Huge. We walk around the statue, taking some pics. Unfortunately, my battery goes flat. Varun laughs that it's the only way to keep me from taking photos. Well, maybe.
Soon we need to get back. Varun wants to go to his Sikh Temple as it's Sunday. And he usaully spends the whole day there. So we say goodbye and go back to Mahilpapur.