Delhi Delights

Visiting India for the first time is so much more like entering an otherworldly kingdom than merely visiting a foreign land. Flying into Mumbai at midnight during the festival of Diwali, I was greeted by a dazzling web of lights, scattered liberally across the city, cascading down walls and adorning streets as far as my bloodshot eyes would take me. Following a seven hour wait for the connecting flight to Delhi, I finally arrived.

Sleep deprivation may have significantly altered my first opinion of the city, but Delhi is truly an assault on the senses. Then again assault is perhaps too mild a word. Exiting arrivals, we were soon slip-streaming our way on a three wheeler tuk-tuk or auto, through formerly three but now five lane traffic and a cacophony of hooting, to the G.K. Residency in Delhi’s M-Block.

After a brief hibernation in the cool of my room, I prepared for further exploration. Delhi’s resident feral dogs and holy cows, which always have right of way in congested traffic, seemed friendly enough as we made our way to a restaurant for a late lunch. Taking advice from a local we chose a popular spot not far from the hotel for my first course of culinary delight. I decided to ease my western gut into it by ordering the butter chicken with naan, which was sublime to say the least. Feeling remarkably more relaxed, and strangely resigned to my imminent demise at the hands of our auto driver, we chose to browse a local market that evening.

Smells ranging from utterly new to exotically alluring kept us company as we joined recently met friends at food and craft market Dilli Haat. Open in the evenings, the market offers a wide range of regional dishes. We chose dumplings or momos as they’re affectionately known. Over English and poor Hindi we shared stories and in true local style then packed five into an auto for the trip back to the hotel.

The following days we assigned ourselves the task of learning to bargain at the various bazaars. Contrary to popular belief, haggling over prices is standard practice and not essentially frowned upon. Failing miserably at first, we soon mastered the art, only to get thoroughly ridiculed by our local friends when we proudly announced the prices we paid.

Shrines, public gardens, roadside chai-sellers, maimed beggars, intoxicating bursts of colour from sari’s, intricate typography and street cricket all make Delhi a noisy, crowded and crazy visit.

Go with the flow and you’ll soon see that Delhi is by common standards not the most beautiful city in the world, but then it all depends on your definition of beauty. There are countless faces that tell a story of joy and sorrow, and a people that are disarmingly welcoming. If you’re looking for humanity at its most genuine, Delhi will against your knowledge, crawl up inside of you, make a nest in your heart and quite possibly never leave.