Chandni Chowk: A crowd like I've never experienced before!

Wow, it has been a fun filled weekend.  I have a series of blog posts to hit the highlights!

Last week was our last week of formal classes (time has flown by so fast!).  All of the study abroadians went to Biji's house for dinner.  It was so fun to bring everyone home to eat and talk!  Biji was so excited and would not stop talking :)  She kept telling her stories about Bouji (my late grandfather) and my dad while we all listened to her in fascination...she has such an animated way of telling her old stories.  Even though it is getting harder to understand her verbally, her eyes tell the entire story!   My cousin, Sunny, and his 1 and a half-year-old daughter, Kuhu, came to visit as well.  It was a Syal party!  I truly feel happy when I see her happy, and I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to bring my friends to see her.

The Gang + Biji + Kuhu

A road of Chandni Chowk

We also had the opportunity to visit Chandni Chowk for an afternoon.  Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest markets in Old Delhi.  In my opinion, it is probably the most crowded places in the world as well!  We started our journey at the college with our guide, Mr. Loktesh.  After taking the metro right to Chandni Chowk, we started out by seeing an old library.  Shelves and shelves lined the walls with books ranging from Hindi books, to War and Peace, to a book on Thermodynamics (shout out to ChE!).  Our next endevour was to see the streets of the market.  I really should not say streets - once you reach the market, you have to venture "inside" the narrow gullies to really see what it's all about.   Many of the gullies at the market have a specialty.  For instance we went through the “spice” gully where mass amounts of masalas were displayed.

The spice market!

The stimulation at Chandni Chowk was crazy – all of my senses were actively working the entire time!  I was constantly making sure I didn’t bump into people (although that was impossible).  I saw every kind of person doing everything imaginable – walking, riding bikes, going to school, smoking, working at shops, taking care of children, peeing on the side of the road, bargaining for a better price, or just laughing with their friends.  My nose was going crazy trying to comprehend every smell.  Every meter, I caught a whiff of something new, such as animal dung, spices, sizzling samosas, or car exhaust.

A gully in the bowels of the market

Besides walking around the market, we got the opportunity to visit many different types of worship places...all in the same area!  This proves how diverse this part of Delhi really is.  Here are the places we went to:

• Catholic Church (St. Stephan's Church): This small church was empty so we were able to explore every part.  Prayers were inscribed in the walls in English, Hindi, and Urdu.
• Mosque (Fatepuri Masjid): This mosque was enclosed by a courtyard in the middle of the crowded market.
• Jain Temple: The priest of this temple gave us a special tour of the sanctuary area.  Jainism is all about enlightenment in yourself.  There were paintings everywhere in the temple that told the stories of the "enlightened ones" - these are the people (I'm pretty sure they were humans?) that reached the ultimate enlightenment.
• Sikh Temple (Gurudwara Sasganj): Sikh temples, known as Gurudwaras, are absolutely beautiful.  The Gurudwara in Chandni Chowk was no exception!  The Sikh religion is an offshoot of Hinduism; the most notable aspect of the religion is the turbans that the men wear.  This Gurudwara had a beautiful worship area, with dazzling lights inside.  They worship the "Holy Book" that their Gurus wrote.  Everything was shiny music was being performed.  In this temple, we were also asked to cover our heads (even the boys).
• Hindu Temple: Last but not least, we made our way to the Hindu temple.  The main Goddess worshiped at this temple was Kali, the Hindu goddess of power.  There were also statues of the other gods and goddesses.  We rung the worship bell and received a "tikka" or red dot on our forehead for blessings from the priest.

An interesting note is that at each place of worship, there were two commonalities: 1) We were extremely welcomed by everyone at each place, and 2) we had to take our shoes off before going inside.  There is definitely a common thread that binds us together, no matter what you believe in.  Seeing the diversity in such a small place like Chandni Chowk is living proof of this coexistance!

Elly and I from the Gurudwara terrace

View from the Gurudwara