New Delhi? So what happened to Old Delhi?
The foundations for the new city were laid in 1911 to the south of the old city and the World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated New Delhi as an “alpha- world city” in the 2010 report. The old city is somewhat dilapidated and tired, but still forms the symbolic heart of the capital.
Delhi seems to be an extraordinarily popular location to stick a city. New Delhi is allegedly on the site of another seven or more ancient cities. That’s a lot of cultural history, and I’m not sure there are many other cities that can claim the same sort of lineage. The earliest finds date back to the Maurya period of around 300 BC, and the site has been under development ever since. That seems to outdate London history by around 200 years. In saying this, there doesn’t seem to be any actual archaeological proof, and the history is almost entirely anecdotal.
The ancient Indian text The Mahabharata is the first ever mention of the city and puts it at over 5000 years! I have a fascination with medieval illuminations and, as a former art student, I have had a go at producing some in the past. The work involved is measured in weeks, not hours, and didn’t go out and make my own paper. The most successful series on Indian TV is the Mahabharata. Take a look on YouTube.
It’s a warm 25c with no wind once I get into the streets, and very busy. The walk from the hotel takes me first past the Sarojni Nakar Market, which has a big selection of crafts, art and furniture.
 There is so much colour about. |
 Shopping seems to be a national pastime. |
I Google a few landmarks to see what I should visit on my virtual tour. New Delhi, like many other capital cities around the world have a huge stone monument called the India Gate. This is the ‘Arc de Triumph’, sort of thing that commemorates the losses during past wars, and the India Gate bears the names of over 13,000 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern frontier in the Afghan war of 1919. I carry on walking towards the river that lies beyond the main city plot in front of me.
The city stands on the bank of the river Yamuna, which starts out in the himalayas to the north east in neighbouring Nepal. The pollution of the river is so bad that the Indian Government has spent an enormous amount of money on the problem, but the pollution keeps rising. This work has mostly been in the development of new waste-treatment stations, but the real problem is the under efficiency of the sewage system.
I don’t go for a paddle. Instead I take a rickshaw to the Qutb Minar heading south and back to my hotel. I will stay over tonight and head out very early towards Dhangadhi and Nepal.