Fort, both in Old Delhi. The mosque, Jama Masjid, is a red sandstone
building at the top of two or three dozen steps. There is a large
plaza with the actual mosque at one end and minarets in the corners.
Visitors are allowed to climb the 121 stairs to the top of one ofthe
minarets. The circular stone stairway is narrow and dark, with
occasional look outs. At the top you are treated with an unfettered
panoramic view of India's capital city. I think seeing anything from
that high up is always striking; it's just such an unusual vantage
point.
From here I walked to the Red Fort, a very large and important piece
of India's history. The entire grounds are surrounded by red sandsone
walls. For many years the army was housed here- even the British used
this as a troop depot during their reign. There are many structures
contained within the walls along with vast gardens and grass. There
are (now empty) waterways where water would flow from pool to pool
throughout the entire place. It was very tranquil there, even with the
honking off in the distance (it never stops!)
I returned to the Wongdhen House for lunch and then moved my
belongings to a different abode as my sister Lexi was to arrive late
that night. Not only did I want to have a nicer and more spacious
place for when she arrived, but also I wanted to be closer to the
airport since we were then departing the next morning, just hours
after she got in. I managed to reserve a homestay in the same complex
where I was set to take a cooking class that evening- a nice
convenience.
My cooking class was superb! I was joined by one other girl- an
American, the first one I had seen in sometime. Our wonderful
instructor, Lalit, taught us four dishes: Dal Makhini (lentils), Aloo
Ghobi (cauliflower and potatoes), Paneer Rolls (Indian cheese rolls),
and Paranthas (a type of fried bread).
The class was originally going to be all demonstration, but seeing as
we were in a small space (just in a regular kitchen) I could not help
getting my hands dirty. Lalit and I immediately hit it off, as we both
approach food similarly (without hesitation!). He said he used to run
his own street food stand while in school to help pay the bills. If
you've seen the number and variety of food stalls all around Delhi you
would understand how impressive this is.
After finishing I sat down to eat all of our lovely creations. Lalit
was kind enough to give me a few more recipies, along with
instructions for real chai tea, which I'm excited to make when I get
back!! (and to share- come over!)
I took my second shower of the week and waited to go pick Lexi up from
the airport at 1am. After a slight miscommunication of where to meet
(which resulted in my waking someone up at 1:30am) the driver and I
picked Lexi up from the airport so that she could get a few winks of
sleep before we set off again at 9 the next morning.
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