TRAVEL | INDIA | INSPIRATION | FAMILY | LOVE
A Trip of A Lifetime With My Children
Meeting family,visiting historical sites and tasting the best food — part two-THE NEW DELHI EXPERIENCE)
Life without Luke was tough. It was enough to know he was doing fine. Totally smitten by my brother’s attention. Still, the video calls were full of tearful conversations.
The charm of New Delhi made us forget about him. The kindness of everyone around us made us focus on the city. The cafes and the salon visit totally invigorated us with new energy. More shopping and more food was the best way to end the day.
The next day my heart was beating fast. My excitement was reaching its limits. Will they like the historical places or not? What if they’ll get bored or tired?
AZ didn’t show any signs of jet lag or tiredness. AZ became more excited when I introduced the historical places. AZ became more impressed when my introduction attracted other people. AZ realized much to be learned from me apart from the mundane.
My first task after reaching India is always to visit Shahnaz Husain Salon for an exquisite facial, massage, and hair treatment. Shahnaz Husain products have defined beauty care for me since 1984, and this time, I wanted to Z to have the same experience. We ubered to the salon to treat ourselves to rejuvenating facials, massages, and hair treatments. It was magical.
Here’s Z in the parlor:
DePaul’s’ Coffee has been Tim Horton’s equivalent for me, and it melted my heart away when AZ stamped my choice of coffee with the sweetest approval — I never thought that taste buds are hereditary, too.
We spent some time window shopping in the Saket Mall, then ventured outside to enjoy the Christmas Decorations. We certainly did not miss being in Canada during the holidays.
We booked our Delhi Sightseeing tour online with HOHO and reached their office bright and early at 8 am to start our maiden adventure of visiting Delhi’s focal points as a family.
It was an emotionally profound moment for me when I stepped out of the bus at the Red Fort.* I had done my first post-graduate research on the old city, Shahjahanabad, in 1986 and, as an enthusiastic teenager, had roamed around the same spots several times alone.
AZ loved the architecture and grandeur of the fort, and Z was especially impressed by the historical significance of the fort. We spend time discussing how the past reconnects with the present. A selfie on the front entrance was perfect:
Hall of the Public Audience: Red Fort, Delhi:
View of the palaces inside the Red Fort, Delhi:
After satiating ourselves with the nooks and corners of the Red Fort and traversing into the memory lanes of my graduate days with AZ, it was time to go outside the fort and explore the other landmark of Old Delhi.
We took a rickshaw ride to go to the Jama Masjid, whistling through the busiest road we’ve ever seen with every variety of conveyance on the road: rickshaws, bicycles, scooters, bullock carts, tractors, trucks, buses, cars, autos, and pedestrians.
We’re holding our breath as the rickshaw driver valiantly skirted through the traffic and safely took us to the footsteps of the Jama Masjid without any mishap.
The magnificent mosque appeared as an island of serenity in the midst of a chaotically busy city. Our guide was an experienced man who kindly explained various landmarks of the mosque, including the historical manuscripts of the hand-written Quran of Hazrat Ali AH and some other relics.
An outside view of the city from the Jama Masjid:
After that, we did something outrageously risky that could have jeopardized our entire trip, but we took the plunge anyway.
On the recommendation of the rickshaw puller, we went to the Parathe-wali-Gali to eat the mouth-watering parathas (Indian flatbeard) deep-fried in steaming pure ghee (clarified butter).I also bought some sweets from there and encouraged AZ to taste small bites of three varieties of paratha: cheese, potato, and khoya (solidified milk).
It was very delicious! Miraculously our stomachs withered the onslaught of this overly fried wheat paraphernalia. The credit goes to our family doctor, Razia Khan, who made us take the oral vaccine: Dukoral.
When we got on the HOHO bus again, we were tired and sleepy but carried on with the tour on the bus. A view from the bus:
Outside view of the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President’s house)
We got down near the Sarojini Nagar Market to do some shopping and decided to go back to the Guest House to rest. So far, AZ has enjoyed the trip thoroughly by doing things alone without meeting any family.
To be continued…
© Fatima Imam (All Rights Reserved)
Sincere thanks to Denise Larkin for giving my story a comfortable spot in her publication.❤️❤️
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Part one:
