Celebrating the birth anniversary of Sergei Bondarchuk

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch Sergei Bondarchuk's 1959 directorial debut "Destiny of a Man," a movie about World War II based on a short story by Mikhail Sholokhov. Special thanks to the Russian Centre for Science and Culture for screening the film.

For more on Bondarchuk's life and legacy, see my article for the Russia India Report. http://indrus.in/articles/2011/09/29/remembering_a_legendary_russian_actor_and_director_sergei_bondarchuk_13055.html

Historic Delhi

Here is a collection of images from some of Delhi's historic sites

Humayun's Tomb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157627660611925/


Lodhi Gardens
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157627662485487/


Safdarjung's Tomb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157627663546969/

Coronation Park
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157627786099764/

A case of too many historical treasures?

Even the most ardent Delhi-hater would have to admit that the city has a large collection of monuments and historic sites that can't even be matched by Rome, Istanbul or Cairo. In several corners of the city, you see some building that has some historical value. Many cities around the world would love to have something as beautiful as the Safdarjung's tomb, but in Delhi, even the authorities belittle the beautiful mausoleum by comparing it to Humayun's Tomb.

Many people ignore the beautiful violet-tiled domed monument that forms a round-about outside Humayun's Tomb. Ask a passer-by what the beautiful monument is and you will either get a blank stare or some response like "it's as old as the Qutub Minar."

Writers like William Dalrymple have said that many historic gems have been demolished in parts of the city with no one batting an eyelid. I guess Delhi is a city that just has way too many treasures for its own good. One can't pluck out a historical monument and plant it a place that has nothing though. Sure, Nagpur could use the Safdarjung's Tomb, but that wouldn't be right would it?

There is a growing pride about the city among Delhites. It's time more Delhites adopted the historic monuments in their own areas and took some initiative in their restoration.

Big City Metro

Since I have taken many an occassion to complain about how crowded the Delhi Metro is, this time I need to commend the Delhi Metro authorities for adding 2 more compartments to the trains. This has made travelling on the very efficient system much easier. I don't fancy being sandwiched between people who bathe once a decade, so I commend this upgrade. There's even talk of the introduction of 8-compartment trains. Now that would make the metro even more comfortable.

There is an exception to my above statements. The yellow line that connects Gurgaon to North Delhi continues to be a sardine tin, with the most packed stretch being between Rajiv Place and Kashmere Gate. I guess road travel on the same route is more time consuming. Besides this line, I would recommend using the metro to get around, especially in the non-peak hours.

A friend, however, told me that the trains are less crowded because it's Navratri and business activity generally slows down around this time. I hope her take is not too accurate.

Graveyard of the British Empire

Certain places reinforce in me the Buddhist belief in impermanence. The Coronation Park in the northern fringes of Delhi is one such place. A hundred years ago King George V, Emperor of India, invited the royalty from Indian princely states to this ground in Delhi to celebrate his coronation to the English throne. It must have been a grandiose ceremony, which also led to Delhi once again becoming the capital of India.

In 1911, England was a superpower and the British Empire ruled a big chunk of the world. A century later, Britain is a has-been and the coronation ground, which was neglected for 6 decades, is virtually unnoticed in the former Crown Colony. When I asked a policeman, where the entry to the ground is, he was shocked that someone would actually want to go there.

Large swathes of forest grew over some statues, but the Delhi Government woke up a few months ago and decided to revive this park. There's a lot of activity in the ground and labourers are busy landscaping the park, cutting off wild bushes and cleaning the statues, of which there are quite a few. None of the statues have any "name plaques" so only a historian or a fan of the British Empire would know who these people are.

King George V is the only statue that would be instantly recognisable. The gigantic statue, which reminded me of many a Lenin Statue in Russia, was moved to the ground from its original location, opposite the India Gate. Now the emperor faces a pretty impressive obelisk marking the Delhi Durbar of 1911.

Delhi will celebrate 100 years of being India's capital (well it was the capital several times over several centuries, but that's not the point) and a grand party will be staged at the ground in December to mark the anniversary. Since projects actually do get done in Delhi, I am sure the ground will be in good shape and British tourists will be able to walk with pride in this bizarre park.

Notes from Delhi

Just about every bush in Lutyens' Delhi is trimmed to perfection, all the lawns are well looked-after and there doesn't seem to be even a hint of uneveness in the grass. The trees shade many of the grand avenues of the city that bear names as diverse as Aurangzeb Road,  Africa Avenue and Simon Bolivar Road. There is such a regal splendour and elegance in so many parts of the city that one tends to overlook what's not right with the national capital as a whole.

One area that I particularly like is the Khan Market. It has a nice collection of cafes, boutiques and nice shops that seem to have just about anything one could possibly want. I enjoyed a wonderful cup of Kashmiri Kawa tea at the Market Cafe, a new favourite of mine in this city. Another feature of the Khan Market seems to be the presence of mod Delhi Aunties, who I would guess constitute the real elite of the national capital.

Oh, how I wish, Bombay had an Italian Cultural Centre like the wonderful institute that is near the Rail Museum. The cafe at the centre has the finest Italian food east of Naples.

Welcome to Delhi

For those of you that want to see the sunrise at Humayun’s tomb, I have some news. The wonderful authorities at the beautiful mausoleum want you to get lost. I reached the mausoleum just at sunrise but the ticket counter was closed, but the place was full of walkers and stray dogs. When I entered the premises, I was told by a petty official that I can’t enter without a ticket. The man asked me to come back 1 and a half hours later, despite my pleas to be allowed to take photos in such good light.


He asked me what I would do in his position. I told him I would allow the tourist from Bombay to take wonderful pictures. The man claimed that it was a dereliction of his duty to let me in, without a ticket. I was as stubborn as a mule and forced him to open the ticket counter so that I could pay the Rs 10 ticket and get in.

It’s amazing how these petty officials “exercise their power.” I will definitely file a complaint with the Ministry of Tourism as well as the Archaeological Survey of India. The Indonesian Government charges 20 US dollars to tourists who want to take pictures of Borobudur at sunrise. But the officials and bureaucrats in the Indian Government take great pride in being useless.

Finally I did manage to take fabulous pictures in excellent light. My persistence was strong enough to make the petty official relent.