Yesterday after spending the morning working on our respective computers, we decided to go to India Gate and then have dinner at a nice bar that has a nightly band. Before we reached India Gate, Lavanya had the driver take us through the government buildings, some of which her parents had worked in. All the buildings were very beautiful. Most were examples of classical architecture, but were constructed of a dark red stone instead of the classic white. I was able to take a few pictures of these buildings while we drove through the corridors. But, since we were required to keep moving, I was unable to get any good pictures of the Capital Building and some of the other buildings.
We then drove toward India Gate, which lays in the distance, even with the Capital Building. Lavanya told me that the goal was to build the Capital so that the President could see India Gate from his office. It does not quite work, she says. But, as we drove away from the Capital we saw the Gate in the distance. Lavanya tells me that India Gate is the symbol of Delhi. And, it is a pretty impressive symbol. Behind the gate is a small monument that used to house a statue of King George (I think), but that statue was removed after Independence. Lavanya was telling me that the Indian government wanted to put a statue of Ghandi in its place, but there had been a protest from some who claimed that "Ghandi never had anything over his head." "What ever that means," says Lavanya. So, a statue of Ghandi was never put in this monument, and it stays empty. I did not attach a picture of this smaller monument to this blog because it was not as impressive as the Gate.
The India Gate as by far the most touristy place I have been since I came to India. In one place there were more white people than I have seen in my entire trip. I tried to get a good picture of the line of middle aged tourists in Hawaiian shirts all taking pictures of the monument. But, I was constantly reminded of my status as a tourist as some shady vendor would walk straight into the frame and try to sell me a flower, convince me to get a henna tattoo, or some bracelet. I guess that is what I get for trying to make fun of an extreme form of myself. As you can see, I did end up getting some good pictures of India Gate despite the police blockades.
Note: The India Gate is not always blocked off. Right now it is blocked off in preparation of a big parade that happens near the end of January. However, this is not the reason the guard kept inching his way into my pictures . . . this I cannot explain.
Afterwards we went to Cannaught Place, the center of New Delhi. I believe I have written about this place before. There I witnessed some first rate bargaining (or non-bargaining). I was buying some gifts at a stall in one of the corners of the market. Lavanya had taken me to this stall because she had gotten a nice bag for a good price there and I thought a bag would make a good gift. Instead I was attracted to his other goods. When I had decided what I wanted to buy, the haggling began. Using a calculator he typed in 3000 and showed it to Lavanya. She said no. There was a little discussion after this and then he took the calculator back and typed in 2600. Still too much, we said no. He then wanted us to name a price. Lavanya, does not haggle this way. She breaks the rules and refuses to name a price. She tells him (the whole conversation was in Hindi, but she told us afterward some of what they were saying), "You know what these are worth, you name a more reasonable price." He then goes on about how these are quality and the price he gave is a good one. She says she can get them at another store for much less. He tells her that these are much better quality than at that store. This goes on for a while. And, mostly the conversation gets down to him repeating a request for our bottom price and her refusal to give it. Finally, he says, I am going to call my son and Lavanya says, I am going to call my mom. So, Lavanya talks to her mom about the price and the son comes to the stall and enters the haggling. He too talks about the quality of the items. After more haggling and an agreement to start a business relationship (Lavanya will return to buy more and bring other friends to this same vendor) the son makes a few calculations and then types 1600 in the calculator. I say yes. And, I saved 50%. Unfortunately, I still paid a hefty "white tax." Because I am a tourist I still paid at least 600 more than I probably would have otherwise. But, the experience and the obvious savings made the experience worth the price. And, all said and done, the items were better quality than at the other store Lavanya had mentioned (she just refused to show her cards).
Having bought our items we went to dinner. It took a little time to find the restaurant. It was on outer circle, block K. We finally figured out as we drove the large circle that we were on block N. Then we hit block H. I thought we had missed it and worried that we would have to drive the entire circle again. But, then we hit block K and find the place. How we went from N to H to K, I don't know.
The bar was very nice and after a couple of hours there was live music. The band played classic rock tunes and some other pop hits. And, the food was fusion everything, but very good. So, with a slightly western restaurant experience after some heavy haggling, I think I am getting a pretty well rounded look at Delhi.
