Good Bye, Jaipur, Hello Delhi

We have packed our bags, said our good-byes, and left Jaipur.  We are now traveling a bit around this part of India to Delhi, Amritsar, and Dalhousie, then to London for a brief 3-day break from our flights home.  See this link for photos for the 4 events briefly described below.

 1.   Good bye for now to Sara Dairy and the scrumptious Paneer Pakoras.    Saras Dairy has become a family favorite with their delicious paneer dosas, lassis, and most yummy, their paneer pakoras.  These taste like nothing else I’ve eaten, but my daugthers tell me they are similar to mozzarella sticks.  But with great chutney and great breading.  Check out photos of each step of their construction.

2.    Q’Tub Minar, Delhi

It is the tallest minar in India, originally an ancient Islamic Monument, inscribed with Arabic inscriptions, though the iron pillar has some Brahmi inscriptions, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Delhi, the Qutub Minar is made of red sandstone and marble. The tower has 379 stairs, is 72.5 metres (237.8 ft) high, and has a base diameter of 14.3 metres, which narrows to 2.7 metres at the top storey. Construction was started in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din Aibak and was completed by Iltutmish. It is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as the Qutub complex.  It's very cool to see and walk around, although it was blazing hot the morning we went.

3.   National Gallery, Delhi

I limited myself to one recently renovated exhibit and gallery, that of Mysore and Tajore Painting.  It is characterized by bright, primary colors, subjects of Hindu gods and goddesses, and lots of real silver and gold highlights.  They were stunning to see in all their opulence.  That fat baby is Krishna, who was known to eat straight ghee (clarified butter.) 

4.  Gandhi Smriti & Multimedia Museum

This is the place where Gandhi spent his last hours and where he was assassinated.  The Birla Corporation has financed a very innovative digital/Multimedia Museum in the building.  You touch, blow, and twirl things to make sounds, text, and video appear, and they are unified by their common theme of Gandhi's teachings.  It is a fantastic museum that shows the confluence of creativity and the digital age; check out their website:  http://www.eternalgandhi.org/introduction.htm

5.   High Tea at the Imperial Hotel, Delhi

Who doesn't want to pretend they have stepped back in history or to another continent and enjoy the finer things?  We came, we saw, we consumed.  At first we thought it looked like a lot for each person to have their own tray.  In the end, it was quite manageable.