Delhi Dreams

Ask anyone what they think of India and they will be bound to mention the bright colours and the heat and humidity of an exotic destination. They will may also think of the food: the spicy curries and the saccharine sweetmeats. But, join me on a recent trip and get in deeper to discover a sense of the constant link between Britain and India.

We shall begin with the history. India gained its independence (and rather proudly so) in 1947; an event that preceded her most traumatic experience: the Partition of India and Pakistan. Even today, the disputed regions of Jammu/Kashmir regularly make the headlines.

In the time I spent in the capital, it became obvious to me that the country is still settling into its status, even some sixty years on. The economic changes are evident; with its expanding size and construction industry that is seemingly always at work. Some part of the huge sprawling city is always covered in scaffolding as it prepares to host the Commonwealth Games.

The social changes are less obvious. Buildings like the Rashpati Bhavan, and the Lal Kela (the President’s House and the Red Fort) add a sense of history to the city, whereas the endless stream of market stalls and dense forest of traffic bring it into the 21st Century. The simple truth of it is that even in the capital nobody follows any traffic laws and every taxi ride feels like it could be your last.

Kolkata, my second and final stop on this whirlwind tour is everything the country’s capital isn’t. The capital during the British Empire, it is at once both relaxed and hectic, more so than Delhi ever was. Ask any resident of the city, and they’ll be fiercely loyal to the place, choosing it over the current capital. It is easy to see why. I admit that as an ex-resident I am not impartial, but to all I am sure the beauty of the city is visible above the smells of sewage and the almost blinding pollution.

As in Delhi, there is a strong legacy of the British Empire in the city, with the Victoria Memorial as a unique building; places like College Street and Calcutta Medical College are hardly a surprise in a city that has produced 5 Nobel Laureates, including Rabrindanath Tagore, who has an almost religious status in the country, and of course, Mother Teresa. The city has also been famous for being among the first to showcase and stage plays; the Bengali film industry is well known and respected within the country.

During my time there, the city’s political allegiances were also made abundantly clear. I have always known there was a strong history of a Trade Union movement (the Communist Party of India has been in power for 40 years), but during my week-long stay there was a full out bandh (strike), with a place the size of London coming to a complete standstill for a whole 24 hours, over something as simple as price rises. Even the local branches of the national banks were on strike, simply because their colleagues were being transferred to another part of the country. Try and imagine that in the current British financial climate. I for one, can’t. But it happened. Now perhaps the next time someone asks you about India you may just have more to say!

Tags: Delhi, history, India, travel