Dazzling Day Two in India’s Capital: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Humayun’s Tomb, Golf Course Poolside Party, National Museum, Dinner with Friends in Janakpuri.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Delhi

Dazzling Day Two in India’s Capital: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Humayun’s Tomb, Golf Course Poolside Party, National Museum, Dinner with Friends in Janakpuri.

Delhi is endlessly fascinating—whether you are cruising on wheels through the broad, tree-lined boulevards of Edwin Lutyens’s splendidly designed city or footing in through the narrow, maze-like lanes of Old Delhi—Chandni Chowk or Hazrat Nuzamuddin areas--you are fully taken by the assault on all your senses. Today offered us a whole spectrum of experiences that the city can provide.

Breakfast and Morning Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral:

We awoke at leisure in Anand Bhavan, the Fulbright Residence in Barakhamba—close to the Diplomatic Enclave of Chanakyapuri. It is incredibly quiet and serene here—especially on a Sunday where nobody is working on these lawn-surrounded premises.

After our showers, we dressed warmly (Delhi is spring or fall-like, at this time of year) and left for complimentary breakfast in the café on the premises of our living quarters. We had masala omlettes with buttered toast (jam was also provided), fresh fruit (papaya, apples, bananas), corn flakes with lovely hot milk and hot coffee—truly a royal repast to set us off for a day of strenuous sightseeing. Once our breakfast was done, we hailed an Uber rickshaw and went off to the first item on our agenda for the day: Sunday Mass at Delhi’s biggest Catholic church, Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Holy Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral:

The ride through the glorious, traffic-free streets of New Delhi on a Sunday morning was one of the most memorable parts of our day. I am completely enthralled by the buildings you pass which are beautifully signposted. One minute you will be passing by the Ministry of External Affairs building, another time it will be the Lalita Kala Akademi, yet another time, it might the Taj Palace Hotel. All these structures stand alongside broad, tree-lined boulevards that end in rotaries that are crafted around tiny parks filled with sculpture. There is visual interest at every turn and I was fully taken by everything we passed. Truly, Edwardian architects, Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, achieved true magnificence when they were assigned the building of a new capital in India in 1911.

To my utmost delight, we actually passed by the Jantar Mantar—that incredible observatory that Maharana Jai Singh of Jaipur built because he was crazy about astronomy and wished to study the skies at night. The discoveries he made and the manner in which he mapped the heavens are truly impressive. We did not have the time for a visit here, but I have been to the red sandstone Jantar Mantar on past visits to Delhi and I know that it is truly worth seeing.

It was not long before we were pulling up outside Sacred Heart Cathedral, a distinctive twin-spired building painted red and yellow (like most of the official buildings in Delhi) constructed and decorated in the Baroque style. We were taken, on the left side of the gate, by a tree that had been planted by Pope John Paul II on his visit to Delhi and to a sculpture right by it by Neeraj Gupta. On the opposite side of the gate is a statue of the same Pope, his hand raised in blessing.

On approaching the entrance of the church, we realized that Mass had just begun. It was just past 10.30 am. As we had intended to attend Mass today, it made sense to sit through the Mass which was in Hindi. The church was full and every pew was occupied. The Cathedral is quite beautiful indeed and the Mass happened to be con-celebrated with five priests at the altar, The best part of the service was the choir that was simply magnificent. They had a full cohort of voices plus a variety of musical instruments that lent tremendous heft to the service. We thoroughly enjoyed the Mass, received Communion and left at the very end, happy to have participated in the full service.

As soon as Mass was done, we took a few pictures and left. We hailed an Uber auto rick that then took us to the next place on our agenda: Hazrat Nizamuddin to see Humayun’s Tomb.

On to Humayun’s Tomb:

The Emperor Humayun (1508-1556, born Nazir al-Din Mohammed) was the son of Emperor Babur and the father of Emperor Akbar. When he died in 1556, his wife, Haji Begum, decided to spare no pains, time, money or trouble to build him a mausoleum that history would remember. The building predates the Taj Mahal in Agra (built 60 years later by his grand-son Shah Jehan for his wife, Nur) and is said to have inspired it. Indeed, your first glimpse of Humayun’s Tomb is just as breathtaking as the Taj. But for the fact that this is built in red sandstone and the latter in pure white marble, there is little to differentiate them.

As in the case of most significant Moghul mausoleums, you enter through a large gateway or Darwaza which is just as ornamented as the tomb building itself. But, in our case, since we entered from the Hazrat Nizamuddin side, we passed by a number of very significant structures that pertain to Humayun’s contemporaries—his barber, his wife, etc. As we walked along the newly-created pathway leading to the main building, we detoured to visit Isa Khan’s Tomb and Khan-e-Khannan, two Lodi-era and Lodi-style mausoleums, that honor the memory of the worthies that made a mark on their times. The entire place is being refurbished by the Aga Khan Foundation which is sparing no pains to bring these fabulous Islamic monuments up to snuff in conjunction with the Indian government. There were loads of tourists around—Indians and foreigners—as this is a major landmark in Delhi and since it was re-opened to the public (after being closed for renovation for almost a decade), it is well mobbed. We loved the details of these minor architectural achievements, admired their symmetry and proportions and the ornamentation in terms of carvings, calligraphy and enamel tile work. Inside these mausoleums, there are multiple cenotaphs to honor the memory of many members of the same family. In fact, this entire sprawling complex, that stretches from Humayun’s Tomb to the Sunder Nursery Gardens with their Lodi tombs (Sunder Burj and Lakkarwala Burj which we had explored yesterday) makes a whole day’s magnificent excursion.

And then we arrived at the main monument: The most striking feature of Humayun’s Tomb (once you cross the threshold of the Darwaza and enter the main space) is its double dome in pure white marble. This dome is said to have inspired the design of the Taj Mahal’s dome. Placed on an impressive pedestal or plinth (accessed by climbing a flight of very steep stairs), the monument towers above and dwarfs you. The combination of red sandstone with marble embellishment is so aesthetically done that you have to marvel at the architects and exterior designers of that era. Persian and Moghul design combine effortlessly as do the many small chatri or umbrella canopies that might have been inspired by Rajput design in nearby Rajasthan. These were once covered with blue tiles and they are still in evidence.

The inside of the mausoleum is rather stark in decoration. Unlike the Taj Mahal that overwhelms the eye with its pietra dura (hard stone inlay) and its many marble jallis (or carved screens), there is nothing but some ceiling decoration here. The red and off-white patterns that surround the cenotaph of Humayun (bang under the dome and its central pediment) are stunning in their simplicity and minimalist design. His wife, Hajji Begum lies next to him (not symmetrical) under a smaller marble cenotaph. The rooms inside the monument are constructed around the mathematical and geometrical principle associated with the Figure 8—of special significance to the Islamic religion.

you walk inside and outside this structure (on the plinth or terrace), you are continuously struck by the geometrical precision, the symmetrical elegance and the many-sided visual interests that the building provides. In other words, it is simply breathtaking. Repeatedly, I was forced to remember my first glimpse of this building when I was just sixteen years old and visiting Delhi for the first time with my family.

Our train (from Bombay to Delhi) had just stopped at Hazrat Nizamuddin Station and was making its way to Delhi (Central) Station when we passed right by the back of this monument. I remember becoming dumb-struck by its nearness, its size and its magnificence. This, my first brush with Moghul architecture, has been etched in my mind as one of my most enthralling travel moments.

Here are a few interesting facts about this edifice:

--It is modelled along the lines of the Gur-Amir, the mausoleum of Humayun’s ancestor, Timur (also known as Timur The Lame and Tamberlane) which I was fortunate enough to see in Samarkhand in Uzbekistan, a few years ago.

--It signified a huge departure from the less ornate tomb of his father, Babur, which is in Kabul in Afghanistan.

--It is set in grand Persian-style gardens known as “Char Bagh”. This set the tone for all other garden-tombs that followed (such as the Taj Mahal in Agra).

--Among the many marble cenotaphs in the building is that of Dara Shikoh, his great-great-grandson (eldest son of Shah Jehan) who was murdered by his youngest brother Aurangzeb who murdered all his siblings and usurped the throne to become the last of the great Moghul emperors.

The site was chosen on the banks of the Yamuna River, close to the Durgah and burial place of Nizamuddin Auliya, the Sufi Saint (whose shrine we had visited yesterday) as many members of royalty were devotees of the saint.

--In the last phase of Mughal history, the last emperor of Delhi, Bahadur Shah Zafar, took refuge here from the British in 1857—during the Great Rebellion Or the Sepoy Mutiny that swept over Northern India and passed power into the hands of the British Crown instead of the East India Company.

From every possible perspective—history, architecture, interior design and decoration and landscape design--this venue is an absolute must-see on any Delhi Itinerary. In fact, if one is headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, this ought to be a mandatory stop as it will prepare the visitor for the glory of the zenith of Islamic architecture on the Indian sub-continent.

Off to a Birthday Party:

We would have liked to have lingered much longer at Humayun’s Tomb, but, of course, we had to go to a luncheon birthday party and needed to get back home to dress for it. Hence, without wasting too much time, but after ensuring that we had seen everything of significance, we made our way out.

Exiting from the main entrance of Humayun’s Tomb (exactly the way we had entered), we ordered an Uber Rickshaw to take us back to our residence at Barrkhamba. It arrived in a few moments and, half an hour later, we were getting changed into our party finery and making our way back downstairs to get another Uber rick to the Golf Club where the party was being held by the poolside. As the road was closed for some odd reason, the driver dropped us outside. We had no idea how much we’d have to walk to get to the venue (it turned out to be probably more than a mile). We cleared Security and made our way to the pool where we were greeted outside by our friend Anita who speedily introduced us to a bunch of her family members and friends as the party was on in full swing.

We got drinks at the bar (a G&T for me and a Cabernet for Llew) and after socializing with a few people and realizing that the party had to close by 4.00 pm to accommodate another party, we made our way to the laden buffet table for lunch. The food was just delicious: salad, dahi vadas (I think they are called dahi bhallas in the North of India), chicken tikka curry, mutton rogan josh, jeera rice, dal tadka, tandoori rotis. And the best part, of course, being dessert, there was pineapple cream (birthday) cake in the shape of the figures 90, carrot halwa and gulab jamuns—all simply scrumps!

Of course, we ate our fill while chatting with Anita’s Maulana Azad Medical College classmates who were there in full strength and slowly, but surely, made our way out, as the party came to a close. A really lovely afternoon was made special by the fact that Anita’s mother (whose 90th birthday we were celebrating) looked just lovely, healthy, happy and able to participate fully in her celebration. At the end of the party, they gave us a ride to the main entrance from where we picked up an Uber Auto rick to take us to the next venue: a visit to the National Museum.

Visiting Delhi’s National Museum:

I had visited the National Museum in 2019 during my Fulbright stay in India. At that time, my focus was the exhibition of the jewels belonging to the Nizam of Hyderabad who was reputed to have one of the finest jewelry collections in the world. The Indian Government was astute enough to have acquired the collection and are known to exhibit it to the public once every ten years. Since I happened to be in Delhi during the last exhibition, I had taken full advantage of my visit to see it. And indeed it was stunning. However, at the end of my visit, I was tired and hungry and had no energy left at all to see the other highlights of the Museum. This time I wanted to make sure I saw them.

And at the very top of my list was the famed Dancing Girl which had been obtained from the Harrapan excavations of the Indus Valley. I had expected to see something akin to the famous Chola Bronzes of Tamil Nadu that are massive in size and staggering in weight. On the contrary and to my utter amazement, this little bronze figurine is no more than four inches tall (if that). Indeed, she is tiny but she is simply exquisite. Not only is she intact but the detail that has been etched and sculpted into her form is so impressive—from the 23-25 bangles that she wears on her arm to her stance (with her hip and knee stuck out provocatively), she is indeed a memorable figure in black bronze.

This highlight seen, we moved through some of the other galleries and took in an ivory tusk carved with scenes from the life of the Buddha, an ornate ivory altar (very finely and delicately carved as to resemble lace), Harrapan seals, Shiva as Nataraja (large Chola bronze sculpture), large terracotta castings of towering deities, very fine Moghul miniature paintings on small bits of ivory, etc. The sculpture courtyard that is rounded in design is also very interesting to see.

Overall, we had a brief but very enlightening and satisfying visit to the National Museum. I only wish I had more time in Delhi to have also been able to include the National Museum of Contemporary Art—but I have seen this excellent collection before and did not have the time on this visit.

Off to Get Some Rest Before an Evening’s Appointment:

Having already had a very hectic day, both Llew and I were ready to change out of our party finery and get back home. We called another Uber Auto rick and were dropped off at our residence where we changed and promptly dropped down for a nap. Our friends, Allen and Anita and her mother Kamala, had invited us to their place for dinner but we badly needed to get some rest before leaving for that appointment. We were wise enough to set our alarms on our phone as there was no way we’d have been able to wake up on time—so soundly did we sleep.

But, an hour later, we changed and left. This time, we took an Uber taxi to Janakpuri—which we did not realize was really a long way from our accommodation. It took us more than an hour (given Delhi’s traffic on a Sunday evening) to get there and we had some difficulty finding the place too.

But when we did eventually find it, we ended up having a lovely evening with our friends. They have a beautiful, really spacious home in Delhi, filled with lovely show pieces and photographs. Dinner was takeout Chinese food but since I was really still very full, I ate very little of the noodles, chicken Manchurian, sweet and sour vegetables and the spring rolls. Dessert was the delicious Pineapple Cream birthday cake—but again, much as I have a sweet tooth, a tiny piece was all I could manage after our large afternoon meal.

It had been a memorable day and we were ready to call another Uber Taxi (which took a very long time to come) before we were able to return to our residence (at well past 1.00 am) and crash.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…