Delhi Part II on Film

Hey Film Friends! Happy 2020 guys! It’s nearly 30 days into the year, hope you guys have been working on your New Year resolutions. One of my resolutions is to create more personal work and also meet more artists around the world. I also wanna try to blog more, so here’s the first blogpost of the new decade!

On our second day in India, Jeong and I agreed to meet at Agrasen ki Baoli, an ancient step well in the middle of Delhi. It was to be the first of many step wells. If you don’t know, a step well is basically a well/pool with steps leading to water level. They provide groundwater all year round for the people living around it. Step wells are also known to be architecturally interesting with religious embellishments littered around the structure.

Anyway, Jeong was late and I waited for him under the shade of some trees away from the sweltering Indian sun. While waiting for him, I observed many locals; couples, students, elderly just taking a leisurely stroll within the step well and even taking selfies with their phones. When Jeong finally arrived, we headed down the steps and was pleased to find that the temperature within the well was several degrees lower than the outside. We heard some screeching sounds and were horrified to find several thousand bats hanging above us when we looked up. They must have been seeking refuge from the heat, just like us.

Arches line the 108 steps leading down to the well.

Our next stop was Lodhi Gardens. To get there, we had to take the metro and take a little walk. Saw some interesting sights and buildings but we were soon surrounded by peace, quiet and nature.

When in Lodhi Gardens, you feel like you’re in a completely different world. The constant horns and motor roars of the Delhi traffic disappears into the distance and instead, you’re treated with the silence of nature with the occasional chirps from birds resting amongst the trees. Lodhi Gardens is a city park with several 15th century tombs littered around the vicinity. Very often, you’d see locals taking their morning strolls or having romantic picnics on the freshly cut grass. It was the complete opposite of the streets of Delhi. That is why I love visiting parks in different cities. You get a different perspective and an insight into the life of a local.

One of my favourite parts of Lodhi Gardens is definitely the tombs. It’s incredible that you get to get so close to a 15th century relic/ruin and not have to pay for it. The tombs are especially well preserved and you feel like you’re in a different era when within these ruins.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Fuji C200. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

While being surrounded by trees and greenery was nice, time was running out and we had to make haste to the next location. Lodhi Art District. The Lodhi Colony was the last housing estate built by the British and since 2015, 50 international street artists have been invited by St+Art India Foundation to create the Lodhi Art District. It was quite tough to find out where to start as the artworks were scattered throughout the district and there was no distinct start and end point. We walked for what seemed like miles, the Indian heat not helping. Just when we were about to give up, we decided to hail a tuk tuk and ask the driver for help. At first he didn’t seem to know what we were talking about but with some help from a resident who spoke english, we managed to get the driver to ferry us around the district for a fee. It was quite an interesting experience as we were zooming around the district and looking for murals to stop at. Well, beats walking around aimlessly.

Below are just some of my favourites. The Lodhi Art district is definitely worth a visit as it is so different from the typical Indian tourist site.

See Through / See Beyond by Nevercrew. (My personal favourite. Just so interesting how the architecture was changed by the mural.)

As the sun was setting and we had one more place we wanted to visit, we continued on the tuk tuk to Humayun’s Tomb a short 10 minutes ride away. We arrived with just 1 hour left to explore. The site opens at 8am and closes at 6pm. The place is relatively big so leave some time to explore. After paying ₹500 (SGD 9) each for the ticket, we headed straight to the main tomb. Humayun’s tomb. Humayun was a Mughal emperor from the 1500’s and the tomb was commissioned by his first wife. It was the first garden tomb in India and features the first red sandstone structure of such a scale.

When we laid eyes on the main tomb, we were mesmerised by its grandeur. I can only imagine what it must be like to see the Taj Mahal. It felt like a preview of the Taj.

The golden light from the sunset definitely added to the charm of this sandstone tomb fit for a king. The light that was filtering through the windows and the sounds of birds returning to roost added to the atmosphere of finality at this resting site.

Beautiful red sandstone would be a key feature of buildings in India.

When the park was closed for the day, we decided to grab some Indian beers and meet up with Jaegen for dinner at Connaught Place. It was an expat enclave and where Indians go to party in Delhi! And party they did! After a couple of cold ones, we retired for the night, resting up for our last day in Delhi.

The very next day, we had something important to do. Due to the last minute nature of our trip, I didn’t manage to book train tickets in advance. I was low key panicking when someone from our hostel mentioned that they made a booking nearly 3 months in advance and still haven’t gotten their tickets. Lucky for us, while talking about our next destination, Jeong mentioned that the train services usually reserves seats specially for tourists. Our saviour! We just had to go down to the station and look for the tourist counter to make a booking. And that’s what we did. Tickets booked and having sighed our relief, we decided to get lunch at a nearby restaurant. That’s where we met our second group of friends in India. Millie and Brian from New York!

It was very interesting because Jaegen was the one who made friends with Brian, over music in the hostel common area. The both of them were just tagging along for the adventure whereas Millie and I were the ones planning the itinerary for our respective trips. As we chatted, we realised we’d be going to the same cities at roughly the same time. What a coincidence!

Trains were a big part of my India trip.

Since we had a bit of time on our hands before our night train to Varanasi, we decided to check out Khari Baoli, the spice market district located in the heart of Old Delhi. Alighting from our Uber, the potent smell of the spices and herbs hit us. It stung a little and we were coughing like mad. But once we got used to it, it was actually quite a nice smell. We checked out a few alleyways and Jaegen even started a mini photoshoot with Millie as the light was hitting gorgeously. We noticed a few locals observing us, so I invited them to join in the fun took some portraits of them.

A little while later, Brian joined in a group of Indian men trying to dislodge a cart full of spices stacked up taller than him (Brian’s really tall. around 1.9m). It was pretty hilarious. They were tugging and tugging and a crowd soon gathered. We felt like mini celebrities. We didn’t manage to dislodge the cart, but it made for a fun memory.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Fuji C200. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fatehpuri Masjid was not in our list of places to visit. But when we spotted its colourful walls and doors, we knew we had to go in. That’s what I love about travelling, you often end up in places you did not expect to be in. We entered the Masjid shortly after evening prayers and all the men were just sitting around and enjoying the peace and serenity in this sanctuary. It was a very different experience from the Jama Masjid we visited on the first day. I really enjoyed the silence and stillness of the place.

A stranger who posed for a photograph. His friend was the one who asked me to take a photo of him.

Soon, it was time for us to part ways with our new found friends. But they would arrive in Varanasi one day after us. So not to worry, we’ll still be seeing a lot of them. We picked up our bags from the hostel, said our goodbyes and headed straight for the train station. Didn’t wanna miss the train to Varanasi!

We struggled a little to find our platform but found it anyway. The platform was so crowded. After all, 23 million passengers use the railway daily. You can imagine the scale of this railway network. I was so excited to be on the train! We shared the booth with 4 other passengers and everyone was polite, smiling to each other and minding their own business. We ordered some hot chai and got some biscuits to go with it.

At first, only two beds were down, the lowest two, for us to sit on. But at around 11pm, people started climbing into their beds on the higher levels. I got the top bed. I’ve always enjoyed sleeping on the higher level. Even if it were a little more troublesome. It just felt like the further I was away from the ground the further away from my problems I was. Haha.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Agfa Vista 400. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

This brings me to the end of this blogpost! In the next blogpost, we would have arrived in Varanasi, the land of mystics and spirituality. Stay tuned for that! Till then, keep shooting film friends!