Delhi, Part Two

Hello again to all my loyal readers.  Again, sorry for the delay, work has been getting in the way of constant updates, and I understand how frustrating that can be for some of you (my parents included).  I will definitely be better in the coming weeks, as my trip reaches its final third, in Paris, Geneva, Madrid (for two days as a layover, not really as a stop for research, unfortunately), and Lima/Cusco, Peru.  I will have my time in South Africa detailed and expanded upon by the end of the weekend, I promise, and after that, my time in Europe will follow in the next week.  That's my plan, and I'm sticking to it.

Now that we've got some formalities out of the way, let's get down to India.  Given the amount of walking I did in the sun in Agra, even with those resting times at the Amarvilas, I was pretty knackered out on Wednesday.  That didn't stop it from being my most important, and productive, day in the country up to this point, though, as I had a whole day scheduled with the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, on the outskirts of Delhi.  I got up, had myself some early lunch and made my way over there.  It was a 30 minute drive through the heat, in an autorickshaw, in dress clothes, and so I prayed that the inch thick layer of deodorant I had applied would do the job.  Only time would tell.

When I arrived at the hospital, my first thoughts were of an ageing, yet very impressive complex of buildings.  The hospital is a very modern complex, but the buildings which house it were under renovation because they are being expanded later this year to deal with Indian legal demands.  In short, there is a certain percentage of beds in any public hospital which are required to go to Indian patients who cannot afford their own medical costs.  To offset this, many of the most advanced hospitals have been engaging in a trend called "medical tourism" which is precisely what it sounds like: rich foreigners, most frequently Americans and Africans/Middle Easterners, coming to India for medical care at fractions of the price that would be found in their home countries.  In order to more properly offset the costs of supporting Indian patients at no charge, Apollo has been expanding their hospital, so that it will soon be fairly immense in size, and not just very large.

I walked in to the main lobby of the hospital, which was bustling with patients, family, and all manner of hospital staff.  After some help from the information desk I was directed downstairs to the administrative section of the hospital, where I could find the office of the woman I would be meeting, Mrs. Banasree Basu.  She showed me to the conference room of the board of the hospital, where we both sat down and had a very long, very interesting meeting.  I asked her a huge variety of questions, mostly focusing on the stark contrast between Indian and foreign care.  I was very interested in how it is possible for certain hospitals in India to have standards that are up to those in any other country in the world, but how those same hospitals could not offer even the most basic care to large sections of their own citizens.  We sat there and discussed the Indian health care system, worldwide health standards, and many other pertinent topics.  It was very important that I be discrete in my questions, in order not to offend my host with insinuations that they were not doing enough for India, even though it is my opinion that they are not.  I had to be very careful with the phrasing of my questions so as to appear benign and blissfully unaware of the poverty and health situation outside the gates of the Apollo campus.  Apollo is an amazing corporation, with several hospitals all over India, and a few in Africa as well.  Their hospitals have been the only ones in India to be certified by the most prestigious of American and European hospital standards boards.

After the interview with Mrs. Basu, I was taken on a tour of the facilities by one of her assistants.  The hospital tour was exhaustive and I was proudly taken to all corners of the campus, from the special waiting area for foreign guests, to the emergency room, to the Afghan medical desk (apparently, India is the nearest country with reasonably sophisticated medical technology and no real political animosity to Afghanistan, and is thus the most attractive to their wealthier citizens).  I was also taken through the various specialty wings, from oncology to radiology and beyond.  I was very happy with the tour, and it certainly shed some valuable light on the medical profession in India, at least at its most sophisticated.  I was very impressed with the level of sophistication of the facilities, all in all, both for foreigners and Indian citizens.

After the tour it was getting a little late in the afternoon so I went back to Karol Bagh for the evening, had some dinner, did some work, watched the USA versus Algeria World Cup game, and went to bed.  I was very happy once again to have my own room, and thus own TV on which to watch US soccer glory.  The next two days I took as days of rest, although there were certainly a few highlights.  On Thursday, for instance, to follow up on my trip to Apollo Indraprastha, I visited a hospital in Karol Bagh, to properly understand what the average hospital available to India citizens is like.  The hospital, which will remain nameless, since the officials there asked for anonymity, was a stark contrast to Apollo, although it was at the same time not nearly as backwards as I had preconceived.  The level of care was certainly fairly high, although the level of investment was far too low to allow for proper access by all of Delhi and India's poor.

I went to lunch at McDonald's in order to keep up my streak of having had a menu item not available in America in all of the countries I was visiting.  I also went to the Oberoi Hotel to do work and relax because my hotel was out of power and the heat meant that it was not a feasible option.  On Thursday the skies opened up for about an hour, to provide a warning of things to come when the monsoon rains come to Delhi. They were raining down on Mumbai when I arrived in India and were slowly making their way towards the capital.  Fortunately they were expected to arrive in Delhi just after I left.  While I have been no fan of the heat, having to trek around in humid heat would have been even worse.  Though the skies opening up momentarily, they did cool down the day by about 15 to 20 degrees, which was very nice.  For dinner I had dome boneless (this deserves several exclamation marks, as boneless anything is a rarity here) chicken korma, which was delicious.  On Friday I spent half the day doing prep work for my time in South Africa, and then went over to the government emporiums for the other half of the day.  These are a long set of government licensed stalls which sell wares from all over the country, as well as some from Tibet.  I bought a few souvenirs, a Rough Guide for South Africa, and some jootis (Rajasthani leather shoes) for my sister.

The next day, which as a Saturday was a day of rest, would be a grand day for exploration of the city, I decided.  I chose to focus my attention on the older sector of town, north of the more modern, British sections.  This part of the city is, helpfully, called Old Delhi.  I first traveled to the Digambar Jain Temple, which is a beautiful example of Jain influenced design.  It is a large two story building with three conical domes capping it, and an exquisite inner chamber for prayers and meditations.  Jainism is a religion which values the sanctity of all life very much, and as such Jains are strict vegetarians.  To further add to their care for animals, the Jain Temple I visited also has a bird hospital on its grounds.  The temple was an enlightening place to visit, not least for the reason that the preponderance of swastikas was a good reminder of the strange and different world I now found myself in.  After exiting the temple, and making my way across the road and past the numerous touts who latched onto my foreign appearance, I found myself at my next stop, the Red Fort.

The Red Fort is, as with the fort in Agra, a product of Mughal power.  It is neither as immense nor as illustrious as the Agra Fort, but it is still a very impressive monument to the military and economic might of the Mughals.  As with its cousin in Agra it was both a military garrison and the grounds for several palaces and royal buildings.  I got myself a guide to lead me around, and with him I explored the fort for about two hours. Upon entry I came upon a long covered passageway which is still used as a market, much as it would have been used for the palace's inhabitants.  Passing the market I next came to the Hall of Public Audience, which was once the site of the famed Peacock Throne, which is now housed in a museum in Tehran.  The grounds of the fort are dotted with typical examples of colonial architecture, as the British built several military barracks here to house their troops.  The palatial buildings were also very interesting, with all of their splendor and luxury.

After my time in the fort, I made my way around the markets of Old Delhi, experiencing a bit of old world spice.  It was a very fun time, as I love wandering past street stalls and bargaining for prices on exotic fruits and such.  I got to visit a smaller, more personal, Jain temple as well while doing this, which was neat.  I also finally caved in and bought a qorta and pijam (a local style of clothing here, which consists of baggy pants and a long, flowing top) because they are much better suited to deal with the heat.   I thought it was a pretty good look for me, if I'm honest.  In the old markets of Old Delhi, though, sits the largest mosque in India, the Jama Masjid, and so I stopped there as well.  The mosque was absolutely immense, as you would expect, and it was also very attractively designed.  It was a testament to the power of religion as a motivator and force in people's lives.  I was slightly annoyed at having to pay to enter, which was a rarity in India, and most countries for that matter, but other than that it was an eye opening exposure to the grandeur of Islam (something I had not yet experienced in all of my travelling as India was the first country I had ever been to that had such a large percentage of the population as Muslims).

For lunch I went to Karim's, which is widely regarded as the best restaurant in Delhi.  The chefs at Karim's claim to be descendants of the chefs that served the Mughal emperors, so they must have some pretty good family recipes.  At any rate the lamb biryani that I got was delicious, scrumptious, extraordinary, and all other manner of good.  After lunch I made my way over to the Raj Ghat, which is the final resting place of the cremation ashes of Mahatma Gandhi.  The place was serene and, given the man  in focus, an inspirational place to sit and think.  I stayed there for a while and just meditated.

The next day, Sunday, I spent almost the whole day out on the southern fringes of the city visiting the Akshardham Hindu Temple, which is the largest such temple in the world.  It opened fairly recently, within the last five years, and is just too large to really comprehend.  As I said, I spent most of the day there, wandering around, examining the exquisite carvings and decorations with a close eye for detail, being amazed at the level of attention that every layer of devotion received there, and so on.  I was particularly impressed with the lotus garden, a carved garden in the shape of a lotus flower featuring quotes extolling peace and equality from great men in history.

On my last full day in India I took it easy, as the weekend of adventure had tuckered me out a little.  I went and had lunch at Connaught Place, had a very nice (and cheap!) Ayurvedic massage, and spent a considerable amount of time packing up for my travels tomorrow.  For my last full meal in the country I had my best one, a plate of mustard coated tandoori broccoli.  I know it isn't strictly traditional, but all of you readers need to make this for yourselves.  It is a fairly simple thing to make, but my taste buds still haven't recovered from how tasty it was.  Anyway, after all that I went to bed and prepped myself for an exhausting day of travel tomorrow.  The next post to the blog will cover that day of travel, so get ready!