New Delhi is really fascinating how much they either enjoy or respect other people’s cultures from around the world. They have a saying ‘around the world in $8.’ It sounds funny, but it’s actually true.
All around the city, there are standing replicas of other worldly monuments. There is an arc similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. There is an (illusion) of a leaning tower like Pisa. There is a beautiful roundabout inspired by London’s traffic patterns. There’s a lotus temple that’s designed like Sydney, Australia’s Opera House – to name a few.
One of the harder moments was watching the children coming to beg at the car window. India has free education for all of their children. They are offered free food as well, but many of these children are instead sent to the streets by their parents to create income for the family. A beautiful little girl knocked incessantly on the window and we weren’t allowed to respond. That was hard because I wanted so much to give her all that I had, but it would only propagate more begging.
The poor sustain life on only $50 per month. Many families live on as little as $150 per month. Even though life is clearly difficult to say the least, the people here are so humble and so kind. I feel truly blessed for my life and even more blessed to learn from them.
On a brighter note, we learned about the Taj Mahal and visited the original model that was built first in New Delhi (we’re driving 3.5 hours today to Agra to see the Taj). It’s obvious the commitment issues of love that surface all over the world but these huge monuments were erected out of love. The one here in Delhi was a woman’s dedication to her husband, and had it built to honor their love for each other.
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