Incredible India’s capital

New Delhi has many things to offer as a tourist destination, if only you can ignore the millions of cars and people in the streets, writes AUGUSTINE ODUOR

Ever tried the Indian accent? Ha! May be not.

But no doubt you have heard our local comedians make gallant efforts to mimic our Indian brothers as they sway their heads sideways.

This, and the spicy food is all that came to my mind as I prepared to travel to India last month.

Lucky enough, I was aboard the KQ 220 that made the maiden direct flight to New Delhi from Nairobi.

Traveling with high-powered team led by the chairman of the airline’s board of directors Evanson Mwaniki saved me the hustle and bustle of looking for a visa.

But the trip revealed India is an exciting country with exceptionally diverse geographical scenes.

From the spectacular Himalayan ranges to the north comprising several charismatic Hill stations such as Shimla, Kashmir, Gangtok, and Nainital and to the historical relics make India a tourist destination. All these positioned amidst the valleys of Himalayas make India an ideal hub for nature lovers and adventure seekers, attracting beach lovers and honeymooners.

Perhaps this is why Kenya Airways made New Delhi, its 57th destination, with four direct flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The seven hour journey was long but when we finally arrived some few minutes past 2am, local time it was all excitement.

This was the first time I alighted from an aircraft to a red carpet stretching into the VIP lounge.

A beautiful Indian lady applied a red dot or ‘Tika’ on my forehead what I was later told represents the third eye.

And true to it, my added eye opened my sight to details, starting with the airport.

Though it was late in the night, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) looked expansive and well light.

It is the primary international airport of the National Capital Region of Delhi, and is situated some 16 kilometres southwest of New Delhi city centre. Constructed just three years ago across eight villages, the port named Indira Gandhi, after the late Prime Minister of India, spreads over an area of 5,016 acres of land.

MASSIVE AIRPORT

With 13 runways and handling more than half of the air traffic in South Asia, the airport handled 35.88 million passengers in 2011-12 alone.

Perhaps this explains why in 2010, it was conferred the fourth best airport award in the world, and Best Improved Airport in the Asia-Pacific Region by Airport Council International.

But that is not all. Last year, IGIA was ranked the second-best airport in the world. Kenyan Ambassador to India Festus Kaberia said the number of Kenyans traveling to India has more than doubled.

He said medical tourists from Kenya alone now stands at 10,000 per month.

There are some 4,000 Kenyan students with over 200 on Indian scholarships. As I was absorbing all these facts, we checked into Hyatt Regency Hotel, a five-star hotel in New Delhi, a 20-minute drive from the airport.

The hotel was cool and quiet. But the moment I looked forward to came three hours later when we walked out of the hotel to some 42 degrees temperature.

This was really hot. But what I could not ignore was the incessant noise from the street across the hotel. I had been told about it but this time it was real.

The honking from the cars was a kin to giant vuvuzelas, blowing vehicular noise into peoples’ ears.

In the middle of these noises, I was surprised to notice that literally all tracks had a warning – “please honk” written on their backs.

CITY CENTRE

?When we finally arrived at the city centre, the tenacious tout and crush of mechanical and human traffic confronted me.

With several of Kenya’s ‘Thika roads’, the city was abuzz with activities.

According to our guide, Satish Surt, latest government statistics show the population of the country currently stands at1.2 billion in all the 28 states.

New Delhi city alone has about 18 million people everyday. Of these, four million travel by train daily. And at any time of the day, there are seven million cars in the city.

Surt said there are 800 million mobile phones in India today.

So as we scratch beyond the gritty surface of the city, we swiftly discovered that India’s capital is sprinkled with glittering gems: captivating ancient monuments, magnificent museums, a vivacious performing-arts scene and some of the sub-continent’s yummiest places to eat.

For starters, The Old Delhi served as the capital of Islamic India. The British built New Delhi as the imperial capital of India.

But as a visitor, you can easily dip into both, spending half the day immersing yourself in history at the dramatic Red Fort, Jama Masjid and medieval-flavoured bazaars of Old Delhi, and spend the other half of the day reviving yourself over frosty cocktails at one of New Delhi’s swanky cafés and bars.

However, while in India, we visited the India Gate, which was constructed in the memory of 90,00 soldiers who laid down their lives during World War I.

Located at Rajpath, the India Gate is 42 metres high and is a popular relaxation area during the summer evenings.

Several tourists throng this place during summer as their ultimate picnic spot.

MAJOR LANDMARKS

Another feature that we visited was the Qutb Minar, a soaring 73 meters high tower of victory that was built in 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi.

The Minar has walls inscribed with intricately carved quotations from the Koran and is one of the most perfect towers of the Persian world.

But what is worth noting is that the tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony. The structure is unique because it has a 15 meters diameter at the base and narrows down to just 2.5 meters at the top.

The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth storeys of marble and sandstone.

Though we were not allowed to tour it, those who have said the stairs inside the tower coil so steeply that they make even the smartest climber worry.

?No wonder a stampede during a school trip in 1979 resulted in a number of deaths. This is why the inside of the tower is closed to visitors.

The Massive Humayun’s Tomb was yet another historical site we visited.

It is a dazzling landmark in the evolution of Mughal architecture in India.

It is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. It was commissioned by Humayun’s wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect.

This was the first garden-tomb on the Indian sub-continent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India,

But saving the best for last, we visited the Taj Mahal, regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world.

Thousands of people flooded the massive building built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to honour Mumtaz Mahal, his third wife.

The wife died while bearing their 14th child, and Shah Jahan never really recovered from the loss.

Walking through the well-guarded building, it was clear that the Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, combining architectural elements from across the Muslim lands.

My colleagues, Joseph Bonyo, KTN business editor and JB Mwangi KTN senior cameraman revealed to me that this was the moment they waited for.

Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset.

Amazed at the architecture, Bonyo, with his mouth agape and his hands feeling the smooth texture of the walls, said “truly man can do anything just for love,’

The name Taj Mahal literary means, ‘the greatest’, or ‘the chosen one’.

Its construction was completed around 1648. Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. It’s obviously the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India.

Just like the Kenya International Conference Centre, this is the face of India.

Everyone posed here for several pictures to show back home. I too, had to take memories back home.