Jantar Mantar and Gaylord


Maharaja Jai Singh II created this "observatory" in 1725 to chart celestial happenings and predict eclipses. It's strange to think of it as an "observatory," since there is nothing to magnify the view of the sky. But I suppose observing does not require magnification, and if the structures enhanced the Maharaja's ability to see and understand the sky, Jantar Mantar qualifies as an observatory. For us, it was a fun place to spend some time outside on a quiet Saturday morning.

We hired a car again and first went to Jantar Mantar. As the pictures illustrate, it's dominated by terra cotta-colored structures. The first picture is a side view of a massive (4-story) sun dial. The next two pictures are of, and in, these huge cylindrical structures where, I am guessing, moon light creates shadows of the vertical pillar on the horizontal slats. The last picture is of Claire and Marion on one of the structures around the sun dial.

After Jantar Mantar, we had our driver take us to Connaught Place, a huge circular arcade shopping area in the center of Delhi. Chandra drew a little map for me to guide me to a bookstore where she said I'd find a good selection of radical Indian writing on political, environmental, and other issues. She also included on the map Gaylord, noting its great selection of pastries. So we found People Tree, the bookstore, and I got a few short books on Bhopal and an edited volume on Indian environmental politics. Then we went to Gaylord and sat down for some snacks. We also got a few croissants and mini pizzas to take home with us. Then we got out of there as fast as we could. The area was swarming with people trying to sell you things. Someone must have hijacked a shipment of handkerchiefs, because every twenty feet someone was sticking a package of handkerchiefs in your face trying to sell you on the fact that they were made of the "finest quality cotton." Little boys were pulling Ray Ban sunglasses out of their pockets trying to sell them. Then there were the ubiquitous women holding their sleeping, and malnourished, babies looking for some Rupees. It was somewhat of a relief to get back to the flat.





Posted: Mon - December 12, 2005 at 07:09 AM          

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