This is our third guest-house room in Delhi, in a house that owner Ajay's grandfather built*. He says that he'd overcome family sentiment and rip it down to build a bigger hotel if he were allowed to but it's in a heritage zone so he can't. It's guarded by the Dog Who Does Not Like To Be Touched. Not an Untouchable dog- that's different.
Since we were in the neighbourhood, we started our day with Humayun's Tomb, in a thunderstorm. The thunder didn't drown out the much-amplified adjacent devotional sermonising and music show, the sound of which wafted appropriately around the domes and turrets. Humayun was the 2nd Mughal emperor - this was built in 1565. The inside could do with a bit of Jif and elbow grease- water blaster? -but the beauty and grace of the formal gardens is being enhanced by the toiling gardeners. The guy I was standing next to couldn't read the Koranic quotes in Arabic either- I could only make out Allah, rather frequently. I'd never understood the significance of this sort of filigree screen before.
The prophet was saved from his enemies by a spider's web...
Dogs are unclean animals in Islam, I believe, but nobody told this puppy that lives at Humayun's Tomb...
We also joined many, many Sundaying Delhi-ites at Purana Qila . The tower was built in 1556 and, unfortunately, caused medieval India's worst ACC moment when Hamuyun fell down the steps to his demise.
I'd seen these umbrella hats for sale in two dollar shops but never before have I seen anyone actually wear one. Against the sun, not the rain.
Many, many people shopping in one of Delhi's main matkets, too. Yet the henna-decorators- men, surprisingly- trace the fiddly designs with fierce concentration.
The kindly folk at Ajay's guesthouse (confusingly called One One which is almost the same as the name of Sanjay's wife's guesthouse...) loaded a box of mineral water into the car for the next stage of our trip, the part we have named Getting Out of Delhi.
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