I’ll be honest with you… while I was in India, I hated being there;
Every city was filled with trash absolutely everywhere. The noise level was unreal with every car and scooter honking their horns with no remorse.
I had allergies to all of the food because of my lactose intolerance, and the level of spiciness in everything,
Everything was unorganized and late, especially with buses and trains.
Every taxi driver tries to charge you more because of your foreigner status.
And the unhygienic habits (wiping your ass with your left hand, and shaking with your right is a main custom).
Yet, I didn’t mind the extreme heat, or the absolutely decrepit beggars everywhere, or the extremely ghetto streets.
India is the wild west with a lot of ‘character and personality’… something you will not see anywhere else in the world.
P.S. There are 150 Photos to choose from in this album, so I will try to categorize them as best as possible!
The People of Old Delhi
Delhi is actually 2 different cities; Old Delhi, and New Delhi.
New Delhi is the gentrified areas full of malls, new apartment blocks, highways, and pretty much the same thing you see in every corner of the world right now.
Old Delhi is where the wild west is, and you can tell by the people there. Vendors selling everything from spices to pomegranate juice, rickshaw drivers napping between fares, men pushing carts through impossible traffic. Everyone is hustling, everyone has something to sell, and nobody is waiting for permission.
Fresh juice vendor with pomegranates, pineapples, and limes
A boy standing among colorful elephant-print tapestries and handmade bags
A boy reads while passengers load up on a cycle rickshaw
Rickshaw drivers sheltering by their rides after a monsoon downpour
An old man walking barefoot along the rain-soaked curb
Fight Violence street art mural with a woman and tigers in Delhi
A man napping on a wall outside a government building in Delhi
Four Sikh men posing at the entrance to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Rickshaw drivers resting in the shade between fares
A chai wallah serving tea under a tree by the roadside
Roasting corn on a charcoal grill by the park
Women in bright saris selling handmade bead necklaces near India Gate
Rickshaws, scooters, and pedestrians jostle for space in Old Delhi traffic
An elderly man repairing bangles on the sidewalk
A man curled up asleep against a crumbling wall between shifts
Anar Juice pomegranate juice cart sign in Old Delhi
Sugarcane juice vendor at a colorful roadside stall in Delhi
A woman selling fresh corn husks at a busy market stall
A vendor with henna-dyed hair selling jamun berries at the market
A money changer reading the newspaper beside his tray of coins and rupee notes
A man selling Hindu art prints and tapestries by the roadside
A boy sorting through bags of spices and dried herbs on the sidewalk
Workers heaving a loaded cargo cart through the streets
A man pulling a heavy cargo cart from the front while others push from behind
A fruit seller with bananas and melons on his bicycle cart
Camera in hand at the end of a long day exploring Delhi
The Streets of Old Delhi
This is as ghetto as you can get. Old, and poorly maintained, but there is ‘character and personality’ as a British tourist said to me.
I walked around with my camera throughout all of India, and not once felt like there might be a threat. But still be vigilant, anything can happen. The streets are a maze of tangled wires, crumbling colonial buildings, colorful hotel signs, and motorcycles parked in every possible gap. Temples and mosques pop up between shops with no warning.
The main bazaar of Paharganj lined with electronics and mobile phone shops
Guest house and hotel signs competing for space in Paharganj
Hotel signs and guest houses line the bustling streets of Paharganj, Delhi
A mosque minaret rising above the perfume shops of Main Bazaar
Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws navigate the chaotic streets of Old Delhi
Krishna Cafe, rickshaws, and the daily hustle of Paharganj
Crumbling colonial-era building covered in tangled wires and shop signs in Old Delhi
Hundreds of passengers camped on the floor of New Delhi Railway Station
Layers of hotel and dhaba signs stacked above the street chaos
Connaught Place, where faded colonial arcades meet a decaying high-rise
Residential apartment block with laundry hanging from balconies in Delhi
The Jama Masjid dome rising above a congested street of trucks and rickshaws
Tangled wires and colorful shopfronts line a busy street in Old Delhi
Motorcycles parked along a narrow lane with a mosque dome in the background
Colorful pink and blue hotel buildings at an Old Delhi intersection
Pedestrians and rickshaws under a canopy of tangled wires in Old Delhi
An elevated view of the market with travel agencies, police posts, and tangled wires
Crowded market street with colorful banners and rickshaws in Old Delhi
A man sitting in a dim alley lined with hanging fabrics
Motorcycles and a delivery man in a narrow Old Delhi back alley
White marble Hindu temple decorated with orange flags in Old Delhi
Hindu swastika symbols on metal gates at a Delhi temple
Historic building with a temple spire towers over a busy Old Delhi street
The red spires of the Digambar Jain Temple and white Gauri Shankar Temple
Market stalls and vendors line a bustling street in Old Delhi
The Sis Ganj Sahib Gurudwara with its golden domes in Chandni Chowk
Sikh religious monument and spire at a Delhi street corner
The Sis Ganj Sahib Gurudwara amid auto-rickshaws and traffic in Chandni Chowk
A massive tangle of power cables drooping over a narrow shopping street
Jama Masjid gate looming over a busy street of rickshaws and traffic
Cars, rickshaws, and a bull-drawn cart jammed together in a typical traffic standoff
Workers carrying goods through a chaotic intersection in Old Delhi
Old temple building with faded paint and banners in Old Delhi
Auto-rickshaws and tuk-tuks parked under a large banyan tree
Jantar Mantar
One of the first places I visited in Delhi. Jantar Mantar is a collection of massive stone astronomical instruments built in 1724 by Maharaja Jai Singh II. The guy wanted to accurately measure time, predict eclipses, and track the positions of stars, all without a telescope. Each structure is basically a different calculator for the sky. It sits right in the middle of modern Delhi, surrounded by office buildings, which makes it even more surreal.
Pigeons swarming around a tree near Jantar Mantar
Modern glass-fronted government building near Jantar Mantar
The towering Samrat Yantra sundial at Jantar Mantar
The massive Samrat Yantra structure with arched windows at Jantar Mantar
The Misra Yantra, one of Jantar Mantar’s red stone astronomical instruments
Common myna bird perched on a wall at Jantar Mantar
A common myna surveying its territory from the observatory walls
An Indian palm squirrel mid-leap along the observatory wall
Astronomical instruments against the Delhi skyline at Jantar Mantar
Red and tan stone astronomical instruments at Jantar Mantar
Curving staircases of the Samrat Yantra sundial with the city skyline behind
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
The Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is Delhi’s most prominent Sikh temple, and honestly one of the most welcoming religious sites I’ve visited anywhere. Originally a bungalow belonging to an Indian ruler in the 1600s, it became a Sikh holy site after the eighth Sikh Guru visited and helped people during a cholera epidemic. The golden domes are iconic, but what I found more interesting was the sacred pool and the massive community kitchen (they call it a ‘langar’) that feeds thousands of people every single day, for free. You just have to cover your head with a cloth before entering.
Brutalist government building near the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
The golden domes of the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib with crowds entering
Visitors walking past the white marble facade of the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Pilgrims crowding the steps of the sacred sarovar pool
Pilgrims gathering at the sacred pool of the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Worshippers seated inside the golden prayer hall of the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
The ornate golden canopy and shrine inside the prayer hall
Wearing a traditional orange head covering at the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Men bathing in the sacred sarovar, marble arches lining the far side
The Gurudwara and its golden dome from across the sarovar
A father and son bathing together in the sacred pool
The Red Fort
The Red Fort (Lal Qila) was the main residence of the Mughal emperors for nearly 200 years, starting in 1648. Shah Jahan, the same guy who built the Taj Mahal, built this one too. You can see his obsession with white marble and red sandstone everywhere inside. The British eventually took it over after 1857 and used it as a military garrison, which is why you’ll see some very un-Mughal looking barracks sitting awkwardly inside the complex. Every Indian Independence Day, the Prime Minister gives a speech from its walls. Entry was about $5 USD for foreigners (of course).
Selfie with the Indian flag flying high at the Red Fort
Hundreds of pigeons gathered on wet ground near the Red Fort
The Red Fort and its iconic walls seen from across the lawns
Rickshaw driver napping in his cycle rickshaw outside the Red Fort
The iconic Lahori Gate facade of the Red Fort with the Indian flag above
The entrance gate of the Red Fort up close
Red sandstone walls and turrets of the Red Fort from the corner
Indian flag flying over the ornate Red Fort facade
The towering Lahori Gate entrance to the Red Fort
White marble pavilion with arched windows inside the Red Fort
The Diwan-i-Am hall of public audience across the Red Fort gardens
Naubat Khana drum house inside the Red Fort grounds
Red sandstone arches of the Diwan-i-Am inside the Red Fort
The Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) nestled in greenery inside the Red Fort
Marble domes of the Moti Masjid inside the Red Fort
The British-era barracks looming over the Red Fort gardens
The British-era barracks and gardens inside the Red Fort
Visitors strolling through the gardens with the barracks in the background
The Rang Mahal marble pavilion inside the Red Fort
The Sawan Pavilion marble structure in the Red Fort gardens
Colonial-era British building inside the Red Fort complex
A crow perched on a wall with Red Fort arches behind
Zafar Mahal pavilion and reflecting pool inside the Red Fort
Jama Masjid
The Jama Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India, sitting right across from the Red Fort in the heart of Old Delhi. Also built by Shah Jahan (the man was busy) and completed in 1656. The courtyard can hold 25,000 people. When I visited, I had to wrap a cloth around my legs because shorts aren’t allowed; they hand you one at the entrance. From the outside, the mosque towers over the surrounding Old Delhi streets, and the contrast between the chaotic markets and the huge quiet courtyard is something else.
The steps and grand entrance gate of the Jama Masjid
Minaret and arched colonnade of the Jama Masjid
The red sandstone entrance gate and minaret of the Jama Masjid
Pigeons lining the marble dome of the Jama Masjid
The Jama Masjid prayer hall from the courtyard, dwarfing the visitors below
Ornate dome and minarets of the Jama Masjid against overcast skies
The main prayer hall entrance of the Jama Masjid
The full facade of the Jama Masjid with twin minarets and three domes
Selfie at the Jama Masjid courtyard
Standing in the Jama Masjid courtyard with the mosque behind
Posing with backpack at the Jama Masjid
New Delhi & the Government Quarter
Most of India’s changes occurred once the British empire brought along their European style of architecture, education, and market capitalism. The entire New Delhi government quarter (Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, India Gate) was designed by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in the 1920s and 30s. It feels completely different from Old Delhi; wide boulevards, manicured lawns, armed guards everywhere. Impressive, but honestly it could be anywhere in Europe. The real Delhi is a few kilometers north.
Statesman House, an Art Deco landmark near Connaught Place
A brutalist government tower rising above the trees of New Delhi
The Sacred Heart Cathedral with a bishop statue in the foreground
Kids playing cricket in the mud after monsoon rains in Delhi
The ornate red and yellow towers of the Laxminarayan (Birla) Temple
The North Block secretariat building on Raisina Hill
Red sandstone elephant sculpture at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
Colonial-era church building in the New Delhi government district
Stone statue of a Yakshi guardian figure in New Delhi
Families enjoying paddle boats on a lake in a Delhi park
Crowds gathering around India Gate on a cloudy afternoon
Armed Indian Air Force guard standing watch near India Gate
Kids cooling off at a sandstone fountain near India Gate
Boys swimming and lounging by a lake in a Delhi park
Rajpath stretching toward the Rashtrapati Bhavan, secretariat buildings flanking both sides
The North Block secretariat building on Raisina Hill
The circular Sansad Bhavan Parliament House from across the avenue
Indian flag flying over a government building on Raisina Hill
Tower and dome of a secretariat building on Raisina Hill
The Rashtrapati Bhavan dome seen from Rajpath
Selfie in front of the Rashtrapati Bhavan
The sandstone pavilion and flag tower of the Rashtrapati Bhavan up close
Making a new friend near India Gate
The red spires of the Digambar Jain Lal Mandir rising above Chandni Chowk traffic
Golden domes and spires of the Sis Ganj Sahib Gurudwara from below
The Animals of Delhi
What would a photo album of India be without the animals. Cows roam freely everywhere (they’re sacred in Hinduism, so nobody touches them), monkeys hang from the wires like they own the place, and stray dogs are on every corner. The cows especially have it rough in Old Delhi. They end up scavenging through massive garbage piles because there’s nowhere else for them to go. It’s one of those things you can’t unsee.
Monkey in the wires of Old Delhi
Two monkeys watching from a balcony above the wires in Old Delhi
Pawless dog in Old Delhi
Cow transport in Old Delhi
Cows roaming the streets of Old Delhi
Cow with blue horns in Delhi
Cows scavenging through a massive pile of garbage in Delhi
A cow resting in a heap of trash on a Delhi street
Cows and stray dogs foraging through garbage mountains in Old Delhi
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