Return to New Delhi

After a quiet week in Vapi, we flew back to New Delhi today so that Lon could attend the PaperEx conference. Lon worked; I took a 2 1/2 hour walk around Connaught Place and India Gate.

First stop was the Jantar Mantar, an early 18th Century observatory set up to tell time-of-day, along with solar, lunar, and horoscope observations.

Part of the Jantar Mantar. The colliseum-looking structure in the back is the solar observatory. The foreground structure was used to observer the sun. The bottom was filled with water so that the sun was observed by reflection rather than directly.

The interior of the lunar observatory.

Next, I walked over to India Gate. The hardest part was crossing streets filled with unyielding traffic.

The monument was modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It honors India's war dead.
The Raj Path that connects India Gate and the Presidential Palace was modeled on the Champs Elysee
and the national mall in Washington, DC.

The full size of this monument can't be appreciated until you get up close.

This chain style is used throughout New Delhi. No need to worry about anyone sitting on the chain!

Around New Delhi:

There were a number of dogs sleeping at India Gate.

We saw a number of the school buses. You can cram in a lot more students if their book-bags are on top of the bus!
Strictly speaking, this number of passenger is illegal, but like much in India, it's rarely enforced.

Indian English has its own unique phrasing.