Vasanth Vaidyanathan's Blog

I had a chance to visit New Delhi (India's capital city) last week. In more than one way, the visit proved to be memorable.

First, the flight. I had some work last Thursday. So, I took the Wednesday evening flight from Bangalore to New Delhi. We were warned about the temperature in Delhi - it was 45 C. Just when we thought it was another eventless flight trip, and when the flight was about to land in Delhi at 8 PM, the pilot announced he could not land thanks to the gusty winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorm. We were hovering around the airport for almost 1.5 hours. The pilot warned that the descent would be turbulent. Just that I did not expect it to be too turbulent. It was like the joy ride we would take in one of the amusement parks. My God! People even started praying. When I landed, Delhi's temperature had dropped to 27 C.

A newspaper report on the rain that lashed Delhi on Wednesday.

The next day, my work in New Delhi got over very soon. Spent a couple of hours catching up on sleep. My flight back to Bangalore was at 5:30 PM. I had 3 hours on hand to explore Delhi. This was my first visit, so I did not want to miss out important places. Throughout my visit, I was impressed with the wide roads and well planned layouts of Delhi. Just a drive on the AIIMS flyover will leave you astonished. This is one of the longest flyovers, just across India's premier medical institute - All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

I hired a cab for Rs. 400/- for 4 hours. I asked the driver to take me to India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Place), and Parliament House. Since all these places were near each other, it just made things easy. After checking out from the hotel, my first stop was India Gate. 

A huge arch-like structure built in memory of Indian soldiers who lost their lives at the time of World War I.

Delhi was hot, and you could find people cooling off at the pool near India Gate.

Next, I took the beautiful stretch of road called "Rajpath" (with lawns on either side).

 This road leads you to Rashtrapati Bhavan and India's parliament house.

I wanted to visit Qutb Minar or Red Fort. But there really wasn't enough time. So, I headed straight back to the airport. On the way, I had authentic tandoori roti and dal at Pindi Restaurant, just off India Gate. I want to come back to New Delhi more leisurely. I should probably plan my visit in November or December, when Delhi cools off.