Delhi Art Residency – Sanskriti Foundation

Left at 3am this morning for the golden temple, the hotel was only a short ride so didn’t take us long to get there.

We checked in our shoes at the drop off point and made our way to one of the four gates that surround the temple itself, four gates symbolising that the temple is equally accessible and open to everyone regardless of faith, caste and religion.

The temple is truly breathtaking, at this time of the morning the place exudes a serene and tranquil atmosphere, Sikh men were already stirring and starting to bathe in the holy water that surrounds the temple, lots of people also lay asleep in the grounds.

We had come to see the book ceremony, every morning at around 4 am the book is moved from its resting place and taken into the golden temple itself. It is believed that the book is a living entity and that each morning it should be woken up and taken to the temple, at night it is returned to its resting place until the next morning, there is quite a procession that surrounds the movement of the holy book, moves pretty fast too!

The temple serves over three thousand meals everyday through its kitchens, a staggering feat. Huge pots were already lit in the kitchens in preparation for the first meals of the day. Everyone is welcome here, one can come and sit and eat in the large dining room. All they ask is that you do something to help, maybe a bit of washing up, or help making the chapatis, everything is run by volunteers who tithe both their time and their money. Even at 3 am in the morning I was offered sweet tea.

We also went to look at the Temple museum. A stark contrast to the serene and tranquil environment outside! Lots of paintings of Sikh martyrs being boiled in vats and cut in half, also lots of paintings of great bloody Moghul battles.

There were some particularly grisly photographs of dead Sikh men hung on the wall, all died in the shooting in the 1980’s when Indira Ghandi ordered troops to storm the temple as Sikh guerillas were seeking refuge inside the building, 600 hundred people were killed as a result.

It has been a busy week, trying to pack in as much as possible as my time here is coming to an end.

Went to Amritsar on Tuesday to see the Golden Temple. Caught the 7:30am train from New Delhi Station.

Train was excellent although negotiating the platforms and locating the correct place to board the train proved a bit of a challenge! Thankfully I found a helpful passenger who directed me to the correct train. 400 trains pass through New Delhi station everyday.

I booked an air-conditioned coach, just make’s the journey that bit more comfortable and as it was a six-hour train ride was well worth it. It was great to get out of the hustle and bustle of Delhi and get a chance to see some of the countryside.

Amritsar is set in the Punjab, situated right on the border of India and Pakistan, 60% of the population in this area are Sikh. Throughout the Punjab agriculture is the main source of income and work, lots of large open spaces and a lot less traffic.

I was picked up at Amritsar station by my guide and driver and taken to the hotel to freshen up before heading off to the border area to see the changing of the flags ceremony performed daily every evening.

It is a theatrical spectacle! The ceremony was originally started in 1947 when both independence and partition split former India into India and Pakistan.

Hundreds of people gather on both the Pakistan and Indian border to glimpse the ceremony.

Guards in their finery and colourful headdresses on both sides parade up and down to the gate getting the crowds in a bit of a frenzy before the flags are lifted.

From what I can gather the banter is all good-natured between the crowds on both sides, it has a celebratory and carnival feel to the ceremony. It has only been abandoned in times of war and although tensions remain between the countries the ceremony continues.

Shekar took me to the girls hostel at the Salaam Baalak Trust today, was about an hour north of Delhi.

The hostel houses around 60 young girls ranging from 6 years old up until the age of 18. Most of the girls have been rescued or referred to the centre because they are from vulnerable situations.

Shekar told me that girls who end up in the big cities alone are particularly at risk; most get taken very quickly by either street gangs or pimps to work in the sex trade.

I arrived at lunchtime, so it was pretty chaotic!

The children here are the lucky ones, they now get to go to school and live in a safe environment.

The statistics are heavy reminder of the prejudice that still exists in Indian society towards women. They are often seen as a financial burden to their families and current statistics reflect a stark outlook for women in India today.

Left early this morning for Old Delhi. It is really hotting up here, everyone is slowing down as the temperature rises.

Its about 42 degrees here at the moment so you have to start earlier to escape the midday sun.

Old Delhi was originally the walled city of Shahjahanabad and was built by the Mogul emperor Shan Jahan in 1648, most of the old city walls have now gone but there are some of the gates still left.

Delhi originally was made up of seven cities, each with its own identity, however the main divide of the city is between Old and New Delhi.

I wanted to go and see some of the famous local markets in Old Delhi as well as see some of the famous crumbling Havelis (nobleman’s ancestral homes).

My guide took me to the spice wholesale market and the silver market in Chandni Chowk. The smells, sights and sounds left a lasting impression.

Goods here are sold in specific areas so you have streets full of the same types of items, wedding streets, spice streets, jewellery streets etc.

Navigating yourself around is quite an art as every type and mode of transport is weaving chaotically around you, and of course you constantly have to watch where you step!

Taking photo’s proved pretty tricky too amongst the throng of people.

We took a cycle rickshaw to Jama Masjid, it is India’s largest mosque and has a capacity for 25,000 people in its courtyard, also climbed one of the minarets to take in the view of Old Delhi.

The view was breathtaking, apparently not so many women climb the steps as this bit of the mosque is a bit of a hangout for the young men, the walls were filled with graffiti messages from young men to their loved ones!

I also visited the National Museum here in Delhi, in fact it was a bit of a disappointment.

A number of the galleries were not open as they were being refurbished and I found that a lot of the displays in the museum and information were pretty uninspiring and in need of work and restoration.

However, some of the rooms were air conditioned so at least I got a chance to cool down a bit and escape the midday sun!

Visited some markets today with the help of my friend Minhazz.

I am looking at everyday objects related to women, such as combs, mirrors, hair ornaments etc.

I was intrigued by some of the objects I found in the Museum of Everyday Art here at Sanskriti Kendra and particularly the objects in the glass cases relating to women’s beauty.

Minhazz took me to a street that just sells wedding related objects. Hundreds of stalls selling everything for the Indian bride, lots of gold and ornate jewellery and beautiful saris.

We watched young women as their hands were being painted with intricate patterns of henna.

In contrast to this wedding street, I have spent some time researching charities that work for the improvement of womens lives here. Their is a charity called Asha, it works in the slums here in Delhi and provides support for the poorest and most disadvantaged.

I was reading some of the statistics on their website.

It states that a quarter of all Indian girls do not live past the age of 15, a third of these deaths occur before a girl reaches her first birthday.

It also stated that nearly 2 in every 3 women in India are illiterate and that a girl between the ages of 1 and 5 years old is 50% more likely to die than boys here in India.

It also has the highest incidence of under 5 deaths in the world.