June 1972: New Delhi - rain!

 Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716 

That evening, Al and Diane met a group of young English guys at the hostel. They had chatted for a while in the courtyard where there was a water pump that guests tended to gather round, covering themselves with cool water when the heat of the day had gotten too much.

One of the boys, Graham, was telling Al that they had come from England overland through Iran and Afghanistan. He had Infectious Hepatitis. He thought he had caught it in the opium den in Kabul!

Al said: “Wow, I went there and I got 'hep' too. I've been in hospital for two weeks. I got dysentery too. They told me not to drink alcohol and not to eat fried food.”

“Yep me too, we cook our own now. Why don't you two come to eat with us tonight. Just some boiled rice and boiled veggies, safer than eating round here, I think.”

So, a couple of hours later, Al and Diane went to Graham's room. They smoked some joints with them, then Graham started pulling things out of his rucksack to get ready to cook.

Al spotted a compass very similar to the one he had sold in Chicken Street in Kabul.

“Hey, I used to have a compass like that!” Al exclaimed, “I had to sell it in Kabul – funny thing was I got what it cost me in England, and the guy in the shop didn't seem to know what it was! I think he thought it was magic!”

Graham laughed out loud and said:”Bloody hell man, that's where I bought it, in a shop in Chicken Street. Yeh I don't think he knew what it was. Weird innit? He kept showing me how it pointed up the street. How strange!”

Al looked more closely and for sure it looked exactly like the one he had sold.

Graham cooked a meal of green peppers stuffed with onions and carrots and rice. Al thought it was delicious.

They ate with Graham the next day. They hardly went out of the hostel at all that day. "It was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When they did go for a stroll round Connaught Circus, browsing the shops and trying to avoid the hawkers and the pools of red spit out by the Betel Nut chewers, suddenly the sky opened and it rained really heavy!

As Al and Diane darted into a shop for shelter, lots of Indian men and women ran out of the shops into the rain and started jumping for joy. So Al and Diane ran back into the rain, became soaked and joined the celebration. Apparently it was the first rain that year. The road became a little flooded and the traffic slowed, amidst a great honking of horns and ringing of bicycle rickshaw bells.

The rain stopped as abruptly as it had started.

Al and Diane, now soaked, headed back to the hostel, but the heat had dried their clothing even before they got there.

Al looked out for Keith, but did not see him.

 

June 1972: After hospital in Delhi, meeting Diane

 Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716 

Two weeks after being released from the hospital and arriving back in the city, Al went back to his dormitory room at Mr Jain's and booked in for a couple of nights.

Then he went to the American Express offices, as he had written to friends asking for money to be sent there. There was two lots of twenty pounds and one of ten pounds from his friends, waiting for him; a massive boost.

He now had fifty pounds at his disposal, enough to pay his bills and maybe even get back to England. After all he had initially left his home with little more than that, and everything was comparatively cheaper in Asia than Europe.

But, determined to save money, he slept for some nights in a small park close to Jain's hostel, and went each lunchtime to the India Coffee House near Connaught Circus, where, he had been told and it had proved to be true, rich Indian businessmen went for lunch and would buy Al food simply to be able to practice their English. That worked!

When he had left the hospital, the doctor had told him that no way was he to drink alcohol, and should avoid fried, oily or heavily spiced foods.

Al had discovered a cheap Chinese restaurant near Connaught Circus, where he could eat simple boiled rice with boiled vegetables, so he frequented that.

Early one evening, whilst he was sitting on wall smoking before his meal, he was approached by a pretty young girl. She announced herself as “Diane, from Cambridge” and told us that she had no money and was hungry and said that she had been abandoned in India by her English boyfriend.

“Can you help me please?”

Al said to her “I won't give you money but I am going over there to that Chinese restaurant and I can never finish my plate of food, so you are welcome to come with me and share, just rice and boiled vegetables though.”

Diane immediately said yes and that was the start of another relationship.

That night they huddled together under Al's unzipped sleeping bag in the park and at that time Al told Diane that he had been ill with Infectious Hepatitis so they had better not get too close in case he infected her. He told her about some of his adventures so far and that he had just a little money, so if she wanted, she could travel with him as he planned to leave in a couple of days, by train to Amritsar.

Diane said that she had already phoned her parents in England and they were going to send her some money to Islamabad in Pakistan.

So Al had a new travelling companion, some money and was feeling a lot better. Maybe the Infectious Hepatitis had gone; certainly the vomiting and running to the toilet had stopped.

The following evening they moved into a room in a cheap guest house called Mrs Colakaos on Janpath Lane and the following day, Al and Diane went to the Poste Restante to check for mail.

 Key fob pic courtesy of Steve Boehm

There was a letter from Keith saying that he had been kicked off the train that he had “jumped” He had not bought a ticket but had reached Delhi after a few days by hitch-hiking. He wrote that he had stayed in Old Delhi but had not seen Al so he had headed off to the Kulu Valley for a while.

Al had read the letter and left the Post Office and walked up the street for about one hundred yards. He spotted Keith!

They greeted each other;

“Far out to see you again man,” said Keith; “Where you been, I got here a few days after I left Amritsar, got kicked off the fucking train and had to hitch for bloody miles, ha! But here I am, how are you?”

Al replied: “What! I got kicked off a train too, in the middle of the jungle up between Haridwar and Rishikesh a couple of weeks ago. I had a ticket from Delhi to Haridwar but not to Rishikesh. It was only a couple of rupees but the bloody conductor wanted me to pay a 100 rupee fine. He pulled the emergency cord and stopped the train and made me get off. It was just jungle.”

“Bloody hell man, at least they stopped at a station before I got the boot! What happened then? Where you been since?”, said Keith.

“Yeah, it turned out OK, I followed the railway track and then there was a road and a car stopped so I had a lift to Rishikesh and back to Haridwar with a great Indian family – they took me to see the Maharishi place, you know, the Transcendental meditation guru guy the Beatles had.”

“Where you going next? I'm off to Nepal tomorrow, by bus, fuck the trains, man!” said Keith.

“God I've been really ill. I got dysentery and Infectious Hepatitis. I came back here and I was in Delhi hospital two weeks,” explained Al. “I'm going to Amritsar in a couple of days, with Diane. This is Diane. This is Keith” introducing them.

Keith shook hands with Diane. “I've got to go get some stuff done – maybe we can meet up later, where you staying?”

“At a guest house called Madam Calaka's. We got a room there. She's got about fifty cats! Come tonight, it's easy to find.”

Keith had a map of New Delhi and Al showed him where the guest house was.

It was so hot that every time that Al drank tea or a fizzy drink and by the time he managed to cross the main road he was thirsty again.

But Keith never showed up.

June 2 - June 9 1972: New Delhi, Lal Qila and Jantar Mantar

  Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716

(Photographs found on line and more recent than 1972 because all I had back then was one 24 exposure black and white film and could not afford another)

After Miriam had left saying she hoped to see Al again soon, and Keith had not appeared, this was the first time that Al was travelling alone.

He spent about a week in Delhi, checking for mail or money every day, to no avail, but during that week he was out and about every day, visiting New and Old Delhi sights such as the Red Fort and the Astronomy Gardens off Connaught Circus.

He learned that the Red Fort, or 'Lal Qila' had been built in about 1648 as a palace by Shahjahanabad, a Moghul emperor, and Moghul emperors had lived there for hundreds of years. It was contained within tall red sandstone walls. The main gate was called the Lahori Gate as it faced the direction of Lahore. Each side of the large gate was a tower. Inside were rows of buildings and a water channel known as the 'Stream of Paradise'. The Fort was large enough to spend an hour or so wandering around, sitting in the green garden under the shade of trees. It was a pleasant break from the hustle of Delhi's busy streets.

The Astronomical Gardens, Jantar Mantar

 

After a few days, Al took a train to Agra, to see the Taj Mahal, the world famous white mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife in 1632. Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess, had died during the birth of their fourteenth child.

Al had arrived at Agra railway station only to find it pouring with rain – the first real rain he had seen since leaving Europe. He took a bicycle rickshaw to the Government's Tourist Bungalow Accommodation and booked a room to three nights – it was very cheap and clean, but the downside was the number of small lizards that were running up the walls and upsides down across the ceiling, and the crickets that seemed to find their way into his rucksack, even his trouser pockets and what is more, inside me, at night. The first morning, Al was constantly surprised when he found them hidden away. After that he looked before he put on his trousers and before he put me on his head.

May 31st, June 1st 1972: New Delhi

 Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716

NOTE:  Some of the pics that were not taken by me may be some time after 1972

There was a Spanish guy there, in Mr Jains hostel. He spoke English. He told Al about an 'Ashram' called Prem Nagar, in the foothills in the town of Haridwar on the Ganges, the Holy River, where they accommodated people free of charge. Then he told Al about the symptoms of Infectious Hepatitis, a yellowing of the whites of the eyes and the finger nails, how urine would look dark yellow to red, and stools would look pale. Al thought it was strange to be told that.

Then Al went to the courtyard and found Miriam sat drinking fizzy orange. Not having slept a lot the previous night, it wasn't long before Al said goodnight and was asleep.

The following morning, June 1st,  when Al awoke, Miriam had already left but she had left her bags so she would be back! Al had a light breakfast from the food and mangos he was still carrying and headed off to find the American Express office to check for money and then the Post Office to check for mail. He was pleased to find ten pounds waiting from Australian Paul and at the Post Office a letter from Paul and his wife.

With that he went back to his dorm and received bad news.

Miriam had made contact with her friends and they were planning to leave Delhi to drive to Nepal the next day. She invited Al to join them.

Al told Miriam that he had so little money and wanted to wait for more, but when he had more he would maybe travel to Kathmandu and leave a message for her at the Poste Restante, hopefully meet up again.

 

Connaught Circus and the immediate area was quite built-up, with roads off the roundabout in many directions. There was an incredible amount of traffic. It was a busy commercial area and the streets had large buildings, offices, shops and street stalls, some selling strange-looking concoctions of coloured pastes spread onto leaves and sprinkled with Betel nuts. Apparently the vile-looking leaves had to be chewed and spat out, and gave an exhilarating effect. Al could see the stains red around the mouths of some of the men and he could see where it had been spat out on the pavements. 

 The number of three-wheeler rickshaws was incredible, and any without passengers always seeking work, slowing as they drove past, offering lifts. There were also larger rickshaws carrying eight or more passengers and many over-crowded buses. Just off the big roundabout was the Indian Coffee House, in Mohan Singh Place. Nearby was an indoor market where Al found a many Sikhs selling their wares, one with cheap vegetable triangular pasties called samosas. Al visited that indoor market many times for samosas or dahl and chapatti and fruit-flavoured lassi drink lunches. That was where Al sold his camera, a week or so later.

 

 

The walk between Connaught and the hostel was of just about ten minutes but passed an incredibly smelly public toilet to be avoided at all costs. Al learned that water was only available through mains taps for part of the day, so the toilet was seldom cleaned.

This was India and the contrast between rich and poor was striking.

Many of the men wore white Indian Pyjamas, some just rags, whilst others wore western suit and tie. There were many westerners and Japanese-looking people, many in jeans and shirts, others India-style clothes and others dressed more richly.

Photos found on-line.

April 3, 4, 5:, 1985, Delhi, Jantar Mantar and preparing for Nepal

 Taken from Back to the East, India, Nepal, Kashmir  

3^rd April 1985

We arrived back in Delhi early morning. The train was very slow for a good few miles before pulling into the station. From the carriage window it was a real sight for sore eyes. We were moving alongside a shanty town and the large number of people there clearly had few facilities and were using the railway track as a public convenience; there was a long line of bare arses facing us. I could only imagine the excrement dried up every day or maybe was eaten by rats. Not a pleasant sight or thought but then again, quite funny.

Also on the journey some of our fellow passengers somehow got the idea that I could read palms. One guy gave me a piece of paper to write on; I saw it was an invitation for a job interview so told him he was about to get a new job. He seemed very pleased and I hope it encouraged him so he got the job. But that only encouraged others. I just made some positive stuff up telling them all good news or good changes were coming. Indians are a very superstitious nation.

Today, as it turned out, was the holiday day for Lord Mahavir Jayanti, although most shops were open. So after getting back to the Ashok Yatri Newas hotel and checking in, we planned to get some passport photos done in preparation for our applications for visa to Nepal.

Two people were arguing at reception because they were told they had to pay in foreign currency like pounds or dollars. For us this was to be a nuisance too, as previously they had taken rupees with an exchange chit. So now Lesley would have to change a travellers check into rupees, then change enough for the hotel bills back into pounds. In India there are ever changing rules and regulations, a bureaucratic system that wants everything in triplicate.

By now all my white shirts were either stained and dirty, so we had to get them cleaned too. It would have been cheaper to buy new shirts.

We went back to the office to see Ali and get details for our trip to Nepal and find out about visas. There was another guy there. He said “Ah, I see you have been in the desert, because you have a red nose! I have been too, you see I have a white nose!” He explained that though my nose was burned red, his was bleached white!

4^th April 1985

The visa for Nepal cost 120 rupees each, about six pounds. That was no problem for us. Ali sent somebody to get our passports stamped.

Apparently, Delhi had 50,000 rickshaws, one million bicycles, 3000 animal-drawn carts and 80.000 motor vehicles including cars, buses, trucks and rickshaws, resulting in 5000 road accidents every year.

 

Today we strolled along Parliament Street and Janpath area trying to find Jantar Mantar astronomical gardens and observatory, which was supposed to be just a short walk from Connaught Circus. After quite a long walk up the wrong street, we came across a Sikh Temple. Suddenly we were back on Ashok Road at our hotel. We had missed Jantar Mantar altogether! Now we learn that Parliament Street was now called Sansad Marg, which we had passed several times whilst walking back and forth. We have now learned that Jantar Mantar was just behind our hotel, on the “backside” as they say here. So off we go again.

Jantar Mantar was a collection of stone astronomical instruments built by Maharaja Jai Singh The Second about 1725. There was a large salmon-coloured odd shaped structure with steps everywhere, a huge sun dial supposed to be accurate to half a second and another triangular shape and semicircles meant for plotting the courses of the stars and predicting eclipses and predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. It’s difficult to see how they were used but it included the use of shadows cast upon graduated concave plates. It was all set in a green garden patch. The word Jantar was derived from yantra, meaning instrument, while the suffix Mantar was derived from mantrana meaning consult or calculate.