This post describes my experience on the 2010 McCombs Global Connections trip to India.
We started the day at Qutb-Minar, the world’s largest brick minaret at 72.5 meters and a UNESCO world heritage site. Supposedly, Qutb-Minar is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Delhi–in 2006, there were 3.9 million visitors to Qutb-Minar as compared to 2.5 million visitors to Taj Mahal. You wouldn’t know it from the absolute absence of a crowd on the day that we visited. Besides our group there were very few tourists and none of then foreign.
Qutb-Minar(use the passenger jet in the background to get a sense of scale)
Visitors at Qutb-MinarNext, we visited Humayun’s Tomb, the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. There were more tourists here than at Qutb-Minar. The grounds surrounding the tomb were expansive, but perhaps not as beautiful as they could have been with a little more upkeep. While Qutb-Minar was constructed entirely of red sandstone, Humayun’s Tomb also incorporated white marble. The tomb complex was beautiful and full of symbolism I suspect I was unable to fully appreciate.
The grounds
Humayun’s TombAround noon, we returned to our hotel to change clothes for our afternoon meeting. In order to enter any of the hotels we stayed at during our trip, it was necessary to pass through a metal detector and submit our bags to a x-ray scan. When you enter the hotel grounds in a cab, security checks under the vehicle’s hood and inside the vehicle’s trunk. Typically, a mirror on the end of a long stick is also used to check the undercarriage of the cab. I suspect that these measures were instituted after the 2008 terrorist attacks.
We meet with Vijay Darda, a member of parliament, that afternoon. The meeting took place at Mr. Darda’s residence, where we were treated to some excellent Indian food. While we waited for Mr. Darda to return home after a day of work at parliament, one of his adviser’s gave an enthusiastic speech on business philosophy. While much of what he said was serious, I remember laughing when he quipped “never surprise your boss–save surprises for your girlfriend!” After this presentation was over, it was a long wait for Mr. Darda to arrive because, as luck would have it, our meeting was scheduled on turned out to be an incredibly busy and important day for parliament: on March 9th, the Indian parliament approved a plan to reserve one-third of legislative seats for women.
Eventually, Mr. Darda was able to meet with us. The meeting was very formal, both in substance and appearance–except for Mr. Darda’s footwear. It made me smile to see that he was sporting a pair of Nikes. Mr. Darda gave a speech and then answered questions that we submitted in advance of the meeting. It was dark by the time our meeting ended, but it was very generous of Mr. Darda and his staff to make time for us on such a busy day.
Following the meeting with Mr. Darda, we met with some local alumni for a dinner at Veda. Despite the building’s crumbling exterior, the inside of the restaurant was rather posh (you can check out photos on Veda’s website). There was lots of red and silver, mirrors on the wall, and dim lighting. The food was tasty and dessert was ice cream with a surprising flavor–pistachio and cardamom.
Read the full article: India: Day 2 (March 9, 2010)