With no schedule to follow, we agreed the night before that we had to set a departure time, or we would lounge away the morning. Five of us decided to sightsee in Delhi for our last day. Other folks rested at the hotel or hired a guide to visit some other attractions. We were interested in seeing some of the historic neighborhoods and buildings. All our flights depart late at night or in the early morning, so we did not have to worry about rushing back to the hotel.
Rickshaws abound on the streets, but we've found that they cannot go everywhere in the city and that they frequently get lost. Also, with five of us, the padded backseat would be too small. Luckily, Karen had data on her phone and could summon an Uber when we needed to get from one venue to the next. We started at the Red Fort. This was the imperial palace of the Mughal emperors from the mid-seventeenth century until British colonization. Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, was also responsible for this elaborate complex.
The tour came with an audio guide, which we used to navigate the dozens of buildings, courtyards, and gardens. You enter through a covered, two-story bazaar, populated as in olden times with merchants, though these are selling souvenirs. It's called the Red Fort because of its extensive use of sandstone. The most impressive buildings, however, are carved of white marble with elaborate details.
We spent about two hours walking through the denuded but still striking buildings. During the colonial period, British troops barracked here, and some of their construction is still present. Putting those out of the mind's eye, you get a picture of a leisurely, decadent lifestyle with fountains and concerts and poetry and dancers. When we left at mid-day, the queue to enter was hundreds of people deep.
We crossed the street (an adventure in itself) to amble the market stalls of Old Delhi. The narrow streets, aggressive hustlers, and fear of pickpockets kept us moving quickly. We did stop to visit a mosque, also built by our friend Shah Jahan. By 12:30 pm, we were feeling hungry and craving air conditioning. Karen called us another Uber, and we drove to Connaught Place.
CP stood in sharp contrast to Old Delhi. The British modeled this retail and business sector on Bath, England with concentric circles of whitewashed, columned buildings fronting a central park. We saw affluent families carrying shopping bags with Nike logos and couldn't believe we had just left decrepit Old Delhi twenty minutes before. I identified a restaurant from the app Google Trip, which has been invaluable for maps and suggestions even when my phone doesn't have wifi. The meal and cleanliness revived us. Before moving to our final stop, we visited a store I had heard about that sells nuts, candies, and cookies to buy a final round of gifts.
Our last stop on the self-guided tour was Humayan's Tomb. Humayan was Shah Jahan's great grandfather. In his case, it was his widow who built a magnificent mausoleum for him, predating the Taj Mahal and influencing it. In mid-afternoon, the crowds to get in were overwhelming, but we remembered a trick from yesterday and strode up to the front, where we found a separate counter for foreigners. Admission cost more than ten times as much, but no wait, and I needed to spend down my rupees.
Humayan's Tomb is a Unesco World Heritage site, a designation given to wonders of human patrimony. We could see why. In addition to the imposing central tomb, several side tombs also exhibited detailed decoration. Blue tiles were still visible on some of the domes. We walked through several buildings and gardens, taking photos and commenting on the easy life of royalty. We took a taxi back to the hotel, where I am now preparing for the airport pickup.
What I'll remember most about India is its insatiable hunger for higher education. The enormity of its population is felt tangibly in crushing crowds and oversubscribed enrollments. We didn't visit any rural communities, though I imagine many young people there also strive to obtain advanced degrees and aspire to study and work in the United States. It's a privilege that I did not have to surmount as many barriers to succeed in the U.S. higher education system. Now that we hear about U.S. colleges facing declining numbers and threatening financial exigency, it makes sense to build partnerships with Indian students and faculty.
India presents attractive opportunities for U.S. students to study abroad. For me, without understanding the language or the culture, traveling here felt effortful. I also appreciate being able to drink water from the tap and breathe clean air. For short-term study, though, India is not so daunting. In all our visits we met only four or five students from North America, but I was impressed by how well they fit in with their Indian peers and how rigorous an education they were receiving. I know the IHP students who travel to India each January come back energized by the perspectives on health care in low-resource environments they gain.
Professionally, I can already see how I will benefit from this experience. As soon as I return, a delegation of nursing faculty from Saudi Arabia will visit IHP. So much of what I learned was not just specific to India, but also a framework for entering into any relationship with an institution from another country. Coincidentally, this coming week the IHP will also be hosting a visiting delegation of undergraduate pre-health advisers. After so many campus visits, I've gained concrete ideas about how to make an overview and tour compelling and relevant to guests.
Finally, the contacts I've developed among the USIEF staff and my fellow Fulbrighters deepen my support network when it comes to international education. I'll be leaving in a few hours and am happy to put away these three shirts and three pairs of pants for a long time. What I won't be ignoring is the momentum this opportunity has built up to continue creating links between faculty, staff, and students of different countries. We broaden our lenses when we travel and come to question the correctness of our default assumptions. Even when we're glad to be heading home, we are grateful for the journey.
Rickshaws abound on the streets, but we've found that they cannot go everywhere in the city and that they frequently get lost. Also, with five of us, the padded backseat would be too small. Luckily, Karen had data on her phone and could summon an Uber when we needed to get from one venue to the next. We started at the Red Fort. This was the imperial palace of the Mughal emperors from the mid-seventeenth century until British colonization. Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, was also responsible for this elaborate complex.
 |
| The chambers where the emperor received private guests |
 |
| A detail of the elaborate decoration on the columns |
We spent about two hours walking through the denuded but still striking buildings. During the colonial period, British troops barracked here, and some of their construction is still present. Putting those out of the mind's eye, you get a picture of a leisurely, decadent lifestyle with fountains and concerts and poetry and dancers. When we left at mid-day, the queue to enter was hundreds of people deep.
We crossed the street (an adventure in itself) to amble the market stalls of Old Delhi. The narrow streets, aggressive hustlers, and fear of pickpockets kept us moving quickly. We did stop to visit a mosque, also built by our friend Shah Jahan. By 12:30 pm, we were feeling hungry and craving air conditioning. Karen called us another Uber, and we drove to Connaught Place.
 |
| The tomb of Isa Khan Niyazi from 1547 |
Our last stop on the self-guided tour was Humayan's Tomb. Humayan was Shah Jahan's great grandfather. In his case, it was his widow who built a magnificent mausoleum for him, predating the Taj Mahal and influencing it. In mid-afternoon, the crowds to get in were overwhelming, but we remembered a trick from yesterday and strode up to the front, where we found a separate counter for foreigners. Admission cost more than ten times as much, but no wait, and I needed to spend down my rupees.
 |
| The sandstone tomb of Humayan |
Humayan's Tomb is a Unesco World Heritage site, a designation given to wonders of human patrimony. We could see why. In addition to the imposing central tomb, several side tombs also exhibited detailed decoration. Blue tiles were still visible on some of the domes. We walked through several buildings and gardens, taking photos and commenting on the easy life of royalty. We took a taxi back to the hotel, where I am now preparing for the airport pickup.
What I'll remember most about India is its insatiable hunger for higher education. The enormity of its population is felt tangibly in crushing crowds and oversubscribed enrollments. We didn't visit any rural communities, though I imagine many young people there also strive to obtain advanced degrees and aspire to study and work in the United States. It's a privilege that I did not have to surmount as many barriers to succeed in the U.S. higher education system. Now that we hear about U.S. colleges facing declining numbers and threatening financial exigency, it makes sense to build partnerships with Indian students and faculty.
India presents attractive opportunities for U.S. students to study abroad. For me, without understanding the language or the culture, traveling here felt effortful. I also appreciate being able to drink water from the tap and breathe clean air. For short-term study, though, India is not so daunting. In all our visits we met only four or five students from North America, but I was impressed by how well they fit in with their Indian peers and how rigorous an education they were receiving. I know the IHP students who travel to India each January come back energized by the perspectives on health care in low-resource environments they gain.
Professionally, I can already see how I will benefit from this experience. As soon as I return, a delegation of nursing faculty from Saudi Arabia will visit IHP. So much of what I learned was not just specific to India, but also a framework for entering into any relationship with an institution from another country. Coincidentally, this coming week the IHP will also be hosting a visiting delegation of undergraduate pre-health advisers. After so many campus visits, I've gained concrete ideas about how to make an overview and tour compelling and relevant to guests.
Finally, the contacts I've developed among the USIEF staff and my fellow Fulbrighters deepen my support network when it comes to international education. I'll be leaving in a few hours and am happy to put away these three shirts and three pairs of pants for a long time. What I won't be ignoring is the momentum this opportunity has built up to continue creating links between faculty, staff, and students of different countries. We broaden our lenses when we travel and come to question the correctness of our default assumptions. Even when we're glad to be heading home, we are grateful for the journey.
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