Delhi

Wednesday 2nd

Today beats expectations in many ways. We're a small group because some have gone off on a day trip to see the Taj Mahal in Agra, leaving eight of us to tour Delhi. Vijay Misra, a young guide with a masters in history, brings the city to life for us. We start out by walking around the monumental buildings designed by Edwin Lutyens a century ago to serve as India's capital - often considered the best (perhaps only good) legacy that the British left to India. The scale of the 1920s planned capital dwarfs the Washington Mall or London's Whitehall. We walk up to the stately gates of the President's residence, enjoying the misty, early morning air.

In stark contrast, we then plunge into the hurly-burly of old Delhi on foot, heading down Chandni Chowk, a street lined with houses of worship reflecting India's many faiths - a temple dedicated to the Hindu god, Shiva (people queuing around the block to enter, because today is Shiva's birthday), Jain and Buddhist temples, a mosque, and Christian churches. It's also a busy commercial thoroughfare, crowded with food vendors such as this. Soon we branch off into the narrow alleys which are the heart of old Delhi, each one home to specialist merchants and manufacturers - button vendors, printers, fabric sellers.

This young man is embroidering fabric for saris in a workshop off a courtyard that surely wouldn't meet US health and safety standards. We're in a quarter that has been home to Jain families for centuries - many are quite wealthy entrepreneurs, Vijay tells us, but choose to remain close to their temples and neighbors in these ancient alleyways.

Then it's on to lunch on Connaught Place, the huge commercial hub of New Delhi, at a restaurant where crispy leaves of spinach with tamarind sauce are a mouth-watering speciality.

After lunch we visit one of Delhi's most stunning sights, Humayun's Tomb, built in the mid-16th century by the widow of the second Mughal emperor. This sandstone and marble monument brought Persian style to Delhi in a magical combination of styles, a forerunner to the Taj Mahal. The complex houses not just Humayun's tomb but the resting places of numerous other Mughals, all set in tranquil gardens where parrots fly freely among the trees.

On the way back to the hotel, a couple of us make another brief stop at  Khan Market, and I find an antique silver box to take back to Mike. TIME's India bureau chief, Jyoti Thottam, stops by at Rick's Bar for an early evening drink and Viji, Vicki, Si and I have a fascinating conversation with her about life and reporting in India. Dinner is at the Taj's nouveau Indian restaurant, Vark - dramatic presentation of every dish, including this sorbet over dry ice. But after long days in Agra or touring Delhi, some of us are too tired to truly appreciate it...