Old Delhi and Street Connections

We had two full days in Delhi- the first we spent going to some major must see sights in a shared taxi with a German girl who we met at breakfast at our hotel.  That night as we were planning our second day, I read about tours of Old Delhi given by former street children through the organization Street Connections. It was a really long shot that they would be able to give a tour on such short notice, but -long story short- we were starting our tour at 9am the next morning with our guide Khasheed outside the biggest mosque in the city Jama Masjid.

Getting to know Khasheed was half of what made the tour special. He just graduated high school and has dreams of working in film. He has already self taught himself many things like graphic and web design and has performed in various plays. We enjoyed talking about movies- while he likes Bollywood movies his favorite movies are the x men series.

on a tuk tuk with Khasheed in Old Delhi.

 We asked him all our questions about India- probably some were pretty silly sounding- seeing as a lot of our image of urban life in India comes from the movie Slumdog Millionaire- (which, he informed us, isn't even all that famous in India and was produced by an American). We asked if the sacred cows belong to people or are they like stray dogs (half and half), why is a certain color blue used so much on houses and Hindu gods (no reason), why do some Sikhs carry a sword (he don't know this one), why are people flying kites (preparing for independence day), etcetera 

And He asked some surprising questions like how many times have we eaten beef (too many to count), What is there in Texas (cows, oil and tex mex food), is Mexico part of the US (no!), is there a big mafia in Mexico (yes...),  and if we had a love marriage (yes lol!). 

He led us through the labyrinth that is Old Delhi. We had an experience that we never could have invented on our own. Here are some sights we saw on our tour.

We started at Jama Masjid- the largest mosque in Delhi- it can fit 25,000 worshipers. It was built by the same Persian emperor that built the Taj Mahal after he moved the capital from Agra to Delhi.

The first girls school in Delhi, kitty corner to Jama Masjid.

Some bread makers shaking out their pans in a narrow alley. Khasheed told us they make 50,000 loaves every night.

A monkey in Old Delhi.

A Haveli, a traditional home with a courtyard where extended families used to live. There are not too many left. This One is historic because the famous Stephens college started here.

A sewing factory that was closed the day of our tour (Sunday). Supposedly Michelle Obama has clothes made here.

A chai masala tea break.

The spice bazaar in old delhi, seen from a four story building right in the middle of it all.

Khasheeed took us to a spice shop called Mehar Chand and Sons, an internationally known hole-in-the-wall place, where we bought Darjeeling tea and some cashews (known as "nuts of India" in Mexico!).

An air-conditioned Sikh temple in the heart of Old Delhi. Before entering worshipers touched or "knocked" the steps.

 At the end he took us to a shelter that he used to live at and shared his life story with us which involved getting kicked out of his grandmothers house a young age, being abused by his father, being forced to work instead of go to school, and living/eating at Sikh temple for a few years until he got directed to Street Connections and the Salaam Balak Trust who have him better food educational and opportunities.

Current residents at the shelter where Khasheed used to live.