Having reached the Country Inn Hotel too late the previous evening meant that we (a group of eight within the group of twenty nine that we staying at 4 star hotels) didn't meet the local family we were supposed to for dinner and took advantage of what the hotel had to provide instead.
It was quite a huge hotel with outstanding facilities and that particular evening into something that looked like a luxurious buffet-like party, we had access to.
Right at the entrance lounge something unusual caught my attention and my meticulous curiosity led me to photograph it - a vibrant coloured rice decorated table.
"The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it."
Rudyard Kipling
I feel there is some truth in Rudyard Kipling's statement and although we hadn't yet had the opportunity but to "smell" India but from inside the bus we were driving on ... it already allowed us to get an idea of what it smelt like ...
The polluted atmosphere made its way as we left the hotel early in the morning ... there was some beauty in its greyish blending colours ... as if we were amidst some foggy like stage ...
Our temporary incursion in the streets of Delhi was interrupted the moment we visited the Laxminarayan Temple, commonly referred to as Birla Mandir - Vaishnavism Hindu temple built in honour of the Hindu Goddess of wealth, mterial and spiritual prosperity, fortune and embodiment of beauty together with her consort - Narayana, the supreme God in his infinite and pervading form.
We were not allowed to photograph the three storey high temple, which I fell it was a pity as there were several rather interesting statues and shrines dedicated to various Deities worth having been photographed.
Our visit lasted over thirty minutes and we were soon heading west into Rajasthan, leaving New Delhi behind.
We tried to absorb everything we could from inside the bus ... but all we seemed to get a glimpse of was the traffic ... and the bustling village streets ...
(To be continued)
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