Boson

Crosswords, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, booksonthedelhimetro meet, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Humayun's tomb, Purana Qila, and Bikaner House

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Check about the previous walk tour here

I am very private and was hell-bent on privacy and guarding personal details. With time and awareness, I realised there should be openness to build trust in friendships, so unless they are very close friends, I still guard everyday personal things. I won't even add contacts on social media until I meet them in real life. The only exception to maintaining an anonymous place, even a guarded self, is “Discord”; I joined Discord via an international book club invite and met many wonderful people on different domains, but I never tried to meet anyone. This is the first time I tried to meet someone after becoming online friends. We share many common values and curiosity and feel the same pressures on global issues. With their interests in public health and policy, which I deeply care about, the meeting is bound to happen someday.

Morning:

After talking about books and a few severe things, we went for breakfast and had paneer paratha and coffee to prepare for the long day. I usually don't drink coffee. The first stop was a crosswords store in a select city mall to check the available books. Still, I only realised after entering that the store was seriously downsized and just stocked with fast seller lists, considering the inventory costs. We made a quick detour to enquire about PVR QR code booking, and whether they realised people are taking advantage of no booking fees from QR or it's just migration to the new tech stack, they stopped the service for now. We then went to the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art for the “Thousand Lives” photographs exhibition by Raghu Rai, showcasing the often overlooked sides of humanity. The juxtaposition and contrast in multiple photographs are so stark that we have our wow moments. We then walked to Greater Kailash with multiple detours on Google Maps bailing out, and finally entered Kunzum book store for the booksondelhimetro meet whose mission is to drop books, from donations and author copies, in metro stops for anyone to pick up for free and let them drop back for others after they read. It's an exciting idea with dozens of volunteers trying to meet monthly to make the books travel and touch the lives of people we don't even meet. Kunzum-GK is a perfect store with diverse books and no wifi, and they offer free coffee for every book purchase.

Afternoon:

We then took the metro to Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah and visited Dargah. It's the month of Ramazan, so the place is vibrant and colourful. This is my second time visiting Dargah, but it was the first time I realised the Wudu. You must cover your head with a cloth to revere the saint and higher power. We had lunch in a nearby restaurant, and this was my first time tasting nihari stew. We also ordered Kebabs, Korma, Tikka, and Khamiri rotis. The bill is just 300rs for eating to the maximum. I also love Delhi for its diversity in food and cost. We then walked to Humayun's tomb, and trust me, everyone seeing it for the first time, including me, said, “Woah”. ASI perfectly maintains the place and designs, and this is my favourite monument in Delhi after the President's house and Qutub Minar. Take your time to observe the intricate details.

Evening:

We then walked to Purana Qila; I know we are clocking 10km+ in walking by now. We confused checkout time with check-in time and were half an hour late. We convinced the head officer to let us enter; I would have gone away and not tried to face such a situation if I had been a bit younger. Lately, I have realised the power of persuasion and letting others understand your valid side. Do yourself a service, and don't book Purana Qila Lake tickets. The Hauz Khas lake, which is free to visit, is far better. Our final stop is Bikaner House, where we can visit “Gestural Intuition” by Anwar Khan at the Living Traditions Center Gallery. It is an abstract art of lines, shapes, and colours usually ignored. We could have sat on India Gate lawns, but the night is already knocking us down. So, we boarded the Khan Market metro and said goodbye at our stops. Our legs were aching by the end, but I at least made him look forward to our next long day off. Hahaha, thank you @DrNobody; it is a pleasure meeting you.