My final day in Delhi brought new and interesting experiences.

After a cruise past India Gate and the Parliament Buildings, both closed off because of upcoming Republic Day celebrations on January 26th (!), we visited Gandhi Smirit, Mahatma Gandhi’s final home and the place where he was assassinated. The Smirit compound is now a testament to his teachings, with raised cement footsteps tracing his last stroll in his garden before he was shot. There is a small monument marking the exact location of his death.

A professor from the University of Delhi shared his thoughts on Gandhi’s teachings of non-violence and their relation to religion and truth and politics. He pointed out that Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring were really Gandhi’s beliefs put into action. It made for a thought-provoking hour or so.

And, by the way, Yoko Ono toured Gandhi Smirit with us… that is, at the same time we were there.  Her menagerie subtly but effectively screened her from photos.

After our visit to Gandhi Smirit, our group was divided into three groups of seven and shipped off to have lunch in the homes of private residents of Delhi. My group went to Jyoti Agarwal’s home (gourmetdesire.com) in South Delhi where we lunched on minced chicken seesh-kebabs and several veggie dishes – all simply cooked but intensely flavourful! We were fortunate indeed because Jyoti, as well as being a completely charming mother of two grown sons, is a chocolatier and self-employed culinary instructor!

Jyoti’s home is very much like ours. The rooms are a bit smaller but everything felt familiar. (I confess I had been expecting something more exotic.) She still has one son living at home who is at the University of Delhi studying business, while the other has just finished an MBA at Berkeley with a specialty in animation. He is moving to Los Angeles, hoping to find a job there. Jyoti employs one live-in and two part-time live-out helpers who take up the slack and leave her time to run her business. She was happy to answer all our questions which – given her occupation – centred around food much more than Indian customs.

Following lunch we had some time on our own, so four of us headed out to Qutub Minar (qutubminar.org), a UNESCO world heritage site that is the home of a very tall minaret built in 1192. The complex was full of visitors, and while the architecture of Qutub Minar was impressive, what I found most intriguing was that the Indian visitors to the site were so interested in my three tour-mates and myself. We repeatedly found them strategically placing small children near us so they could pretend to take a child’s picture while they were really taking ours! It became quite hilarious because we were trying surreptitiously to take pictures of them too. One father was so obvious that we asked if he would like us to pose with his children. He happily agreed.

In the van on the very long drive back to the hotel, I saw many more cows on the loose, and this time have proof!  Also on the loose are thousands of tuk-tuks, small green and yellow three-wheeled taxis that contribute to traffic congestion in Delhi.

As we swarmed and squeezed our way back to the hotel, I noticed families traveling by motorcycle – noprotective clothing, no helmuts, no seatbelts! We were stopped in traffic when the family in the photo pulled up beside us. The father saw me and smiled, and indicated that he was happy to have me take a photo of his family. A slightly startling but rewarding end to a long day.Tomorrow Agra and the Taj Mahal!