3rd March - Triveni and more

It is cloudless but rather cool when we get up this morning.  By the time that we have eaten breakfast it has warmed up. We plan to finish off our shopping today and meet up with a pal for lunch. The first metro train is absolutely rammed. Every year that we visit the system seems to get busier, but infrastructure and equipment look to be holding up well. At Central Secretariat we change but go north this time to Janpath station. This is right next to the Cottage Industries Emporium,  a huge Government shop where all sorts of things from all around India are sold. We tried to visit a few years ago when Janpath was a massive building site for the construction of the metro and fell for one of the classic Delhi tout tricks . "It has moved. I will take you for 20 rupees". The auto driver then took us miles to a Kashmiri carpet shop. To add insult to injury he then tried to charge us an exorbitant rate for a trip to the nearest metro station which turned out to be just around the corner. There has to be room for a book. 'Delhi - City of Scams'.

As we exit the metro there are no touts in sight and we spend an hour browsing with no sales pressure as these are civil servants. There are lots of things that R would like to buy but only a certain amount of luggage space to put it in. One essential purchase is an extra bag for this year's loot. We buy a few other things and watch a well honed retail system lumber into action.  You take your purchase to the nearest cash desk where a clerk makes out a hand written,  triplicate receipt.  You take two copies and the third is retained with the goods. When you have finished you take your accumulated slips of paper to the main cash desk, where the total bill is calculated and one copy of each is stamped as paid. This copy is then taken to the packing desk to be swapped for your items and the first copy receipt stapled to the packaging.  At the exit these are examined by the security person and stamped as approved for departure.  This all adds about 15 minutes to the time taken and provides employment for countless staff. Every item has a bar coded label but there is no attempt to scan these.

Our next visit is to the big khadi shop just off Connaught Place. Mahatma Gandhi was a big fan of khadi, which is basically traditional fabrics produced by traditional methods using natural fibres.  This concept has been stretched to include household goods such as soaps and air fresheners made from natural ingredients. Here retailing has moved forward a few decades.  The cashier and packer sit next to each other,  the bar codes are actually used and the till prints out the receipt. It is still deemed necessary for security to look at our bill on the way out, but there is no effort to check that it muatches the goods in our bag. On our way to our lunch appointment we pass a branch of Fabindia which is too much temptation for R. Inside they have a sale rack which is lightly plundered before we leave. 

One stop on the metro takes us to Mandi House from where it is a short walk to the Triveni Gallery which not only has art but a shady outdoor cafe. We are meeting S here for lunch and he has stressed the need to be prompt in order to get a table. There is already a short queue so D gets in that while R checks out one of the galleries. S arrives, looking in great form, and after a short wait a table is free. He explains that the food here can be a bit unusual. Presumably Bangla Masala Scotch Egg falls into this category. We go with S's recommendations and have ragi idlis, a South Indian dish that has been made here with millet, and a traditional Delhi chaat dish served with lightly battered spinach leaves. These look spectacular when they arrive on the table. The service at the Triveni is not pushy and we have lots of time to catch up and swop a few travel stories. S orders the main dishes - one with mutton, wheat and dal cooked together and topped with crispy fried onions, another dish of smokey mashed aubergines,  some stand alone dal and delicious parathas. It is a huge feast and we are persuded to try the kheer with jaggery and dried fruit (super sweet rice pudding) as well as date and ginger chocolate cake with caramel sauce.

S has a train to catch later so he heads home to get ready and we waddle round the gallery. The main hall has some interesting stuff including a collection called Cow Dung Fatasies. One of the smaller galleries has a collection of sculpted heads and pastel sketches by a man from Mumbai, who is present and takes our photo several times. The stone used for the sculptures has been found lying in the streets in Mumbai. At least one piece looks like Portland Stone. Our last job this afternoon is to go up to the Old Delhi spice market with R's list. We find a small shop with lots of local custom and none of the tourist chat that can be a bit off putting.  They have everything that we want at prices R is happy with. We celebrate by taking a cycle rickshaw back along Chandni Chowk to Haldirams for a lassi. It is busy and the presentation is not as good as  yesterday's but still very welcome. Thus fortified we ride the metro home and watch the birds in the garden. 

We had thought of going out for dinner tonight but the huge lunch will see us right through. A couple of beers, some reading and an early night are just what these old folk need.