Penn Global Seminars Treasured Pasts and Landscapes

PGS - The City of Delhi: New, Old, and Unmapped 
Travel to India

Through the overwhelming hustle and bustle, I felt the incessant horns take over with their blasting volume, overshadowing the sound of the bus engine running. My troubles were dwarfed by the troubles of millions in this city, trying to sort their way through the organized chaos of the traffic. Meanwhile, I saw the metro running through neighborhoods as a modern spectacle. I saw the domes of the city’s ancient monuments reigning over the skyline. I saw the city’s places of worship encompassing a plethora of religions, each lending something unique to its life. It was all happening here, in Delhi, a city I visited with my writing seminar class last semester. There is certainly quite a lot that I have taken from that class, aside from the writing skills. I have spent extraordinary moments in Delhi, moments which have imprinted the city’s physical landscape into my memory.

From the Qutub Minar erect in the sky to Humayun’s Tomb offering a close image of the Taj Mahal, Delhi’s monuments are etched in my mind. The architectural landscape of the city speaks volumes of its past. One moment, you are passing through the wide British-styled avenues near the India Gate and the next, you are in a lush green Mughal garden, with an iconic domed building in the backdrop. Through the landscape, I began to realize the multiplicity of cultures that had inhabited it, influenced its people, and produced the modern metropolis I walked through. For instance, the importation of Persian and Arabic could not only be seen in the markings on the walls of some of the monuments I visited but also through the architecture itself. The remnants of the city’s past have remained, from its early Hindu civilizations to the British colonial period. Throughout my trip, I recognized the varied histories that had formed the city as a melting pot of cultures and religions, all of which coexisted in the modern Indian capital. From the Bahai Lotus Temple to the Jama Masjid to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, I saw people with very unique religious identities living in the same city, contributing to its energy. There is just something riveting about that energy that just asks you to go back and experience it all over again. I hope to do so soon enough.

Read more about Bilaal's experience and his research on the monuments of New Delhi on his Penn Abroad Ambassador profile.