July 8

The day started by visiting Old Delhi’s important sites under the guidance of Dr. Navina Jafa, who has written her dissertation on gender issues and patronage of the performing arts in north India. She commenced her tour at the Mughal Red Fort in Delhi, then went to the huge Jami mosque built under the auspices of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The group walked through Old Delhi’s famous narrow gullies with its silver shops and areas that sell the apparatus needed for Indian weddings. Navina Jafa also showed us Delhi’s old mansions known as havelis, explaining the fast-fading culture of Old Delhi. This trip concluded with a visit to a famous Gurudwara, a Sikh temple. This gave everyone an opportunity to learn about another important religious community in India, the Sikhs. Nikky Singh, a Sikh herself, explained Sikh beliefs and customs, contextualizing them within the larger Islamic and Hindu traditions. In the afternoon students were given free time so they might explore Delhi on their own. Dinner was at one of the many fine restaurants in Delhi’s Defence Colony.

~Cathy