Doll Museum & Lotus Temple

What a great day in New Delhi! It started with us headed to the Doll Museum, which was Claire's vote for today. En route we spotted an elephant -- as we were traveling down a 4-lane (VERY busy) highway. Elephant was in the far left, lumbering along with a young Indian man atop, swinging his arm to and fro.

Our driver slowed down so we could take a photo, then asked if we'd like to take a safari. I thought he meant take a safari someday, not at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday on a 4 laner where lanes seem optional and accidents seem to be a narrow miss at all times.

But no. Roop meant "how about a safari now? I'll drive the car slow behind the three of you, up on top of the elephant -- it will be perfectly safe."

Well maybe so, but not exactly how I pictured my first elephant ride, thankyouverymuch. I was thinking of a decorated one out in the desert area, preferably on a trail or through the sand or grass or something, anything other than New Delhi pavement.

After convincing Roop that no, today was not the day for the elephant ride (which by the way is considerably cheaper on the roadside in New Delhi as opposed to tourist elephant riding mecca Jaipur. This we know as he asked the guy on top of the big animal how much it would cost for the 3 of us to saunter down the road, making an even bigger spectacle of ourselves than our typical American-ness affords here.)

By the way, it was fascinating to watch the elephant rider dismount; he wiggled/slid down the back of the animal and was on the ground next to the car faster than you could blink. Not sure we would have gotten up/down with the same agility, even if the elephant was seated.

After that episode we continued onto the Doll Museum, a fabulous collection of dolls in a bustling business district of New Delhi.

After watching a street altercation which involved police and navigating through dozens of motorcycles, autos, bicycles, cars and assorted other traffic, we spent all of 90 cents for admission to view hundreds of dolls from around the world.

I kept trying to discern a favorite but that wasn't possible -- loved the ones from Germany, Poland, Argentina, Japan, China, India's various states, Taiwan...and on and on.

Many of the dolls had been donated by First Ladies; these were, as expected, particularly opulent in dress. My favorites were those with handcrafted costumes, some so elaborate it looked as though they were wearing eight or more pieces of clothing, all decorated with dainty, delicate stitchery/needlework, jewels, buttons, ribbons and more. No detail forgotten.

We saw a few dollhouses, which Claire particularly liked. One set of dolls even moved, powered with a vibrating motor of some sort. India's bride dolls from various regions throughout the country were particularly interesting to me -- delightful colors/costuming.

Big dolls, small dolls, happy dolls, sad dolls -- we'll probably all dream about them tonight.

From there we went to the Lotus Temple, the Baha'i House of Worship. It was designed by Iranian architect Fariburz Sahba and completed in 1986. With 27 petals, the white marble lotus shape has obviously given the structure its nickname.

Walking up to the Temple is auspicious, with a gorgeous view of the building surrounded by 227 acres of lawns and manicured landscaping. Before entering the building each visitor is given a burlap bag for shoes, which is then checked into a downstairs space that smells like an old high school gym on a hot day. Must be a horrific job in summer, collecting the shoes, that is.

Wetraipsed barefoot into the Temple, where we were allowed in in groups, hushed as it is designed for silent prayer/meditation.

The interior seats up to 1,300 people and 15-minute services are held inside at various times throughout the day.

Here's info on the Baha'i religion per wikipedia if you're inclined to know more:

As with all other Bahá'í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as emphasized in Bahá'í texts. The Bahá'í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.[2] The Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practiced.[2]

That about wraps it up for today; I'll be tuning into election results!