My organised tour ended with a flight to Delhi, and I knew it was the time to find a dentist, to look at one of my teeth from which a big chunk had fallen off on the flight into the country three weeks earlier – thankfully I hadn’t suffered any pain, even though the hole was large. I went to a dentist in a chain that had been recommended to me by several people, and they dealt with me professionally, filling the hole. However, they told me that the reason for the damage was that the tooth was next to an unfilled gap I’ve had for many years (decades?) – apparently the bone slowly recedes, which causes the neighbouring teeth to slowly move. They told me that if I didn’t fill the gap, I would get more problems with these teeth, probably eventually losing them. Apparently I needed a crown.
I’ve never had a crown before so do not know whether this is the standard procedure, but I went back the next day for them to drill a hole in the gum and then screw in a titanium screw. Thankfully the procedure was not too painful, but I shall have to go back to a dentist when the bone has had at least six months in which to settle around the screw for them to attach the visible part of the crown.
That took up time when I’d intended to get my broken camera repaired or replaced, but didn’t totally stop my sightseeing as I had an Indian room-mate who was keen to show me some of the evening sights of the city, such as the very attractive Lohdi Gardens (which include the tomb of Muhamad Shah, above) and the India Gate, which I had seen before – many years ago – but not with its night-time illuminations. We also, at my request, went to see the Hizrat Nihamuddin sufis.
From Delhi I took a bus to Chandigarh, which had been recommended to me by an Indian traveller, although unfortunately after I had booked up non-cancellable buses and accommodation for my Amritsar trip, as it turns out that Chandigarh was on the road to Amritsar!! Never mind … buses are not expensive in India. So I travelled there on the Friday, with my onward flight to Mumbai (for my international flight out) on the Monday. Chandigarh is known for its brutalist Le Corbusier architecture, and I was disappointed to find out that you can only get close to any of it (it consists of the buildings of the state capital and legislature) with a guided tour, which runs Monday to Friday. Oh well. Nothing I could do at this stage.
So on the Saturday I set out on a very long walk around the city. When I got near the Capitol Complex a guard came out and barked at me that there was no entry to individuals, that I had to go to the tourist office just down the road. I did so, getting there at around ten minutes before midday. It turned out that this was the office running the guided tours, and for some reason they were at this time also running on Saturdays – three times a day, and the next one departed at midday!! Wow, sometimes things just work out…
Having said that, whilst I'm pleased to have seen this part of the Le Corbusier UNESCO World Heritage Site, I was not impressed. I've put in a picture here of his iconic 'Open Hand' sculpture (standing for Peace and for Reconciliation, and open to Give and to Receive), but the buildings are too dull and grey to be worth sharing, surrounded by more grey concrete.
I'd been told, however, that whilst in Chandigarh I absolutely should not miss the Rock Garden. This was started secretly by a government employee, who collected discarded waste (such as broken bathroom tiles, bottles, and bangles, mostly from demolition sites) in his spare time and assembled it into sculptures, all housed on some 16 acres of protected forested land. He worked on it for nearly twenty years before it was discovered, at which stage the authorities planned to demolish it. However, a public outcry caused them to change their minds, and ultimately he was released from his work and given a salary (and other staff) to work on the garden full time, taking it up to 40 acres full of some 5,000 sculptures (of people, animals and some imagined creatures) as well as some artificial trees and waterfalls.
& yes, it was pretty impressive, making up for the disappointing architecture of Le Corbusier!
I had one more day, so headed off to find the old (17th century) Manimajra Fort which I'd seen mentioned, although some reports were saying it was now closed to visitors. I found it and the entrance gate to the site was open, so I wandered in, and around the playing children, to admire the outer walls. Then on one side I found a doorway - open! But luck was not so much on my side this time - I found myself in a room of a private dwelling, occupied seemingly by a caretake or guard (with his wife and at least one child), who told me that the fort is privately owned and not open to the public. & he was not to be persuaded to make an exception for me! Later I found out that the ownership of the property is controversial and a case is underway in the courts. I hope they resolve it soon as the fort is being overgrown by vegetation - not unattractive, but clearly damaging the structure.
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