People like us, People like them

One of the stark realities of our country is the class- and caste-hierarchy.  Constantly, everywhere we are reminded of people like us and people like them.  We automatically sort them into people like us and people like them.  We do not like to talk about it other than in entirely academic way and then quietly go back into our homes and continue sorting ourselves into people like us and people like them.
I live in a apartment complex, within the campus. The hierarchy is well-defined. At the top are the faculty, then come the administrative staff (or clerks as a colleague refers), and then sundry other staff.  The domestic help and the security guards are at the bottom of the heap.  The children very soon learn the distinction and learn to live with that as they emulate their elders.  Harsh Mandar in his new book "Looking Away" points out that in the thick of the Devyani Khobragade- Sangeeta Richards case, it was quickly assumed that Devyani (People like us) was right and that Sangeeta Richards (People like them) deserve no hearing.  The whole issue was heard from one angle and decided from that angle only.
It bothers me because I then start asking myself what sort of society are we creating for ourselves?  A society based on inequality and deepening inequality, where children learn very young how to treat people like us and people like them does not augur well.  But, through a recent incident on the campus, I also learnt that I am in the minority.  The majority is comfortable with it, creating cocoons for themselves and their children.
Oh well!

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate chip (walnut) cookies

I like my oatmeal cookies to be soft and chewy filled with raisins and chocolate chips and walnuts- all the things I love.  As my parents are winding up the trip and preparing to return back to their place in Chennai, I decided to make oatmeal cookies for them.
Cooking with my mother in the kitchen is an art and only my sister-in-law has it perfected. I prefer to do all the cooking when my mother is not there.  So I waited till she took her afternoon nap before attempting these cookies. The recipe, of course, comes from my favorite book, Cookiemania.  The recipe calls for 2 eggs which was replaced with 1 cup applesauce.  I found chocolate chips in Nature Fresh shop in Vasant Vihar and black raisins in FoodHall in the DLF mall.
For the cookies, one needs to cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups of sugar (1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar) together.  Add 1 cup applesauce (or 2 eggs) and beat till the mixture is fluffy and creamy.
The original recipe calls for 2 cups of flour which I replaced with 1 cup maida and 1 cup atta.  Mix the flour with 1 tsp of baking soda.  One needs to add salt too but since I used salted butter, I omitted the salt. 
Add the flour mix to the butter mix slowly, mixing thoroughly after each addition.  Once all the flour is added, mix in 2 cups of oatmeal.  Then add 1 cup raisins, 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup walnuts.
Drop 1 tablespoonful of batter onto a greased cookie sheet.  Make sure there is about 2 inch space between each batter drop as these cookies tend to spread.
Bake at 190oC for 10 minutes or so till it is browned.
It is a rich cookie but oh so satisfying.

A visit to Tughlakabad fort

Delhi abounds with monuments, many of them old and crumbling.  The Tughlakabad fort is one such monument clearly visible on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road just past the Batra Hospital and Jamia Hamdard University.

It has always intrigued me but I never got a chance to visit it till today. My friends and I participate in the walk organized by Ramit Mitra.  I should  thank my friend, Sanghamitra, for pulling me into this for it is she who found out about the walk and talked me into it.
As anyone who has read William Dalyrample's book "The City of Djinns" would know that there have been 7 cities in and around Delhi as we know it today.  Ramit gave us a short history of it in the walk.  The earliest is the city of Lal Kot remnants of which can be seen around present day Saket in New Delhi.   The 2nd city of Delhi is the Siri Fort, again remnant of it can be seen in the present day Sirifort area.  This one shot into prominence during the 1982 Asiad games.  The 3rd city of Delhi is the Tughlakhabad fort, built by Gayisuddin Tughlak, father of Muhammed-bin-Tughlak. The fort was commissioned in 1321 and was completed in 1325.  It was abandoned in 1328 when Gayisuddin died and his son moved to his own fort at Adilabad, which is really a stone's throw from Tughlakabad and clearly visible from the ramparts of the fort.
Gayisuddin had been a slave and subsequently a General to the Khilji Sultans and ascended the throne when the last of the Khilji Sultan was murdered.  As a General, he had pointed out to his Sultan that this would be a suitable area to build the fort. The Sultan had laughed and said, "Oh sure! You can build it when you become the sultan."
Little did he know that this words would come true very soon.
The fort was built on one of the natural rocky formations abounding Delhi, far from the river Yamuna.  Water was a perennial problem, so a baoli (step-well)

Steps leading to the baoli

was built inside the fort.  This is one of simplest baolis.  Just a series of steps leading to the water body.  There are more elaborate baolis in Delhi.  For example, the one present in Hailey Road which we visited last month.

Agrasen ki Baoli in Haley Road.

 Coming back to Tughlakabad, Gayisuddin divided the entire fort into 15 parts and entrusted each one of his 15 generals with the task of finishing one part, with a reward for the one who could get his part finished in record time. Thus, the fort was completed in 3 to 4 years time. There was a section housing the administration (or Lutyen's Delhi, as Ramit informed us).

The ruins of the administration section of the fort

The Sultan had his own quarters within the fort and then there was the section for the general populace. His entire population was housed inside the fortress.

Entry into the Sultan's quarters

The fort was built using huge stones plastered together with the usual mix of limestone, lentils, jaggary, and bel fruit.  The sultan was far-sighted. He built his own tomb too, a fortess like structure, connected to the main fort via a causeway.

The causeway leading to the tomb

Gayisuddin had a running feud with Nizamuddin Auliya, a leading Sufi Saint of his times. In 1327 or so, Gayisuddin left Delhi for a battle in present day Bengal.  Before leaving, he told the Sufi Saint to leave Delhi or else. Victorious from his campaign, he began the return journey.  Nizamuddin Auliya was urged by his well-wishers to abandon Delhi but the Sufi Saint responded "Hanooz Delhi Door Ast (Delhi is still far-off).  His words too turned prophetic.  Gayisuddin was accorded a huge welcome in the outskirts of Delhi by his son Muhammed.  During the welcome ceremony, or in the night, he was trampled by the elephants and killed.  Muhammed became the sultan and Gayisuddin was buried in the tomb he built for himself.  The fort was abandoned.
Muhammed became known as Muhammed-bin-Tughlak, the mad king who moved the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and then back to Delhi.
The final twist: Muhammed-bin-Tughlak was a disciple of the Sufi Saint, Nizamuddin Auliya.
If you are in Delhi, do not miss the Tughlakabad fort! ASI is repairing it and doing a pretty good job.
As my father is visiting me, I did ask him about Tughlakhabad. He immediately told me that he had commissioned a Telephone exchange in Tigri, near Tughlakhabad.  He knows the entire Delhi by the Telephone exchanged. Some day I should ask him to give me a tour of Delhi via the telephone exchanges.