The morning – and a full day in Delhi to explore. This is one of the haziest days for exact detail (and I am not claiming that any of these memoirs are chronologically accurate). 

I had a slightly more positive sense of mind, only slightly. I had not found my role within the group yet. I had not established my personality on the students and Gilly probably thought I was still a lot tougher than I was making out. 

In the early morning Paharganj was still busy, but it seemed more in slow motion. The short walk to the other part of the hotel for breakfast allowed me to take things in more. There was no problem with the people, I still think it was the pace of everything.  Children sat on the top of fruit carts, the dogs roamed, the scooters continued their manic progress up and down.

Breakfast took an age, Gilly was impatient with them. I was able to get to know some of the students better. 

Our schedule for the three weeks was to start with our two charities and then become tourists. This was our day of acclimatisation, this being Delhi meant it was not going to be a calm, relaxing day.

We were told it was a national holiday and that most of the exhibits, monuments and museums would be closed for the day. I will try and piece together some of the main events of the day, as I said – it was all hazy and my mind wasn’t straight. 

After breakfast we set out to find some bottled water to take with us. The heat, dust and general dryness would be a big factor. As we stood on a street corner the throng of people and traffic suddenly slowed then parted. After about twenty seconds a small troop of religious men, pilgrims? Priests? walked in line. The crowds seem to be respectful. I looked into the gaunt faces of these men, they wore simple robes and seemed purposeful in their stride. You do not see a lot of that in Dorset. This religious and spiritual aspect of the country was starting to impose itself upon me.  They carried a statue, covered with orange and yellow flowers, even the scooters fell silent. This helped me think of my next problem with India. 

How do you start to understand a society that is obsessed with mobile phones, has sent a space probe to Mars, builds nuclear weapons and is on the cutting edge of a lot of technological advancements of our age – with this society that is still obedient to class and religion and accepts poverty and those living with nothing? The reverence to the figure being held aloft, the shrines full of deities…