India Gate was the first of Delhi’s attractions I wanted to visit. Not just because it was well known, but because it was a tribute to soldiers who fought alongside my grandfather who served on Gallipoli in WW1.
The India Gate (formerly known as All India War Memorial) is a war memorial located near the Rajpath (officially called Kartavya path) on the eastern edge of the “ceremonial axis” of New Delhi. It stands as a memorial to 74,187 soldiers of the Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Near and the Far East, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. 13,300 servicemen’s names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, are inscribed on the gate. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gate evokes the architectural style of the ancient Roman triumphal arches such as the Arch of Constantine in Rome, and later memorial arches; it is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
Following the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1972, a structure consisting of a black marble plinth with a reversed rifle, capped by a war helmet and bounded by four eternal flames, was built beneath the archway. This structure, called Amar Jawan Jyoti (Flame of the Immortal Soldier), has since 1971 served as India’s tomb of the unknown soldier. India Gate is counted amongst the largest war memorials in India and every Republic Day, the Prime Minister visits the Gate to pay their tributes to the Amar Jawan Jyoti, following which the Republic Day parade starts. India Gate is often a location for civil society protests, and is popular with tourists.
India Gate is a very important part of Indian history and needs to be respected.
Visiting this shrine, you’ll find any number of “Goods” Salespeople selling trinkets and souvenirs. Amazingly, many will still make plenty of conversation with you even when you make it clear you’re buying nothing. Always take this as a warning sign because these styles of “Friendships” always have “Costs”.
I struck a very determined gent, clearly wanting way more than just to sell me his fridge magnets. He tried to sell me his guide services which again, I showed a definite polite refusal to purchase. No matter how many times I tried to dismiss myself from his company, more reasons to “Chat” continued to surface. Eventually, I decided upon the “Give Him Enough Rope” strategy after making it abundantly clear, I had no money to spend nor ability to carry goods in an already full backpack.
After covering where I was planning to go next, which was Parliament House, then the Gandhi Memorial, Air Force HQ and Rashtraptati Bhavan, this gent decided he wanted to show me these places. He told me he had a friend with a Tuk-Tuk who he’d call. Again, I told him I was planning to walk to these locations because they were close and I didn’t want to be paying for Tuk-Tuks. He assured me I wouldn’t need to pay so I figured, I have time, let’s see where this goes out of morbid curiosity.
He calls his friend and does some sort of deal speaking in Hindi, who meets us outside the gate, we do the short run over to Parliament house and the Airforce HQ which are very close. The Parliament House was closed to the public because it was a “Sitting Day” so we took a few pics and headed for the Gandhi memorial, also pretty much walking distance
Once we left the Gandhi memorial, the Friendship costs started to reveal themselves. Several hints at helping them out with costs, resulting in reminders I didn’t want to be paying for Tuk-Tuks. Next came the obligatory visit to the Gift shop. I was requested to spend at least 15 minutes looking at the shop’s wares, which I was happy to do given my interest in the craftsmanship in the goods being sold. After more like 30 minutes looking (and no purchasing) I returned to the gents. They next tried to get me into another shop but as I told them I’ve seen enough. Next, they had to drop in and visit their “Travel Agent” friend who after plying me with cups of tea and soft drink tried so hard to sell me over-priced accomodation in Manali, where I’d told them I intended to visit. They were trying to charge me like 8000 rupee for what I’d have paid 2-3000. They were desperate to get a deposit, even though I couldn’t give them dates I’d be there. The pushiness was incredible.
Whilst they’d never accept NO for an answer, they finally semi-accepted that I only pay cash and that my cash was in my dorm and NO, I would not let them send anyone to my dorm with me. I told them IF I decide to go ahead, I’ll return tomorrow.
On exit, I had to make it very clear the only place I wanted to go was the metro to catch a train home. They had other ideas but eventually, they got the picture when I said to them, “You’ve received enough Client Entry money from getting me into sellers, enough is enough!” It’s time to head home. From there on, all the way to the metro, they tried convincing me we’re now lifetime friends and that everything was only ever about our forever friendship, especially now they were trying to arrange me to return tomorrow to pay for the accommodation.
There’s a lot of detail left out of this story, but I’m sure you get the picture. I’d had a pretty good idea of how these guys worked but now I had the real story, first hand! I saw this a a part of the whole India experience. As much as most people would avoid this like the plague, I had no concience about wasting their time given I’d told them several times I had no money and was buying nothing and they wouldn’t allow me to move on without them.
Many of the Indian attractions, especially the free entry ones, are loaded with these type of scammers. Don’t take any of it personnally. They just see this as legitimate work and you as so full of money that you’ll never miss it.