Pahar Ganj Photo: 4ocima
New Delhi has so many different faces that two travellers would easily be able to have completely opposite experiences of the huge Indian capital. If you head for Pahar Ganj, the somewhat seedy neighbourhood behind the central train station, you will see the hectic metropolis, teeming with loudmouthed touts, squeaky cycle rickshaws, hoards of international backpackers, beggars and street children all accompanied by the incessant cacophony of honking cars and ear piercingly high pitched Bollywood evergreens.
Move on down to the safer and less dubious area around Delhi's central roundabout Connaught Place, and you will find upscale restaurants and shops that attract a constant flow of local shoppers and travellers alike.
However, after several weeks in India, we're in desperate need of a quiet and placid retreat, far away from Delhi's high paced pulse and noise, without succumbing to the anonymous rack luxury provided by many exuberant hotel chains.
Copyright: Aske Munck
We hail a rickshaw that whisks us southwards to Sunder Nagar, a small enclosed residential area, where 42 year old Amit Khanna runs a guesthouse that has been in his family since the 50ies. Mr. Khanna, who is happily married and has two twin 9 year-old daughters, is a pleasant, humorous, and polite host who speaks fluent English after several years working in New York, New Hampshire and Toronto. He inherited the guesthouse from his grandfather, and the very centrally situated place consist of five cozy rooms with an attached garden, all fairly well hidden (not signposted) behind a small plush driveway where he keeps his vintage-Vespa.
He greets us in the large and sumptuous sitting area, tastefully adorned with huge leather sofas sculptures and a couple of laptops at the guests' disposal. A small flight of stairs leads to a small but well appointed library, and in the room next door there's a large kitchen where the guests from the five rooms can enjoy a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, espresso and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Copyright: Aske Munck
The small apartment, we've chosen comes fully equipped with kitchen, work space, a nice bathroom, TV, a small balcony (and even a microwave oven and a washing machine). The bed is delightfully big, with crisp white sheets and a mattress long enough to fit even tall Europeans.
Sitting with us in the living room is an Indian-born painter from Chicago, along with a French shopkeeper from Paris, and in the garden a couple of Spanish designers are enjoying the first rays from the harsh morning sun. We discuss everything from international politics to Danny Boyle's hugely hyped adaptation of Vikas Swarup's novel 'Slumdog Millionaire' over the coffee table newspapers and the orchid arrangement, and everything feels very homey indeed.
Homestays and guesthouses are available widely throughout India, but rarely have we experienced so welcoming and utterly pleasant and relaxing an atmosphere.
Copyright: Aske Munck
Amit Khanna and his family don't live in the building themselves, although there's always somebody from the small staff around, so you don't feel that you're imposing on them.
On top of a very nice and quiet place to sleep Amit provides top notch advice on where to shop and eat, and one night he even surprises us by taking us to his own gentleman's club in Friends Colony, a quarter of an hour away. The club is situated in a large mansion like villa, where the members come to catch up on news, meet friends or rewind after a hard days work by playing a game of tennis, squash or taking a few laps in the huge outdoor swimming pool, surrounded by lavish flower arrangements. The club's restaurant whips up mouthwatering Indian dishes like sesame chicken, stuffed potatos and naan bread and mutton kebab, while men in suits sip single malt and giggle cheerfully and sari clad women are engulfed in a lively discussion. Such experiences we would never had had if we had chosen to stay in a regular hotel.
AMIT KHANNA'S GUESTHOUSE, 10 Sunder Nagar, New Delhi 110003. Reservations: Tel.: +91 (0) 112435741. email: globalvision1@vsnl.net
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