India is the country of thousands feelings. Gigantism, millenary traditions and an "electric" every day life make a trip to India full of contrasted feelings and strong impressions. In fact, there's such a mozaic of cultures ( each one being strongly anchored in people's way of life ) in India that it would be difficult to sum up a general impression about. There are hundreds cults and different religions. Also, the number of different spoken languages in India reaches 85. There are 11 official languages. Visiting India is a real bite to the mind and faces a foreigner to many contradictive feelings. Religion and traditions really "make" India so much cults are different and varied from a place to an other. India is also the World's largest democracy and human rights conditions are more or less correct. Nevertheless, traditions sometimes slows down the evolution of the local mentalities and modernisation, especially towards women's life conditions. But what would be India without all this folklore that makes its identity ? Everything here seem symbolic and full of sense. Every minute is a new discovery at every level. To some visitors, all this is just to much and some of them even loose their mind in India, forgetting until their name. Yes, travelling through India can be dangerous so much the living aspects are different from any other country... In India, everything seems too much, there is no half middle anywhere that's why this is such a grandious country. Indian culture, if different from an area to another, is a part of the life; everything seems so full of meaning... Since independance, India managed more or less to reach the level of a great international power industrially and military speaking. Indian people are also turned over modernism and the biggest cities are often as much modern as western ones. We can't say that the population is really miserable so much social contrasts are important. In India, rich people are certainly still richer than any western bilionaire. The upper class families, by keeping their traditions, are really turned over the western World and even talk English between themselves. The middle class is developping but the lower class still represents the greatest part of the population, living in unhealthy shanty towns in the cities or extremely destitute villages in the country side. Poverty scenes are common and sometimes heart breaking. This contrast can be striking to a westerner's eye. Let's remind that the social substructures in India are ruled for millenaries by the casts system : The upper class ( ministers, rich industrials... ) are from Brahma's mouth ( Brahma is the God of Creation ). Merchants, teachers and else come from Brahma's legs. Country men and streets sellers can be considered as issued from Brahma's foot, while the last cast, the "untouchables" is from nowhere... This last one regroups all the beggars. Life is particulary hard for these people because most of them are not allowed by the public opinion to grow up into the different social classes. An untouchable begs and will beg all his life because this is considered as his destiny. Since the independance, some decrets had been done in order to improve the Untouchables status, but in India, millenary traditions are of course stronger than any law. That's a part of Indian contradictions. Indian people from any social class are strong and proud. Most of time they are rather cultivated people. The poorest social classes can't afford studies but these people don't loose any occasion to learn. It is not rare for a westerner, passing through a shanty town, to be asked to discuss in order to improve the English level of his interlocutor. Locals are most of time welcoming, althrough it can be rather stressing to travel to India because some people beneficiate of an unlimited imagination to robe off westerners. Also, substructures can make hard a simple journey. The train reservation system can turn users mad, and let's not mention the train cancellations. Also, it can be difficult to walk through the streets of the main cities without being heckled by thousands streets sellers who are certainly more insisting than anywhere else in the World. Driving on Indian road is really hazardous so much the traffic is anachic ( on the road, a driver averragely horns 150 times in 10 minutes ! ). Heat ( reaching sometimes 55 °C during the hotest season ) add a bit more difficulty... Nevertheless, India is so much grandious and travelling there is such a good life lesson that it would be a pity to sum up a trip there with these only difficulties. The intensity of Indian way of life appears more clearly in big cities. At the image of the Country, major cities are disproportioned and crowded. Delhi,the Indian Capital is as much fascinating as unbearable. Delhi is in fact a combination of eight cities established here between 1200 BC to 1930 when the British achieved to build New Delhi ( the newest part of the City ). It as been the capital of a succession of empires and powerful kingdoms. Delhi is originally Buddhist but the City passed into Muslim hands starting from the 12th century. The legacy of the past and all these successions of emperors and rulers survives in many monuments of Delhi. Nowadays, with 13 milions inhabitants, Delhi is a perfect image of India where every social class mix into a dense crowd. Delhi is mainly divided into two parts : Shahjahanabad, or Old Delhi, founded between 1638 and 1649 and where can be found many examples of Mughal architecture, and the other part, New Delhi, inaugurated in 1931 when British decided to transfer here the Capital from Calcutta. Old Delhi is a treasure of traditions and architecture. This is also the most crowded area of the city, forming a labyrinth of small streets from where it is difficult to get through. The traffic is just mad, grouping thousands rickshaws coming from every directions, mad motorbikes, hundred cows left to themselves, milions bikes carrying uncredible charges and compact waves of pedestrians. Added with the numerous and insisting street seller, a walk here can turn mad. Nevertheless, it's like the whole charm of India is concentrated here and everything makes a part of the picturesque atmosphere. Delhi is not unsafe and most of inhabitant are welcoming, althrough the population is not the same at night... Also, some treasures of architecture like Jama Masjid, one of the biggest mosquee of India and the massive Red Fort ( see the pictures to know more about ) achieve to give to Old Delhi an atmosphere of oriental fairy tale. The map of New Delhi is far more simple than Old Delhi's. Drawn into symetric circles, the wide avenues seem far more bearable and orientation is far more easy. Althrough New Delhi starts just behing Old Delhi gates, it is like another World. Here are concentrated all the business areas of the City. Connaught place is the shopping area of New Delhi where are concentrated most of travel shops. behind this area, avenues become rather empty. Architecture becomes more massive and unpersonnal but not charmless when reaching the Parliament building or India gate. Also, New Delhi offers several pleasant places when getting bored by the stuffy Old Delhi, for example numerous parcs like the wonderful Lodi Gardens. The outskirts of Delhi offer interesting sights, gift from history and sumptuous testimonies from the past, like Humayun's tomb or Qutab Minar ( see the pictures to know more about ). Outskirts also alternate destitute shanty towns and numerous business complexes and factories being built and pushing out numerous unhealthy habitations. This last point shows one more time the gap between a policy of development and human living standards.