Alphie and his family visits the Qutub Minar

September 19, 2012

Qutub Minar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The word,Qutub Minar made Alphie consider Gepetto’s need for a guide.Sometimes it helps,if one can pronounce the foreign words correctly.At least close to the real word.Gepetto was a child,it would help him immensely.The Qutub Minar is such a famous building,it would be fun to be able to say it correctly.Alphie decided to ask their waiter,if he could find a guide for them.The waiter was all smiles ,”I know the person you are looking for,she can speak English and Urdu,let me look for her,I will be back in a few minutes.” The waiter was back with the guide and let them introduce themselves.The guide came and said,”Hello,I am Ranu,I am your guide,before we go any where,I would like to know your names.Susan stepped forward and introduced herself,”I am Susan”,she said,then it was Alphie’s turn,”I am Alphie”. Gepetto was a bit nervous,he said rather meekly, “I am Gepetto.”, “I am sorry,what is your name,can you repeat it again?” “,My name is Gepetto.” He was annoyed because he had to repeat his name.Ranu thought,she will have to be friendly with the boy and started a conversation with him. “Say,she said,if you don’t mind,can I ask you something?” Gepetto was starting to feel quite comfortable talking to the guide. ” What is it Ma’m?” he replied.”Why did your parents name you,Gepetto?” He answered,”my Dad will be able to explain,he is the one who is responsible for my name”. Alphie told her,”When Gepetto was a baby ,I noticed,he was very fond of looking at the picture of Pinochio,I thought great I will name him Gepetto.” Ranu said,”Why not Pinochio?” “You see I thought the problem with that name was,if my son ever lied,his nose will get longer,I could not deal with it.”  “Oh I see,she said,it is only a story. In reality it is far from happening,think about it,if every liar’s nose got long, there will almost be too many.Sometimes I think it is a fine way for God to punish people,I mostly mean the politicians they never tell the truth.”

After getting introduced they hired a cab and went on their way to see, “The Qutub Minar”.Ranu gave the family a short story about the building.It was constructed in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din Aibak,and later completed by Iltutmish.The conical tower is an example of Indo-Islamic Afghan architecture.Impressively as you can see,it is surrounded by a lush green garden,this is a perfect place for visitors.The tourists love to visit this place.It is a masterpiece of Mughal architecture.The verses of the holy Quran are carved on the sandstone walls of the Qutub Minar.It is the pride of Delhi.They decided to walk around the lush green lawns of the building.Alphie took a lot of pictures,he made sure his family was in the pictures he took.

Gepetto was getting restless he wanted to run around on the lawn,his parents gave him the permission and told him to stay within the area.After getting his exercise,Gepetto was hungry and wanted something to eat.Susan knew when travelling with children,it is necessary to carry a food basket.They found a very beautiful spot and sat down to eat something and rest as well.Gepetto then decided he needed to learn some simple words to impress everyone.They found a perfect spot to start the learning process.

The first word was Qutub Minar.Ranu told him Qutub was the name of the person responsible for getting it constructed.She began to explain how to say the word.”She said Qutub has two parts or syllables,Qu and tub,the letter “Q”gives a guttural sound,it is made from the back of the throat,I don’t want to confuse you,the safest letter is to use “K” instead ,so try ku(koo)the next part is,” tub”you don’t say( tub) but’ toob’,You join ku+toob= kutoob,try few times and it will be easy”.Minar” is easy it is ,”me+naar”,me+naar=minar.There bravo you got it.Repeat it a few times and you will know it by this evening.”

Then there is the common sentence,the people ask a stranger,”Aap ka naam kia hai?’ what is your name? The family realized they had spent a long time in the lawns of the Qutub Minar.It was time to go back to the hotel.They bid good-bye to the guide and headed back to the hotel.

Bye!

To be continued!

Qutub Minar (Hindi : ?????? ????? Urdu: ??? ????) is the tallest brick minaret in the world, and an important example of Indo-Islamic Architecture. The tower is in the Qutab complex in South Delhi, India. The Qutab Minar and its monuments are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Qutub Minar is 72.5 metres high (237.8 ft) and requires 399 steps to get to the top. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Qutub Minar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)