Delhi

1. India Delhi, a city dripping with history, has long been accused of all but ignoring its world-class archaeological legacy. It's not unusual to walk around a corner in the Indian capital and find people encamped in a minor 1,000-year-old monument. In a bid to better showcase the beautiful Purana Qila fort, Delhi unveiled a sound and light show earlier this month that uses three high-intensity projectors, laser technology and a state-of-the-art sound system to transport viewers back in time.

NEW DELHI - The Indian and Chinese premiers papered over their differences at a meeting in New Delhi on Monday, pledging to tackle a border dispute that has soured relations for decades and to work together for global stability. The meeting was heavier on style than substance, capped by nice-sounding words and a series of largely insignificant agreements on waste treatment, information sharing, sister cities and the translation of classical Chinese and Indian texts. As is often the case with China, however, the real action is in the shadows, analysts said.

DELHI, INDIA - Delhi, India, is closed today. My guide, a solemn man named C.K. Gupta, is deeply apologetic. It is, he informs me, not a holiday, but a peaceful protest. "Too high prices in the shops. " It is 2010, and I am in Delhi on vacation. It is my first time here. Receiving this piece of early-morning information, I am all set for empty sidewalks. The occasional whining ambulance. Maybe a bus. But when we leave my rented car near the Defence Colony, it is impossible to move.

NEW DELHI - Several hundred people protesting the rape and kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl descended on police headquarters Saturday, waving signs, overrunning barriers and calling for the resignation of the capital city's police commissioner. The angry demonstration, which spread to a hospital and the homes of two senior officials, was reminiscent of the outcry seen after a 23-year-old student was brutally raped and killed in December, a crime that shook the nation and led to tougher laws and the creation of special courts for rape cases.

Letting tens of thousands of cows scavenge for garbage in the polluted streets of India's capital is, to many Hindus, no way to treat a sacred animal. But finding good homes for stray cattle has proved difficult in this metropolis of about 14 million people. A new breed of urban cowboys may have just the trick. Under court order to clear wandering cattle from Delhi's streets, the municipal government has deployed truckloads of cattle catchers to patrol the streets and lasso the strays.

While keeping in mind that this is a family newspaper, let's talk about poop. When you flush your toilet here in Los Angeles, the waste is likely to end up at the Hyperion Treatment Plant in El Segundo, which every day receives enough raw sewage to fill the Rose Bowl several times over. At Hyperion, the sewage is processed via a series of pipes and giant tanks until the solid waste is sufficiently pathogen free to be trucked off as fertilizer. There isn't even any odor, for that too is captured in pipes and processed.

Multiple bomb blasts rocked this densely populated city Saturday evening, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit the Indian capital in nearly three years. The serial explosions struck packed marketplaces and public areas across Delhi, from its older, northern precincts to the newer, affluent south. At least two bombs blew up in Connaught Place, the city's most famous commercial district: a circular, colonnaded arcade of shops and restaurants erected during the British Raj. As is routinely the case in such attacks here, Indian authorities immediately cast suspicion on Muslim extremists.

Some advance by conquest, some by calculated surrender. Shuja al-Daula, nawab of Awadh province, profited by the latter when trounced by British forces in the Battle of Buxar in 1764. He made concessions to the British in trade and military defense and also paid them a hefty war reparation of 5 million rupees. But he was restored to his position and thrived as patriarch of an estimable dynasty. Shuja al-Daula relocated to nearby Faizabad from Lucknow, but his son, Asaf al-Daula, moved the court back to Lucknow.

A Taste of India by Madhur Jaffrey (Atheneum: $29.95, 255 pages, illustrated). Madhur Jaffrey manages a double-barreled career. Her moving performances in such films as "Shakespeare Wallah" and "Heat and Dust" span many years. Simultaneously, she has become an exponent of the art of Indian cookery through television and a number of books. This latest work is a regional cookbook, illustrated not just with photographs of food but with mood shots that show the jumbled traffic in Old Delhi, workers pausing for a tea break, a South Indian family on a picnic, sunset over Dal Lake in Kashmir, a glowing, misty Taj Mahal and much more.

INDIA Village walking tour Shakti Tours' "Kumaon Village Experience" transports travelers to a land of resplendent views and rich cultural heritage. You'll leave bustling Delhi behind for an intimate walking tour that laces together the villages of the Himalayan foothills and concludes each day with an authentic overnight home stay. Itinerary: Delhi to Sarai Rohilla, Kathgodam, Deora, Alai, Jwalabanj and back to Delhi Dates: Multiple departure dates between Oct. 1 and April 30 Price: Starting at $1,245, double occupancy ($1,995 for single travelers)

Female tourists are avoiding India and canceling trips there after violent rapes made headlines around the world, according to a business association based in New Delhi. The number of tourists coming to India has fallen 25% since December, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India found in its recent survey of 1,200 tour operators around the country -- a trend that frustrates government plans to ramp up the number of tourists by 12% every year. Women are even more likely to steer clear of India: The flow of female travelers has plunged 35% as women from Britain, Canada and the United States scrap tours they had already booked, local businesses told the group.

NEW DELHI - They were the boys next door. A bit rough perhaps, a bit rude, prone to wasting money on cheap booze probably brewed in a backroom tub. But who dreamed they could be capable of something like this? A few miles from South Delhi's posh "farmhouse" estates, this part of the R.K. Puram neighborhood was just another slum until mid-December, when a brutal rape awakened a nation long inured to the mistreatment of women. News crews soon traced four of the six alleged attackers to this community.

The Indian-made "Delhi Safari," being shown stateside in an English-language version, proves a painless, if only mildly inventive, animated comedy. While it's passable, eco-friendly entertainment for young children, even they will likely spot the low-budget film's creative limitations. It may also be tough for even the most global-minded viewers to square the clearly non-Bollywood voices employed here amid "Delhi's" many localized names, references and visuals. The script, written by director Nikhil Advani with Suresh Nair and Girish Dhamija, finds a mix of jungle animals - a wary mother leopard (voiced by Vanessa Williams)

NEW DELHI - India's execution Wednesday of the only surviving gunman in the 2008 attack on Mumbai that killed 166 people won't deter its ongoing effort to bring the planners to justice. Officials in New Delhi want Pakistan to hand over senior insurgents from the notorious Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which they believe planned the attack and guided the terrorists by telephone throughout the 2 1/2-day assault. Pakistan has argued that there's insufficient evidence to prosecute militants from the group, which reportedly enjoys close links with Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's main spy agency.

While in India, I joined a three-plus hour walk through an Old Delhi bazaar with the opportunity to sample foods prepared on the spot, followed by a dinner at a haveli , a five-story, 17-room private home nestled in a side alley. The host is knowledgeable and a long-time resident. The food is vegetarian but delicious, and I'm a true carnivore. Old Delhi Bazaar Walk & Haveli Visit, 1517 Gali Arya Samaj, Sita Ram Bazaar, Delhi; http://www.masterjikeehaveli.com . Half-day tours, $50. Full-day tours also available.

I enjoyed reading the adventurous eating in Delhi, India, by Peter Mandel ["Where Street Cred Helps," May 20]. I have just finished a 21/2-year contract there and wanted to add a few more words of advice. First, do not let anything scare you away from a visit to India. There will be inconveniences, poverty and dirt, but there will also be amazing colors, vibrant street life and, with luck, your own Mr. Gupta. For those who want to enjoy street food without much risk, I suggest going to Dilli Haut (a stop on the new metro)

In Shonali Bose's debut feature, "Amu," a young Indian American woman travels to Delhi to get in touch with her roots and ends up stumbling upon a terrible secret from her country's past.

"Indian food is incomparable, unsurpassable," Kapal Dev Kapoor says.

If you go THE BEST WAY TO DELHI From LAX, connecting service to Delhi is offered on KLM, Lufthansa, United, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Air, Turkish Airlines, Air China, British, Asiana, China Eastern, China Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Malaysia Airlines. Restricted round-trip airfares begin at $1,466, including fees and taxes. WHERE TO FIND STREET FOOD Fast-food stalls and stands pop up daily on many of the small streets and alleys in Delhi's Chandni Chowk neighborhood.

DELHI, INDIA - Delhi, India, is closed today. My guide, a solemn man named C.K. Gupta, is deeply apologetic. It is, he informs me, not a holiday, but a peaceful protest. "Too high prices in the shops. " It is 2010, and I am in Delhi on vacation. It is my first time here. Receiving this piece of early-morning information, I am all set for empty sidewalks. The occasional whining ambulance. Maybe a bus. But when we leave my rented car near the Defence Colony, it is impossible to move.