HOURS IN DELHI:
I decided it would be a sin to go to India for a second time, and still not take Brett to see the Taj Mahal. We landed in Delhi and were picked up by my dad’s childhood friend, Uncle Chetan. He was an amazing host and had arranged for a car and driver (John) to take us to Agra and back. Before we started out on our journey to Agra, he showed us the North Block which is home to government offices. We also stopped by the India Gate which is a memorial for the soldiers of the Afghan War and World War I. And of course we drove by Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace.
During the entire five hour drive to Agra, we slept. But on the drive back while Brett slept, I had the opportunity to practice my Hindi with John. He told me stories about his family, his upbringing, and his life as a driver. We discussed politics, travels, everyday life in India vs America, and the random events that life throws at you. It was the only time in my life I had held my own in a conversation in Hindi.
The only problem I had with Delhi was the pollution. The smog was so thick that Brett and I thought it was foggy out until John said otherwise. On the way to the airport we rolled down our windows, coughed a bit, and rolled them right back up. It is a crowded city where public transport cannot keep up with the exponential population growth.
AGRA:
Before I start on Agra, I just wanted to recommend the Trident Hotel. It was absolutely perfect. The service was fantastic, the food was tasty, and the rooms were very clean.
Once we arrived in Agra, the first thing we did was check in and pass out for an entire day. The journey had left us jetlagged and in no condition to sight see. We planned to see the Taj Mahal on Friday, but it was the Muslim day of rest. Instead we went to see the Red Fort and Sikandra. Everyone recommended a visit to Fatehpur Sikri but we had no desire to be in the car for another four hours. John had found us an English speaking tour guide, Varun, who took us around for a couple of days. He was great for warding off beggars and cutting lines to buy us tickets. He was also full of information and facts about America that he ran by us. It was surprising how easy he thought our lives were. He had heard through “the grapevine” that if he came to America, he would magically become rich. Brett and I set him straight and described how hard our families, our friends, and we worked every day. Well at least before we started traveling.
I’m glad we saved the Taj Mahal for last because otherwise we may not have appreciated the other palaces as much. The first stop was the Red Fort. It is beautifully designed from red sandstone (hence the name) with a separate hall for the common people (Diwan-i-Am), for the wealthy females, and the wealthy males. The queens and princesses where catered to in style- from their own baths to personal flea markets (Zenana Mina Bazaar) to beautiful mosques (Nagina and Mina Masjid). The palace had plenty of manicured gardens along the way to enhance the atmosphere of our walk. The most striking to me was the fact that common people were given a voice. Whether the judgment was followed through with or not was a different story. But at least the people had a voice and that is more than many other empires can claim. The Red Fort is also where Shah Jahan was held prisoner by his son, Aurangzeb. Some of the best views of the Taj Mahal are from a marble balcony in one of the many Red Fort towers called Mussaman Burj. Inside the Red Fort, there is a noticeable diamond shaped multi-faceted design that repeats throughout the architecture from the era. The palace is covered in pietra dura artwork made of marble and semi-precious stone inlays.
After the Red Fort, Varun took us through manure covered streets to the rooftop of a backpacker hostel. Brett and I looked at each other wondering if this is where it would end for us. However, he delivered us an amazing view of the Taj Mahal. It was free and better than the Oberoi Villas premium suite view. Soon after, we headed over to Sikandra, the mausoleum of Akbar the Great. He was known to be a kind king who married a Hindu and a Muslim in an attempt to unite the two religions and cultures. Keeping with his morals, the designs incorporate both Hindu and Muslim architecture. The Sikandra is a comprehensive example of buildings made from both marble and red sandstone. The palace was also once covered with marble and semi-precious stone inlays. It seems robbers, visitors, and even the government wanted a piece of the pie. By sunset, Brett and I were thrilled with the sites but exhausted. We called it an early night since we wanted to visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise before driving back to Delhi for our flight.
Taj Mahal tourist note: men and women are separated into two lines, where as usual the women’s line is much longer. Tensions ran high when Varun had me cut the line so that Brett and he didn’t have to wait for me on the other side for an hour (no joke). Twenty minutes and a few arguments later, I was finally through security.
This is my second attempt at trying to write about the Taj Mahal since the first draft was just me gushing over it in fragmented thoughts and run-on sentences. It was absolutely incomprehensible thanks to the overwhelming images and emotions associated with the memory. When I write these post dated blogs, it actually gives me a chance to revisit the places and remember details that I may have dismissed otherwise.
The Taj Mahal is an icon and rightfully one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The love of a king for his queen (third wife) set the precedence for centuries of fairytales. On Sunday morning the love story of Shah Jahan and Arjumand Bann Begun (Mumtaz Mahal) came to life before our eyes. She died in southern India in 1930 and the building of the Taj Mahal began in 1932. Shah Jahan spared no expense until it was finished in 1953. The white and yellow marble was gathered from every corner of the country to complete the structure. The greater plan was to create a black Taj Mahal directly across Yamuna River to compliment Mumtaz Mahal’s white masterpiece for Shah Jahan. We were able to see the black Taj Mahal’s incomplete foundation and left to wonder what could have been. Unfortunately, due to financial issues and Aurangzeb’s greed to rule the empire, he stopped construction on the black Taj Mahal and imprisoned Shah Jahan.
Within the gates the beauty of the tomb is obvious at first glance. In the very first doorway we saw the Taj Mahal perfectly centered and it almost felt like a dream. We stopped and stared at it until people started pushing us from behind. From the first sighting, there are optical illusions hidden throughout the architecture. If you stand in the first doorway and back away from it, it follows you. However, if you walk towards it, it seems to fall farther from you. The pools of water in front of the Taj Mahal doubled our viewing pleasure as they flawlessly reflect the Taj Mahal in its entirety. There is a stage half way with a bench (where Princess Diana posed) that allows you to appear on the same level as the platform of the Taj Mahal. As we walked towards it, we were stunned by the sheer size of it. I had seen it ten years ago, but the memory was beginning to fade. It was like seeing it for the first time again. The four minarets in the corners of the platform are built at an angle so that if they were to fall, the tomb itself would be unharmed.
We reached the platform as the sun was coming out of the clouds and already the white and yellow marble floors had turned into scorching hot furnaces. Maybe this is where the idea of walking on hot coals comes from? Luckily, we rented a pair of shoe covers for five rupees and didn’t have to take our shoes off. The tomb is decorated in four sided pillars with black and white marble inlays that give it the illusion of multiple sides. As we circled the building, we saw the same diamond design on the roofs of the arches along the walls as in Sikandra. The morning views of the Yamuna River set a striking background for the Taj Mahal. The white and yellow marble is broken only by the colors of the stone inlays. Each pattern or design is made of hundreds of carefully cut stones.
Just before we entered the actual tomb, the doorway was decorated in Quranic verses. The calligraphy of the verses in black marble inlays seemed uniform to us from top to bottom. Once you enter the tomb, it is dark (and surprisingly cold) and no photographs are allowed. The tombs are underground and ensured privacy by intricately designed transparent marble screens. Varun bribed the caretaker so that he could shine a penlight on the transparent marble and semi-precious stones to show us how they glowed. We slowly tip toed the tourist circle around the tomb to see through any little hole we could find in the marble for a glimpse of the tombs. As soon as we walked back outside, the first thing we noticed was how much the color of the Taj Mahal had changed since the early morning. In the early morning, the marble had carried a hint of grey but now it was just a splendid bright yellow. After walking the gardens and watching the monkeys, we looked back for one last look and headed towards Delhi airport.
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