The Taj

I'll start with some pretty persuasive evidence that I actually went to the Taj...



Our first view of the Taj Mahal was actually through the gate. We awoke at 5 to see the marble change color in the sun's light. It truly was a stunning site.



Another good reason to go so early was to avoid the crowds. Though this shouldn't have been a problem during Monsoon season/intolerable summer heat.



I'm going to spare you a history lesson because no one probably reads this to learn about the history of India or the Taj Mahal. But there wasn't anything particular that made my visit to the Taj any more exciting than anyone else's (there are between 2 million and 4 million people who see it annually).

So I'll shall conduct a list of things that I found interesting while there:

-The love story of why the Taj Mahal was built is truly beautful. But I promised no history lectures so if you want to look up the story yourself you can.
-The symmetrical perfection of the building and gardens is unbeleivable. The moguls had to have been geniuses to plan some of the stuff they figured out to do.
-Our guide told us that the Shah who built the Taj as a tomb for his dead wife planned on building himself a black replica of the Taj Mahal across the Yamanah River as a symbol of the hardships of life. This isn't actually true but it makes a really nice story for him to tell tourists.
-There is a mosque built next to the tomb so that the Shah could have prayed after coming to visit his dead wife. Oddly enough, he wanted to build a second mosque just so that it would look symetrical. The problem is that mosques have to face Mecca. So there is a non-functioning mosque that actually would have functioned as a guest house.


The Arabic and Islamic-Persian-Indian combination of art and architecture is truly stunning. I truly appreciate the Moguls.

Agra

So we spent two days in Agra at the beginning of the week. Agra is a good four hour drive from Delhi going South East.

In Agra we visited the tomb of one of the Moghul kings (also known as the baby Taj Mahal), Agra Fort, Sicandra, a carpet making factory, and the Taj Mahal. Our visit was topped of by a stay at the Jaypee Palace (one of the nicest hotels in Agra).

Our first stop was Agra Fort which is a beautiful structure built by the Moghuls in the 16th century. It is built our of red sandstone and is truly quite beautiful. Look at the intricate carving. This was done out of one piece of sandstone.



View from the courtyards.





At the Agra Fort there is a beautiful courtyard that looks out over the Yamanah River. It also looks out over the river to the Taj Mahal. So we had our first view of the Taj from the Red Fort. It was far away, but looked beautiful still. Here is our first taste, and this will be your first taste before I post pictures from the Taj itself.



Our last stop was the baby Taj. Basically it made us want to see the real Taj and it also had monkeys. Tht monkeys tried to attack us. Luckily we ran. Or the running caused them to want to attack us. I'm not sure.

Monsoon Wednesday

I'm behind on writing up summaries of what I did, and I'm behind on sleep. So I choose sleep.

However, I shall share this with you. I am living in a monsoon. Yes. From June to September it is monsoon season. The most accurate comparison to something in America is hurricane season (though less desctructive). Essentially large rainstorms collect in the ocean and make their way up to the north. This means that every few hours there is torrential raining that can last for minutes or days. It's rather exciting as you never know what to expect in a day, but also rather frustrating in that it is hard to motivate oneself to see a country when it is devastated by rainstorms.

What is interesting is that people here describe the monsoon season as if it is a person. They call it a him. "He's here" is the response to the beginnings of the rain.

So today, he came back. And he came back for a while. After just a few minutes of intense rain the streets were flooded. Not just flooded, but at least a foot under water. It was overwhelming to watch, but just a part of life to those on the street.




We went to a walk to the chemist (read as pharmacy). It had been raining for well over three hours and the streets were under siege from murky brown water sloshing with each passing auto. It was fun to meander the river, especially accompanied by the stares of locals who found our confidence in the water quite humorous.



This last photo is of a guy we saw on our walk. He was showering. With his shampoo, he was using the rainstorm for just what it was. A free shower.

Chondi Chok

My first 24 hours in India were complete immersion by fire. We took bicycle rickshaws to the oldest and most hectic market in Delhi complete with the largest mosque in India during Friday prayers (read as the busiest time to be at a mosque).

The adventure began with a stop at a Jain Temple (which I have no pictures of because you are not allowed to bring electronics inside). I honestly have no clue what it was or what anything meant or how old it was because the man who gave us our tour spoke the most garbled English I have ever heard. It was beautiful, intricate, and exotic and smelled like hundred year old incense.

Next stop was the spice market which was beautiful. The colors of the spices are just stunning (I have some good pictures but this one related to a different part of a story). Also they have premade spice packets to create the curry you want now. In other words instead of having to purchase every different spice to make chicken tikka masala you can now just buy a tikka masala spice mix and it is the correct ratio of spices to make the mix. The largest problem with the spice market was the peppers. Almost all of us ended up in nasty coughing fits because the air is so spicy just to breathe.
At the end of our walk through the market we found ourselves looking down on the largest mosque in India mere minutes before Friday prayer (the most sacred prayer to Muslims during the week). In this picture you can see the Muslim men washing themselves in preparation as other men begin to line up in the mosque for prayer time. It was so comforting to hear the call to prayer. I should say though that the melody here is very very different to the Palestinian one. What can I say, I'm biased?
After the market and the mosque we drove around parts of colonial India. New Delhi, I guess is the better way to put it. We saw the prime ministers building and the picture above is the parliment building originally built by the British but still in use by the current government. It's late here so I'm going to cut this short. But I'll say this. I'm not overwhelmed by the poverty here. I've seen pretty shocking conditions before so I felt ready for that. What I wasn't ready for is the juxtaposition of wealth and desperation. Mansions (or at least what would be considered mansions here) with Lamborghini's are built on land that is right next to a highway and under the highway are ten tarp tents with malnourished children bustling in and out of them. A man with expensive shows walking with the latest blackberry will pass starving men as he heads to his armored car from a hotel. There is no division. I'm yet to figure out how I feel about this. Anyway. Monsoon starts soon.

India and New Hair

So first night in India went smoothly. We arrived at the airport at 11:10ish to hoards of people. Made it through security smoothly. Retreived our bags and walked outside only to be met by people sleeping in the airport gardens, cars that had no regard for lanes, and people who seemed to know a dance through the waiting area that we didn't know.

Our bags were thrown on the roof of a van and we were off on our first drive through Delhi. Dad, I now understand what you meant when you said people draw no connection between risky behavior in driving and a need to protect life. It seems on Indian roads that everyones motivation is to throw off the others on the road in an attempt to be the first to where you are going. I've felt like I've been in places where people struggle with road law but never quite like this before.

Anyway, night one went well. Laura and I are roommates which makes for freshman year fun all over again. The heat is much more intense than anticipated. But the heat and humidity makes for a brand new hair style. Afro hair.

Also, I may have an early victory against jetlag. I choose the completely deprive myself of sleep for 36 hours option. This made flights boring (thank goodness for the mix that James made me) but on the up side I fell asleep last night at 1:30 AM and slept until 7:30. I now feel wide awake and raring to go.