Taj Mahal

Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Last night we left the ship by bus at 5:00 PM for the airport where we would get our flight to Delhi. It was at least an hour and a half drive through rush hour traffic. We passed by a fishing village along the beach where we saw people living in shacks and selling their catch. The men catch the fish and again the women are the ones selling and cleaning the fish. Once we reached the airport we had at least another hour wait for our flight and then a three hour flight to New Delhi where 17 million people live. Once we arrived in Delhi we all hopped back onto another bus for a ride to the Ramada Hotel where we would stay for two nights. Finally got to bed exhausted at 1:00 AM. After three hours sleep we got a wakeup call about 4:15 AM the next morning just in time to have our first breakfast of the day. At 5:00 AM we left for the train station where we were to catch a 6:15 AM two hour train ride to Agra to visit the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. Once we reached the train station we couldn’t believe our eyes at the amount of people sleeping on the cement out front. Every lump was a body or two covered from head to toe with a blanket. One of the lumps had a little kid’s hand sticking out of the blanket and it broke my heart. I could just see someone’s foot stepping on it. The man behind me tried to push the hand back under the blanket but it just sprang right back out. I don’t know if all these people were going to be taking a train and wanted to be sure to be at the station in time or if they don’t have a home. At any rate that cement was hard and didn’t look very comfy for sleeping. Once we got on the train we were served tea and a cookie. It was fascinating looking out the window as the sun came up. We passed one person after the other doing their morning constitution with butts facing the train. It seemed to be a communal thing – several in a row. The biffy on the train emptied right on the tracks. No hygiene here! Even the cows were dumping right along the tracks. I’m surprised the train never had to stop for a cow.

Before long our second breakfast of the morning came. We were served Jumpin Mango punch along with bread and jam that was the consistency of gummy bears and some hot spicy vegetable sticks and plain yogurt. None of it appealed to me but it was fun to taste and see.

There were two seats facing each other on the train directly in front of us. An Indian man sitting in front of us was taking pictures of sleeping SAS girls across from him. Isn’t it amazing we want to take pictures of the Indians and they want pictures of us? We passed by one wheat field after the other and mustard fields for two solid hours. I couldn’t believe how much wheat and mustard they grow. We learned they use mustard oil for massages and eat a lot of mustard with their food. There were lots of birds in the fields including wild peacocks. We also saw women digging potatoes from the ground and other women making cow cakes (pies) by hand. No problem here finding poop to make them. Then they put them out to dry and tie in bundles of 10 to sell for about one dollar. They use these cow cakes for fuel to start their fires for cooking. Once they get their fire going they add charcoal.

Once we arrived in Agra our guide, Aman, took us by bus to the Agra Fort and then to the Taj Mahal. Once again the traffic was crazy and the bus driver actually stuck his arm out the window to push away people pedaling bicycles. There was a whole herd of water buffalo being led down the road in front of us to water. We learned that water buffalo make very good milk and also excellent butter. Again the women were busy making cow cakes for fuel so we decided that garbage in the cow must make for good fuel coming out. These cow cakes aren’t used in Delhi anymore but are very popular in the rural areas. I don’t think the Hindu people use the water buffalo for food but the Muslim people do.

Our guide was so knowledgeable and he gave us more information than I could take in. Here are just a few of the things I learned about India.

- 68 % of the people in India live in agriculture areas
- 88% of the people are literate
- 25% are married by love marriages and the other 75% are arranged
- Hindu weddings always start in the evening after dinner and last 6 to 8 hours
- A red line in the part of a woman’s hair means she is married and she puts that mark on each
morning just like we would put on lipstick (men don’t wear anything to indicate they are married)
- A red dot on the forehead of a Hindu person means that they have been to the temple or have at
least prayed that day
- Each home has its own temple or shrine and its own family god
- Shiva is the main god of Hinduism
- Each Hindu washes and prays before breakfast each day
- They believe all religions are equal and that one isn’t better than the other
- They touch the feet of elders as a sign of respect
- There is no service or day of worship – they pray every day

- If they are rich and lucky enough to buy a car they go straight to the temple to have it blessed
- A car has to have its emissions checked every 90 days and is destroyed after 15 years to help with
pollution issues – same for motorcycles
- If they buy a house they have the Brahman come to bless it

We visited the Agra Fort which was built by a Mughal emperor named Akbar. The fort was started in 1565 and was ready for use in 1571. It is a massive and beautifully carved fort made out of sandstone. It covers a triangular area of one and a half miles. It has beautiful inlayed marble work and we were able to see and take pictures of the Taj Mahal from there.

Next we went to the Taj Mahal and I was amazed at my reaction as we entered through the gate and it came into view. It almost took my breath away. I was awestruck. It is absolutely beautiful even more so than I thought it would be. It is made of white marble that has crystals in it. This marble comes from a place in India that is about 200 miles away. They started building it in 1632 and it took 22 years to complete. There are more than 35 different types of precious and semi-precious stones inlayed into the marble. Shah Jahan built the Taj in honor of his third wife who died while giving birth to their 14th child. They were married for 19 years and it was a true love relationship. It is hard to comprehend all the money that was spent here for just a memorial to someone especially with all the poverty I see but there is a steady stream of visitors going through except on Fridays when the Taj is closed for prayers for Muslims.

Once we finished seeing the Taj at sunset it was time to head back to the train station for another 2 hour ride back to Delhi. We were given a boxed dinner to eat on the train on our way. We had a good lunch at a hotel earlier in the day and a lot of us weren’t hungry so we picked through and ate what we wanted out of the box and then put as much of the leftovers in one box that we decided to give away at the train station. When I was coming down the steps of the bus there stood a little boy about 7 or 8 years old with large eyes looking at me. I handed him the box and he took off like a shot down a street. I’m sure his mother was pleased with him when he got home. Maybe the whole family had a decent meal that night. I will never forget the look on his face.

After getting up at 4:00 AM and only 3 hours sleep the night before it was a quieter train ride back to Delhi getting back to our hotel about 11:30. It was great thinking we wouldn’t have to get up until about 7:00 the next morning. Then we would be off again and I will write about the next two days later.