Hello from India
Trip Start
Aug 17, 2007
1
19
27
Trip End
Apr 2008
Agra,
India
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
We booked our tickets for the Jhelum Express to Agra, which left us a few hours to explore Delhi's main bazaar. Delhi is an incredible mass of people, sights, sounds and smells and by the time we had got back to the station we had seen a number of holy cows contendedly munching away at the various produce on the market's vegetable stalls, a Hindu funeral with a number of women in bright saris howling over the cloth wrapped body of the deceased, and I was given a blessing by a bearded priest toting a huge incense burner and a statue of the elephant-headed god (Ganesh?). He put a 'bindi' on my forehead using his thumb dipped in red pigment and seemed extremely happy with the 10 rupees I gave him.
The train to Agra took a little under four hours, and I spent most of this sleeping, but it was a really enjoyable experience. In our compartment was an extremely venerable elderly couple who I think were on their way to Assam or somewhere, but spoke at length about all the things there are to see in Northern India - there are many! I soon realised that Indians are very proud of there country, and one can see why. People generally seem very friendly and polite, and though being a tourist does of course attract a lot of attention from hawkers and touts, they are not in the least threatening or unpleasant.
We got to Agra by mid afternoon and lost no time in getting to the wonder that is the Taj Mahal. It truly lives up to expectations, and as I saw its graceful main dome appearing over the trees and houses and had the same feeling of wonder as I did on seeing the tops of the Pyramids looming above Cairo. The monument has been described in may ways - the ultimate testament of love (it was built by the Moghal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife 'Mumtaz Mahal'). This in turn has led it to being decribed a a testament to the grace and elegance of Indian women - very appropriate, in my view, since the sight of scores of ladies wearing beautiful saris adds to the overall elegance of the compound. Above all though, it is simply an incredible beautiful building.
Today I headed down to Agra Fort station to arrange my ticket for an overnight train this evening for Gorakhpur. From there I will bus to the Nepali border, and if I'm lucky might even get to Pokhra by tomorrow evening. However it's more likely I will get there by Friday. After that I wondered round the town a bit with Kristina, and visited a very impressive Mughal mosque. The caretaker spoke a few words of Arabic, and seeing my interest in the building, asked me, much in the same tone as the tut-tut drivers ask you if you want them to take you to your hotel, if I would like to convert to Islam. I politely declined! Given the not-so-distant history of religious turmoil in India, I have found it very cheering to see Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and no doubt others living side by side and all contriubting to the fantastic, vibrant atmosphere of this remarkable place. There may well be resentment lurking beneath all this, but on first impressions it seems a harmonious place in terms of the way people seem to treat each other with a lot of respect. I can see that one could spend a lifetime trying to understand this vast country.
I spent the rest of today wondering round the amazing 'Red Fort' of Agra. This was even more interesting than the Taj Mahal, in my view. It's absolutely massive and highly ornate. In the centre is a vast courtyard, which reminded me somewhat of the Topkapi Serai in Istanbul in it's layout. It is after all an Islamic structure, and includes a suite of rooms with beautiful coloured glasse from Aleppo inlaid into the walls. Most impressive of all is the view across the river and scrublands to the majestic Taj Mahal - the same view, as legend would have it, that Shah Jahan used to gaze at wistfully when he was imprisoned here in the final years of his life. As I was leaving, I cam across a magnificent kite, which was lying on the floor alive, but obviously paralysed. On closer inspection I saw that it was missing most of its tail. I found an official who spoke good English and told him about it, and he said that it a fairly frequent occurence - the monkeys that abound the fort sometimes catch the birds and maul them. The poor bird was clearly beyond help (and I can't imagine than many people here would be particularly worried about helping it anyway) so the offical called over a one of the guards who hopefully dispatched the poor animal quickly.
I really could write pages and pages trying to get across just what an impact India has made on me. I can't believe I've only been here two days! It feels somehow very familiar - Britain has left a huge legacy here, after all, and the various Islamic buildings remind me of Egypt, Syria and so on, though they of course have a style all of there own. That said, it's quite unlike anywhere I've ever been to before. I find the atmosphere quite uplifting, though one does not have to look far to see extreme poverty. It's a beautiful place, however. Well, now I'm off to collect my bag, which I left at the hotel, have some dinner and then go and catch my train. As ever, kindest regards to everyone reading this - I'll try and keep it updated as regularly as I can.
Comments
Sold!
My goodness Tombo - you've sold it to me! It is next on our travel list for sure! Kit xxx