Holy Colee!

They said it would take about 40 minutes to get to the tour pick up spot, so to have the driver come an hour early. It only took 30. If there is anything I am good at, it’s being early – even in a foreign country. My hotel really is lovely, however, the hotel where I waited for the tour bus was POSH. Fountains, lobby with a ginormous mural on the ceiling, security guards that look like soldiers, reminds me of my Manila hotel, posh. It seemed to bode well for the rest of the day. Neeraj and his wife, Geetika , met me just before 6:30. We met the tour bus and the 15 folks in our group and we were off (30 minutes late). By the time we got our breakfast stop, we were an hour behind – but it was an hour of interesting things. I saw wild monkeys and elephants on the way. We even saw a snake charmer and monkeys who climbed on sticks and did tricks for the tourists whose busses had to stop and pay the tolls. I also really enjoyed the drive once we got out of the city and into the farm lands. It was interesting to see the women and children in the fields harvesting the wheat crop. It is crazy to me that this is still something that is done by hand. There were little tractors all over and later we even saw some combines, but most of the farming is still done very much by hand. I think the part that was most amazing was how uniform the cut wheat was and the bundles. I’ve never seen a machine cut or bail with such precision.
Our first stop was at Akbar’s tomb. The guide described him as a man who lived simply and thought highly. I believe he was the 3rd Mughal emperor, and one of only 2 kings to be known as “The Great.” During his reign he founded a new religion which was based on all of the major world religions of the time. He wanted a place where he could get all of the positive learnings from each, instead of limiting himself to one. If the rest of his life was consistent with this approach, I can totally understand why he earned the title.
Our next stop was the Agra fort. The fort has been used by each governing or invading force since its creation and only 30% is open to tourist today because the other 70% is still an active military base. Also inside the fort are (were) the living quarters for the royal family. I thought it was interesting that there were actually 2 palaces, one for the summer and one for the winter. The summer palace had windows and ventilation and the winter palace did not. Also, because the women had to live behind a veil, all of the rooms and terraces and courtyards were especially spacious, so even behind a veil, they did not have to feel like they were living in a cell. The King also had the queen’s palaces designed in the architecture of her homeland so that she would be more comfortable in her new home. Things I had never really thought about before but made a lot of sense…
Our final monument stop was worth the wait. Mark Twain once said, “There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who have seen the Taj Mahal, and those who have not.” I have always wanted to, but never really dreamed I would. The experience was nothing I could have prepared for. I was giddy as we went in, but even from the gate, my first glance left me speechless and awestruck. Even now as I type this 3 days later, my throat is tight as I think about it. The spirit of this place, is overwhelming. I don’t know anything about architecture, or buildings or marble inlay – but I don’t really think that is what makes this such an awe inspiring place, even though I am told those are all some pretty impressive things. The building took 22 years to build and 20,000 pairs of hands worked on it every day. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died after giving birth to their 14th child. I found this quote from Shah Jahan that I think gives us some insight into just how he felt...

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the Creator's glory

I honestly can’t explain it, so I am going to stop trying.
On the ride home I became convinced that time stands still when you are travelling by bus in India. You keep driving, passing things, looking like you’re getting somewhere, but it is all a mirage. The trip between Delhi and Agra is like… 230 km, so 140 miles and took over 6 hours to get home. India is not nearly as interesting in the dark ;) It was worth every minute of it.