Wrapping things up in Delhi

Our third day of the trip began with a very early morning. Agra, the sight of the Taj Mahal among other things, is about a four hour drive from Delhi. We had no intentions of driving back in the dark, which renders the already pockmarked roads nearly impossible, so this was our only option. After an hour or two of uncomfortable sleep, I awoke to stare out the window at rural Indian scenery. Delhi is known for being foggy, both from natural and very unnatural sources, and the same is true outside the city. I have always loved a good car ride, and this was no different, as we found ourselves right in the middle of foggy fields and an Indian sunrise.

A few hours into the journey however, as we were approaching the border into Uttar Pradesh, a cop standing on the side of the road waved us over. He walked up to the window, and I heard him ask the driver for his papers. They walked around the side of the car, the driver carrying his file of information and clearly smirking. Carefully the cop leafed through the folder, as Usha got out of the car, folded her arms, and looked on. After minutes of deliberation, out of which all I could make out was the word pollution, the driver pulls out his wallet, hands over a few bills, and gets back in the car. Turns out we were being fined for "car pollution" because it was an older model Mercedes. But really the most important thing about about our car was the latter bit of information- he saw an expensive car and jumped at the opportunity to pad his pocket a little bit. Corruption is definitely an issue in India, a very prominent one in politics and legislation right now actually, and this just happened to be my first personal experience with it.

Finally we arrived at the Taj, as evidenced by the sudden onslaught of people, both tourists and peddlers of trinkets. We got out of the car and first looked for an official guide. You have to be careful because there are both official guides and people who just show up and charge less, but probably aren't too reliable. Once we got our guide we made out way up the hill that led to the Taj. The area surrounding the Taj Mahal is a pollution free zone, in order to preserve the building, so you can't actually drive up to it. So either you walk, take a little electric car, or take one of the camel carts which are all around the parking lot. After about fifteen minutes we got to the top, and our tour began.

This is the most grand of the four gates to the Taj.

The first thing that we saw was the main gate. The gate was absolutely appropriate for the structure it opened up to, because in and of itself it was quite impressive. It was made of red sandstone (a classic it seems, of architecture from this time) with white marble and precious stones for details. At the top there are twenty-two little domes, with gold at the top, which represent the twenty-two years it took to build the Taj Mahal. I was actually a little skeptical when the guide told us this, because it seemed almost impossible to me that something so huge and yet endlessly intricate could be finished so quickly. As I wouldn't want to publish anything factually problematic on here I checked it out, and every word of it was true. Of course, the reasoning behind this speedy construction was all around the gate, where we saw innumerable worker housing developments. Apparently the entire construction required 20,000 people (though probably not at the same time), all of whom lived on site.

Our whole group in front of the Taj!

Once we had gotten our fill of the gate, we were ready for it to serve its purpose. One of the most important aspects of the Taj Mahal is its perfect symmetry. They built a mosque on one side, so obviously they had to build a second one on the other side. So the gate was built with an archway perfectly in the centre of the Taj. As you pass through the arch, you slowly see that iconic structure getting bigger before you, fleshing out on either side until you can finally take in the entire grounds for what they are. The Taj Mahal is set behind a huge lawn, complete with fountains and gardens on the sides. Then at each corner there are the four minarets, and to each side the two mosques. Before we could go any further, that first sight begged for us to stop and soak it all in.

The details on the front entrance to the Taj.

After some picture taking (of course) we made our way up to the structure. The closer we got the more intricate the building became. The flowers, made of precious stones, and writings from the Qua'ran, began to pop out from the front of the building. By the time we reached the base of the Taj, I was completely in awe. Not only had they managed to carve such intricate designs out of stones like marble, but they had actually scaled it so that the writing at the very top, when seen from below, appeared to be the same size as the writing below. Once we had taken it in, at least as much as is possible with something so impressive, we went in.

The mosque just to the side of the Taj.

Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take any pictures inside the Taj, but even without documentation it was really fantastic. Right in the centre was the tomb, which was surrounded by a mesh wall carved from marble. All of the walls were covered in writings from the Qua'ran, from floor to ceiling, and where they ended the dome began. It is one things to see the dome from the outside, but from the inside you can really take in the scale. Though it was dark in there (only natural light from the ground level windows) it was clear that we were in something truly significant. From the centre we walked around the sides, where there were other tombs, besides that of Shah Jahan's (Mughal Emperor) wife. Finally we wandered out to the side, where we got a great view of one of the mosques, as well as the surrounding area.

One of the main buildings in the fort.

Next we drove to Agra Fort, which was actually home to most of the Mughal Emperors. The fort is mainly known however, as the site of Shah Jahan's imprisonment. At some point during the construction of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan's son captured him and took him to the fort, so that he could take control of the empire. There Shah Jahan lived out the rest of his life, in a room with only a tiny window that looked out on the Taj Mahal, a reminder of everything that had been taken from him. Indian succession is full of stories like this; family murder and imprisonment were a pretty common path to the thrown. Anyway, we walked around the fort for a while, though really at this point I was sort of in a sightseeing haze. Everything we had seen that day was so impressive, it was like my brain was completely saturated with monuments I could barely fit anymore. But none the less, I could easily see why generations of rulers would have wanted this as their home.

Once we had finished at the fort we began the long journey back to the city. We hadn't really eaten yet that day, but we had a dinner reservation to catch so we didn't exactly have time to stop for lunch. We grabbed a few snacks from a shop on the side of the road and just kept going, trying to finish up that lengthy car ride as quickly as possible. Though riddled with mild carsickness, horrible traffic, and crushing boredom, our car ride did eventually come to an end, and we found ourselves at a place called Bukhara. Bukhara was recently proclaimed the best Indian restaurant in the world (by whom I am not entirely sure) and is known for completely shunning silverware. If eating with your hands just doesn't suit you, and you should happen to ask for a fork or spoon, you will (reportedly) be lectured on the vileness of silverware, which taints the purity of their lovingly prepared food. But after a busy day without a substantial meal, we had no problem diving straight in and thoroughly enjoying our rich Bukhara meal.

The next day would be our last in Delhi, and was more or less a short and relaxed end to the trip. We woke up pretty late, started the morning slowly, and after checking out of the hotel decided to wander around a bit in the market. This time the full market, rather than just the street stalls, was open, so we got to see a lot more. We went to another scarf and shawl shop, where we got a few cheaper items than our first stop. We also stopped at a big spice and nut store, to get fresh whole spices for really cheap. By the time we were done with shopping it was time for a quick lunch. We went to a great south Indian restaurant, so my Mom and Mike could get a taste of a different variety of Indian food. Once we had finished we had about twenty minutes before we had to leave, so we headed just down the block to Nehru's house. His house has been turned into an Independence museum, so we quickly looked around before hopping back in the car.

That about finished our time in Delhi. As is generally the case, we had to stop off at a friend's house for chai before going to the airport, but soon we were off and back to Aurangabad. It was quite the trip, I can definitely see why it is one of the must-do's on a list for Indian vacationers. But upon arriving back in Aurangabad, I was definitely sure that Delhi felt more like a place to visit than anything more. While we had seen a lot of fantastic sights there, it didn't feel nearly as much like a place where you could actually live. It was almost saturated with government and history, whereas places like Aurangabad and Bombay simply feel full of life. All in all, I had a fantastic time on our trip, but I was very happy to be home.