In the first instalment of the story of my recent trip to India, I described what it was like to experience Delhi for the first time. This instalment focuses on the next couple of days during which we are driven south to Agra and Khajuraho where we visit a variety of ancient tombs and temples.
Agra is the location of two of the world’s best known heritage icons – the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal, it was our privilege to visit both of these during our brief stay in Agra.
Agra Fort
After our introduction to rural India on our coach ride from Delhi, we arrived in Agra for a delicious lunch of local cuisine that featured the most common ingredient across the whole of the country – chicken. As it was too early to check in to our hotel, our guide took us to visit Agra Fort. Built from thick strong walls of red sandstone by the mighty Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great, its construction commenced in 1565 AD and took eight years to complete.
The fort features a variety of spaces used for a wide range of different purposes, including the harem quarters, music room, mosque, audience room etc.
It was from the upper level that we caught our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal in the distance through ‘windows’ in the fort walls that extend down to the adjacent river.
Our guide took great pleasure in relating many stories of murder, imprisonment and occupation by many different cultures during its lifetime. Unfortunately, there were so many, all peppered with different unpronounceable foreign names that it was difficult to remember them.
After checking into the hotel, K and I ventured into the streets in the immediate vicinity of the hotel to soak up the atmosphere and, of course, to look at the local shops. The most challenging part of this was negotiating the traffic to cross from one side of the wide streets to the other.
Taj Mahal
One of the anticipated highlights of our trip resulted in one of the worst and best experiences.
The plan was for the tour group to force ourselves out of bed before dawn to visit the Taj Mahal to witness the sunrise. The first part of this went very smoothly, arriving at the gate in the dark. A short buggy ride took us down to the security checks where it was total mayhem – a seething mass of Indian humanity clambering to get in.
Negotiating the security screening for us blokes was bad enough with three checkpoints, but for the women in our group it was one of the scariest experiences with the local women brutal in their use of elbows to push and shove to get to their single checkpoint.
Having spent so much time at security, the sun, had it not been hidden behind an unwelcome bank of cloud, was already rising in the eastern sky. However, the sight on entering the grounds through the main gate can only be described as awe inspiring, despite the large numbers of people moving around.
The Taj Mahal is credited as being the most beautiful building in the world. Built between 1631 and 1648, it is constructed from the highest quality white marble. The building is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal (the wife of the Royal Emperor Shah Jahan) who died following the birth of their fourteenth child. Her last wish was that the emperor build a beautiful monument as a token of their deep inseparable love for each other – the result is the Taj Mahal.
We gradually made our way through the gardens along wide walkways, past the central ornamental pool towards the mosque at the western corner where we joined the line of visitors snaking its way into the structure and past the tomb.
For the next hour or so, I could only look at this magnificent structure in awe of the craftsmen who fashioned the tomb into such a smooth yet finely sculptured structure.
Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary
In the afternoon, we were taken on a safari through the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, the home of a range of mostly resident and migratory water birds. Guided by one of the sanctuary’s rangers, we spotted more that 15 species of birds including: Glossy ibis; Purple Heron; Magpie Robin; Painted Stork and White Throated Kingfisher.
I will post some photos in the next instalment.
Khajuraho
As a bit of relief from the coach, our six hour journey to Khajuraho was by express train – a very comfortable trip during which we were fed two meals. What I have not mentioned yet is that our tour coincided with the Indian Holi colour festival – due to run for about a week, it was to commence at the weekend with a public holiday on the Monday. Towards the end of the journey the train ended up as a party with two large related families travelling to Khajuraho for the weekend dancing and singing in the corridor.
On arrival we checked into our hotel where we settled in briefly before being picked up to visit the temples. These had been lost in the jungle since the 16th century until they were rediscovered in 1838. The site is believed to have had 85 temples built in the Indo-Aryan architectural style between the 9th and 11th centuries. Of these, only 25 in various states of preservation remain.
Located in the Western group, the most popular temple is not just renowned for the plethora of magnificently carved stone carvings that cover all aspects of the temple elevations but mostly for the scenes depicted. Illustrated in three-dimensional erotic sensuality are the numerous poses of the Kama Sutra, some of which look impossibly challenging. Such is the graphic detail that we were led to believe that the site presents an essential aspect of a teenager’s education.
One of the temples features three domes, each of which represent three different religions: Hindu, Buddhism and Islam. The fact that they adorn the same structure is a testament to the level of religious tolerance in India (although we later learned that all is not what it seems).
On leaving we made a brief visit to the Eastern temple group featuring only a few that are used by the Jain religious sect. Jainism is an ancient Indian religion emphasizing nonviolence, asceticism, and a belief in the interconnectedness of all living beings. It aims to achieve liberation from the cycle of reincarnation through ethical living and self-discipline. Key aspects include a commitment to minimizing harm to all living thing and monks who are perpetually naked. They use peacock feathers when in public for a purpose that should be very obvious.
Wildlife Safaris
And so ended the cultural part of the tour with a visit to Rameh Falls and a few wildlife safaris to look forward to – the topic of the next instalment.
End Note:
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If you did not receive the notification for the first instalment, you are not alone. I was unaware that Google has introduced yet another layer of complexity in their email system that meant that anyone with a gmail.com address did not receive it. I am hoping that by the time this is published this issue is resolved.