AGRA

AGRA

It is our last full day in India and we have come to spend it here in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. By the way, it is written Mahal, but it's pronounced Mehel. Just so you know. I guess the incorrect pronunciation is another of the many blunders the British made and left here.

We left Delhi this morning at 6:15 a.m. on the Shatabdi Express. This is India's equivalent of Japan's Shinkansen, only it's not as clean, not as fast, definitely not as tidy nor as comfortable. However, in all fairness, for India, it is indeed rather impressive. And it was on time too! Agra is a 6 hour road trip from Delhi, while on the train we took it was only two hours.

On the train platform en route to Agra. 

The main purpose of coming here was, of course, to see the Taj Mahal, the singular most well known monument in all of India, and possibly all the world. And impressive it most definitely is. Forget the story of the Mughal king and his love for his wife, which is why he built it, as an expression of his love for her. That is all well and nice. However, as an architectural wonder it is magnificent. It is perfectly balanced, perfectly symmetrical, to the extent that the Arabic script that adorns its walls appears to be the same size but in fact grows larger as it becomes more distant so as to be always legible (by those who can read it). The white marble (which is not shiny at all, by the way) is very impressive and rather overwhelming, and it lends this edifice a grandeur that is hard to beat. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen anything that actually matches up to this anywhere else. This is by far the most impressive and beautiful man-made structure I have ever seen.

Truly the most beautiful building I have ever seen

What I have seen of the city of Agra, however, is disappointing, but typical. Agra is a small city, poor, dirty and everything that one has come to expect of India, and that's not a judgmental statement. It just is an accurate description of what I see. When we arrived, we were immediately set upon by the local beggars. And no sooner had one of our group handed out ten rupees - the equivalent of 20 cents - and the swarm arrived, shoving their infants, stumps and what not else while asking for money. One guy in our group started handing out ballpoint pens, which were snatched up too.

Agra is also a city full of monkeys and lots and lots of holy cows. There were monkeys all over the place at the station and also at the Taj Mahal. Squirrels too. And in the tuk tuk I took back from the Taj Mahal to the hotel there were herds of water buffalo roaming the streets, along with the traffic. Road rules in this place are definitely recommendations only! The guy picked me up on the wrong side of the street, or in the opposite direction to the traffic, but that didn't stop him from driving full blast into the oncoming traffic, honking like a lunatic, until a gap enabled him to whizz across the street onto the correct side. What a riot!

Another feature of Indian society that came to light on this part of the tour was the huddled masses that populate the railway stations in Delhi and in Agra. I suspect this is true of other railway stations too, but I testify to those I have now seen. We arrived to Delhi Central Station while it was still dark. Thousands of people were all over the place waiting for trains, I imagine, and sleeping on the station platforms. Here too, many beggars are already at "work" coming up to us with hands outstretched. When we left Agra late at night, there too there were people sleeping all over the station platforms, and even between the tracks. While I understand the Indian worldview of caste and karma, and why by and large no one helps the poverty stricken, I find it very, very disturbing. It makes me angry. I know of Sikh temples in numerous places in India that provide daily meals for tens of thousands of people, but the usual replies I have received from the haves regarding the have-nots is that this is the way Indian society operates, and that's the way it is. Caste and Karma.

Later today we will take the two hour train ride back to Delhi. And that brings me to tomorrow, the day I look forward to with great expectation. After lunch tomorrow its check out and off to the airport for the flight to Mumbai and the connection to Tel Aviv. Ah, to be home again! I can't wait!