|
Previous | Next
India!
The sights and sounds of India
are so foreign to me that it is difficult to make them come
alive in words. Sure, the movies and travel documentaries
have shown all of us much of India, so we know somewhat how
it looks. But not really. Seeing it up close from the seat
of a taxi or tour bus, talking to the driver or guide, smelling
the air, cringing at the close calls on the road, being continually
amazed at the passing scene of humanity…Wow!
The Indian people we have met
are generally fine of feature and gentle of demeanor. The
Hindu religion - much older than Christianity or Islam - preaches
non-violence and respect for all living things. Perhaps that
is why the people are so accommodating and gentle. Similar
to my Quaker upbringing, they emphasize that God is within
each of us.
This is also the religion that
recognizes the cow as their major deity. Being a female member
of the bovine persuasion in India would not be a bad way to
go. Although you are owned by a particular family - and may
well sleep with them in the house at night - you know that
yum-yums await you when you hit the streets in the morning.
So, at the crack of dawn, after being milked by your owners,
you meander out to start your daily regimen. First, perhaps,
a little stop at a central square where vendors have sold
many caring humans little handfuls of fodder that the humans
will feed you as an offering to the god. They believe that
this makes their day go better, and it sure as heck makes
your (the cow's) day go a lot better. Later, there is always
time for grass or garbage munching beside the road, followed
by a little afternoon siesta or cud-chewing with your friends.
Anyplace is fine for the siesta, even in the road. After all,
if the cow gets hit, it is bad, bad, karma for the driver,
who will probably be jailed or forced to pay a huge fine.
As the day ends, like homing pigeons, the cows come home to
the care and comfort of their owners. As they roam freely
down the roads, mingling with cars, bicycles, camel-drawn
carts, scooters, motorcycles, rickshaws, motorized rickshaws,
the occasional elephant, and pedestrians, they don't have
a worry since they are the queens of the road. It's nice being
a god.
Now, to qualify for this life,
you must be a cow. Water buffalo? Nah, they don't count. And
the guys? The bulls? Oh, they are respected and well-cared
for, but they surely aren't worshipped like the cows! Why,
they have to work! We saw many bulls being used to plow, to
haul carts, or to provide muscle power to run water wheels
that irrigate the farm fields. Likewise, the camel and elephant
work pretty hard here too, towing and hauling all sorts of
things, including tourists like us riding up to the Amber
Fort Palace in Jaipur.
The first two nights in India,
Friday and Saturday, we stay at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur.
This was the summer palace of the Raj, rather cool since it
was built in the middle of a lake. When India won its independence
from Great Britain in 1947, the more than five hundred local
rulers, the Rajes (Raji?), stopped running the show and a
representative republic was formed. However, the Rajes were
paid lots of money for giving up their power and continued
to live wealthy, regal, lives for years to come. Eventually,
the money started running low and they were forced to sell
off much of their holdings. Like the Lake Palace, some hotels
now are what became of some of the ancient palaces. In other
cases, the palaces became public museums and monuments. While
in Udaipur we took a two-hour drive through the countryside
to spend about an hour at the largest Jain Temple. This is
the temple that is famous for having 1,444 columns, no two
of which were carved alike! I was going to say that the Jain
religion is a branch of Hinduism, but I am not sure that is
really true.
From Udaipur, it was a short
hop to Jaipur, The Pink City, the capital of this state of
India, Rajasthan. About three million people live here and
it definitely has more of a big-city feel than does Udaipur.
The Lake Palace, although very fine, was not up to the standard
of many of the great places we have stayed - Pam and I nearly
froze in our room, but the air conditioning system could not
be adjusted individually by room - but in Jaipur we stayed
at the Rajvilas, meaning "Royal Splendour." Indeed, that's
what it offers! We have a strong contender for first place
in the Best-Hotel-During-WF2001 contest! The hotel is but
four years old, the service is impeccable, food is delicious,
surroundings are gorgeous. Unfortunately, we are here for
only one night, Sunday.
Our guide in Jaipur is "G. S."
and what a nice job he does! The weather remains glorious.
One of the high points in Jaipur was getting up on Monday
morning, turning on TV, and stumbling across the ESPN live
broadcast of Sunday night's World Series Final in which the
Diamondbacks won in the last half of the ninth inning of the
seventh game. Wow! (Remember, we are 12.5 hours ahead of Phoenix
time now.)
Jaipur is the gemstone capital
of the world - specializing in emeralds, sapphires, and the
cutting and finishing of small stones of all types - and we
enjoyed seeing some of this work and shopping with such a
wide selection of treasures…and buying, too!
On Monday afternoon, November
5, we fly a short hop to Agra, with the handling service doing
their usual great job of making all go smoothly, even though
airport security is very much in evidence. Agra is a joint-use
military and civilian airfield and it is not always possible
for a civil airplane to land there, but we were able to secure
the permit through our handlers. We landed at about 4:45 p.m.
local time, were again met by Sukhvinder Singh (the same chap
who was in Ahmedabad), and were soon on our way to the Amarvilas
Hotel, a member of the Oberoi Group, the same group that ran
the Rajvilas. Pam thinks our room isn't quite as grand as
the one we had the day before, but I am not so sure; they
are pretty darn close, and both simply marvelous. Whereas
Rajvilas meant "Royal Splendor," Armarvilas means "Immortal
Splendor." There are both splendiferous! Every room here faces
the Taj Mahal and has a view of it.
On Tuesday, we arrange for a
tour of the Taj and also of Agra Fort with our guide, Sharma.
It is trite to restate what a beautiful building the Taj Mahal
is…but it truly is! We are very glad that we have had the
opportunity to walk its grounds and view the sights in person.
It required twenty-two years to build, from 1632 to 1654,
and was made as the mausoleum for the mogul emperor's favorite
wife.
The ride back to the airport
on Wednesday morning still leaves me tense, cringing often
from the expected side swipes that never come and lots of
near misses that do. I could never be comfortable traveling
on Indian roads.
I cannot do justice in describing
my experience in India. It is a land like no other. Go see
for yourself.
Previous | Next
|
