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The Golden Triangle and Rajasthan
Nilu Jenks
June 24, 2008 |
 |
Traveling through India
Hello, all! I am back, safe and sound and finally over jet lag! Actually, I've been waking up around 6-7 a.m., which is definitely early for me, but I have grown to like it and think I might keep to this schedule; I feel like I get so much more done and am living my day to the fullest. (Sounds corny, I know.)
India was wonderful, although I definitely experienced some culture shock for pretty much the first time of my life. The food was so different, the people filled with such vibrancy and an incredible sense of urgency, the smells potent both good and bad, and the pollution was terrible. Delhi and Rajasthan ("Land of Kings") were pretty dry and dusty (monsoon season was over), but bright colors were all around!
There was so much to learn, especially as every nook and cranny is filled with ancient temples, forts, mausoleums, etc. I have never traveled to a place with such an ancient living civilization, and I could feel the centuries. The ancient mixed with the modern was so strange... the streets were crammed with people and cars and in the background or right next to you were historic structures. The mix of religions was incredible and truly something to admire Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, etc. I think we all could learn something from how they blended.
For the first time in my life I heard a Muslim call to prayer, and it was beautiful! I was standing at Mehrangar fort which is high above the city of Jodhpur with its Brahmin blue houses. I could hear the din of the city below me (never have I been able to use this phrase with such true justification in doing so), the sun was setting behind us with a backdrop of mountains, desert sands and a Hindu shrine, and the moon was rising in front of us. Amazing. By the way, Jodhpur still has a maharajah!!
There are not enough words to describe the Taj Mahal. I went with high expectations (I tried very hard to lower them), and surprisingly I was not disappointed. In fact, it far surpassed anything I could have imagined. The simplicity and the symmetry made it such a magical place. I really felt like it lived up to what it was meant to be -- a testament to the love of a man, Shah Jahan, for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It was the 350th anniversary year of the Taj Mahal, so it had been cleaned of pollution, so it was gleaming and beautiful. I loved it.
They have banned all vehicles within a certain distance of the Taj Mahal to protect it from the ravages of vehicular exhaust. In general, the pollution in India is horrid, particularly in larger cities. I was so disheartened to see the smog greet me as soon as I stepped off the plane; I thought that level of pollution existed only in sci-fi movies. You could not see the stars in Delhi, and there was a constant haze surrounding you. I could not take a full breath, and found it quite depressing actually. It scared me, and definitely motivated me to use public transportation as often as possible. It might be inconvenient at times, but I know that I never want to face that reality. Fortunately, there are increasing public measures to reduce pollution, and apparently such actions have decreased pollution in New Delhi by 15% in recent years. I can't imagine it worse than it already was.
The food was amazing it was soooo yummy and obviously it was better than Indian food we get in the States! Actually, I like our samosas better. Although I was in North India, I had quite a bit of South Indian food at restaurants. I really enjoyed some of the South Indian dishes uttapam and masala dosai were definitely my favorites! Indians eat rather heavy fare throughout the day. For breakfast when on the road, we sometimes stopped at a roadside stand for some delicious yogurt with parathas, which is essentially fried bread, often stuffed with potatoes or cauliflower quite satisfying!
Randomly, I just want to say that I came to realize that an Indian accent is more along the lines of just another type of English just like there is British, Australian, Irish, etc. English, there is also an Indian English. It was very odd to think about it that way. Due to the prevalence of spoken English, India has many call centers in India for computer companies, etc. Perhaps you have experienced this when calling customer service for some companies. It was so strange to see the culture that has built around this phenomenon. Our plane landed very late in India on the day we arrived (as most flights do). After landing, we went to eat at a little roadside stand at 2 a.m., and it was PACKED with people. I did not understand how there could be so many people, until I had it pointed out to me that the building next to us was a huge calling center. As they work on an American time standard, we were essentially there for their lunch time. It really was a bit surreal.
Despite the pollution, poverty, dirtiness, almost complete lack of toilet paper, etc. the most telling thing I can say about my trip was that I would love to go back. Every state is like visiting another country. I especially would like to visit South India and perhaps even Kashmir, which is quieting down these days. (National Geographic Traveler for December 2004 has a great article on India, specifically on Kashmir. It also has a great bit describing the madness called driving in Delhi.)
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