We have to decide on one thing before we start reading this. No one is going to ask whose idea it was. Whatever feelings it triggers, be it surprise, shock or utter disbelief, you have to promise to keep your question in your mouth. The idea was born, debated (a bit) and implemented. Its over and done. No questions. Deal?
So, where was I?
So enroute to Calcutta during our yearly summer vacation we decided to visit Agra. (special emphasis on the "we").
To see the Taj Mahal.
The month was JULY and the plan was mine. My intentions were good.
I had seen it when I was eleven. To be honest I did not remember much of it except for the fact that it was a moonlit night and we were sitting at the back of the magnificient tomb facing the river Yamuna enjoying the cool breeze of September. This picture was so vivid in my memory that I wanted to revisit it. I thought that this time I would look at the monument with different eyes since now I have more knowledge about a mans love for his wife than I had at eleven..hi hi......
;-)
Hence you would agree that the plan was made with noble intentions . The fact that it will be viewed in summer when there would be no cool breeze was not taken into consideration by the "usually-good-planner" lady. I know , I know..but the question stays in your mouth! We made a deal at the very beginning....
So, where was I?
 |
| Wah Taj..... |
So enroute to Calcutta during our yearly summer vacation we decided to visit Agra. (special emphasis on the "we").
To see the Taj Mahal.
The month was JULY and the plan was mine. My intentions were good.
I had seen it when I was eleven. To be honest I did not remember much of it except for the fact that it was a moonlit night and we were sitting at the back of the magnificient tomb facing the river Yamuna enjoying the cool breeze of September. This picture was so vivid in my memory that I wanted to revisit it. I thought that this time I would look at the monument with different eyes since now I have more knowledge about a mans love for his wife than I had at eleven..hi hi......
;-)
Hence you would agree that the plan was made with noble intentions . The fact that it will be viewed in summer when there would be no cool breeze was not taken into consideration by the "usually-good-planner" lady. I know , I know..but the question stays in your mouth! We made a deal at the very beginning....
With the body still getting accustomed (or protesting in vain) to the temperature difference (it was 15 deg in Amsterdam and 38 in Delhi), we took a car from Delhi and got on the Delhi-Agra highway.
The journey was actually very nice. It brought back many many memories from the past. I looked outside the car window - glimpses of India complete with paddy fields on both sides, unplastered houses, heavily loaded trucks overtaking from the wrong side with "drive slow" written on their bumpers, groups of cheerful school children crossing the roads with ice lollies in hand ,delicious roadside dhabas (restaurants) to choose from, women in colourful sarees and matching glass bangles, loudspeakers blaring hindi movie songs celebrating the month of Sravan (arrival of the monsoons even though it was super dry without a drop of rainfall)....amazing..India is such a diversity rich county..loved the trip.
The heat however was a different story. We did crib about it a bit but very soon realized that there is nothing we can do about it. Hence hands up..total surrender to the power of nature. The look of surrender (Arnos face above) was very nicely caught on camera...
He waited for food at a roadside dhaba with complete oblivion to the surrounding. Just at that moment my eyes fell on a message on the wall where it said " Faltu baithna mana hai" [It is prohibited to sit idle here].
Interesting....
This historical monument was built by a king in loving memory of his queen after her death. The sheer size of the tomb built of pure white marble definitely has a "wow-factor" associated with it. By looking at it, I did not feel the romantic aura that it is supposed to generate as an emblem of love. Instead it feels a bit too large and a bit too white and a bit too cold. For me the wow-factor was more a realisation that hit when I stood infront of the gigantic structure. Reading about the minarets that are more than 40m high in a history book is so much different than standing underneath one and looking up to see them. The fact that this huge intricately carved structure was built so many years ago by real people who did not have autocad to design, google to search for stuff, emails to discuss or facebook to be "Like"-ed!!! is really amazing. The other amazing thing (now I switch on my sarcastic side) was how people could spit infront of this building or how a person (irrespective of caste, creed, culture, education, background ) can throw an empty pet bottle on the lawn infront (inspite of garbage cans marked with "throw pet bottles here" written on them).
After a few thoughts and discussions the conclusion which I can draw( again , my personal opinion) is that in India we are not TAUGHT to love our national property. Anything outside my home is just NOT MINE and hence it does not deserve the same care or attention that MY things need.
Honestly I did not enjoy my trip to the Taj at all. A big part of this I can blame on the scorching sun, But a small part of the blame also goes to the dirty environment we have created around this beautiful monument.
Enough.
I need to come back to my blog tradition now..which means some "elo-melo-kotha" [directionless banter] which needs to end with a food discussion.
I do not have a recipe this time but what I have is a mouthwatering picture of a delicious dosa which we enjoyed enroute to Agra.
[O God, give me the strength and will power to continue writing without drooling saliva all over my key board]
I will post a very very interesting menu card in my next post.........Stay tuned!!
 |
| Arno totally zapped by the heat... A warning saying "do not sit idle here" |
The heat however was a different story. We did crib about it a bit but very soon realized that there is nothing we can do about it. Hence hands up..total surrender to the power of nature. The look of surrender (Arnos face above) was very nicely caught on camera...
He waited for food at a roadside dhaba with complete oblivion to the surrounding. Just at that moment my eyes fell on a message on the wall where it said " Faltu baithna mana hai" [It is prohibited to sit idle here].
Interesting....
This historical monument was built by a king in loving memory of his queen after her death. The sheer size of the tomb built of pure white marble definitely has a "wow-factor" associated with it. By looking at it, I did not feel the romantic aura that it is supposed to generate as an emblem of love. Instead it feels a bit too large and a bit too white and a bit too cold. For me the wow-factor was more a realisation that hit when I stood infront of the gigantic structure. Reading about the minarets that are more than 40m high in a history book is so much different than standing underneath one and looking up to see them. The fact that this huge intricately carved structure was built so many years ago by real people who did not have autocad to design, google to search for stuff, emails to discuss or facebook to be "Like"-ed!!! is really amazing. The other amazing thing (now I switch on my sarcastic side) was how people could spit infront of this building or how a person (irrespective of caste, creed, culture, education, background ) can throw an empty pet bottle on the lawn infront (inspite of garbage cans marked with "throw pet bottles here" written on them).
After a few thoughts and discussions the conclusion which I can draw( again , my personal opinion) is that in India we are not TAUGHT to love our national property. Anything outside my home is just NOT MINE and hence it does not deserve the same care or attention that MY things need.
Honestly I did not enjoy my trip to the Taj at all. A big part of this I can blame on the scorching sun, But a small part of the blame also goes to the dirty environment we have created around this beautiful monument.
Enough.
I need to come back to my blog tradition now..which means some "elo-melo-kotha" [directionless banter] which needs to end with a food discussion.
I do not have a recipe this time but what I have is a mouthwatering picture of a delicious dosa which we enjoyed enroute to Agra.
[O God, give me the strength and will power to continue writing without drooling saliva all over my key board]
I will post a very very interesting menu card in my next post.........Stay tuned!!
