Taj Mahal
I traveled to Agra yesterday and there is not enough words to detail the grandness and beauty of the Taj Mahal. I will post some pictures..but even then it does not capture the feel of the place. So with requests, I will post three pics..the one with the back of my head so that my sister can pretend that it is her. One for my fellow yogis who won’t laugh at me when everyone else is haha! And of course the one that left me breathless: A group of school children in bright red uniforms running in between the mosque and the Taj Mahal. And the last one is the interesting thing about India: I go to take a picture of the Taj Mahal and the Indians want a picture of me...these were my new friends haha!
The beauty and the sadness of the Taj Mahal is wrapped in its story. A tribute to his wife, the emperor had many workers build the white marble structure. With devotion and love it was builton the bloodshed of many workers. After the artistry was complete the Emperor had the thumbs cut off of the men who constructed the beautiful symmetrical masterpiece so that they would never be able to copy the artistry anywhere else. It did not end there… he had most of the labourers killed so they could not replicate anything from the structure.
Once the white marble Taj was built he intended to put a black mirror image across the river. This did not happen. He started the outline and before any brick was laid he was imprisoned by his son in the fort facing the Taj Mahal. It is here he was imprisoned for the remaining eight years of his life. He had a complete view of his masterpiece and tribute of love…but also his unfulfilled dream.
His son believed he had already spent too much money and to build a black marble Taj Was too extravagant and he was taking too much money away from the people
I visited the fort and veiwed the place of imprisonment but I also saw the area where the golden chain of justice used to be. It is believed that there was a long gold chain that reached down to the common people. Any person could call for justice by shaking the chain and bringing awareness to the emperor of the justice being sought.
I also visted Akbar’s tomb with its 70 foot ceiling that allows an echo to carry out for longer than 5 seconds.
The most memorable things about the trip would be the kindness of my host Kuldeep who walked me through all of the areas while fending off many peddlars of tourist items.
The symmetry and precision of the artistry: large slabs that had perfectly symmetrical carvings.
And of course the drive to Agra: the roads in India are riddled with donkeys, camels and horses pulling carts beside large lorries filled with anything from dead cows and camels to people spilling out and hanging on precariously out the sides of rickshaws or on the back of bikes. Loads of immense size tilted and twisted to fit on too small of transportation. Donkeys next to small cars, right next to fancy jeeps, beside bicycles. It is a shock to the senses with complete and utter disbelief flowing through your veins at every moment of every moment forward in traffic. The only thought being one of wonder at how it all works. And the deafening sound of horns beeping to indicate anything from I want to pass to just simple..I am am right behind you. On the backs of trucks it says please use horn...as if anyone in India needed a reminder to use their horn haha!
I may make it home but it will be after my heart has taken a licking from mini-heart attacks and slight cases to extreme case of whiplash, and with some hearing loss all the while my driver is giggling to himself and singing little tunes completely unphased by the chaotic nature of the road.
Kit and I keep laughing that there are signs everywhere saying lane driving is safe driving and I have yet to see anyone drive in one lane..in fact even when there is no other vehicle the trucks still drive in the middle of the road (however there is rarley, if ever just 20 vehicles...)
It was a long trip there and back...the distance is not long but the traffic is intense...nonetheless well worth every twist and turn on the road.
t
I traveled to Agra yesterday and there is not enough words to detail the grandness and beauty of the Taj Mahal. I will post some pictures..but even then it does not capture the feel of the place. So with requests, I will post three pics..the one with the back of my head so that my sister can pretend that it is her. One for my fellow yogis who won’t laugh at me when everyone else is haha! And of course the one that left me breathless: A group of school children in bright red uniforms running in between the mosque and the Taj Mahal. And the last one is the interesting thing about India: I go to take a picture of the Taj Mahal and the Indians want a picture of me...these were my new friends haha!
The beauty and the sadness of the Taj Mahal is wrapped in its story. A tribute to his wife, the emperor had many workers build the white marble structure. With devotion and love it was builton the bloodshed of many workers. After the artistry was complete the Emperor had the thumbs cut off of the men who constructed the beautiful symmetrical masterpiece so that they would never be able to copy the artistry anywhere else. It did not end there… he had most of the labourers killed so they could not replicate anything from the structure.
Once the white marble Taj was built he intended to put a black mirror image across the river. This did not happen. He started the outline and before any brick was laid he was imprisoned by his son in the fort facing the Taj Mahal. It is here he was imprisoned for the remaining eight years of his life. He had a complete view of his masterpiece and tribute of love…but also his unfulfilled dream.
His son believed he had already spent too much money and to build a black marble Taj Was too extravagant and he was taking too much money away from the people
I visited the fort and veiwed the place of imprisonment but I also saw the area where the golden chain of justice used to be. It is believed that there was a long gold chain that reached down to the common people. Any person could call for justice by shaking the chain and bringing awareness to the emperor of the justice being sought.
I also visted Akbar’s tomb with its 70 foot ceiling that allows an echo to carry out for longer than 5 seconds.
The most memorable things about the trip would be the kindness of my host Kuldeep who walked me through all of the areas while fending off many peddlars of tourist items.
The symmetry and precision of the artistry: large slabs that had perfectly symmetrical carvings.
And of course the drive to Agra: the roads in India are riddled with donkeys, camels and horses pulling carts beside large lorries filled with anything from dead cows and camels to people spilling out and hanging on precariously out the sides of rickshaws or on the back of bikes. Loads of immense size tilted and twisted to fit on too small of transportation. Donkeys next to small cars, right next to fancy jeeps, beside bicycles. It is a shock to the senses with complete and utter disbelief flowing through your veins at every moment of every moment forward in traffic. The only thought being one of wonder at how it all works. And the deafening sound of horns beeping to indicate anything from I want to pass to just simple..I am am right behind you. On the backs of trucks it says please use horn...as if anyone in India needed a reminder to use their horn haha!
I may make it home but it will be after my heart has taken a licking from mini-heart attacks and slight cases to extreme case of whiplash, and with some hearing loss all the while my driver is giggling to himself and singing little tunes completely unphased by the chaotic nature of the road.
Kit and I keep laughing that there are signs everywhere saying lane driving is safe driving and I have yet to see anyone drive in one lane..in fact even when there is no other vehicle the trucks still drive in the middle of the road (however there is rarley, if ever just 20 vehicles...)
It was a long trip there and back...the distance is not long but the traffic is intense...nonetheless well worth every twist and turn on the road.
t
