Taj mahal

Today family trip have Taj mahal. One of the wonders of the world. But I am coming for the first time unlike my family which has seen the same earlier too.

I have lots of mixed feelings. I don’t know how so many confusing thoughts can come in one single person’s mind. But still. I am excited to see the monument of love. Love which surpassed all limits I guess. A king who almost emptied all his state’s coffer for one single monument. A king who is said to have cut off hands of thousands of workers, so that they can never again build such a unique monument. How easy was for kings to make a point. In a single stroke he painted his love as unique and unparalleled but at what cost. The cost of blood and sweat. I just can’t take imagine something else when I see the marble of Taj but blood. For me its colour is red and thinking all this has made my mood cold. Anyhow for my family sake will keep a cheerful face. 

The route was good till we reached Agra city. The highway is good even if not without bumps. But good to see things improving in India even if on snail pace. City is horrible. Cleanliness is far off and traffic is horrible. Smell and garbage all over the city. Feel so ashamed to see tourist from globe coming to see Taj and taking pics of garbage. This is what India’s looks to them. Sad.

Electricity is major problem in UP. My hotel room has power back up but it has tripped almost 5 times in half an hour. Tourist please make sure you take hotel with power backup. Also, no Wi-Fi in my room only in lobby.

But still positives must be seen and we Indians do find happiness even in most trying places. Hotels are ok and one can find cheap price wise also, even when I did last minute booking. Funny thing is we are 5 from one family and staying in 3 different hotels. Can you imagine one family and three different hotels? Talk of changing middle class lifestyles among generation. 

Any tourist coming first time, I suggest take a good taxi driver from Delhi itself and don’t plan to depend on local tour operator. Try a good tour operator from Delhi only. Hotels online can be booked or preview can be checked. I did my booking online itself.

The Taj. Well, it did looked dull to me. I think pollution and global warming had effects on its marble. The beauty is fading with time. I guess like the love the king had for his queen, the time fades away all the memories and symbols of love. Looking at it made me confused. What was the point of killing so many innocents and cutting their hands meant? Did the dead queen, whose last wish was for such a monument had no heart. Sorry, but I can only recall the Sahir’s poem,  

The Taj, mayhap, to you may seem, a mark of love supreme
You may hold this beauteous vale in great esteem;
Yet, my love, meet me hence at some other place!

How odd for the poor folk to frequent royal resorts;
‘Tis strange that the amorous souls should tread the regal paths
Trodden once by mighty kings and their proud consorts.
Behind the facade of love my dear, you had better seen,
The marks of imperial might that herein lie screen’d
You who take delight in tombs of kings deceased,
Should have seen the hutments dark where you and I did wean.
Countless men in this world must have loved and gone,
Who would say their loves weren’t truthful or strong?
But in the name of their loves, no memorial is raised
For they too, like you and me, belonged to the common throng.

These structures and sepulchres, these ramparts and forts,
These relics of the mighty dead are, in fact, no more
Than the cancerous tumours on the face of earth,
Fattened on our ancestor’s very blood and bones.
They too must have loved, my love, whose hands had made,
This marble monument, nicely chiselled and shaped
But their dear ones lived and died, unhonoured, unknown,
None burnt even a taper on their lowly graves.

This bank of Jamuna, this edifice, these groves and lawns,
These carved walls and doors, arches and alcoves,
An emperor on the strength of wealth, Has played with us a cruel joke.
Meet me hence, my love, at some other place.

Must listen to in actual Urdu language to get the pain and anguish depicted in the poem from my one of the most favourite poet of all times.

The one thing I hate the most also was happening around, saw a lot of morons trying to take pics with foreigner.  Especially with white folk’s. I just don’t understand the white skin syndrome which these jerks have. Off course they were not forcing but some were insisting enough. The poor white people were obliging by clicking pics but it looked so stupid. This show the masculine idiotic mentality that these dickheads have. They think white women are easy and sex maniacs just because they prefer to wear small dress in unbearably hot Indian summer and there women who I am sure will prefer to wear the same but because of social dictate are not able to wear. Jerks.

Overall tour was fine enough; but I was somehow not very contented like I am after a long distance travel. Something didn’t clicked for me on this one. Even if second day I was alone and had time for my own exploration of Agra fort without my family; which is the way I prefer. This way I feel more peaceful minded and my thoughts are not disturbed by random comments and distractions. I like to walk among the history I was visiting with my mind wondering into the themes; Like the king must have seen in the eyes of his subjects, the life of soldier standing on walls looking at vast open jungle that must have existed then around the fort, the servants running inside the palace carrying secret messages and gossips, the Queen with all her beauty, the whole picture running in front of my eyes. I love it. 

Well, that’s for this trip and waiting for next travel to begin. I am thinking of going to Dharamshala for a few days next week itself.   

Pics of agra fort:

Bus travels

I think since childhood i preferred bus travel over train. And when I started working, air travel looks and feels best. But then when i have chance to travel by road i still love bus. These days it has become so frequent that i get tired of it. But few times some incidents keep happening and the scenes make me remain hungry for more. 

Month back I was traveling to chamba from shimla and time it takes for bus is 16 hours. I started at morning 7am and reached at night9pm. It was damn tiring but was full of exictment that i lost time many times. The steep valley on one side and huge mountains with lush green grass and long trees. Himachal has the toughest roads to travel and really burns a person out. This trip to chamba i remember not only for the beauty but sheer stupidity and bizzarness also. I was on bus and this Shepard from upper hills came inside and was carrying a fully grown goat, he actually had to go some place for few minutes when the bus stopped and he asked me to take care of the goat and made me handle its leash till then. The goat and me both keep on lookingat each other till the time he came back. I just couldn't keep off my smile for next half an hour just thinking about it. 

Then this time was going to kullu region and a young newly married lady came and seated herself next to me, she started talking about her hard life in village and poor conditions. I felt really sorry hearing it all and thought how fortunate i am. I belive no matter how much we grow and how much we earn but travel by bus will still make us live and feel real life. The people we meet and see tell us how fair and unfair life can be. I still keep feeling that bus travel keeps me grounded and makes me smile everytime no matter how much tiresome it might feel. Also, some experiences have been so romantic that i miss them. I was in second year of my graduation in chandigarh. This girl who was in university and obviously elder by couple of years, use to take same bus as mine from one stop ahead of me. Our eyes started to meet and i become her protecter in over crowded bus. She will always stand next to me with her back touching my chest and my arms will keep her secure from crowd. We never shared a word but for almost a year we travelled daily at same time. This might sound stupid but that time was super romantic to me. I still think of her sometime. Well lets see what buses hold for me in future.