Armritsar, Agra, and the Taj

Armritsar is in the state of Punjab and has a population of about one million. It is also home to many Sikhs as the city is home to their holiest temple "The Golden Temple". The golden temple is a marble and gold plated gurdwara with a golden dome (gilded with 750kg of pure gold)that glitters in the middle of a holy pool of water (with nice Koi fish swimming in it) where the Sikhs bathe. The pool called Amrit Sarov or pool of nectar and gives the town its name. The dome represents an inverted lotus flower a symbol of Sikh devotees' aim to live a pure life. Four priests inside the temple keep up a continuous chant braodcasted over live speakers around the temple. Very cool. The chant is in Gurmukhi from the Sikh holy book: the Guru Granth Sahib. This is one of the very reasons the temple is the most sacred of their religion. The book is kept in the temple during the day and then brought out and placed in a special place during the night, with much processions.

Prior to entering the temple, we had to wash our feet and cover our heads with shawls. Once inside we walked around clockwise as is custom. We did not enter the main temple area because of the long line and not being Sikh or knowing their customs. However the Sikh people are a very welcoming sort. Their religion started because the founder was disillusioned with both Islam and Hinduism. It does not follow or believe in casts as all are welcome to join in ceremonies. Also, each temple has a huge area where all are allowed to share a meal (made by volunteers) regardless of race, religion, or class. Sort of a big stick it to the Hindu religion. The Brahmans are very particular about who they can eat with and who can touch their food. However, like all other areas in India we were asked to be in countess photographs with Indians or holding their children. ha ha After the beautiful golden temple, whose beauty is hard to explain, we headed over to Jallianwala Bagh which is right next door.

On April 13th 1919 British authorities open fired on 20,000 unarmed Indians having a peaceful protest regarding the Rowlatt Act (which gave British authorities the right to imprison Indians suspected of sedition). The park where the Indians were meeting is called the Jallianwala Bagh and is an open space surrounded by high walls. This meant the Indian people had no way to escape the gunfire. Open fire for 6 minutes left more that 600 dead and many many more injured. While a horrific event, it galvanized Gandhi's civil disobedience plan and Indian nationalism. It was a turning point in Indian history and the park is now a memorial. You can still see bullet holes in the walls. I found Amritsar to be quite an enjoyable part of the trip and after a tasty lunch we took a train to Agra.

We arrived in Agra on March 13th. Agra is in the state of Uttar Pradesh and by the 16th century it was a part of the Mughal empire. Prior to Delhi Agra was the state capital. It is sort of a sprawled out city with low lying building, very different in structure than Calcutta. However, it too is polluted as it used to be a center for heavy industry until tourism to the Taj became very fruitful. Since the Taj Mahal was closed, we first went to tour the Red Fort. The Red Fort is a massive red sandstone fort constructed by emperor Akbar in 1565 and is one of the finest Moghal forts in India. The emperors grandson Shah Jahan then transformed it into a palace and made some marble additions. Shah Jahan is the man who had the Taj Mahal built, and in an ironic twist of fate he was put in prison in the Fort for 8 years and could only stare at the Taj through a window. The entrance to the fort is a bridge over a moat that back in the day was filled with crocodiles. Now it is all dried up. You can see the Taj Mahal in the background and I thought the fort was very beautiful and i took many photos; it is in impeccable condition. After viewing the fort we took an autorickshaw to the Mahtab Bagh: the gardens behind the Taj Mehal. Here we watched the most beautiful sunset I have seen yet in India. The sun is just so huge and bright red and the Taj was not a bad sight too. The sandy area is filled with young children begging for money, asking for sweets, and pens. You definately feel that you are in India.

The Taj Mahal is a surreal experiecne said to be " a teardrop on the face of eternity" it was built by emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his 2nd wife Mumtaz Mahal. It took 21 years to build the Taj (from 1631 to 1653) and their were 20,000 people working on it. Specialists were brought in to make the exquisite marble screen and pietra dura (marble inlay work) made with thousands of semi precious stone. The taj is made of semi translucent white marble carved with flowers, set stonesm scrollwork and quotes from the Quran. By 1666 Shah Jahan was dead and was then buried next to his wife thus it holds them both in the basement far from sight. The gardens at the entrance form a classic Mughal charbagh line with a square quartered with water and fountains. The Taj itself stands on a raised platform,. 40 meter high marble minarets stand on the 4 corners and lean slightly outward a plan in case there was an earthquake so the taj would not be damaged.
There is a red sandstone mosque on the left side and a mirror image sandstone building on the right. In total we spent 5 hours touring the area and soaking it all in.

Surprisingly there was not much sitting around as it took a long time to travel the grounds and see everything. I must have taken a gazillion photographs. However, it was practically impossible to get a direct shot of the front line since there were so many people. If you did manage one you probably have some random person and the Taj now in your album. There really are many many people there, and you can't blame them as I can see why it is one of the 7 man made wonders of the world. Inside the tomb no photography is allowed and it was surprisingly dark. We stayed until sunset. It was a weird feeling leaving after staying all day and knowing you may never see it all again. We also saw the baby Taj prior to the Taj which was the first Indian building to use white marble, inlay work, and Pietra dura. I thought the inlay and stone work was more beautiful than the Taj although it was not on quite as large a scale. I am so lucky to have been able to enjoy the Taj and I am very thankful for this experience.