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The Taj Mahal
As part of my visit to Agra, I went to see the Taj Mahal, went upstairs and performed the tying of the string.India is a country I had always longed to visit.
From my infancy, I had always loved Indian films and admired the cultures of that country.
Those days, Indian films were the order of the day in Ghana and even now, many people imagine that country to be a total paradise because of the footages and background scenes they see in these films as well as the beautiful artistes and the intricate love stories woven around them in the plots of Bollywood films.
Also enchanting in these films are the lyrical songs, the rhythmic drumming and the intricate dance forms and styles of the Indian people.
Even about the Indians we see here in our own country, one is awed by their hard work and business ingenuity, which place them in a class of their own.
I saw India as a dream paradise, a country one must visit by all means.
The chance came at last when the Indian government invited two journalists from Ghana to tour that country.
We reached India by a KLM flight from Schipoll Airport, in Amsterdam at about 1am local time and were met at the airport in New
Hotel Hospitality
Eating in an Indian hotel. The hospitality of the Indian people is tremendous. Delhi by Mr. Sanjeev Prasad, a senior Foreign Affairs official who whisked us to the prestigious ITC Maurya Sheraton Hotel, located in the heart of the sprawling city. It was a chilling night just as it was in the Europe I had just left.
After breakfast the next morning, there was no time to waste since according to the programme prepared for the visit, we had to be in Agra, some 200 kilometers south of New Delhi that very morning.
There are many small villages on the way. We sometimes stopped watching the other vehicles on the on the double lane highway. It was just fascinating.
There are buses with their roofs full with people; small tuk-tuks (small three wheel vehicles) so crowded that people hang off the back and the sides; camel carts carrying enormous hay bundles; large slow trucks painted all over; motorcycles with four people; ladies in bright colored saris walking with baskets balanced on their heads; children on bicycles - all sharing the road.
The glorious past is reflected in Agra’s beautiful edifices, the Mughal and Afghan architecture, resplendent in intricate craftsmanship. Here, you can wander through streets still medieval in structure.
With Indian Friend
My Indian policeman friend One can also bargain at the many colourful shops full of local handicraft, delicate gold and silver embroidery, and inlay on marble and fine leather goods.
Agra, situated in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is one of the most important historical and ancient cities of India. It is known as the City of Eternal Romance and a historic tourist destination where the world famous Taj Mahal that represents India to the world is located.
The Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, in memory of his queen Mumtaz, built the Taj Mahal the monument of love and one of the Seven Wonders of the World which is considered to be one of the most beautiful monuments in the world, is situated. A masterpiece of symmetry and design, this monument, in white marble, took 22 years to complete.
The city, the history of which dates back to thousands of years, is 200 kilometres to the south of New Delhi.
It is mentioned in the Mahabharat, and later, in the 3rd Century B.C. It was known as Agrabana or Paradise City. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Agra was the capital city of the mighty Mughal Empire.
Accompanied by officials, our hosts wanted us to have a memorable journey…we were making the three-hour journey by road, specifically, on the double lane motorway leading out of the city to the south of India.
The day was when Indians were going to the polls and it was a national holiday. This means that the shops were closed and it was expected that the streets would not be overcrowded as it has always been.
The population of New Delhi alone is over 10 million, not counting the sacred cows that roam the streets. Our driver, who obviously knows the road very well, was very adept at the wheel because he drove without incident, considering the many obstacles he had to overcome on the way.
The many carts being drawn by cattle, horses, camel and humans as well as the rickshaws, tractors and mammy trucks, which competed with mass transport buses, motorcycles and other vehicles for space the motorway, were a sight to behold even though it was depressing to see skeletal cows eating garbage as they lumbered down the street, safe from slaughter, but living out a wretched, homeless existence.
The driver practically placed his hand on the horn for the almost 200 kilometres that we traveled. We sighed a sigh of relief when we stopped halfway, at the Maharaja Restaurant, to take tea and to stretch our legs for a while.
We entered the City of Agra around midday and were greeted by a traffic hold-up at a railway crossing which took almost thirty minutes before we could move on to the Mughal Sheraton Hotel where we booked in and took our lunch.
Right after lunch and a little rest, we headed for the Agra Fort. This 16th century massive fort is a magnificent creation of the Mughals. It is a testimony to Mughals' power. Built in red sandstone, the Agra fort encompasses, within its 2.5km enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers.
The fort complex comprises many exquisite palaces like the Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan; Diwan-i-Khas; Diwan-i-aam, and Sheesh Mahal (The Mirror Palace). There are also two beautiful mosques including Shah Jahans Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) (sadly currently out-of-bounds).
The Octagonal Tower is an exquisitely carved tower where Shah Jahan spent the last seven years of his life. The tower was considered to provide one of the best views of the Taj but today the pollution has reduced the visibility. The tower, and much of the Agra Fort, is in bad shape but blank spaces and the empty inlay works give an idea of how this building must have looked in its prime.
So many centuries ago… but the edifice is still a wonder to behold.
Then we headed on to the awesome palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri the deserted city which was the capital of the Mughal Empire between 1570 and 1585.
According to history, it was built under the personal supervision of the Emperor Akbar; he was childless and, having tried all sorts of solutions to his plight, visited a Sufi saint, Sheikh Salim Chishti, for help.
Soon a son was born and, impressed and overjoyed, he started building on the site where he had met the saint. However due to a severe shortage of water the city was abandoned after only fifteen years and the capital was relocated back to Agra.
As a result Fatehpur Sikri stands untouched and perfectly preserved; a complete medieval fortress of red sandstone, with vast central squares, exquisitely carved multi-tiered pavilions, cool terraces and formal gardens. Fatehpur Sikri is a 25 miles (40km) west of Agra, on the way to Jaipur.
Our next stop was Jaipur, the pink city founded in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II, a Kachhwaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744.
The dusty asphalt is shared by a dizzyingly competitive brew of private cars, taxis, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, camel carts, rickshaws, pedestrians, cows, chickens and trucks with brightly painted tailgates that advise “Horn Please.
Initially his capital was Amber, which lies at a distance of 11kms from Jaipur. He felt the need of shifting his capital city with the increase in population and growing scarcity of water.
Jaipur is the first planned city of India and the King took great interest while designing this city of victory. He consulted several books on architecture and architects before making the lay out of Jaipur.
The perfect blend of Rajasthani and Mughal art and architecture, the City Palace is a majestic monument. The City Palace owns enchanting balconies, arches and the entrances. The palace is spread over one-seventh of the area in Jaipur.
We reached the city exhausted from the long journey the previous day. I entered my hotel room and forgot about everything till someone woke me up to prepare for dinner.
The next day we explored the city which is also loud and busy but famous for its arts and crafts.
Once in a while we came across wedding processions, consisting of hundreds of dancing people wearing brightly colored clothes, horses, and a few carts with huge speakers on top that were blaring Indian music.
In Jaipur, one can find exquisite gold jewelry, the multi-coloured 'bandhini' fabrics, handlooms items, precious stones, blue pottery, carving on wood, stone, block print, tie & dye textiles and miniature painting, lovely handmade and embroidered clothes which includes dresses, dress materials, etc, at the colourful bazaars.
I still remember when we entered the Amber Palace on the backs of elephants. The palace is built on the side of a hill about 11km north of Jaipur and is a castle like no other.
From the parking area at the foot of the hill on which the palace is built, we rented and climbed onto the backs of decorated elephants… real royal Raj elephants… and went as far up as to the palace entrance in a Maharaja style.
Riding the elephants was our choice, and I particularly enjoyed the experience. I had only ridden a horse when as a young student at Achimota School, I joined the cadet corps and was among those trained to ride horses by military instructors at the Recce Regiment as part of our training. But this was a different experience altogether.
The rest of the day we did a sightseeing tour. We saw the mosque, markets, and the Mahatma Gandhi monument, the Bahai Lotus temple (a huge sweeping concrete affair shaped like an enormous tall lotus flower, the old British government quarter, and India Gate.
A good way to see these places, but the tour packed too much into too little time, and we spent way too much time in Delhi's choking honking traffic chaos.
On our return journey through Bombay, I felt sad leaving that country. As we boarded the little plane from New Delhi to Mumbai, I actually dropped a tear or two for leaving the country after I had just begun to love it.
The country is immeasurably rich in sights, history, cuisine and spirituality. It doesn’t come easy, but for the intrepid traveler the hassles are worth the rewards; there is splendor amidst the squalor. India has a kind of fraying beauty; former opulence gone to seed.
In the end, India breaks your heart, it tests your will, exhausts your spirit, stretches your soul, awakens your humanity and, finally, repays you for its challenges and exasperations with its indelible imprint.
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