Agra and the Taj Mahal

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On Sunday morning we took the early express train from Delhi to Agra. We arrived early and were immediately bombarded by offers from rickshaw drivers. We found one and got in to bring our bags to the other train station. The driver, KK, gave us his pitch, showing us his book of messages and comments from various tourists who he had taken on tours for the day. We hired him for the day - KK was such a character, he spoke fairly good english, a stocky man with henna red hair and teeth - from chewing too much paan.

After dropping our bags in the trainstation cloakroom, we went to see the mini Taj, built by the Moghuls before the famous Taj Mahal was built. We then went to see views of the magnificent Taj Mahal from across the river. Later we got lunch in a quiet garden restaurant and chatted some more with our gregarious driver. He was hilarious, but took the nosy Indian stereotype to a whole new level! I should probably censor this conversation out, but he told us some pretty disgusting stories of some of the things the sexually repressed teenage boys from the countryside near Agra do... We'll just leave it at that...

Later we went to a marble inlay factory and learned about the craft that has been passed down for generations by this Muslim guild in Agra (the artisans were only men). The artform was brought to India from Persia by the Moghuls who built the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was built by the 17th century Moghul King Shah Jahan (King of the World) as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and a symbol of his undying love. There is a story that upon completion of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan cut off the hands of the workers so that no one would ever again be able to build such a marvelous monument. The man from the marble inlay guild said that this story was a myth, but I had heard it from quite a few sources. In any case, seeing the intricate work and the time that goes into creating this was very impressive.

Later we headed to Taj Mahal to go inside and stay until sunset. It was magnificent! It was however, quite crowded - full of tourists from everywhere. After sunset we walked back to meet KK and got a little bite before going to the station to catch our night train to Varanasi....

More updates coming very soon!!

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Photos

Far view of Taj Mahal
Local boys run toward us as we head down to the river's edge to get a good view of Taj Mahal.

Kali
Temple to the goddess Kali.

Artisan
Local artisan working on a marble inlay table.

KK
Our driver, KK, shows us the way to the 'secret' views of the Taj Mahal...

Laundry day
Locals wash laundry in the river and in large barrels, heated by burning garbage and cow pies. They later dry their clothes on the banks or sometimes on piles of garbage.

Cow pies and water buffalo
Throughout India, especially in the north, cow pies are a source of fuel and are formed into disks and dried in the sun until they can be burned. In the background, water buffalo escape the heat in the cool river water.