Agra, Varanasi, and Rural India

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The second half of our tour in India took us to Agra (home of the Taj Mahal), Varanasi (a famous city on the Ganges River) and two small towns in rural India.

Rural India Part 1

Our first stop in rural India was the small village of Bhajdajar and we arrived about noon. We got off the bus and had about a 10 minute walk through the village to the hotel. We are staying at a Heritage Hotel. It is similar to the Amber Fort’s layout in Jaipur in that it is built around courtyards. There is one courtyard out front that is very large and two smaller courtyards. We are in the courtyard that was where the women lived. It is obviously beautiful but not as maintained as it could be. It could be a spectacularly luxurious hotel but it feels like an aging B&B.

I would like to digress for a paragraph and provide a bit of a history lesson to explain what a Heritage Hotel is. Before the arrival of the British, India was many separate small kingdoms ruled by maharajas. When the British took over India, many of the Maharajas retained their titles and positions but became subordinate to the British. Some of them remained fully independent until 1947 when Britain created the separate country of India. Around that time the remaining maharajas elected to join India. As part of the deal to get them to join the new country, they were promised an annual income for 100 years but after 25 years that income was eliminated. Suddenly these hereditary maharajas had all these palaces but no money coming in to maintain them. Many of them were converted into Heritage Hotels including the one in which we are staying.

After lunch we got a lesson in Cricket from three members of our group. We both had a good time and while I scored a few runs, John hit it out of the ballpark and had to climb onto the roof to retrieve the ball.

At 4pm we went for a walk around the village. The people were all very welcoming though some of the women covered their faces out of shyness or modesty. The children were very friendly and quite bold asking for pens and even money. Hemang was quite clear that we should not give them anything to discourage this sort of begging.

The highlight of the village tour was a large step well where the village got its water 200 years ago. Today the well is dry due to a significant drop in the water table for that area. The well is in a beautiful old building with three stories and the well itself is 50’x50’ and at least that deep. When it had water it was the social hub of the village. Now it is just a decaying ruin.

Back at the hotel after the walk we had a lesson in making masala chai. Here is the recipe:

Water – 1 ½ cups per person
Milk – ½ cup per person
Tea – loose leaf, any kind
Fresh ginger – about 1 inch
Cloves
Cardamom

Light the charcoal brazier and put the water on to boil. Fan the charcoal to get it hot while fifteen tourists stand around watching you. Once it boils, add the tea and let it steep while continuing to boil. Use a mortar and pestle to grind the ginger and add it to the tea. Again use the mortar & pestle to grind the cloves and cardamom and add that. Add the milk and return to a boil. Strain the chai into cups and serve.

The next morning, I went for a walk in the village by myself. It was about 9am so all the children were headed for school. Many of them were very excited to see me and waved and shouted from rooftops to get my attention. The adults were friendly but not as overly enthusiastic as the children.

Our first stop of the day was at another step well. This one was older and much more intricate and beautiful than the first one we saw. The village used to be a major city so rated a significant step well.

Our second stop was at Fatehpur Sikri, the now deserted former capital of the Mughals built in the 1570’s. It was only used as a capital for 12 years and then abandoned. The emperor had three wives, one Hindu, one Muslim and one Christian. Even though he was Muslim, his least favorite wife was the Muslim woman. His favorite wife was the Hindu and it showed in the level of housing provided. The Hindu wife’s house was easily 100 times bigger than the Muslim wife’s house. In case three wives were not enough, he had 250 concubines.

Agra

The next day was Christmas Day and we celebrated with a dawn visit to the Taj Mahal. We had to wait about 20 minutes in the security lines…one for guys and one for girls. They severely restrict what can be carried into the complex. No sharp objects (including keys), liquids or books were allowed. The sharp objects ban was because people had been digging out the semi-precious stones from he inlays of the building. They never explained the ban on liquids or books.

Then we went through the gate and saw the Taj Mahal. The sun was just up and the sunlight shone beautifully through the mist on the structure. The Taj Mahal was built by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife. She had already borne the emperor fourteen children when she died in childbirth, and it is the romantic origin of the Taj as much as its architectural splendor that has led to its fame worldwide.

The Taj consists of a central domed mausoleum surrounded by four minarets. These structures are made from white marble and are what people think of when they say Taj Mahal. To the left of the main structure is a mosque made from red sandstone instead of white marble but matching in decoration. To the right is a building identical to the mosque but not consecrated. The decoration on all of these buildings is inlaid stone beautifully executed with semi-precious stones. There were three motifs: flowers and vines, geometric and the Koran. Inside are the tombs of the Emperor and his wife and nothing else. We had almost two hours to explore and take photos and needed every minute. It is so beautiful that we spent many minutes just gazing at it.

In the afternoon we visited the Red Fort. It is both a palace and a fort and was built by four successive Mughal emperors, the third of which was Emperor Shah Jahan who also built the Taj Mahal. His son was the fourth Emperor and the son killed his three older brothers to make himself the heir then imprisoned his father in the palace at the Red Fort and took over as Emperor. The justification was to prevent his father from bankrupting the empire by building a matching black marble Taj Mahal. Within the group we debated whether he was a dutiful son to imprison (but not kill) his father to save the country or just another power-hungry tyrant.

The next day we took a train to Jhansi. When we arrived at the train station, there were several children begging. As an experiment, I gave one a banana and one an orange. If they were really hungry they would have eaten it right away. Instead they put it away and continued to ask me for money. I am sure there are children in India who are hungry but you can not tell from looking who is hungry and who is just lazy. Hemong tells us that 90% of the beggars do not need to beg but do it (or have their children do it) because it is an easy way to make money.

Upon arrival at Jhansi, we disembarked and took taxis to our hotel in Orcha. We ate lunch then Hemang took us on a walking tour of the town. First we walked across the bridge over the river. It is one lane wide with no railings but serves two directions of traffic and pedestrians. It was exciting to have trucks drive past with just a foot of room to spare.

Then we wandered through the markets looking at the candy sellers and the colored chalk sellers until we got to the temple to Krishna. There we saw a holy man playing a stringed instrument. We saw the Temple to Lord Rama and we learned about the story of bringing the statue of Lord Rama to Orcha. There was a queen who worshipped Lord Rama despite the fact her husband worshipped Lord Krishna. He kicked her out unless she could bring Lord Rama back. After many trials, Lord Rama agreed but said the first place he was set down was where he would stay. The queen forgot this stipulation and, upon returning, set him in the royal bedroom awaiting the completion of the temple. When it came time to move him, the statue would not move and she remembered the rule. So they converted the palace to a temple.

The next day we got a tour of the local fort and palace. As we headed into town, children ran out to join us and two small boys took my hands and started walking with me. It was fun to walk hand in hand with the kids but as we approached a vendor they started pulling me towards it saying things like chocolate. They obviously hoped I would buy them a treat but I declined and extricated myself from their grasp.

At the Fort, the local guide did a nice job of touring us around the fort complex which includes 7 palaces and 22 temples. He pointed out four of the palaces and we toured two of them. They were amazing now in their ruined condition and would have been spectacular in their glory.

In the first palace, Raja Mahal, we heard again the tale of the king and queen who worshipped two different gods (Rama and Krishna). In this version, the wife moves out to the palace in town (where she later brought the statue of Rama) and the king brings in six concubines and remodels the palace to have secret passages to each of their rooms.

The second palace took eight years to build and was a gift to the Moghul emperor. He spent one night in it then, for various reasons, never returned. It is Hindi tradition that once a gift is given it can not be taken back so the local ruler never used the palace.

Rural India Part 2

In the afternoon we had a two hour ride to a village called Alipura. It is a pleasant village and we stayed in the palace now a Heritage Hotel. It is fascinating because over half of the palace is in ruins but other parts have been renovated into hotel rooms and a restaurant. We spent a pleasant afternoon exploring the ruined castle…it was like being a kid again.

The next day we drove to Khajuraho. Khajuraho is home to India’s largest group of medieval Hindu temples, famous for their erotic sculptures depicting scenes from the Kama Sutra and is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. There originally were over 80 temples but there are only 22 that have been restored. They were built in the 11th century over an 80 year period.

In the morning we toured the Western Group. There are 12 temples in that area and with a local guide we toured two of them. He gave some good background then went around pointing out interesting scenes focusing on the erotica but also pointing out other scenes from daily life. Unfortunately I must leave further description to your imagination because much of it would be considered pornographic in the US (If you are really interested we can show you the pictures when we return).

The next day was a rest day. We went for a walk to the abandoned fort at the top of the neighboring hill. The fort was in ruins but it was still fun to poke around. Soon after leaving the hotel we were accosted by children saying “Hello pen.” It was so common, I began to wonder if pen was a Hindi word for foreigner but then one said “Hello money.” It is common practice for people from rich countries to bring pens to give to the children in developing countries such as India but as our guide told us this just encourages the children to beg to the point it is rude. I had one 10 year old boy say “Hello pen.” I replied nicely “No pen.” He pointed to my purse and insisted “Yes pen.” I glowered at him and firmly said “No Pen.” His response was in Hindi but I think I was cursed.

Varanasi

That night we took the overnight train to Varanasi. Varanasi is on the bank of the Ganges River and is the quintessential Indian holy city to which millions of Hindu travel for pilgrimage, to worship, to mourn or to die.

The afternoon we arrived we took bicycle rickshaws down to the Ganges for the evening ceremony. I had expected to be impressed by the river but it was smaller than I anticipated. Since it is the dry season, it was about 100 meters wide and 35 meters deep. During the monsoon it gets easily twice as wide and half again as deep.

The bank on this side is ghat after ghat for seven kilometers. A ghat is a place with stairs leading down to the water where people can bathe in the river. There are 85 ghats in Varanasi. We started at the biggest one which is also where they hold the evening ceremony. There we boarded a small boat and were rowed down the river to see the main crematorium. The owner of the crematorium is of the Untouchable caste but one of the richest men in Varanasi because everyone eventually comes to him. The cremations occur outside on wood fires. We saw about 10 in progress and were told 300 a day are normal. Both men and women are cremated but only the men of the family go to the crematorium with the body. Some bodies go directly into the Ganges without cremation but those are very few and are becoming fewer.

We then rowed up-river to look at the architecture and find a place on the river to watch the Evening Ceremony. The Evening Ceremony is a worship ceremony to honor Mother Ganges. There were seven priests performing ceremonies on the river bank with incense and fire. I am not sure exactly what was happening because our local guide was not very forthcoming; I suspect he did not know.

The next morning we met in the lobby at 6am and boarded a tour bus and went back to the river. Once there we had the opportunity to walk around. I watched the priests as they sat on their platforms calling out to people to try to attract customers. I also watched people go into the Ganges to bathe. I asked our local guide why people bathed in the Ganges and he was stymied so Hemang answered. They bathe there to wash away their sins then they can cleanly proceed on pilgrimage of the many temples and holy sites in the city.

Next we boarded a boat (similar to the previous night but a bit smaller) and rowed up the Ganges about a kilometer just observing people. The Ganges is not just dirty, it is filthy but the local guide told us that because the water is holy there is no bacteria in it. (I want to see water sample test results before I believe that). Despite the apparent filth, there were lots of people bathing and some even rinsing their mouths or drinking. We saw people washing clothing and sheets. They were standing in the river facing the bank. Instead of using a stone to pound the fabric they slapped the fabric on a large stone. Considering how dirty the Ganges is and the fact that they were placing “clean” clothes on the dirty rocks to dry I have a hard time understanding how anything could become clean.

In the afternoon we took a tuk-tuk to Sarnath, the site of the Buddha's first sermon. At the exact site where the Buddha preached his first sermon is a giant stupa. It was 100 feet tall and about the same in diameter. It had been built 2300 years ago then torn down in the 11th century by invading Muslims and reconstructed in the 19th century by the British. Buddha preached under a bodhi tree and nearby there was a tree that was a second generation descendent of the original tree. Under it they had statues of Buddha preaching to his disciples and translations of the text of the first sermon in about 12 different languages.

Upon returning to the hotel we hired a rickshaw to take us to the market. The driver was a man of probably 70 and we felt guilty for causing him to work so hard.

That night we joined the group at a restaurant to celebrate New Years Eve. But we then were too tired to ring in the New Year so hit our beds by 10.

We returned to Delhi the next day and our tour was over. We will spend the next 10 days exploring the state of Rajasthan.

Holy Cow

We have all heard the term “Sacred Cow” and “Holy Cow.” That comes from the perception that all cows in India are sacred. They are treated very differently than we treat cows in the US but they are not sacred. As we wander the streets, it is common to see cows grazing through the trash or sitting in a median chewing their cud. Hemang explained that all of the cows we see have an owner and the owner keeps the cow for the milk they provide. But because they live in the city, the owner does not have a field to graze the animals so they let the animals roam in order to allow them to forage in the trash on the street. A typical cow will come home every morning and every evening to be milked then return to the streets to forage and sleep.

In addition, Indians don’t eat beef. This is not because cows are sacred but rather because they don’t believe in eating beasts of burden. They don’t eat camels or horses either. He explained that the animals have worked so hard during life that they don’t eat them after death.

The end result of these two practices is many cows roaming the streets of any city or town. Traffic just drives around them as they munch their way across the city.

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Photos

The Taj on Christmas Morning
A nice gift to ourselves on this trip.

Colorful Saris
Everywhere we visit, women wear eye-catching colorful clothes.

Step Well near Abhaneri
The largest and most ornate step well (baori) we visited.

Taj Mahal Closeup
Surrounding the entire structure inside and out, the inlay work is made of semi-precious stones.

Fake Holy Man
Our guide told us this was not a real holy man, but it was too good of a picture to pass up.

Heritage Hotel in Alipura
It was like being a kid again exploring the decaying ruins of our hotel.

Varanasi Crematorium
Each fire is a funeral pyre along the holy Ganges.

Site of Buddha's First Sermon
Sarnath near Varanasi.

Holy Cow!
Children safely passing by a placid bull on their way to school.

Fort Ruins in Alipura
Unpreserved, unnamed, and largely forgotten except for tourist curiousity.

Comments

[Yasir]

WoW...
Wow.. you visited the the Taj same day as me!!!

[Laura]

Monkeys
I love the monkey picture! India looks beautiful - still very jealous of all your travels. It's snowing here in Chicago....