India part 2

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I'm starting this blog with a few unpleasant facts about India. This is not to condemn and judge the whole of India but just to highlight some issues they have here.

Firstly beggars and the soundless babies they carry. Many are not there babies. They have usually been stolen from deprived area hospitals where security is none existent. These babies don't cry, many of them hardly look like they're breathing. This is because they are drugged or given alcohol to keep them subdued. You should be asking yourself how can they get away with this? Why is nothing done about it?
This brings me on to my second point. Many of these beggars and the homeless are called the 'untouchables' or 'outcastes' .They have no place in a caste system which dictates a hierarchy in India. The cast system needs to be erased from society. As soon as they all start seeing each other as equals they may just start to lift their country out of the medieval times. A country with a space program should not be getting money hand outs from other countries. That just gives those in power another excuse not to help those in poverty!.... My rant is now over ( I won't even get started about the gender issue. I really didn't realise I was such a feminist until I started traveling. That goes for Robert too! Lol)

So we finished blog one in Veranasi...we then moved on to Agra. This was a whistle stop tour but we weren't disappointed we got to explore the red fort which the Moguls and they're ancestors all built. It had beautiful designs and the structures were so very cleverly architected. The moguls themselves were invaders and rulers in India. I have to admit it was very differcult to remember all their names but they definitely lived dramatic and maybe quite tragic lives of family betrayal, violence and power. It was from the Red fort we caught our first glimpse of the magical and optical Taj Mahal! It was definitely something amazing to see. We were in awe of how it just pertrudes from its surroundings, sitting next to the Ganges river. We were even more excited when we visited it and heard the story of the Mogul who built it. He built it for one of his wives (he must have loved this one) he loved her from first site and never shared a bed with any of his other wives again. Apparently this wife was so beautiful and she died young baring him his child. Her last request was that he should love no other and to build something to remember her by. Sadly he never stepped foot in there as he was betrayed and imprisoned by his son.

We left Agra for an in the country side experience in Tordi Gaugh. We stayed in an old fort that was owned by one of the emperors many cousins. The pictures on the wall showed him playing polo on his horse and he would have been a key connection when the British kindly came over to offer 'protection' in return for taxes that he would have taken from his people. As we all know the British empire was nothing to be too proud of, again they came in to take the country of its wealth including the jewels that now sit in the Queens crown and then left the country for the people to fight over power. Any way back on topic. The village was quaint and the people friendly. Children came running out on to the streets to greet us and we got to see how the people live. It was a very small village with different temples for the various groups in the community. We saw the difference in the sizes of houses and the state in which they will built. Priests class had the biggest homes followed by warrior class than merchant and so on. They all seemed to live well in the village together. It was nice to see a different side to the hussle and bustle of most of North India. We were blessed to see beautiful sunset over the fields and sand dunes, and Robert got up early and went to see the sunrise. He got to see the night and day in one landscape which was pretty incredible. Next stop was Jaipur...

Many of Jaipurs buildings had been painted pink to welcome one of the Prince of Wales (definitely not Charles) it had a happy look about the place and the business just gave it more of a lively feel. We visited another beautiful building, this time a palace with walls that spread across the landscape. They had encrusted gems patterened into the walls that were very similar to the red fort in Agra. It was another great peice of architecture with plumbing and a hammem style bath area. We also went to see a film in an Indian theatre which was the highlight for me. The whole film was in Hindi and it was based on an Indian woman called Neeja ( film is called Neeja) who saved 100s of people on a plane back in the 1980s from terrorists who wanted some jail mates released. She helped hide American passports as well as covering children from gunshots before she died of her wounds. I understood none of the words of the film but the music and expression of the film kept me in tears throughout. She was a real life hero who has not been spoken about in the western world. It was wonderfully empowering to watch a woman as the main inspiration on film and to know that she'd been commemorated and celebrated. We need more of these films on western tvs.

From Jaipur we headed back to dreaded Delhi where our group trip ended. Robs taking over from me now so you can have a less ' on my horse' reading experience with him. :-D

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Comments

[Jayne]

India part 2
Loved reading this blog, you give an honest opinion of your experience in India. Can't wait to read Robs account. Keep the blogs coming we can enjoy your adventures too X X X