Greetings from my beloved India,
Veta and I are having a great time. Although we did have a bit of friction because we are both tired and the dust is getting to us. I had the attack dust and diesel illness first and became very grumpy as well as hormonal…the pleasures of being a woman. She is now suffering with the sinus problem as well. She was worried that she would not be able to continue at this pace, but a good nap has cured her.
I forgot to mention that we visited a village in Khajuraho. I am pleased to say that a woman, and quite beautiful, was the leader of the village. She handles and decides all disputes, and presents their grievances to the local government. Basically a family lived in a two room hut. They cook on a wood-burning oven, and survive very modestly. The beauty of it is they are proud of their village and enjoy giving a glimpse into their lives. They do not want money. We visited their school. The children were seated outside in the courtyard having a lesson. They all stood up and said good morning to us. The headmaster asked us to give the children their mid-day sweet. Veta and I handed each child a packet of cookies. They were very grateful. The schoolmaster then showed us the classrooms, which consisted of two concrete rooms about 10 ft x 10 ft square. There were low benches for the children to sit and a small chalkboard. On the walls were pictures of fruit and vegetables with the English word for each.
We offered a donation to the school, but the headmaster thought we were offering him money and would not take it. Our guide explained that we wanted to pay for books or sweets for the children so he agreed to accept our donation. On our way out, our guide told us to offer the village leader a small gesture. We did and she accepted. These people are very proud and we do not want to offend by offering money. Although they have very little, they have spirit, happiness, and pride in abundance.
Also, in Varanasi, Veta and I were quite moved by the spiritual aspect of the city. I am not sure if I mentioned that there were pink columns located just before you get to the crematorium. Once you pass the pink columns you cannot take any photos. So before we passed, Veta tried to take a picture with her camera, but it would not focus and allow her to shoot; but if she turned and photographed the other direction, the camera took the picture. She felt it was a sign that the crematorium was sacred and put her camera away. We bought candles surrounded by flowers and lit them and offered a prayer for our mother’s memory and floated them on the Ganges to honor her and the river.
From Varanasi, we flew to Delhi and drove 5 ½ hours to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The ride was long bumpy and dusty. We made it there at about 8:00PM. We stayed at the Oberoi Amervilas where our friends Meg Ryan, Bono, Will Smith, and Angelina Jolie stay when they go to Agra. Unfortunately none of our friends was there so we ate alone. The hotel is unbelievable. It is a stunning property. Each guest room has and assigned butler whom you call for assistance and a view of the Taj. There was a mix-up with our room, which was the fault of our travel agent, but the hotel fixed the problem and switched us to another. To compensate for our trouble the hotel offered to lower our rate even though the fault was not theirs. Since the room was paid for by our travel agent, the hotel insisted that they buy us dinner instead. There was a sitar player in the dining room who played during dinner. The food was absolutely deeeeeelicious.
The next morning we viewed the Taj Mahal. What can I say that has not already been said? It is a truly breathtaking and glorious structure. To think it was built by Shah Jahan to honor his favorite wife Arjuman Banu — such a grand gesture to pay homage to their love. I think I’ve aimed too low in my requests from lovers. I was happy with a Swatch watch…how cheap I am. The Taj took 20,000 laborers 17 years to complete. It is truly spectacular – all carved white marble with inlaid precious and semi-precious gems.
Afterwards we visited Agra Fort, which was a fortified palace. This is where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. He was kept there until his death. He was buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal. His son made sure the placement of his father’s tomb ruined the symmetry, which had been so important to him. But it is fitting that he lies next to his beloved wife for eternity.
The drive to Jaipur from Agra was much longer than it should have been. If we had taken the highway, it would have taken only 4-5 hours. But the Guijar caste has been protesting for more government services. They want the government to grant their caste certain quotas in government jobs and education so that their caste maybe uplifted to opportunities for more money and opportunities. They blocked the main highway and the trains, disrupting all travel. The protest has been going on since mid-December. The shame is three years ago this caste protested nationwide, but they gave up just before the government was about to cave to their demands. If only they had not given up, because no one thinks they will get what they want now. Since the journey was going to be longer, we decided to skip seeing the ghost town of Fatehpur Sikri, victory city.
The detour route increased our journey by 3 hours (7 ½ total hours). When our driver entered Jaipur, which is in Rajasthan, the largest state in India, we met a few new obstacles on the road – the camel and the elephant. It’s crazy to see the usual crazy traffic jam, but imagine elephants and camels on the road as well. Jaipur is known as the pink city and the city for shopping.
Our guide was the dashing, Prashantsid Singh. He was quite handsome and chicly dressed in jeans, navy blazer, and navy and white striped scarf. He reminded me of a young Armand Assante. He took us to: Amer Fort and Palace where we road on an elephant; the City Palace, and observatory — lots of history and glorious architecture. Veta sat with a snake charmer and charmed a snake with her flute playing. It was quite humorous when she tried to touch the snake and he lunged at her. As she jumped back, she did not realize that an elephant had walked up behind her on the sidewalk.
The dust got to Veta so she went back to the hotel. I was to do the shopping for gifts, but she gave me strict instructions to haggle with the shop keepers. She asked the guide to help me. In the end I got very good prices, although the guide said I should have paid $12.00 less that I had bargained. Oh well, not bad for a gal who usually shops retail. I cannot say what I bought because people on this list may receive some of the things I got.
The hotel we are staying at is the Samode Haveli, which is really quite charming. It is not like the fancier hotels we have been to, but it has a lot of ambiance. It has low arches and maze-like corridors. Due to a mistake by our travel agent, we had to switch rooms again, but the first night we stayed in one of the suites. It had low ceilings and was quite dark, but the walls and pillars in the room are all inlaid with mirrors and stained glass. Not so impressive at night, but in the morning the room sparkled from the sunlight and the colored glass added shadows of color. Tonight we have a much larger and brighter room, which is better for packing.
Tonight we will have dinner and then head for Udaipur tomorrow evening. Along the way to the airport we will visit Samode Palace for lunch and a camel ride.
I must say that the most beautiful part of this country is the kind spirit of its people. You will see such poverty, but then you will see the person you think is extremely poor turn and share with another who has even less. Truly a lesson that has not been lost on me – I hope to bring some of this kindness home, which would be the greatest gift I could share.