India Day 2-sorry its so long

On the second day in India I had a very early start. With a 4:30am wakeup call I felt like a mom dragging her feet after a long sleepover with 10 ten year olds. The only difference between me and that brave woman (who God love her was usually my Mom) I knew that my day would be one for the record books.

                I started out on a two hour train ride south to Agra. As I walked up to the train station I could not believe what I saw. There were close to 100 people who were sleeping on the hard chilled cement floor outside the station. Our guide quietly told us that most of them were generally homeless and the  half full tattered bag  they used as a pillow was all the belongings they had. They laid there sleeping, just sleeping like we do in our beds every night. They used their bag as a pillow and various forms of blankets from just a shirt over their head to a thin cotton blanket. Just so everyone knows India can get cold in the morning. I was chilly when I first arrived. I could not believe that the people were just sleeping there. It reminded me of this time last year when I slept outside for hunger and homelessness awareness week. I remember how cold and alone I felt even for just one night; I could not, in this moment, even begin to imagine what the people were feeling.  

                I quickly got on the train trying not to look at the people sleeping inside the station. This was a moment I wish I could take back. I wish I would have soaked in all the experiences both good and bad, but I was intimidated and sad. Even though I knew I couldn’t do anything I still wanted to and that made it very hard to look at this entire station full of struggle. The train ride was something that I also don’t have much to say about because I slept. I did get to see some farm land right before I fell asleep and right after I woke up. It was so strange; when I woke up I had to do a double take because it felt as if I woke up in the car on the way to my home in small town Greenville. Once I was a little more conscious I remembered where I was and quickly gathered my things to get off the train in Agra.

                Once we got to Agra we went to a local hotel to eat a quick breakfast. It was only 8 in the morning, but we were already on the second meal of the day. We had a continental breakfast of cereal at the hotel in Delhi and now a hot breakfast. After breakfast we went to Fatehpur Sikri. This is where Emperor Akbar had palaces built for his three wives. He had a Muslim, Hindu, and Christian wife.  Each wife had her own home, place of worship, and kitchen. This was all made out of red sandstone which is indigenous to India.  Another interesting fact that I found out was that all of the buildings were made by hand. Although no Emperor wants to say that they participated in slavery it is believed that many of the people were in fact slaves or indentured servants. I thought that while this is something we know existed it is still a hard pill to swallow when you see something that beautiful. You wonder how can something so majestic be created in such a negative way. We were also told that when the people had a problem they would come to this area and have a town meeting once a week. Now this area is a beautiful garden, but before it was just dirt and stones with canopies over it to protect the people from the blazing sun. Finally, I learned that during the rule of the Emperor when someone was sentenced to death they were put in front of an elephant and stomped to death. This was probably the most shocking.  Just a random fact about India; today their death sentence is to be hanged.

                Next, we went back to the hotel for lunch. I really enjoyed trying all of the local cuisine. One thing that I want to learn how to make when I get home is Nan. Nan is a soft bread that you use as almost anything in India. It is used as something you dip in soup or used as silver ware with meat and vegetables in sauces. It is delicious! After lunch we went and visited the Agra Fort.

                The Agra Fort has a long history. For me, I think the most interesting was that it was rebuilt with red sandstone by Emperor Akbar. He lived here for many years. This fort was the site of many battles and had many rulers before Akbar. Akbar not only lived here, but used much of the fort as a place to let his concubines live. He could have up to 400 of them at any one time. A difference I feel I should mention is that Akbar took very good care of his concubines. They each had their own room and were given plenty of food and water. This was not in any way a form of torture. Another interesting fact about Agra Fort is that Akbar’s grandson Shah Jahn tore down much of the inside structures after Akbar’s death and had the buildings rebuilt in white marble. Jahn was also a victim in this fort. When Jahn was older he had many children. One of his sons thought ill of his father and was actually imprisoned in his own fort and later died in the fort in the tour where he was imprisoned with a view of his greatest work in the near distance. This fort was beautiful. I could get lost there. There were so many twists, turns, and secret passage ways that I could have spent a whole day just exploring the fort. However, I only had about an hour because our next and last stop would be to a place that Shah Jahn built himself, the place he last laid eyes on before dying….the Taj Mahal.

                When we pulled up to the Taj Mahal I could hardly contain my excitement. I mean this was the one place I had really been the most excited about at the beginning of this trip, and now here I was. It was nearing 5pm and the group was so excited to see the Taj at sunset. On the way up to get in line to go through security I passed carts pulled by camels. I was so close to a camel I could have touched it. They had these gorgeous brightly colored skirt (or fabric like you would use under the saddle of a horse). These skirts were covered in unique and elaborate beading and designs. They also had other various horse like pieces such as muzzles and horse blinders to help keep them calm, focused, and less dangerous for passersby’s. Once we reached the gate to go through security I noticed something very peculiar; there were 3 lines to choose from. The first one was for Indian woman, the second for “high class woman”, and the third for men. I thought this was very interesting because the woman were separated right from the beginning, but the men were not separated into Indian men and “high class men” until they were almost completely through security. I just found this so strange, yet I knew that it was a part of their culture. Once I made it through security I began the short walk through the archway into the garden in front of the Taj Mahal. Walking through this archway I couldn’t help but hold my breath; I was about to see with my own eyes one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

                When I did finally see it I let out a big breath with a small sigh. I could not believe that I was actually standing in front of the Taj. The whole group reacted in very similar ways as I did. I was completely speechless. I just started taking pictures. I felt as though no matter how many I took I would never have enough to prove I was actually there. One thing that was really cool about this trip was some of the people I was with. I was actually with 3 other people who are from Cleveland, Ohio! So the 4 of us took an O-H-I-O picture at the Taj! It is one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip.

                After taking probably 100 pictures I started the walk up the garden to actually get right in front of the Taj and go in. The garden is beautiful. This might sound silly but there were tons of flowers that I recognized from back in the states. I guess in all the things that you think you will see flowers are not one of them. Anyway, there is a beautiful water centerpiece that travels down the whole garden. I think it took me almost 45 minutes to just walk down the garden. I was trying to absorb every sound, smell, sight, and touch I could experience. While walking down this garden I also started thinking about why this magnificent building was built. Shah Jahn built this building for his wife and now they are both buried inside the Taj. What a gift to give your wife.

                Many people who see the Taj in pictures think that the whole building is made of plain white marble. However, there is actually hand carved patterns in the archways and inside of the Taj that were then filled with precious and semi-precious stones mainly from Africa, Pakistan, and India. This was beautiful. I feel as though this word cannot even begin to describe what I saw. The building is simply more majestic than words. I was able to go inside and see the caskets of Jahn and his wife. These caskets were covered in the carvings with stones. While inside there were no lights (obviously) and we could not take pictures to help preserve the color of the marble and stones. This was a great moment for me to really realize where I was. I was INSIDE THE TAJ MAHAL! This was the first moment that I could really begin to grasp where I was. Once I stepped outside the Taj I could really look at it; the architecture, stones, a different view of the garden, just everything. I’m still trying to process what I really experienced.

                After stepping away from the Taj I decided to take a look at the temples on either side of it. Well these were beautiful also. For me though the most memorable part of the temples were not the temples themselves. I was taking a picture of the temple and a few wild monkeys came into the picture frame. I thought perfect time to get a quick picture of some monkeys so I snapped the shot anyway (without a flash and my friends took a picture too ). I get the picture so me and my few friends I was with turned to walk away. The next thing I know the monkeys are making these hissing and screeching noises so of course we turn around to see what all the commotion is about. Well apparently it was me! The monkeys start running at me and attacked me! The monkeys came and tried climbing up my legs, pulled on my shoe strings, and tried to jump up to grab onto or sit on my purse. I just stood there scared not really sure what to do. This very nice man who I think worked at the Taj Mahal stomped a very big stick and made a very low growling sound that scared them off of me long enough for me and my friends to leave. At the time it was very scary, but now I think it is hilarious. No one worry, I am fine. I had no scratches or anything. It just made for a memorable moment.

                I walked back to the middle of the garden to sit on this marble platform to watch the sunset behind the Taj Mahal. It was so intensely beautiful. The reds and oranges reflecting off the white marble almost made it hard to look at. However, even through the squints I could take this time to reflect. I was literally sitting less than a football field away from the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. WOW! How many times in my life can I say that I was that close to anything that breath taking? I sat there with close to 100 people in almost complete silence. I just enjoyed the view. For one of the first times on this entire journey I just sat there. I put my camera away for a while and I simply watched the sun set. I sat there in silence and reflected on the glorious site I was peering at. I could now say that I had seen the Taj Mahal in person. What a day, what a life. I am truly so blessed.

                After sunset the group walked back to the bus, got dinner, and headed to the train station. Here I was once again confronted by sadness, only this time in the form of children. If anyone reading this has not seen “Slum Dog Millionaire” you need to watch it and then you will understand what I am talking about. I was standing with a group of people waiting for the late train, which was typical in India, when a group of about 3 or 4 kids walked up to us. They were asking us for money. It is so hard to tell them no, especially as an education major but I knew if I gave them anything I would just give them another reason not to go to school. These kids were not like some of the other kids we had encountered during the day. Usually if you say no enough or just completely ignore them they eventually go away. Not these kids, in fact it seemed as if the more we said no and ignored them the stronger they came on, and before any of us knew it there 5 or 6 kids hanging around us. While talking to the kids, by this time we had given up of getting rid of them so we thought we would try to talk to them, some of us began to realize a few men hanging around a little too close for comfort for a little too long. At first I just pushed it aside as though it was nothing. I mean I am in a foreign country so anything could be considered normal and I would have no clue. However, the longer the kids were there the more I noticed these 2 men. Then I saw the most heart breaking thing in my whole life. I saw this little boy who had just told me he was 8 years old shift his eyes over to one of the men and the man did some sort of sign that the boy knew. All of a sudden all the children ran away and the man was gone. The man had signaled the boy that the police was coming so they needed to run away. Then it hit me, that man was all of those kids owner. A few moments later we turned around and saw the children congregated around the man. The kids were all nodding their heads to whatever the man was saying. I felt sick.

                When you watch movies like “Slum Dog Millionaire” you know that things like this really happen, but to actually witness it is something completely different. The whole group had just witnessed one of the most horrific forms of human trafficking and there was nothing we could do about it. As a group we tried to discuss quietly what we had just witnessed, but everyone was so distraught that no one could really form words to express their feelings. All I know is that I said an extra-long and thought out prayer that night.             

                I hate to end on such a sour note, but there is nothing else to tell. I took the train back to Delhi, and went to bed…broken hearted. It was an emotional roller coaster; the high of the sites, but the low of seeing how life in India and around the world can really be. All I could hope was that tomorrow would be an even better day.