The Taj Mahal Days

Saturday and Sunday Oct 1 and 2 – the Taj Mahal days

We decided these two days were both best wrapped up, for the most part, into one entry – about the Taj Mahal for the most part.

I offered to build Giules a Taj Mahal (I never specified the scale). All she had to do was bear me 14 children in 19 years as did the wife of the king who built the Taj Mahal for the mother of his 14 children. No deal. Probably best for both of us.

It’s about a six hour drive from Delhi to Agra, the industrial city that has an interesting fort, the Taj Mahal and not a great deal else (although it has a population of 3 million – not a large city by India’s standards).

The drive is an exercise in viewing the Indian state of driving. The congestion and horn beeping was worst coming out of Delhi and passing through some of the suburbs. Dead stop, horns honking, every imaginable type of vehicle on the road.

Although we were on a divided highway for the most part, it was not unusual for drivers to be coming at us in our lane, usually on the shoulder. At no point did we see a police officer. The most we saw were a few traffic control officers in the stands at a few intersections coming out of Delhi. Otherwise, it is chaos that somehow works.

Horn beeping is almost constant as drivers tell each other where they are and ask others to move. In fact, the back of many vehicles, trucks especially, have painted on them “horn please.” No please is needed. Horns sound constanly.

Oh yes, and lanes mean nothing. Three vehicles driving abreast in two lanes is a frequent sight.

Anyway, on to the Taj Mahal.

We visited the Taj twice, to catch the evening Sunday on Saturday and the morning sun on Sunday (up at 5 a.m.). Even at that, it was crowded.

It is what it purports to be, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, accentuated by the beautiful evening and morning light. It was well worth the journey.

Of course we then had to drive back to Delhi to catch our flight to Kolkata (the revised name from the old Colonial name of Calcutta) at 6 pm. Ok Giules, take it from here . . . .