India and the Taj Mahal - April 2 - 3

Mumbai Airport

We saw relatively little of Mumbai, since we needed to catch an 11:15 AM flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It took about 1 ½ hours to drive from the port where we docked to the airport. Mumbai is the business and financial capital of India; Delhi is the seat of government (perhaps analogous to New York and Washington, D.C.). The two hour flight to Delhi went as planed. We had buffet lunch at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, before we started the long drive to Agra.

Options for Lunch

Delhi Buffet Chefs

India Gate in Delhi

On the Road to Agra

Garlands for Sale on the Road

Mumbai was spots of poverty and high-rise buildings. New Delhi, where we had lunch, has green tree lined streets and “bungalows” built by the British for civil servants - now used by India’s political elite. After lunch we set off for Agra. Our group of 36 travelers had two buses - so we could spread out a bit. It was a 5 ½  hour drive to Agra, with only one rest stop. The toilets were primitive, no toilet bowls or toilet seats - just a hole. The highway soon became two lane (although the Indians treated it as 4 lanes). The motorcycle powered taxis and small trucks filled the improvised lanes, along with cows, pedestrians, large trucks, and  buses. The din of horns filled the air. One and two story shacks along the road sold necessary goods. Our guide explained that three things were necessary to drive in India: good brakes, good horns, and good luck. It was well after dark before we arrived in Agra and made our way to the Oberoi Amarvilas hotel.

Goods for Sale on the way to Agra

The hotel had the appearance of a palace - spacious courtyards with fountains, lit in the evening. We were greeted by costumed staff, and a red mark was placed on our foreheads - the sign that we were honored guests. The buffet dinner was expansive - it was clear the hotel catered not just to English and Americans, but to Japanese, Koreans, and Indians who could afford to stay here. During dinner, our bags were spirited to our assigned rooms, so they were waiting for us when we opened the door.  We turned-in after a shower - knowing that we had to leave the hotel at 5:30 AM the next morning, to be at the Taj Mahal by sunrise.

Hotel's Mother Teresa Statue

Oberoi Hotel Courtyard

View from our Hotel Window

In the morning, we were met by electric buses - care is being taken to reduce the air pollution around the Taj. There are four lines as people queue to enter the Taj. One for Indian men, one for Indian women, one for foreign men (high-value), and one for foreign women (also high value, which means the tickets are more expensive). We were first in our respective queues. There is strong security presence and body searches for every one (which is one reason the men are separated from the women). The Taj Mahal is a monument to love. Shah Jehan built it for his wife, who died in child birth having their 14th child. It took 20,000 laborers and craftsmen 22 years to construct it. The first sight of the enormous white marble mausoleum brought tears to my eyes.

Dawn Queue at the Taj

Evening View

Exterior of the Raised Platform

Morning View

Sumner and Jean

Inlay Details

The Taj is perfectly symmetrical - with the emperor’s wife’s tomb in the exact center. (She actually has two tombs - her real tomb is below the raised floor, and there is a tomb for show on the raised floor built above the platform that surrounds the building itself. Early in the morning the grounds and gardens are not very crowded, so access to the area of the mausoleum under the dome where she is buried is easy.

Red Fort Gateway

Red For Courtyard and Audience Chamber

Shah Jehan's Chamber

Shah Jehan's Balcony

After breakfast in a nearby hotel, we drove to the imposing Red Fort. We toured the fort, and the palaces within it. It was here that Shah Jehan was imprisoned by his younger son - a house arrest at the end of his life. From here he could see the Taj in the distance. We had lunch at the Oberoi hotel, and then a chance to rest before we returned to the Taj at Sunset. Each room in the hotel has a view of the Taj Mahal from its window.

Taj Mahal in Haze - Seen from the Red Fort

It is a hallmark of Mogul architecture to have the monument and gardens symmetrical. The giant square garden-courtyard around the Taj Mahal is divided into rectangular, symmetric fountains and gardens. The building in the center should look the same from any side. Because there was a mosque on one side, for the many craftsmen that worked on the project, a second, identical mosque was constructed on the other side - just to maintain the symmetry. Guests who see my photos, should they be so brave, will see many almost identical shots of the Taj. That is the gift of symmetry.