India is a very large country with major cities far apart. It was a long drive from Jaipur to Delhi, but Tarun, being from there, drove right to the YMCA Hostel where we had reservations for a week. The room was clean; breakfast and supper were included in the modest tariff. We'd chosen to share a bathroom, which turned out fine, since we hardly saw anyone else in the one shower, one sink and two stall common room. After we rested a while we went "exploring" as PC likes to do. I wanted posters of the Taj Mahal and PC wanted maps. We were told we could get them just a block that way and across the street. We managed the block that way just fine, but crossing the 4 lane/median/high curbs to the median had us looking this way and that for a while. A Seik came up to us and offered to take us across the street for 10Rs (which is pennies US) so we agreed. When we were on the auto rickshaw and rolling he told us he'd take us to his family's mall where the prices were lower. I said no, but he explained the mall I wanted to go to was no good. I reminded him of the deal we'd made. He kept talking about his family mall. I told him I was getting out and put my foot out of the rickshaw. He said Oh, no, no, no. I take you. All I had was a 50 R note,so I gave it to him and waited for my 40Rs change. He gave it to me reluctantly. I thanked him without much gratitude in my heart for him, but a lot for being across the street.
PC, who had been silent this whole time , told me that there was a sign at the Y that said if guests got their transportation for anyone except through the Y tourist guide that they weren't responsible for that guest. Oh, OK, from now on it's the tourist guide for me!!! We found the book store, got my posters and his map and started back. This time we crossed the street at a traffic light (What a concept - crossing the street at a traffic light). We got back in time for dinner, which was spicy hot for PC, but OK for me. We felt safe and full and slept well.
The next day we rested and met Grace (Mercy's sister) to plan out our week in Delhi. She went with us to the official tour guide and we planned the trip to the Golden temple in Amritsar, our Delhi tour and the Taj Mahal in Agra with rest days interspersed. She is such a blessing to have around, to speak the local language, bargain for us and just to visit with.
The Golden Temple is a Seik place of worship with 4 gates in the 4 cardinal directions (signifying the 4 major castes in India), but with only 1 entrance to the temple (signifying that wherever we came from, we all enter the temple together). I like that. PC had researched this part of the trip and was impressed that Seiks feed people at their temples as long as anyone wants to eat - for free. They take care of their own as well as others. Grace said she's never seen a Seik begging. I was impressed that all the people who work inside the 3 or 4 acre area are volunteers. They may be scrubbing the marble with a small brush in hard to get to places or singing inside the temple, they may be doctors of laborers, but all are equal there.
Inside, there is a wide walkway around the center where people sit and pray and/or read from a small book. In the center which is square there were 3 musicians, all 3 miked and piped out to the whole compound. One has a drum and 2 have a harmonium, which is an accordion-type key board played by one hand while the other opens and closes the back of the box-like instrument. There were 2 men sitting on either side of "the Book" which has writings of the gurus, even Muslim poetry. It's about 2'x4 or 5' when opened. it is covered with a white cloth. There is a man sitting on the 3rd side by himself with a raised alter-type rectangle in front of him. They all were sitting cross-legged on the floor and sang and played continually as long as we were there, and this place is open 24/7. And by the way, the complete building (3 stories) is covered with gold. We saw it in the early morning, and it was spectacular. We'd spent the night in a hotel that had been recommended to Grace. We got there rather late and left early the next morning, so we didn't really get to enjoy it much. The trip there and back was looooooong, but it was worth it!!!
After a day of rest it was time for our Agra / Taj Mahal trip. We left reasonably early, ate lunch on the way and arrived at the Taj in early afternoon. We had a good driver and an excellent guide. When we got to the entry gate I was surprised to find out that this Raj who was so in love with his wife that he used 20,000 workers over 20 years to build this magnificent tomb for her, also had 2 other wives for whom he built large mausoleums (by US standards) but dinky compared to the Taj. They are, of course, symmetrically places OUTSIDE the gate to the Taj. So, there we stood looking at a famous wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal. Yep, that was it, just like I've seen in pictures since grade school when I was fascinated by the story of such love of a man for his wife and the beautiful monument he built her. Then we passed through the gate and started walking slowly toward the white marble perfectly symmetrical "picture" and it grew larger and larger as we got closer. By the time we climbed the stairs to the raised platform the building and minarets rest on It seemed HUGE. Any picture I've ever seen was of course, small - in a book, a poster. One is awed by the size of the thing. Then one thinks of how they got these blocks of marble from many miles away, how they stacked them up. There are carvings and precious stone powder ground and used as paint. There are mosaics of Arabic writings in onix fitted perfectly into the marble, giving the contrast of matt white and shinny black which can be seen from 400 yds away. Yes, we were impressed!!! On the way back we sat on "the" bench everyone sits on that is directly in front of the Taj, near the entry gate and had our picture made. It still seems unreal to me.
This whole trip has been an unbelievable experience, one we'd never realized if Camile hadn't called me to be the prayer partner to a young Christian lady who came to our church with her Hindu husband. Mercy and Nikhil became part of our family and we theirs. Now their parents Dr. Ashwin & Sunita and "Dr." Earnest & Jainti are our family as well. They have been our guardians, our cooks, our travel guides, our advisers and our friends. Bakul (Nikhil's cousin in Pune) and Grace(Mercy's sister in Delhi) have taken such good care of us when others weren't around to do so. We are so grateful for these young women for the time they gave for us even in their busy processional lives. And we can't forget Sam and Immanuel (Mercy's brothers) whose company we enjoyed thoroughly.
Today we had lunch with Nikhil's grandfather and grandmother - such lovely people. They welcomed us to India, to Pune, and to their home when we were first here over 2 months ago and welcomed us again today. I had a long talk with Grandfather and find him progressive and thankful for all that has happened in India since Independence only 60 years ago. He remembers when the British were here and he had not one word of criticism of them, but highlighted the positives they left behind. Grandmother doesn't speak Eng so our conversation was a lot of gesturing and waiting for translation. She's a sweet lady.
Tomorrow we go for "Slumdog" with Bakul and maybe some last minute shopping. Monday we leave in the morning (that's Ashwin, Sunita, Bakul, PC and I) for Munbai. We're leaving early so we can see some of Mumbai, especially the terrorist's targets and how they're up and running now, and some other highlights. We leave after midnight (making it Tues here) and we'll be there Tue at 3pm. The Hemmingers will collect us at the airport and deposit us at home where I plan to sleep for a day or two.
It is a bitter-sweet time for us. We're anxious to get home, and we're just learning to get along by ourselves in India. It's been "Easy Street" for us here, with everyone cooking for us, washing our clothes, cleaning our room. I'm just wondering if someone is going to do that for us when we get home (JUST KIDDING). Some good old fashioned work will be good for us, just as this trip has been good for us.
I will finish up the rest of the Adventure when I get home. Bye for now. Love,mj
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Jaipur
After a bone crunching 5 hour drive, we arrived in Jaipur very tired, indeed, so we begged off our 5 hour Jaipur city tour that was planned for Mon, til Tue, and "took rest". We're getting to appreciate the Indian idea of "taking rest". We got out for a walk and met 3 men who talked to us about the pollution given off by private buses, but NOT by the gov't owned buses. They seemed quite proud of of their gov't's progress and glad also to use their English. Being Mon. the mall we'd set out for was closed. Seems Sun. is a big sales day, so shopkeepers take Mon off. It was the same in Pune. We watched a movie on TV and a lot of Animal Planet, since most of TV is in languages other than Eng. We feel handicapped, knowing only one language.
In the evening we got out again about 5pm. and walked a different direction. I was still in need of hair spray and/or gel, and there it was- a small beauty shop!!! Surely they have hairspray. I was met at the door by 3 ladies. I stated my need. They were very cooperative and very helpful, but were not understanding. One, the youngest, knew a little Eng. It got to be really funny, with me pointing and gesturing, and them trying to figure out what I wanted. Gents are not allowed in a beauty shop, so PC was outside talking to a man in Eng. The owner went to the door and told him what she was offering me: shampoo, blow-dry, gel and combed up into a knot. He translated and then explained "They'll wash, gel and fix your hair so it wont move, like me". He smiled widely, and I was sure this was a compliment. How much? 500Rs - too much - OK 400Rs - too much - OK 350 Rs - 325 says I boldly. They all laughed that I was bargaining. The girl who spoke Eng had already told me the cost was 200Rs, so I didn't feel badly at bargaining them down a bit. By the time of blow-drying all 5 beauticians had done part of my hair. I think they'd never seen or felt such fine and stringy hair as mine. We all laughed a lot. The next night I want for a pedicure - more fun, lots of questions. These ladies didn't ask my age as most Indians do. They asked "how many children? what are their ages? you don't look old enough to have children in their 50's". Then I told them my age, of course, but I thought they were quite clever in getting ME to answer their unasked question. I didn't get hair spray or gel from them, as what they had was all they had to work with. The shop was 10' x 15', with 1 shampoo bowl and 2 chairs and a place to lie prone for facial or massage. And did I mention there were 5 of them!!!
Wed. we did the Jaipur city tour that included the massive Amer Fort, located on the prominent hill with a very sturdy wall, encompassing maybe 100 football fields. There is a long walk to the fort from the road. Some made their way there by elaborately draped elephants with colorful drawings on their hides. As they arrived at the "welcome" plaza there were 2 huge drums (that were not tuned to any specific tone and 1 trumpeter, all who played loudly (and continuisously) as the elephants with their "important" guests arrived, as in centuries before. There were many elephants, so when they delivered one "load" they trekked down for another. Having already ridden an elephant, we chose to go as far as possible by car - which was almost as close as the elephants came.
Inside I had to keep reminding myself that this was a fort, for it looked like a palace. Indeed, the parts that were on display were the beautiful quarters for the women, the bathing areas (complete with solar water heater) and a garden on the top floor with trees and pools and a swing that was approached only by wading in the ankle deep rain water, harvested in the monsoon season. There were many inclines and few steps; the reason being, when the queen or wives of the Raj got dressed in their best gowns they weighed about 40 lbs because of all the gold and precious stones sewn into and onto it. A chair with wheels was devised to accommodate the lady and her dress to the royal perch assigned her. The king sat on his special place on an adjecent wall. The other ladies were present, but behind a marble "screen" with holes cut so they could see out, but no one could see them. These seats were on a balcony level with with "stage" on the 1st floor, but with no stair to connect the two. There they would be entertained by dancers, musicians, magicians, singers and poetry/history tellers, to mention but a few.
Of interest was the first camode in the area, for the king's use only. It resembled the plushly overstuffed leather office chairs with arms. It had a flushing system that had to be hand filled, and most important, it had a removable portion in the center to make it utilitarian. Some things never change - there was a book holder in easy reach of this contraption!!!
Next day we went to the Hindu Temple where we were told by a 40ish, nice looking man in orange and speaking perfect Eng, explained what was going on, how we could help keep the temple in good repair with a small donation and blessed us, wishing for us a long and healthy life AND painting saffron colored paste on our foreheads. There were many people praying and reading from a small book, all out loud and not by any means in unison. The result was a low hum that sounded very much in place there.
The City Palace was over and above anything I'd ever seen in sheer beauty and craftmanship. I'll have to let the pictures talk for me on this one.
Our driver, Tarun, found PC a barbershop where I found a can or hairspray for 700Rs (that's $14). I declined. He showed me the price tag - he'd paid 13Rs for it. I think he needs to find another supplier. They did a great Job on PC's hair - there were 2 barbers and one worked a while and the other finished up. It was a very nice hair cut. Then Tarun took us to a "big" grocery store - which is big here, but nothing like as big as I go to at home. All the same, it was big to us. We got fruit and cheese, bread and crackers, and strawberry icecream which We had for my birthday luncheon - well, there was no freezer and we HAD to eat it all.
In the evening we got out again about 5pm. and walked a different direction. I was still in need of hair spray and/or gel, and there it was- a small beauty shop!!! Surely they have hairspray. I was met at the door by 3 ladies. I stated my need. They were very cooperative and very helpful, but were not understanding. One, the youngest, knew a little Eng. It got to be really funny, with me pointing and gesturing, and them trying to figure out what I wanted. Gents are not allowed in a beauty shop, so PC was outside talking to a man in Eng. The owner went to the door and told him what she was offering me: shampoo, blow-dry, gel and combed up into a knot. He translated and then explained "They'll wash, gel and fix your hair so it wont move, like me". He smiled widely, and I was sure this was a compliment. How much? 500Rs - too much - OK 400Rs - too much - OK 350 Rs - 325 says I boldly. They all laughed that I was bargaining. The girl who spoke Eng had already told me the cost was 200Rs, so I didn't feel badly at bargaining them down a bit. By the time of blow-drying all 5 beauticians had done part of my hair. I think they'd never seen or felt such fine and stringy hair as mine. We all laughed a lot. The next night I want for a pedicure - more fun, lots of questions. These ladies didn't ask my age as most Indians do. They asked "how many children? what are their ages? you don't look old enough to have children in their 50's". Then I told them my age, of course, but I thought they were quite clever in getting ME to answer their unasked question. I didn't get hair spray or gel from them, as what they had was all they had to work with. The shop was 10' x 15', with 1 shampoo bowl and 2 chairs and a place to lie prone for facial or massage. And did I mention there were 5 of them!!!
Wed. we did the Jaipur city tour that included the massive Amer Fort, located on the prominent hill with a very sturdy wall, encompassing maybe 100 football fields. There is a long walk to the fort from the road. Some made their way there by elaborately draped elephants with colorful drawings on their hides. As they arrived at the "welcome" plaza there were 2 huge drums (that were not tuned to any specific tone and 1 trumpeter, all who played loudly (and continuisously) as the elephants with their "important" guests arrived, as in centuries before. There were many elephants, so when they delivered one "load" they trekked down for another. Having already ridden an elephant, we chose to go as far as possible by car - which was almost as close as the elephants came.
Inside I had to keep reminding myself that this was a fort, for it looked like a palace. Indeed, the parts that were on display were the beautiful quarters for the women, the bathing areas (complete with solar water heater) and a garden on the top floor with trees and pools and a swing that was approached only by wading in the ankle deep rain water, harvested in the monsoon season. There were many inclines and few steps; the reason being, when the queen or wives of the Raj got dressed in their best gowns they weighed about 40 lbs because of all the gold and precious stones sewn into and onto it. A chair with wheels was devised to accommodate the lady and her dress to the royal perch assigned her. The king sat on his special place on an adjecent wall. The other ladies were present, but behind a marble "screen" with holes cut so they could see out, but no one could see them. These seats were on a balcony level with with "stage" on the 1st floor, but with no stair to connect the two. There they would be entertained by dancers, musicians, magicians, singers and poetry/history tellers, to mention but a few.
Of interest was the first camode in the area, for the king's use only. It resembled the plushly overstuffed leather office chairs with arms. It had a flushing system that had to be hand filled, and most important, it had a removable portion in the center to make it utilitarian. Some things never change - there was a book holder in easy reach of this contraption!!!
Next day we went to the Hindu Temple where we were told by a 40ish, nice looking man in orange and speaking perfect Eng, explained what was going on, how we could help keep the temple in good repair with a small donation and blessed us, wishing for us a long and healthy life AND painting saffron colored paste on our foreheads. There were many people praying and reading from a small book, all out loud and not by any means in unison. The result was a low hum that sounded very much in place there.
The City Palace was over and above anything I'd ever seen in sheer beauty and craftmanship. I'll have to let the pictures talk for me on this one.
Our driver, Tarun, found PC a barbershop where I found a can or hairspray for 700Rs (that's $14). I declined. He showed me the price tag - he'd paid 13Rs for it. I think he needs to find another supplier. They did a great Job on PC's hair - there were 2 barbers and one worked a while and the other finished up. It was a very nice hair cut. Then Tarun took us to a "big" grocery store - which is big here, but nothing like as big as I go to at home. All the same, it was big to us. We got fruit and cheese, bread and crackers, and strawberry icecream which We had for my birthday luncheon - well, there was no freezer and we HAD to eat it all.
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