MY TRIP TO INDIA 2006

I got off the plane and went through customs. The airport was everything I would expect and Indian airport to be. People with brown skin milling around. Eyes looking up to see the newcomers. After I found my bag I started heading over to a long line of people holding up signs in every language. The signs had the person's name on it that they were waiting for. I was anxious to find the people who were waiting for me. It was a long flight. I had begin this trip two days before starting from Seattle. I flew first to San Francisco, then Tokyo, and then onto Singapore where I stayed one night. Now I was finally in India. It had been a dream of my life to go there. I wanted to familiarize myself with the religions and the culture of the people in this part of the world. I figured the best way to satisfy my curiosity was to go there personally and see for myself the way these people lived and what made them tick.

On my way over to the line of people I was stopped by security. They they wanted to x-ray my bag. After they x-rayed it they wanted to know what was in it. I told them just the usual stuff one would take on a trip. They had me open it and found only my clothes and nothing else, so they let me proceed.

I went over to the line and started looking at the names on the cards people held up. Finally toward the end I saw my name. I walked toward the guy holding the sign. I was very glad to see him and he was glad to see me. I don't know how long he had been waiting. I hope not too long. After our initial greeting he had me follow him and we zig-zagged our way through the crowds out of the main terminal building to a waiting car in the parking lot. Before I got in the car the TCI agent opened the trunk and took out a scented garland with orange flowers and put it around my neck and welcomed me to India. I thanked him.

They put my bags in the trunk and I got in the back seat. The driver made his way out of the airport and onto a road that would take us to the part of Dehli where the hotel was. The guide said it would be about a forty minute drive. It was dark and the air was muggy and warm. It was after midnight but there were lots of people walking along the side of the road and sitting in the dirt in front of their houses. I could hear them talking and laughing. Some of them seemed to be high on something or drunk. There were quite a few cars out too and alot of honking. Every once in a while we would pass an oxen drawn cart. It was surreal. It felt like I was in a dream. I was in India where the ancient is mixed with the modern. I loved it.

We got to the Sunstar Hotel on the other side of town. I checked in and the bellhop picked up my suitcase and took me to my room. When he saw that I had American money he offered to get them changed into ruppees. I gave him some US money and he came back with some ruppees. The atmosphere of the hotel was richly dark and mysterious. I knew I was far away from the United States. I sat on the bed and was thinking, "Wow, I survived all those airplanes and now I'm here'! I never really let myself believe things until I'm actually doing it. I was having one of those moments. I'm really here.

The furniture in the hotel was interesting. There were two little, low stuffed chairs. I had never seen that syle before. That night I washed my traveling clothes in the bath tub, took a shower and shaved. I was to meet the guide the next morning in the lobby at 10 where I would begin this trip by touring places in Old and New Dehli. I set my alarm for 7am. I would be staying in this hotel for two nights.

NEXT MORNING

I got up to the sound of horns honking and the noise in the street below. I found out where the resturant was and then walked up the five floors to the roof where it was located. They had an elevator but I thought I would take the stairs because I needed the excersize. I was very out of shape. It was warm and muggy. I found a table with an umbrella on it and sat down. I was the only customer there. A waiter quickly appreared from the kitchen door and handed me a menu. I looked over the selections and decided to have the American breakfast.

I don't know what I was really expecting. In the states an American breakfast consists of sausage or bacon, hash browns, eggs and toast plus jam and coffee or some kind of juice.

While I was waiting for breakfast to come I observed some of the birds that were flying around in the early morning sunshine. There were some shaggy looking crows. They made the familiar sound of crows but they were gray and black instead of just plain black. They didn't seem to be too filled out like the ones I see all the time in the states. They could use a little fattening up, but I guess food is scarce there. These crows would fly in flocks from building to building scavening anything they could.

Then there was a multi-colored bird that landed on the roof. It was black and brown with a little white on the wings. The song it sang was very melodious. It stayed there for a few minutes and then flew off. After that a very small hawk flew by.

Breakfast finally came and it consisted of; mango juice, one two sided egg, toast, butter, jam and coffee. I forgot that most people in India are vegetarian. That was the reason for no sausage or bacon. They also don't eat alot, so maybe that's why there were no hash browns.

American Breakfast?



I sat with my back to the sun in the hazy and sultry weather. The street in front of the hotel was a little more then the size of an alley way. Even on the fifth floor I could hear the noise going on at street level.

After breakfast I went to the lobby and waited for the guide and the driver. After awhile I went outside and sat on the steps by the front door. Everybody looked at me when they went by. I was a westerner and different from them. A few richshaw drivers came by and asked if I wanted a ride.

Lobby of the Hotel



I told them that I had a ride. A shoe shine boy came around and asked if I wanted my shoes shined. My shoes didn't need it but I let him shine them anyway. He went immediately to work. Like an expert he first applied the polish to the first shoe and then brushed it. Then he added wax and buffed it. He was a hard worker. He looked up at me and smiled and

Cycle Rickshaw



worked on the second shoe. The doorman came over and told the boy to charge me 100 ruppees for the shine. I'm sitting there wondering if this doorman knows that I speak English and understand it very well and know what he just said. I was noticing a religious charm around the boys neck on a string when my ride came, so I quickly paid the boy for the shine and walk over to the car.

We drove passed all the people and the shops on the street that is like an alley way and we got on the main thoroughfare. The guide points up to where they are building a new metro system. It is being built all over the city. I notice there are little shacks built all over on the side of the streets. "This is where migrant people live" the guide said. People in the rural areas come to the city looking for work. There is no place for them to rent so the government of India lets them build little shacks on sidewalks an on the road sides of anything they can find. Whole families live like this. Suddenly the car stops. Now we are in a traffic jam. There is a cow laying in the middle of the road. Cows are sacred in India so no one will bother it. The Indian people try to exercise patience. Drivers continue on their way gingerly driving around the animal careful not to hit it.

OLD DEHLI

After awhile we come to the gate of Old Dehli and go through it. The traffic is better there, but still heavy. After a short drive we arrived at the Red Fort, a very famous tourist site in Old Dehli. Since there was no place to park the driver pulled over to the side of the road and let the guide and I off at the front of the fort. The driver would go somewhere and when we needed him the guide would call on his cell phone and he would come to pick us up.

Hindu Temple - Old Dehli



As we walked toward the fort made of red sandstone the guide immediately started telling me about the history of Red Fort. It is one of the most important monuments in Dehli. It is a very vast structure and its grandeur reflects Mugal architecture at its best.

The seat of government was moved from Agra to this location in 1648. The outside of the fort was built of red sandstone and the interior where the palaces are were lavishly built of white marble. There are two gateways to the fort. The ceremonial gate is used the most and it is on the west side. I didn't find out where the other gate it.

Red Fort in Old Dehli



There are several prominent buildings in the fort. Concealed within the outer fortified walls are the most magnificent palaces ever built. This is where the ruler and his harems lived. The marble in each building is decorated with inlaid precious and semi precious stones.

We spent a little while walking around inside the fort and palaces while the guide explained everything to me. On the way out I bought some post cards from two boys who were selling them on the street. The guide called the driver and in a few minutes he arrived and we proceeded to the next point of interest.

JAMA MOSQUE

Jama Mosque was built in the 17th century and is the largest mosque in India. The courtyard in front of it can hold ten thousand people at a time. The driver let us off on the side of the building and we had to climb a steep flight of stairs. At the top we had to take off our shoes then walk on the hot sandstones that make up the plaza. The mosque sits on a high platform and has three onion shaped domes made of red sandstone and inlaid with marble. There is a mineret on each corner of the holy sight.

Jama Mosque



Inside I noticed that the decoration is very plain. This is because Islamic artists are prohibited from using the images of any living thing. That is why most Islamic buildings and mosques use only pure geometric designs in them. On rare occassions you will see a mosque with a floral design.

Muslim Worshippers



There were a few pilgrims praying infront of an indentation in the wall. They are facing in the direction of Mecca, one of the most holy places in that religion. We looked around for a little bit and then the guide called the driver on his cell phone and we went out the same way we went in and got our shoes, then waited for the driver to get there.

By this time the traffic was extremely heavy, but the driver clawed his way through the throng of people, automobibles and animals and made it to the bottom of the stairs. We made our way to the car while people were pushing their wares in front of our faces. We got safely in the car and made our way out to the main road.

After this we went to Gandhi's Memorial. It is in a huge park where there are the memorials of many famous and many not so famous people. After Gandhi was assasinated he was creatated on the shores of the Ganges River. Later a memorial was made in his honor in Old Dehli. The guide and I took the long walk in the hot sun to the site where we stayed for a few minutes and then left. By then I was getting exhausted. Like I said, I was very out of shape. When we got back to the car we went to get some water. After that we proceeded and the guide asked me if I would like some tea. I said "sure".

The next thing I knew we pulled up to a handsome building that had a statue of Krishna in front. I went with the guide inside and we were greeted like old friends by some people. I was ushered into a room where many rugs were rolled up stacked all over the place. I didn't know what was going on. A nicely dressed man came in and asked me what kind of tea I would like. I said black tea. I was very tired and glad to be able to sit down and enjoy this cup of tea and rest. The tea came and the nicely dressed man started to try to sell me rugs. His crew came in and started rolling out rugs before me while the man described the texture, color, fabric and quality of the intricate design and on and on. Finally I told them that I was not prepared to buy a $4.000 rug while I was in India.

HUMAYON'S TOMB

When we arrived at Humyon's Tomb the guide and I got out of the car and started the long walk to the outer gate of the tomb which was at least three quarters of a mile away through a garden like park setting. We got there it was another half mile, it seemed. It was torture walking in the sufficating, and humid sun hot sun. The guide and I were both sweating profusely. We both took our handkerchiefs out and were wiping our faces with them. I was having a hard time keeping up with this twenty-three year old guide and I wasn't ashamed to admit it. I finally asked him to slow down. In fact if I can recall corredtly I asked him a few times to slow down. When we got to the tomb we sat down and rested for awhile til I caught my breath.

Akbar built this tomb. Humayon was his father. It took fifteen years to finish and it was built with Persian, Indian and Mugal influences. The Taj Mahal was modeled after this gigantic structure. The tomb was finished on the outside, but the inside was left unfinished. There is a large arch on each side of the building, and at each arch there is a door that leads to a small room. The center is where the stone coffin of Humayon lays. The monument is crowned with a large onion shaped dome.

Akbar built the Tomb of Humayon



After learning all about this tomb we made it back to the car and started heading for a different part of town. It was nice in the car because it had air-conditioning which felt very good. Then I told the guide had to use a restroom. The driver started to head in one direction where he knew where one was. The traffic at that time of day was still heavy and it is hard to get through, especially in the heat even if there was air-conditioning since there are many obstacles in the street. He continues to fight his way through the traffic and comes to a pay toilet, but it was closed. There is a resturant close by. So we go over. I go in and use their bathroom and am quite relieved.

Humayon's Tomb



I come out of the bathroom and the guide meets me at the door and suggests that I sit down and buy something to drink or eat since I used their bathroom. Now I owe them something for this favor. I sat down at a table and a waiter came by and I order a lime soda. After it came I took a drink of it. The guide asks me how it is. I told him it was different. It was quite different then anything I had ever tasted. The way they make it; they squeeze lime juice into soda water.

SNAKE CHARMER

We left the resturant and as I was walking along I spotted a snake charmer on the other side of the courtyard sitting against a wall. I went over. I wanted to see what he was doing and also get my picture sitting next to him while he was charming his snakes. The guide took my camera. The snake charmer had a couple different kinds of snakes in baskets around him. He had a couple cobras and a yellow snake. The snake charmer motioned for me to sit down next to him. When I sat down he tired to put his yellow snake on me. I wouldn't let him. He wanted to wrap it around my arm, but I told him I didn't want a snake on me. He couldn't understand English. He seemed confused. He didn't realize I just wanted to have my picture taken. The whole time the guide was taking pictures of me with this snake charmer. I gave him some money for his trouble and then left.

When we got back to the car the guide left for a few minutes. I think he had to use the bathroom. While he was gone the driver started talking to me for the first time. I found out his name was Subhash. He started telling me about what is going to happen the next day. He said that he was going to drive me to my next destination which was the city of Jaipur. He would take me there where I would spend one day and then drive me to Agra, where I would see the Taj Mahal and then he would take me to the train station where I would catch a train to Varanasi, and from there a different driver would take me to the rest of the places on this trip. Subhash seemed to be a sociable type person. I liked him right away.

Just then the guide came back and we were off to see the parliment building, the president's palace and a Hindu Temple.

We went passed the India Gate. The arch was built to commemerate the Indian soldiers who fought in World War I. As we passed the guide asked if I would like to go over and see it. I saw that it would be another long walk in the blazing, hot sun so I declined. Taking pictures out the window was good enough for me. We came to a road and went up a hill

Arch of India



On both sides of the street there were government buildings. One of them was the parliment building. At the end of the road there was a domed building that was once the home of the British Prime Minister when Britian ruled the country. The present head of government has a residence somewhere else that isn't so opulent and pretentious.

Government Building in New Dehli



The temple below is called the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Temple. It was dedicated by Gandi in the 1950's. He declared that it would be open to all people no matter if they were Hindu or not. It is usually forbidden for a non-Hindu person to enter into one of their temples.

At the entrance of the temple we had to go through security and I had to surrender my camera because no one is allowed to take pictures of "the gods". Once we got in we found out that we wouldn't be able to see the gods until after 2:30 in the afternoon. I think we had to wait about a half an hour or forty-five minutes. The guide joked a few times that the gods had to take a siesta during the middle of the day.

Hindu Temple in New Dehli



While we were waiting the guide took me around the temple and showed me some artwork on the walls of several gods from the Indian pantheon of gods and goddesses. There were pictures of Shiva, Vishnu, Krisna and many others.

He showed me two altars of Krishna that were open. We went in and he showed me around a little. I noticed that when some of the people were finished praying to Krishna they got up

Krishna



and walked backwards out of the chapel so they wouldn't turn their back to the god. When we were getting ready to leave I asked the guide if it was alright to turn your back to the god. He thought nothing of it and we turned our backs to Krishna and left. He said that this was his religion but he didn't practice it.

There was a small crowd of people waiting to see the gods. Finally the doors were opened and we were able to look at them. There were three doors. Each statue was carved out of marble. The following gods are in the main sanctuary of this temple; Vishnu and his wife Durga and Shiva and his wife Kali. There are pictures of Vishnu and Durga else where in this blog so they are not included here. Shiva and Kali are below.


Shiva, a very powerful god in India



Kali, Wife of Shiva and Mother of Ganesh



India is a country of temples and shrines. Where ever you travel in India the Hindu gods are ever present. The concept of the Hindu temple is symbolically a miniature representation of the cosmos. The sanctuary in the center is where the gods are. The lesser gods are farther away from the sanctuary.

Outside there were a few shrines. One was to Ganesh, the elephant headed son of Shiva and Kali. The other one was the monkey god Hanuman, a devotee of Rama.

Ganesh - Beloved god of the Hindus



The Monkey god Hanuman



All the gods in this temple are some of the highest gods in the Hindu religion. There are millions more besides these.

As we were walking out of the temple the guide asked me why I wasn't culture shocked? I had to pause for a minute. I told him that many years ago when I was a soldier fighting in a war I once lived in a small country in Indochina among people who were Buddhist and also held many Hindu beliefs. Coming to India had brought back many memories of that country. Maybe that was why I didn't go through culture shock. Maybe if I was going to live in India for awhile, maybe it would be different.

BACK AT THE HOTEL

I was exhausted when I got back to the hotel. I was making my way to my room when one of the bellhops asked if I was hungry. I said "no" and went into my room and went to bed. Several hours when I woke up I was starving so I went up to the resturant and ordered a toasted cheese sandwich, vegetables with curry sauce and tea. This was sent to my room. After that I went down to the lobby and got on the internet and wrote in my blog for awhile. I went back to my room and fell asleep with the television on and woke up around 2am. I turned it off and then slept til 0830.

THE ROAD TO JAIPUR

I got up and got all my stuff together and ready to leave then went to the front desk and changed some US money to ruppees. What a rip off! The clerk stole from me. It was raining and everyone on the street had thier umbrellas. I went back to my room and picked up the phone and ordered a Continental breakfast. After that I brought all my luggage to the lobby and waited for Subhash.

Later while Subhash was winding his way out of the jungle of New Dehli traffic I was looking out the car window at the scenery passing by. After we got out of the city and into the rural areas there was mostly fields of maize here and there and people out working on their land and walking to and fro on the side of the road. Some were leading donkeys or herding sheep and other animals. We passed quite a few Hindu temples and I took pictures of them everytime I saw one.

Common sight on the Road to Jaipur



The usual pattern was we would drive through vast countryside, then come upon a village.
This was the way it was most of the way. After a few miles we came to a sign that said we were entering into the state of Rajasthan. It is an arid desert land with few fertile areas that was once inhabited by nomadic tribes. After awhile these tribes turned into kingdoms who were constantly warring against each other. Today there are still kings, but they are not as powerful as they used to be. But there is a culture still there that is vibrant and going strong.


The Hindu swastika has been around for 30,000 years and has alway has been a symbol of peace, but the Nazi's turned it into a emblem of hate. How long will it take for the origional meaning of this symbol to be recognised? Maybe a few more generations.



We stopped at a little cafe/gift shop after a few hours of driving. I went into the resturant part while Subhash went to visit someone he knew in the gift shop. The place was almost empty. I sat down at a table and was given a menu. I ordered a cheese nan and tea. I was given a fork and a spoon to eat this with. It quickly came to me how I was going to uses these utinsils. The spoon would be used as a knife. You stab the nan with the fork and pull it apart with the spoon. This is how I believe the Indian people saw the British do it. The people of India don't use silver ware. They eat with their hands. Or, I might say, they eat with their right hand. Their left hand never touches the food that goes into their mouths. They use the left hand to clean themselves after they take a shit.

After this small meal I went into the gift shop and found some miniature Mugal paintings that I bought. I also found a few DVD's of Indian music and a few other things.

I had been sitting in the front seat most of the way. During this time Subhash and I were having a conversation about many things. He told me that he spend alot of time with holy men and listens to what they have to say. Most of these holy men are devotees to Shiva. India has a different system then we do. When men get older they leave their homes and forsake all their possessions and become wanderers and go to live in forests and meditate and live by whateve hand out they can get. They do this until they die. I could tell that Subhash had this on his mind and that was something he would have to do when he got older. I think these holy men give him advice.

Hindu Temple



Subhash was from the country of Cashmere which is northwest of India. It is a very beautiful country. Subhash built a house there and has a wife and two children. He works in New Dehli and sends money to his family. His wife works on some handicraft at home and sells her wares to tourists. Subhash goes home whenever he can, but his work keeps him in India.

While we were talking and driving along Subhash asked if he could look at my right hand. I showed it to him and I could see he was intensely studying it. He was reading my palm. He didn't immediately share with me what he was looking at so intensley. I asked him to recommend a book that I could read about his religion. He recommended the Bhagava Gita.
This is the book that he reads and gets his religion from.

JAIPUR

Jaipur is the capital of the state of Rajasthan. It was founded in 1728 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who was the ruler of Amber. He had lived in Amber Fort for a long time and felt cramped in the palaces there. In time he had a larger palace built to the south of Amber. Soon a city grew around this new palace and it was named Jaipur. Now it is a city of bazaars, gardens, great architecture and is a major destination.

As we entered Jaipur suddenly we got into a traffic jam. There were hundreds of cycle rickshaws. It must have been rush hour. We inched our way along the city roads and came upon Amber Fort which is a well fortified fortress built on the ridge of a small mountain range. It is a place where I would visit the next day.

Example of Mugal Art - found everywhere in northern India