RED FORT

Next stop was the Red Fort a little way from the Taj Mahal. It was here that I found out that this Red Fort was very much like the one in New Dehli. Even though they were much alike, there were alot of differences between the two. The country used to be ruled from this place but the capitol was moved to New Dehli.

Once you get passed the fort-like exterior you enter the palace area; the living quarters of the emperor and his family. As we were walking through, the mosque to the left with it's white domes gleaming in the sun caught my attention. I tried to imagine how the people lived in a place like this. We walked straight through to the windows on the other end. Bilal explained to me how the screens over the windows are made of stone. In the olden days the workmen took a slab of stone and carved it out and made it into a screen using a special tool and special techniques. If a workman made a mistake and broke the stone he would have to start over.

Looking out over the palace grounds and across the river is the Taj Mahal. With the early morning haze still surrounding it, it looked like a mirage floating in the distance.

Taj Mahal from Red Fort



We went through the various courtyards of the palaces where the wives of the emperor lived. Bilal pointed out the different styles of architecture of each building which was a blend of Muslim, Hindu or Christian depending on what religion each wife was.

Red Fort in Agra



After the Red Fort I came back to the hotel to get something to eat and rest alittle for a couple of hours then the guide came again and took me to what is called the BABY TAJ. It is a tomb built in the general style of the Taj Mahal in that it is completely decorated both inside and out with the inlaid semi precious stones. The outer style is different from the Taj and it is alot smaller. It is the burial place of some former Muslim emperors and their wives and children.

Bilal The Guide



Bilal was a nice little guy. He was quite short but I noticed that he had gigantic feet. Toward the end of the tour I put my foot next to his and asked him if he was going to grow any more. With feet that big I thought he was going to shoot up to six foot five in a few months. He smile and told me that to make himself taller he used these big shoes and put something in them to make himself a couple inches taller.

Bilal has been a guide for a few years now. His father and also many of his relatives do this kind of work. He recently graduated from college and usually takes Japanese people on tours since he speak their language fluently. In the off season he takes English speakers on tours.

Akbar's Tomb



One of the last things I did was to see Akbar's Tomb. Akbar's bones are not in the coffin that is on display. They are in a coffin one floor below this one for security reasons. One of Akbar's sons built the Taj Mahal and Humayon was his father, whose tomb I saw in New Dehli.

After this I went back to the hotel again and rested for awhile. Then brought all my stuff to the lobby and checked out and waited for Subhash. He arrived about fifteen minutes later. Subhash knew of a good resturant so he took me to it. He didn't come in with me which I thought was unusual. I went in alone and ordered Chinese style chicken fried rice. After it came and I was eating it, the waiter came by and asked if I would like some curd with it. I said "sure", so he brought some over. I liked the combination. While I was in the resturant Subhash spent his time visiting other drivers who he has known for many years. They would be sitting outside the resturant in a little group waiting for their clients to come out.

After I got back in the car we still had quite a few hours before the train would arrive so I expressed some interest in going to a store to see if I could find some good music from India and maybe buy a book. He took me to a book store where they also sells CD's and other things.

Going into a store like this is quite a different experience then what we do in the States. The usual custom is to go in and sit down and talk to the proprietor a little and then he offers you tea. We talked alittle inbetween him attending other customers. I asked about buying a CD. I wanted to get some good music but I knew nothing about their music. He started playing some of his favorite music on CD. It was all good but then I asked Subhash to recommend something. I wanted to include him because I didn't like the cast system, so I asked for his advice. He suggested some Rajasthani folk music called NIMBUDA NIMBUDA sung by Bunda Khan & party. The proprietor put the CD on and played the first track. I liked it. He played the second track all the way to the last track. I liked every track so I wanted to buy it. It is music that comes from the desert around Jaipur. Today that CD is still one of my favorite in Indian music. This particular groups plays their instruments and sings from the heart.

While we were there I wanted to buy a book or two so I went to the back of the store where their book cases were and scanned the books to see what I could come up with. I found a book called, JESUS LIVED IN INDIA By Holger Kersten: Penquin Book, and then I found a book called, THE HOLY VEDAS, which is some of the holy scriptures of the Hindu religion. I thought I would get that and see what it was all about.

Man Making Betelnut



It was starting to get dark so I purchased these thing and we walked out the door. Across the street their was a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. There were a bunch of people worshipping inside, but there was alot of commotion going on inside and spilling out onto the street. We got in the car and proceeded down the street. We still had several hours to go before I had to be at the train station so Subhash wanted to take me to a friend of his place where we could sit and talk to them for awhile. It was ok with me but I wanted to try some betelnut that I had read about before coming to India. Many years ago while serving in the military for my country I had tried some in the southeast Asian country where I was stationed for a year. At that time I was young and as I recall I didn't like it. I thought being in India I would try it again now that I was much older to see what it was like. So Subhash took me to a place on the street where we could get some. He told the guy what we wanted and the vendor put a bunch of stuff inside the betel-nut leaf and gave it to us. Subhash rolled his up and I did the same. Then he put it in the back of his mouth like you would chewing tobacco. I followed suit. He said you are supposed to chew it lightly and slowly so it would last awhile. I asked him if we had to spit out the juice. He said to swallow it. It had quite a good flavor. I chewed on that the whole night and spit it out when it was down to nothing.

We got in the car and Subhash drove to his friend's store in the central district of Agra. His friend owns a store where they carve things out of stone. They carve many things such as Buddhist statues and other things. He pulled up infront of the store and found a place to park and we went in. There were some workers sitting on the floor outside the front door. They were cutting stone with some kind of a tool and cooling the blade with water which was flowing onto the pavement.

Once inside the store I was introduced to his friend who was tending the store. I shook his hand and then was ushered to a side room and was shown a couch to sit on. There was an old man sitting on the other side of the room. He looked to be around eighty years old. For a few minutes we just sat there not saying anything to each other. Finally after a little bit the old man started to talk. He began by telling me a little about India's history. He said that what you read in the history books is not the way it was. England wanted India solely as a jewel in their crown and for no other reason.

Then he started talking about Gandhi. He said that he had met with him and talked to him many times. I asked him if he had ever shook his hand. He said he had, so I asked him if I could shake the hand that shook the hand of Gandhi. So he let me shake his hand.

We talked more on India's history and politics. Pretty soon his son came in, (Subhash's friend) and he started to talk about President Bush and American politics. We talked about that for awhile then Subhash came back. It was starting to get late so I shook hands with Subhash's friend and the old man, and then we left.