I have finally found Internet again! So much has happened in the last few days.The train to Agra was shocking coming out of the city of Delhi. We thought we were experiencing poverty in the city, but it was no match for the outskirts. mountains of trash was piled high all around the city. Children were picking through the trash to find goods to sell and many tarp tents and huts were all over the trash heaps. People were defecating out in the open as well. The farm lands were interesting. Many rice fields with small thatched huts scattered the landscape throughout the rest of the ride.
We arrived in Agra as the monsoon was coming in. It rained all day off an on, but it cooled us off. The first thing we saw in Agra of course was the glorious Taj Mahal built by Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan. The most amazing parts was the precise symmetry of the whole place, and the optical illusions within the architecture. The whole place was built on a spring board foundation from spongy wood so no natural disaster can destruct it. Much of the marble inlay designs were optical illusions and had designs that looked angled on surfaces that were flat. The color of the whole place changes according to light because of the reflecting crystal in the marble. It was truly an amazing work of art if not science. We took a tonga horse ride back from the Taj. There were many monkeys and Camels as well. I wanted to ride a camel.
We then toured Agra fort which was built by Emperor Akbar, Shan Jahan's grandfather. It was amazing as well! There were so many carvings in the Persian and Chinese style. Many religions were represented in the architecture as well because of his three wives who were Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. They thought of everything! There were beautiful libraries in the forts with hidden parts in the walls to store valubles. They also carried water within the walls for use and cooling. The walls were hollow, so people could also talk through the walls like a walkie talkie. Many of the paintings and carving were destroyed from a fire. Archeologists were restoring the building by plastering the walls. The have actually been destroying the beautiful carvings and paintings by plastering on top of them. It is very sad, I had always believed the philosophy of Archeologists was to preserve and protect ancient artifacts and historical monuments. Watching them destroy such beauty was sickening. Shan Jahan was arrested by his son for spending too much money and imprisoned in this fort for his last 8 years of life. He wore a diamond ring to reflect the Taj Mahal in the distance.
We also visited Fatehpur Sikri-a fort which was only built by Akbar because a Shaman who promised him a son lived in this town. Akbar moved his capitol to this location for more good luck. He kept an elephant here who was a judge of who was guilty or innocent of a crime. This elephant decided the fate of all in the city by crushing any guilty people with his foot. Lots of local people came to this fort, which was fun for me. I asked some if I could take pictures of their beautiful Sarees which started a whole charade of picture fun. Many took pictures with me after! A huge group of girls were daring each other to hold my hand an take a picture. They left laughing historically in good spirits. All of the beautiful children were flocking to get their pictures taken and families were thrusting their infants into my arms for pictures. I felt like Mother Theressa, though I haven't done good for these people whatsoever. These people were so beautiful inside an out, I really enjoyed this day. The guide Sunny told me that many couple come to this fort to hide, because they are not allowed to date in India. If the parents of the girl found out, she would have severe punishment and marry her off immediately.
Sunny was such a great guide! He knew absolutely everything about these buildings and took great photos. When telling me about the eunuchs dancing for the emperor. I asked him if it was like a Hijra, he was in shock and said' "How do you know this word?!". I have a very good Anthropology professor. Thanks Sally. :) He was great at talking about the culture as well because he values American culture as well. He was very open about many horrible things in his country. Every 77 seconds a woman is burned because her husband's family is unsatisfied with the dowry. He also told us about the caste system a bit, the top caste is made from the head (knowledge) they are the priests and holy people; the next caste is the soldiers, warriors, and royalty, they are made from the heart; the next caste is made from the thighs and is the laboring caste; last is the untouchable caste who is made from the feet. This system is very strict and contains a lot of rules that people must follow or they are shunned from society. Hopefully I can learn more about this system, it is very interesting. Sunny said that untouchable children go to school and are forced to clean the school instead of learn. They drop out fast because they can't get an education.
We arrived in Agra as the monsoon was coming in. It rained all day off an on, but it cooled us off. The first thing we saw in Agra of course was the glorious Taj Mahal built by Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan. The most amazing parts was the precise symmetry of the whole place, and the optical illusions within the architecture. The whole place was built on a spring board foundation from spongy wood so no natural disaster can destruct it. Much of the marble inlay designs were optical illusions and had designs that looked angled on surfaces that were flat. The color of the whole place changes according to light because of the reflecting crystal in the marble. It was truly an amazing work of art if not science. We took a tonga horse ride back from the Taj. There were many monkeys and Camels as well. I wanted to ride a camel.
We then toured Agra fort which was built by Emperor Akbar, Shan Jahan's grandfather. It was amazing as well! There were so many carvings in the Persian and Chinese style. Many religions were represented in the architecture as well because of his three wives who were Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. They thought of everything! There were beautiful libraries in the forts with hidden parts in the walls to store valubles. They also carried water within the walls for use and cooling. The walls were hollow, so people could also talk through the walls like a walkie talkie. Many of the paintings and carving were destroyed from a fire. Archeologists were restoring the building by plastering the walls. The have actually been destroying the beautiful carvings and paintings by plastering on top of them. It is very sad, I had always believed the philosophy of Archeologists was to preserve and protect ancient artifacts and historical monuments. Watching them destroy such beauty was sickening. Shan Jahan was arrested by his son for spending too much money and imprisoned in this fort for his last 8 years of life. He wore a diamond ring to reflect the Taj Mahal in the distance.
Sunny was such a great guide! He knew absolutely everything about these buildings and took great photos. When telling me about the eunuchs dancing for the emperor. I asked him if it was like a Hijra, he was in shock and said' "How do you know this word?!". I have a very good Anthropology professor. Thanks Sally. :) He was great at talking about the culture as well because he values American culture as well. He was very open about many horrible things in his country. Every 77 seconds a woman is burned because her husband's family is unsatisfied with the dowry. He also told us about the caste system a bit, the top caste is made from the head (knowledge) they are the priests and holy people; the next caste is the soldiers, warriors, and royalty, they are made from the heart; the next caste is made from the thighs and is the laboring caste; last is the untouchable caste who is made from the feet. This system is very strict and contains a lot of rules that people must follow or they are shunned from society. Hopefully I can learn more about this system, it is very interesting. Sunny said that untouchable children go to school and are forced to clean the school instead of learn. They drop out fast because they can't get an education.
No comments:
Post a Comment