Hi everybody,
It's Friday morning in Jaipur and yesterday Team India visited the world famous Taj Mahal in Agra, which is in the state bordering Rajasthan, Utter Pradesh. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by the 17th century Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, in honor of his beloved third wife. It is made entirely of white marble with precious stone inlay. The Taj is heralded as a triumph of Mughal-style architecture and, having seen it with my own eyes, I can understand why. It's an impressive structure, entirely symmetrical, and the white marble gleams in the sunlight. The precious stone inlay is fascinating because, from a distance, it looks like paint. I took some close up photos to illustrate what I mean. Also, special thank-you to the good people at Callaghan's in Mobile for supplying me with a Callaghan's T-shirt. I hope a photo of me wearing a Callaghan's T-shirt and standing in front of the Taj Mahal will make it to the wall at Callaghan's sometime this summer. (For non-Mobilians, Callaghan's is a neighborhood pub in the Oakleigh district. One wall in the pub features pictures of Mobilians all over the world, standing in front of famous monuments while wearing a Callaghan's T-shirt).
Agra was definitely one of the hottest cities we've visited. It felt like we were in a convection oven. We road a train from Jaipur to Agra and back, so it was a day trip. It was 5 hours by train each way, so we were up at a quarter to 5 Thursday morning and returned around midnight Friday. So it made for a long day, but seeing the Taj was definitely worth it. We had several interesting experiences with rickshaws in Agra - they are better told than read, I think, so ask me about them later.
That's enough for now. Thank-you for checking the blog, and see you soon. PW
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Anybody heard of ... Ajmer???
Ajmer is a town in north-central Rajasthan numbering about 80,000 people. I can call this a town rather than a city because by India's population standards, to be classified as a city the settlement must have over 1 million people, half a million auto-rickshaws (the three-wheeled taxis referenced in an earlier post), and a quarter million cows, camels, and dogs of various shapes, sizes, and temperaments. [Digression: Did I mention that I saw seven monkeys in Ahemdabad? We're driving down a busy street (picture...Broadway in Manhattan). I look out the bus window and there are seven monkeys perched on a building ledge, peering (yes, there is supposed to be an "r" in that word - I know what some of you are thinking) into the street. Four of them must have been spooked when they saw me because they immediately jumped into a nearby tree. I have that effect on monkeys.] Anyway, back to Ajmer. So, Ajmer is a small town of 80,000, which is roughly 30,000 people more than Johnson City, Tennessee. But, did you know that Ajmer (actually, it's the neighboring city of Pushkar that has the temple) has the only temple to Brahma in the world??!! And, we saw it. I took pictures of it. It'll be in my Power Point.
In Hindu tradition, Brahma created the universe. Vishnu sustains it, and Shiva destroys it. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three main deities in Hinduism. Together, they make up GOD (Generation, Operation, Destruction for those who, like me, are mnemonically-challenged). The Brahma temple in Pushkar (near Ajmer) is the only Brahma temple in the world. Others throughout time and in far-off places tried to construct other Brahma temples, but were always unsuccessful, or at least that's how the locals tell it. So, this was a special treat for us to see the only Brahma temple in the world, and it's in Pushkar. It's very beautiful with carvings and paintings. It was also quite crowded with worshippers, so I didn't get a chance to study the details as much as I would if it had been empty. I don't know if my pictures will do it justice. It's always interesting to observe how people practice their religion. In Hinduism, the faithful will gather at a small shrine with the icon of a deity enclosed in it. Several incense sticks are burning, so there's always a sweet smell associated with Hindu temples. A small bell hangs over the entrance to the shrine, and each worshippers clangs the bell as the enter the shrine. As one person told me, the bell is there to "wake up the gods." Then, the person positions him/herself in front of the deity's icon, clasps his/her hands together in prayer, offers some short pooja (prayer), and then they may leave some kind of tangible offering like a flower (or a strand of flowers), some kind of small food (the size of an M&M but without the chocolate center, I'm guessing), and then some worshippers will touch the ground and then will touch themselves on the forehead and on the chest in a motion that looks very similar to making the sign of the cross in the Christian tradition. I've got to find out what these movements mean. The most common shrines I've seen are devoted to Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Another deity you'll see alot in India is Ganesh. This is Shiva's son, and is the god with the head of an elephant. Ganesh gives special blessings and good luck, particularly at the start of new ventures (marriage, new job, long journey). You'll also see swastikas painted everywhere in India - on temples, doorposts, as random grafitti. These aren't the bent swastikas used by the Nazis, and the swasitkas in India have nothing to do with Nazism nor anti-Semitism. I've asked about the symbol, and no one seems to know the origin of it except to say that it's very old (historians date it to Aryan times in India - again, nothing to do with Hitler's ideas about the "Aryan race") and that it's an auspicious sign of blessing and good fortune.
That evening, our hosts took us to a Sufi shrine, Dargah Shareef, in the old city of Ajmer. This was the experience of a lifetime. It's hard to put into words the experience. It's the only Sufi shrine in Ajmer, and I believe it's actually a tomb of a Sufi saint (that might have been lost in translation). Anyway, Muslims from all over India and indeed south Asia come to this shrine for special prayers and blessings, and I've got to tell you it seemed like all of India and south Asia were there Thursday night when we visited. The narrow streets leading to the shrine were absolutely packed with pilgrims, merchants, shoppers, beggers, and people staring at the Americans. We had to cover our heads (a sign of respect) and remove our shoes and we made our way to the shrine. Similar to most Hindu temples I've seen, this Islamic shrine was actually a complex - a large cluster of buildings and open spaces with people literally everywhere. There was a bathing pool to our left as we entered the shrine (we didn't bathe). On our right and slightly elevated was a huge pot where pilgrims throw rice, wheat, and money (bills and coins), all of which are donated to charity. Then, we and about 90,000 other people entered the shrine itself which was about the size of a dressing room at Dillard's. I started getting scary images of a British soccer stadium, and I'm not exaggerating. It felt like it was about 1,000 degrees and people kept pushing and cramming to get up close to the center where what I think was the saint's body (again, I could be wrong about this whole tomb/body thing) was covered with a shroud, which itself was covered with thousands (millions?) of flower petals of all kinds. The room smelled of flowers, incense, and human sweat. We approached the tomb and one of the clerics tied a scarf around our necks, said some kind of prayer, and then gave us a handful of rose petals which we were commanded to eat. So, I ate a flower in a Sufi shrine in Ajmer, Rajasthan Thursday night. What did you do??? Then, we were ready to leave except...oops, there are 90,000 people in the room besides us and the exit was (heh, heh) on the opposite side of the room. The only verb I can think of here that most appropriately captures the experience is "swam." We "swam" through a sea of people to the exit and emerged, after about 10 minutes of swimming and 20 minutes of treading pilgrims, into the portico where it was a bit less crowded and a bit less hot. We were saved! Except (heh, heh) we had to go back in again to receive another special blessing. This time, the cleric touched the shroud to our heads (actually, we put our entire head under the fold of the shroud). Then, after more swimming, we emerged unscathed and energized because, come on - how often does THAT happen??? Afterwards, and since the flower wasn't enough sustenance to hold us until breakfast, we had dinner in a local restaurant and then returned to the hostel. That was a real adventure.
So long for now, PW
In Hindu tradition, Brahma created the universe. Vishnu sustains it, and Shiva destroys it. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three main deities in Hinduism. Together, they make up GOD (Generation, Operation, Destruction for those who, like me, are mnemonically-challenged). The Brahma temple in Pushkar (near Ajmer) is the only Brahma temple in the world. Others throughout time and in far-off places tried to construct other Brahma temples, but were always unsuccessful, or at least that's how the locals tell it. So, this was a special treat for us to see the only Brahma temple in the world, and it's in Pushkar. It's very beautiful with carvings and paintings. It was also quite crowded with worshippers, so I didn't get a chance to study the details as much as I would if it had been empty. I don't know if my pictures will do it justice. It's always interesting to observe how people practice their religion. In Hinduism, the faithful will gather at a small shrine with the icon of a deity enclosed in it. Several incense sticks are burning, so there's always a sweet smell associated with Hindu temples. A small bell hangs over the entrance to the shrine, and each worshippers clangs the bell as the enter the shrine. As one person told me, the bell is there to "wake up the gods." Then, the person positions him/herself in front of the deity's icon, clasps his/her hands together in prayer, offers some short pooja (prayer), and then they may leave some kind of tangible offering like a flower (or a strand of flowers), some kind of small food (the size of an M&M but without the chocolate center, I'm guessing), and then some worshippers will touch the ground and then will touch themselves on the forehead and on the chest in a motion that looks very similar to making the sign of the cross in the Christian tradition. I've got to find out what these movements mean. The most common shrines I've seen are devoted to Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Another deity you'll see alot in India is Ganesh. This is Shiva's son, and is the god with the head of an elephant. Ganesh gives special blessings and good luck, particularly at the start of new ventures (marriage, new job, long journey). You'll also see swastikas painted everywhere in India - on temples, doorposts, as random grafitti. These aren't the bent swastikas used by the Nazis, and the swasitkas in India have nothing to do with Nazism nor anti-Semitism. I've asked about the symbol, and no one seems to know the origin of it except to say that it's very old (historians date it to Aryan times in India - again, nothing to do with Hitler's ideas about the "Aryan race") and that it's an auspicious sign of blessing and good fortune.
That evening, our hosts took us to a Sufi shrine, Dargah Shareef, in the old city of Ajmer. This was the experience of a lifetime. It's hard to put into words the experience. It's the only Sufi shrine in Ajmer, and I believe it's actually a tomb of a Sufi saint (that might have been lost in translation). Anyway, Muslims from all over India and indeed south Asia come to this shrine for special prayers and blessings, and I've got to tell you it seemed like all of India and south Asia were there Thursday night when we visited. The narrow streets leading to the shrine were absolutely packed with pilgrims, merchants, shoppers, beggers, and people staring at the Americans. We had to cover our heads (a sign of respect) and remove our shoes and we made our way to the shrine. Similar to most Hindu temples I've seen, this Islamic shrine was actually a complex - a large cluster of buildings and open spaces with people literally everywhere. There was a bathing pool to our left as we entered the shrine (we didn't bathe). On our right and slightly elevated was a huge pot where pilgrims throw rice, wheat, and money (bills and coins), all of which are donated to charity. Then, we and about 90,000 other people entered the shrine itself which was about the size of a dressing room at Dillard's. I started getting scary images of a British soccer stadium, and I'm not exaggerating. It felt like it was about 1,000 degrees and people kept pushing and cramming to get up close to the center where what I think was the saint's body (again, I could be wrong about this whole tomb/body thing) was covered with a shroud, which itself was covered with thousands (millions?) of flower petals of all kinds. The room smelled of flowers, incense, and human sweat. We approached the tomb and one of the clerics tied a scarf around our necks, said some kind of prayer, and then gave us a handful of rose petals which we were commanded to eat. So, I ate a flower in a Sufi shrine in Ajmer, Rajasthan Thursday night. What did you do??? Then, we were ready to leave except...oops, there are 90,000 people in the room besides us and the exit was (heh, heh) on the opposite side of the room. The only verb I can think of here that most appropriately captures the experience is "swam." We "swam" through a sea of people to the exit and emerged, after about 10 minutes of swimming and 20 minutes of treading pilgrims, into the portico where it was a bit less crowded and a bit less hot. We were saved! Except (heh, heh) we had to go back in again to receive another special blessing. This time, the cleric touched the shroud to our heads (actually, we put our entire head under the fold of the shroud). Then, after more swimming, we emerged unscathed and energized because, come on - how often does THAT happen??? Afterwards, and since the flower wasn't enough sustenance to hold us until breakfast, we had dinner in a local restaurant and then returned to the hostel. That was a real adventure.
So long for now, PW
Rajasthan Simmers...
In more ways than one... greetings from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. It was a toasty 108 degrees Farenheit today, perfect for sauntering about the city. Yes, folks, it is hot in India. The silver lining is that New Delhi was 112 degrees, so I guess that means Jaipur was experiencing a cold snap.
Our tour has been changed slightly due to civil unrest in Rajasthan. You may have seen something about it on the news. One of the castes in this region, called the Gujjars, is demanding some kind of recognition from the state government, something tantamount to what we call affirmative action. It's hard to piece it all together what with the Hindi news stations and all, but as far as I can tell the Gujjars claim they were promised recognition, they haven't gotten it, and now they've hijacked the national highways of eastern Rajasthan and are clashing with state police. To complicate things further, another caste called the Meenas oppose this special recognition for the Gujjars, and so they are counter-protesting. Many people have been killed, tourist buses burned (not ours), and the highways have been closed for days. Team India hunkered down in Ajmer for the past 3 days at a hostel, and we made a break for Jaipur this morning, arriving safely around noon. The worst of the unrest is to the east of Jaipur about 25-30 miles, which is also the same highway that takes you to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Depending on how things turn out, Team India may or may not get to see the Taj. But Jaipur is safe. We're in very nice quarters at a university here. I just watched the Daily Show and feel caught up with news events from back home. Haven't heard much news these last 3 weeks.
Hope everyone is doing fine and that you enjoy the blog, what little I've been able to do. So long for now, PW
Our tour has been changed slightly due to civil unrest in Rajasthan. You may have seen something about it on the news. One of the castes in this region, called the Gujjars, is demanding some kind of recognition from the state government, something tantamount to what we call affirmative action. It's hard to piece it all together what with the Hindi news stations and all, but as far as I can tell the Gujjars claim they were promised recognition, they haven't gotten it, and now they've hijacked the national highways of eastern Rajasthan and are clashing with state police. To complicate things further, another caste called the Meenas oppose this special recognition for the Gujjars, and so they are counter-protesting. Many people have been killed, tourist buses burned (not ours), and the highways have been closed for days. Team India hunkered down in Ajmer for the past 3 days at a hostel, and we made a break for Jaipur this morning, arriving safely around noon. The worst of the unrest is to the east of Jaipur about 25-30 miles, which is also the same highway that takes you to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Depending on how things turn out, Team India may or may not get to see the Taj. But Jaipur is safe. We're in very nice quarters at a university here. I just watched the Daily Show and feel caught up with news events from back home. Haven't heard much news these last 3 weeks.
Hope everyone is doing fine and that you enjoy the blog, what little I've been able to do. So long for now, PW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)