Visiting Varanasi, Agra, and Delhi this last weekend was truly an incredible experience. It was very eye opening and absolutely fascinating to really delve into a totally foreign culture and figure out what makes India India.
Part One: Varanasi - The Holy City of the Hindus
Varanasi is one of the most ancient cities in the history of the world. Hindu pilgrims come from all over the world to bathe in the River Ganga (Ganges River), which borders the city. The Ganges is believed to have the power to cleanse the bather of all previously committed sins and/or bad karma. Many elderly Hindus come to Varanasi to die so their bodies can be cremated on the burning ghat, and their ashes can be collected and dumped into the Ganga. This is said by the Hindus to be one of the only ways to gain salvation.
It was possibly the most fascinating place I have ever been. Very colorful, crowded, messy, and chaotic. Eerie at times (aka when seeing the burning bodies and ashes on the ghat), and breathtakingly beautiful at times. All in all, rich in culture and very exciting!
The beautiful view from the rooftop restaurant at the Blue Dolphin Guest Home.
The ghat from our hotel to the river. Beauty!
Gotta love the dirty, bustling roads of Varanasi. Not uncommon to see 3-4 people crammed on a motorcycle.
The boat ride at sunrise was a definite favorite of mine.
We arrived in Varanasi on March 8th, this year's celebration of Holi, the Hindu chalk throwing festival. Sadly, we were flying for the actual color throw, but we got to see all of the aftermath. Almost everyone and everything was drenched in color. We saw everything from Holi Monkeys, to Holi Dogs, to Holi Cows! This little guy was too irresistible.....
HAPPY HOLI!! Chalk was for sale around every corner.
There were about 5 million little temples like this all over Varanasi. Quite a few really large, ornate, ancient ones too!
We loved venturing through the shady alleys near the hotel. Never a dull moment!
The nightly Hindu ceremony to honor the Mother Ganga, performed by the local priests.
Twice that day, we were greeted and welcomed to Varanasi with a nice smudge of color to the forehead, first in the restroom at the airport, and second on the streets from these lovely gentlemen!
On the bright side, at least the trash was somewhat organized into piles.....?...... I guess that's a step toward better sanitation, right?
Absolutely mind blowing. Just seeing all of the people casually taking their morning bath or washing their clothes in the ash-filled holy river.
Breathtaking! The view from our boat ride.
And of course, how could we go to the Ganges and NOT get in?! It's filled with dead bodies and ashes and trash and who knows what else, but HEY!...... Why not?!
Getting STOKED for our "holy dip" as our lovely guide called it.
One.... Two... WAIT!!!!! I'm not ready yet................... Okay, now I'm ready.... One, Two..........
THREE!
It was a tad bit chilly...... Ha. :) We took a nice solid five dips for good measure.
Washing off all the bad karma! Yeeeeeah baby!
Checkety check check! FINISH!
Shopping.... Always a favorite part of the trip. :)
Varanasi is known for it's silk production, and we were able to go to a silk factory and see some of the old fashioned machines. One centimeter of sari fabric on this bad boy takes a good 8 hours. Impressive!
Saranath, the location of Buddha's first sermon. Interesting fact that I didn't know before: Buddha was actually Hindu and Buddhism is a branch off of Hinduism.
The open palm, a common sign of welcome.
We LOVE Indian food..... Yummmmmm. :)
My very first overnight train! An adventure to say the least..
Getting all snuggled up (in my very sketchy train blanket) and ready for bed with my top bunk buddy from England! Funny that the only other white person on the train happened to be in our compartment. A very charming fellow!
Part Two: Arga - The Home of the Taj Mahal
The short time we spent in Agra was well worth it. I was SO captivated and impressed by everything we saw. The artistry, detail, and perfect symmetry of the structures was astonishing. I think seeing the Taj and the Agra Fort sparked a new found love of architecture within me! Seeing these palaces, castles and monuments made stories you hear as a kid totally come alive.
Here we are after a refreshing evening on the night train, standing outside the front gate to the Taj Mahal, ready as ever to see the seventh wonder of the world!
Interesting facts provided by Nitton, our fabulous tour guide:
-This muslim monument was built in the 3rd generation of the Mughal Dynasty of India by Emperor Shah Jahan as an expression of love for his dead wife.
-There are 22 small spires atop the entrance, each symbolizing a year spent on the construction of this magnificent architectural creation.
-Everything about the Taj Mahal, including the outlying decorative buildings, is completely symmetrical
-The estimated cost of building the Taj Mahal was about 14 million Rupees (This doesn't include the marble, which is the vast majority of the structure, because the emperor was supplied with free marble from his own land)
-All of the colors within the Taj Mahal are produced by semi-precious stones that were carved and placed into the marble by expert craftsmen. No paint was used.
It was completed in 1653 and still looks brand new. Imagine that!
Brooke and I, taking a moment to meditate and become one with our surroundings.
Sam and Nitton, expressing their friendship Indian style. You see grow men holding hands as a gesture of friendship ALL the time here! It's funny how socially unacceptable that would be if it were a guy and a girl. Oh India.....
The beautiful, detailed work inside the Taj. All of those tiny little flowers.... Hand carved, semi-precious stones.
Oh, just one of the decorative buildings on the side of the Taj, just to "fill space" and create symmetry. Immaculate.
More ammmaaazingness! I love the sandstone/marble contrast!
Later on that afternoon: Agra fort - Military base/palace of the Mughal Emperors. Complete with a classic castle moat and drawbridge!
The Emperor's living quarters. Once filled with a small grape vineyard, two pools, and roughly 400 concubines.
The Emperor's sleeping chamber!
I thought this was so crazy! As a form of air conditioning, the early Indians would pour cold water through the hollow walls in the palace and it would trickle down into pools like this little guy and then pool into the moat through a waterfall, which would eventually recirculate, with the aid of servants, and come back through the walls to cool off the rooms again.
A small portion of the Emperor's library.
The Three Amigos standing outside of the courtroom.
Agra is well known for its marble, and we had the chance to go to visit some of the ancestors of those who built the Taj Mahal and see the work that they are still continuing. INCREDIBLE to see how much detail and precision goes into the seemingly simplest things.
This good sir here carefully carving out small slivers of turquoise to create a flower for a coffee table they are working on.
Part Three: Delhi - The Capital of India
Delhi was just a blast! More beautiful muslim monuments, lots of fun cultural experiences, and some pretty great food. (Which may or may not have made me deathly ill (?) for 24 hours after arriving back home at Rising Star, which may or may not have been TOTALLY worth it!)
For a while now, I have been wondering WHY the cows are so sacred to the Hindus. From what I have experienced in my three months so far, cows ALWAYS have the right of way. They basically just chill wherever they want and roam the streets of rural villages like ours at Rising Star, or even streets of big cities like Chennai. So.... after asking our guide, Nitton, about the significance of these animals, he explained that among other things like milk etc., the cow pies were a primary source of fire-starting material for the people. After he pointed out these small brown circles of goodness, we realized that they were stacked EVERYWHERE. Some stacks were as tall and large as some of the rural homes near Delhi. Lower women in the caste system have the lifetime responsibility/honor of collecting, shaping, and stacking (almost artistically, I might add) these holy cow pies.
One thing I absolutely love about India: Car rides NEVER get boring.
Ever.
Okay.... So we caved for ONE meal and went to Pizza Hut for American food.... It was surprisingly the cleanest restaurant I have been into thus far in India! They even had a hand blow dryer in the bathroom. High rollin!!
Qutab Minar - The tallest stone structure in India! A gorgeous monument to a battle victory in the 1300's.
Up close. Amazing detail. Love the Sanskrit.
Even the ceilings.... Wowowowwwwah.
SO grateful to have my beautiful, hilarious cousin Brooke to share this experience with me.
Baha'i House of Worship. Another enlightening, wonderful trip experience for me. This religion's fundamental value and primary purpose is unity, oneness, and world peace between different cultures, races, and religions. This building is a prayer/meditation hall for any person who feels inclined to join. We came in and said our own prayers for about 20 minutes and then listened to readings from the Bible and the Koran, and heard some beautiful Hindu and Muslim chants.
On the final evening of our excursion, Praveen, our trip coordinator, and his family treated us to an amazing traditional North Indian dinner. Couldn't have asked for a better trip! :)
