Travel Journals XIX: Facing the Inevitable or Agra-vation
The first thing most people asked me when they found out I'd be in India was whether i planned to go to the Taj Mahal . perhaps it was because of this that i was extremely reluctant to visit the most famous architectural landmark here. I was utterly convinced that i would successfully avoid seeing the Taj Mahal up until a few days before when the friend who i was journeying with decided that this was the place she most wanted to see before being dropped off at the airport. What can a gentleman do but oblige?After a truly bone-jarring overnight bus ride into Delhi that made sleep utterly impossible, we arrived remarkably unharmed directly into a swarm of auto rickshaw drivers. Little did i realise it at the time but this would set the tone for the entire day. I found myself repeatedly repressing the urge to shout: "Will everyone please just go away and stop trying to help me?" Eventually i had managed to procure tickets to Agra, in spite of the disproportionately large number of people helpfully telling me that the train station was in the opposite direction from where it actually was, trying to guide me into tourist information centers where the attendant would cheerfully and at length explain that he hadn't the slightest idea what i was talking about, and assuring me that the ticket office didn't sell to foreigners.
Agra is famous for three things, The Taj Mahal, being conveniently close to Delhi, and for being a place that you wouldn't want to stay for longer than it took to see the Taj Mahal. If by "conveniently close " you mean a four hour train ride away, all of these things are true. A man who spoke very little English somehow figured out that we wished to upgrade our ticket, immediately located the conductor and helped us negotiate a better berth. He then guided us to our new seats and sat down across from me with an air of proprietary pride. It should be mentioned here that if certain Indians actually manage to help you they then consider you their personal responsibility for the rest of your brief acquaintance.there is really very little one can do about this once it happens aside from eating just enough of the proffered food to be polite and answering their many questions about your personal life as you feel comfortable with. I thought that i was relatively safe from too much cross examination this time given my new friend's limited language abilities, but he came up with a entirely novel solution to bridge the linguistic gap. Upon discovering the man sitting next to him was a relatively competent English speaker, my new friend would have his seatmate help him type the message into his cell phone and then show me the resulting text. When i answered the English speaker would translate and they would instantly set to work on the next text.the most amazing thing about this interchange was it simply didn't seem to occur to either of them that the one could just translate directly. this is how i found myself explaining that i didn't know how i could help to get an American visa and didn't know how to start a business in New York.
Our arrival in the station was greeted by a small knot of shouting men who, contrary to my expectations, surrounded the man who had been so kind to us on the train. the situation degenerated instantly into the patented pointless Hindi argument which after careful observation,I've concluded is largely how this country is run. an elderly fellow with a billy goat beard broke off from the main argument long enough to explain that our seatmate was probably a dangerous tout intent on bilking us out of all our money and taking advantage of our good nature and it was a good thing for us they were all here to protect our good selves. in the interest of seeing something other than incomprehensible bickering that day, i decided to keep walking towards the ticket window. the group caught up with us a minute later and proceeded to loudly give directions to the clearly labeled ticket office directly in front of me. they sat outside waiting for us to buy our return ticket and then escorted us to the pre paid cab booth. As our cab pulled away i imagined our entourage shaking hands with one another , clapping each other on the back and generally praising one another for successfully saving us all from perdition.
while I'm still on the subject, I should mention that the drivers in Agra are the most persistent group i have yet encountered. this is probably because the competition is so fierce here. every twenty paces or so you are offered the chance to ride a camel cart, horse drawn wagon, bike rickshaw or took-took (the local name for an auto rickshaw). we made the mistake late in the day of hiring a bike rickshaw to the Red Fort. he offered to wait for our return. after we had politely declined, he insisted that he'd wait. we told him no again and walked away. the driver then followed us around the fort for at least 20 minutes periodically offering us a lift to various locations. i was afraid we might have to kill him to make him stop. fortunately he eventually got the idea and left i almost started to miss him when he was replaced by another rickshaw driver. we were stalked by two more drivers immediately after that. Until that day, i had never imagined quite how irritating having someone try so hard to obey your slightest whim could be.
The Admission to the Taj Mahal is ten rupee for Indians and seven hundred and fifty rupee for foreigners. this translates to be about 15 dollars American. Visiting the Taj is the single most expensive thing I've done in India. the price of admission includes a small bottle of water, a pair of shoe covers for the mausoleum that nobody actually wears (it's just easier to take off your shoes) and apparently a student guide who simply can't comprehend that you don't want his services. it is even harder to explain than usual to get the idea across because you are so busy explaining to other people that you don't wish to buy plastic models of the Taj Mahal, stone boxes and camel leather whips. Once you get through security and have dangerous items like flashlights and lighters put into storage (they were mysteriously silent on the subject of camel leather whips) you are allowed into the main complex where you only have to get through a thin line of photographers who want to sell you pictures of yourself in front of the famous edifice. One of the things I've decided that i miss most about home is the ability to be civil to people without the underlying assumption that they're trying to sell you things.
It is very rare that an experience can surprise you by being exactly what it is supposed to be, yet that's what visiting the Taj Mahal is. it is a place of peace and tranquility in spite of the enormous crowds of people who come to see it daily. The Taj Mahal rises magnificently above the orderly ornamental gardens like a sculpted cloud with four gleaming minarets standing sentinel at each corner. as i approached the majestic structure i realised to my quiet delight that it was larger than i expected it to be and just the size you would imagine. The Taj Mahal seems less the work of architects than that of jewelers. The gleaming white marble is carved into elaborate openwork and botanical relief carvings, elegant in their simplicity. the walls are accented with colorful inlays of flowers or geometric designs. inside the Building is dark, cool and noisy. sound carries remarkably well in the dome so you can hear patches of other people's conversation as they remark on the divine beauty and immaculate craftsmanship of the crypts, you can't help but think it's your own thoughts reflected back to you
J
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