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[ Up ] [ Jaipur Journal ] [ Udaipur Journal ]
India Journal
We started our India journey in Delhi with a side trip to Agra. To read journals from our other India stops, just click the links at the top of the page.
(Keith)
I
have always wanted to travel to India; it has a romantic aura to it that I
really wanted to experience. I knew there were problems (poverty,
pollution, etc) but didn't really
realize the extent until we started planning our trip. Although this
didn't discourage us, we constantly sought advice and opinions from other
travelers on India. Often people were very displeased with their trips;
often people were very enthusiastic. So, upon leaving Nepal we were
slightly apprehensive.
In particular the Delhi airport has a bad reputation of having very aggressive touts and taxi drivers. (Many of these taxi drivers will not take you to your requested destination, but to some hotel that will pay them commission for bringing a potential customer!) But, surprisingly, the airport was very calm and orderly, and we arrived safely at our hotel.
Though we were not impressed with Delhi, it did not live up to its horrendous reputation. We only stayed a couple of days to do some administrative work with the airlines and train tickets, and therefore we were only able to sight see for a half of a day. During this brief half day we toured the Red Fort. This fort was our introduction to many of the wonderful forts we'll see in Rajasthan.
From Delhi we took a very long day trip to Agra (5:00 am - 11:00 pm); the city of Agra is the most destitute and disgusting city I have ever seen. Agra also contains the most beautiful building I have ever seen, the Taj Mahal. I really was not ready for the Taj; I knew we had to see it above all else in India, but really didn't know what to expect. The minute we stepped through the entrance gates and got a view of this building we easily saw why millions of people visit this mausoleum. The whiteness and symmetry of the building contrasted with the deep blue sky and the green grass of the lawn is breathtaking. Many Indians visit, and their colorful dress and presence create an atmosphere of elegance and royalty. We visited the Taj during midday; the building reflects the light of sunrise and sunset in different ways which creates a different coloring during those times. Hopefully some day we can return and see the Taj at sunrise and sunset.
We visited a deserted Mughal city, Fatehpur Sikri, that lies about 30 kilometers from Agra . . . outstanding. This city was obviously a very opulent and regal abode at one time. The architecture had many influences (Muslim, Hindu, and even some Christian); there were (at one time) inlaid precious stones in the walls, rugs and carpets in the halls, and pillows for sitting and sleeping. The Emperor's favorite wife (he had many . . . ) had two palaces built within the city for her - one for the summer and one for the winter. They were completely identical except the summer one had screens to allow the trade winds to blow through. This example illustrates the extravagant nature of these ancient cities and palaces.
The day trip to Agra was one of my favorite sight seeing tours yet; this is surprising given the city itself was completely awful. We will see what the rest of India holds . . .
(Lea) "Sir, was your meal satisfactory?" "Sir,
may I help you?" "Sir, where would you like to sit?" My first few
days in India I noticed I was being ignored in restaurants, hotels, and stores
if I was with Keith. It was evident that he was the important one. India is a
clearly a male dominated society. For me, this is just something I deal with in
passing, but for millions of Indian women this is an every day experience, and
they deal with much worse than being ignored when trying to order a meal.
The various newspaper articles and books I read about women's treatment in India were pretty bleak. From these I learned village women are often married off in their teens and expected not only to care for the husband and children, but often work manually for half the price of men. One article I read stated that in many villages child marriages are still common.. According to our Lonely Planet, domestic violence is not uncommon in these marriages and many women are treated as property. Additionally, education of village girls is often neglected (national literacy for aged 15 and over men - 52%, women - 38%). Worse than all of this is that many healthy fetuses are aborted because they are female. This is the result of the great desire to have male children. To combat this the government, in 1996, passed legislation to prohibit abortion of fetuses based on their sex. However, initial results of the 2001 census show that that the ratio of female to men is still falling in several areas.
With all this bleak news, I was happy to learn that there is progress occurring. I encountered several professional women in downtown Delhi offices, in the newspapers and on the news. Women were inducted into the military in 1993 and there are several in the government (and of course, Indira Gandhi was one of their most powerful prime ministers, so it is obvious they feel a woman can run the country). Mainly this progress affects women in the upper and middle classes. However, there is progress in the villages, where some women have organized into unions. So apparently there are changes for the better, but based on outward attitudes there is still a long road ahead.
Check out our Delhi/Agra photos.