1 post tagged “india”
I was prepared for the poverty and the dirt, what caught me by surprise was the love that flows throughout Indian culture. I fell head over heels for this country, which I sincerely did not expect to.
The people I met live their lives steeped in love in that every action they take comes from a place of wanting to not harm someone and a true desire to do good. Much of this is based in concepts about karma and reincarnation but it was widely practiced across the different castes, religions, and parts of the country.
I could spew at length about everything I saw and did but, instead (for your and my sanity), I will detail my two favorite things and then give you a quick list of everything else.
1. The Taj Mahal.
It is the most beautiful structure with the most wonderful love story I have ever seen, anywhere. Pictures are unable to capture its’ true beauty. The artistry and attention to detail is stunning. Developers should have to visit the Taj Mahal prior to designing any building, perhaps then we could effectively end sprawl.
The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the mausoleum in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz was his third and final wife. After her death (fromm the birth of her 14th child!), he never remarried which was rarity at the time. Mumtaz had asked him for a symbol of their love and, thus, the Taj Mahal was built. The Taj Mahal represents heaven on earth, which is a common theme that flows through Indian architecture and history. Heaven is represented by the lush gardens and gorgeous use of water and fountains and the Taj was built to appear floating in a blue sky (really, floating). The marble used has an iridescent quality which makes the Taj appear to almost shimmer or glow in certain lights (like sunrise which was when I was there).
The Taj Mahal is built completely symmetrical. There is a mosque on the left side that is an active mosque and a duplicate of the mosque on the right side, which is not used and was designed purely to maintain the symmetry. Split the Taj in half and you have two perfect halves down to the minute details of leaves made of gems on the petal of a carved marble flower. The only thing that is unsymmetrical in the Taj is that the emperor desired to be buried next to his wife and she is the center of the Taj, thus, his coffin is the only unsymmetrical element.
Speaking of coffins, in order to ensure his wife would not be disturbed in her slumber, he built a complete replica of her coffin (jewels and all) which is on display as the center of the Taj and had her real coffin placed on a level below the display coffin. Thus, visitors see the display casket and as such do not disturb his wife in death.
2. The Holi Festival
Holi is a two day festival to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. On the eve of Holi, an effigy of Holika, the devil minded sister of demon King Hiranyakashyap is placed in a bonfire. Holika tried to kill Hiranyakashyap's son Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of a true devotee.
The next day, is the main day of Holi celebrations and this day is called Dhuleti. Dhuleti is a festival of colors.
People take extreme delight in throwing, smearing, and painting each other with powdered colors (fuschia, turquoise, lime green, silver, fire engine red, and gold). Then buckets and hoses of water are sprayed across the crowd as people dance, beat drums, and douse each other with more colors. The colors represent spring and the powders used to have medicinal qualities to ward of the fevers and chills associated with winter.
As a foreigner who happened to be dressed in white that day, you can imagine how colorful I became. Luckily, my hosts doused my hair with cooking oil prior to the event so my hair was pink and green for only two days afterwards versus what could have been a permanent tincture.
Other things I thought were great about India:
• Generations of family being together frequently if not daily
• Homemade meals (thanks to the Ghosh’s)
• Food (dahl, palak paneer (actually all paneer), the limes, tandoori chicken, chutneys, butter chicken, saag ghosht, raita, aloo gobi, pani puri, bhindi bhaji etc etc etc)
• Taj Mahal
• Love flowing all over
• Bollywood
• Displays of affection between men
• Warmth, friendliness of the people
• People’s desire to have you love their country
• Late dining (dinner started around 9:30p which I love)
• General work hours (an afternoon break from 2- 4p for lunch)
• Religion – that we all worship the same god, we just express it differently
• Concept of heaven on earth (symmetry of buildings, water, gardens)
• Saris and kurtas
• Artistry of the Taj
• Auto rickshaws (tuk tuk)
• Scalp massages
• Lack of golf courses and SUVs
• Real appreciation for people who work in fields that help others
• Lotuses
• Eating with your fingers
• Elephanta cave in Mumbai
• Agra Fort
• Christmas lights all over the place
• Beauty of faces and skin colors
• Rose water
• Use of color – bright, fun, alive
• Sequins work in India (only in India)
• Creativity in transporting goods and people via bikes and tuk tuks
• Baby Taj
Negatives
• Strawberry jam (tastes like candy)
• Mounds of trash
• Warm beer
• Street hawkers
• Crazy driving
• No displays of emotion between men and women
• Dirty beaches
• Need for helmet laws, sidewalks, and sewer systems
• Poverty
• Need for public health education
• Unruliness of children in public
Note: I posted just a smidge of the 274 photos. To view them, go to the photos, they are all labeled India so you can do a search for India and they will all pop up.
