Day 4

We had a great driver on the trip to Agra, who played us music throughout the day, and Sherry and the driver kept each other entertained really well. Sherry also created a new Hindi word “chaakaa”, which apparently means “hole” or something like it. First we went to Fatahpur Sikri, which was a beautiful old city made of stone buildings. We had a fight with the annoying guide we didn’t want, and stormed off until the security guard came to get us. We walked around the buildings which housed Akbar’s wives and his treasury, and then headed to the main mosque which contained the tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti, the two most notable things were the enormous amount of people that “worked there”, and the intricate marble screens where women tied red strings in order to pray for children and fertility. Sherry was offered one to tie, which she quickly and respectfully declined. We then headed back to the car, chatting with some locals on the way. We hit the road to Agra, and stopped to get lunch at a delicious restaurant with South Indian thalis before heading to the Taj Mahal. Getting into the Taj Mahal was feat in itself, with a 15 minute walk through vendors to the gate, where we discovered half of India was also there to see the Taj. After paying 18 US Dollars at the entrance, we received tickets, bottled water, and socks, then ventured into the female line where we were frisked and went through a miraculous wooden “metal detector”. The initial courtyard does not have a view of the Taj Mahal, until we went through a large archway where we impressed by the distant memorable sight of the tomb of Mumtaz Begum and Shah Jahan. The white marble structure is larger and more magnificent than any picture or video can accurately describe. The sight evoked the sense of enduring love that we all hope one day to receive. The close up experience of the Taj Mahal is intense due to the size of it and the intense heat radiating from the white marble. It was so hot that average Indians were taking naps in the shade inside of the tomb, which was dark and somewhat cool. In the midst of the commotion from all the people we admired the marble screens with gemstone inlays, and near perfect symmetry. But at the same time we felt an intense sadness because of the loneliness felt by Shah Jahan.