Day 4 New Year's Eve

Today was the start of the tourism part of our trip and its New Years Eve! We left Delhi for Agra before the sun came up, so I was able to watch the sun rise over the villages and fields we drove through.

The sunrise was nice, but it really highlighted the air pollution in the area. We expect the smog in Delhi and in the cities, and it truly does have an oppressive effect there, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so prevalent in the agricultural areas. I’m used to being able to see at least a few miles out back home but here everything has a haze to it and the sky is grayish. It’s a mix of smoke, pollution from transportation, dust from the dry soil and, in the mornings, mist. Even hours outside the cities and off the expressways the air quality is noticeably poor, there were times we could even taste the contaminates in the air. It’s made me think about the implications of people breathing this air for their entire lives, if I’m feeling the effects after just a few days, what is this doing to their health on top of the water issues? In the cities most of the smog comes from the cars, if the infrastructure for effective public transport could be put in place fewer people would have to rely on cars, which would also help with the traffic in the area. Unfortunately, the current economy and taxation system can’t support such a project but investments in green energy and sustainable architecture could be a start. In the rural areas the source is mainly the biomass communities use as fuel. Most areas don’t have access to refined fuel sources, so they use dried wood and cow patties mixed with straw. The second option in particular is high in methane and produces a lot of smoke when burned, it also adds to the distribution of e-coli and coliforms. Education on the effects of this fuel type and access to cleaner options could help with this but again it would be a long road to change. One option that’s already partially in place could be using solar energy, most larger villages have solar panels that produce far more than what the community needs for electricity; turning the excess energy into a heat source for cooking could be a viable option but that’s just a theory. I may do more research into ways to make that work because I don’t know if that would even work but if you could hook something similar to an electric stove to it you could use the energy to heat it.

After driving about 5 hours we made it to Agra. It was really strange the city seemed to pop up right out of the field with very little transition from rural to urban. The first place we visited was the Taj Mahal, not a bad place to celebrate News Years. I’m a huge nerd when it comes to the stories behind ancient monuments and civilizations so learning about the origins of the Taj was super interesting. To summarize: the emperor at that time had just suffered the loss of his favorite wife. To show the world how much he loved her he personally designed and had the Taj build to be her tomb and had plans to build a second monument in black marble across the river to be his tomb so he could be with her in death. Unfortunately, he was imprisoned by his son before completing the second Taj, so we’re only left with the base across the river.

The Taj is without a doubt the most impressive place I’ve ever been, a heartwarming story of love and dedication but also an undeniable show of wealth and power. The building itself is perfectly symmetrical and entirely made of the highest quality of white marble and semi-precious stones. The design was so well thought out that the telescoping effect of faraway objects was taken into account. The designs at the very top are slightly larger than the designs near the bottom so they appear the same size even from a distance.

Every design you see on the tomb/palace, from the geometric designs to the script from the Quran is made from hand carved and inlaid stone. One flower just a few inches in size could be made from up to 60 different tiny pieces of stone and set into the marble with such precision so you can hardly feel the edges.

Later in the day we were able to go to an artisan area in the city and meet with the descendants of those who worked on the Taj, there are 8 families who are direct descendants and still do fine had carving in the style used on the Taj. Seeing such impressive craftsmanship was such a treat and really made me appreciate the beauty of the monument.

We stopped for lunch before heading over to Agra Fort. Something I’ve really come to enjoy here is the eating style. Rather than ordering for yourself, you get a few dishes for the table, and everyone takes what they’d like. I think it feels really wholesome and promotes this feeling of family with the people you’re with. It feels like Thanksgiving dinner with no family drama (I’m kidding mom and dad, I love big family dinner, the drama adds to the fun).

Agra Fort was another massive show of power and one that certainly succeeded in the intimidation goal. Built to be almost impossible to infiltrate, the fort had three layers of defense: a moat with crocodiles, towering walls and finally an enclosure surrounding the inner area that housed tigers and other predators. This place was basically the worst possible place to try to take in its heyday.

However, despite the borderline sadistic safety measures, the fort is more palace than military strong hold. Lavish meeting halls and courtyards and luxurious apartments with operational heating and cooling systems, it’s hard to remember that the vast majority of the area is blocked off as an active military site.

My favorite part of the fort is actually tied back to the Taj Mahal. After being imprisoned by his son for trying to spend the empire’s fortune on his second Taj, the emperor was held in a specially designed prison at Agra Fort. This “prison” was actually an apartment built in the same style and with the same luxury materials of the Taj, with a perfect view of his wife’s tomb and a private mosque, so I’d hardly call it a prison. According to history he spent his last years here keeping watch of the Taj. When he died, he was entombed in the Taj with his wife as he wasn’t able to build his black Taj. His tomb is just to the right of hers and it is the only flaw in the symmetry of the massive building.