Date: March 27
Location: Day 78 – Mumbai, India (Visit to Agra: Red Fort and Taj Mahal)
Next Port: Muscat, Oman, March 30-31
Quick Summary: Our overnight trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and other historical sites was everything we had hoped it would be. A visit to India attacks all the senses. It is an assault that these authors probably won’t be able to adequately describe. Rather, it is one of those things that truly has to be experienced. But in the end, the Taj Mahal is as beautiful as we’ve always heard.
Report: The Voyager pulled into the hazy, busy port of Mumbai at about 6:30 a.m. Once known by its British colonial name of Bombay, Mumbai is home to some 20 million people, with 2,000 new inhabitants arriving daily. (India is only 1/3rd the size of Europe, yet its population is more than one billion people – fully 1/6th of the world’s population.) Mumbai is the country’s financial center and is called the Gateway of India.
A world unto itself, Mumbai hits you with an intensity all its own. The guide books say the “culture is contemporary, vibrant and often aggressive, reflecting both the poverty and affluence of its population.” Well, in our bus ride to the airport for our flight to Agra, we didn’t see any of the exciting trend-setting boutiques, exclusive restaurants, or clean neighborhoods mentioned in the guides.
Being a bank holiday and early in the morning before the streets were filled, our bus cut through the center of town. We only had a few quick glimpses of the large stone colonial buildings and then drove for a bit along the bay. Most of our drive was spent going through miles of abject poverty. It was certainly an eye-opening experience. Shanties with corrugated metal roofs…piled high with debris (or belongings?) dominated the street scenes. People sleeping, bathing, cooking and just existing were everywhere. Everything was caked in dirt. We did see trash trucks being filled and people sweeping some sidewalks, but there is no way they could keep up or even make a dent in the trash and garbage.
We arrived at the small domestic airport for our flight on Jet Airways. Being a charter flight, our departure logistics were somewhat easier than normal. We received our boarding passes before leaving the ship. (Luckily, we were assigned to the 32-seat Club Section of the Boeing 737-900. We’re not sure of the selection process – though they may have been allocated according to the sign-up date for this extra excursion.) Our overnight bags were checked through security in a group and delivered directly to our hotel rooms in Agra. The personal security check was segregated by sex, but was fairly efficient. The women were checked in a screened room.
After settling into the jet, we sat and sat. (Thankfully we were in the roomier front section!) The flight attendants passed out small bottles of lime water; then they passed out Diet Pepsi. And still no word from the cockpit…other than one announcement that there was some miscommunication between their company and air traffic control. After about an hour on the plane with no movement, the cruisers began to get restless! The aisles filled with folks visiting and using the lavatories. Larry had an opportunity to talk to the pilot as he was taking a break in the galley.
Thepilot explained that the Agra airfield is basically an India Air Force base. It is not normally serviced by commercial jets…only a few small Air India and Deccan Airlines turboprops. Jet Airways had obtained flight approval the day before from the Air Force and it had been reconfirmed that morning. But when the pilots began to start up the engines, the clearance was denied by the Air Force. (I explained that after working for the U.S. Air Force for 21 years, I was familiar with such bureaucratic SNAFUS!)
Finally, after almost a two-hour delay, we were off on our 1:40 hr. flight to Agra. The crew served a very good Indian lunch, with real silverware! As we circled to land, we got our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal on the banks of the Jamuna River.
We had a 35-minute ride through Agra to the hotel. Agra was the capital of the great Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Now it’s a sprawling city of about two million people that serves a poor agricultural region and provides services for the 10,000 people a day who visit the Taj Mahal.
Cows wandered everywhere and lay down wherever they wanted. Our guide explained that the cows lying in or near the road benefited by the draft of the traffic keeping off the insects.
The luxurious Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel is truly magnificent. Every bedroom and almost all the public rooms have a direct, unobstructed view of the Taj Mahal…which is less than a mile away.
After enjoying small portions of an Indian buffet (yes, I know, we had lunch on the plane!), we headed off by bus to the huge Agra Fort built near the bend of the river. The fort’s imposing gates, walls of red sandstone and moat dominate the center of the city. It was built by three different Mughal Emperors. Akbar the Great erected the walls, gates and first buildings during the years 1565-1573. Emperor Shah Jehan built the impressive quarters and mosque. Emperor Aurangzeb added the outer ramparts.
It was also here that Emperor Shah Jehan (who had the Taj Mahal constructed) died as a captive of his son Aurangzeb, passing his final days gazing at the Taj Mahal.
We arrived at the Taj Mahal in the late afternoon. For the half mile, we had to transfer to small electric buses – one effort to cut down on the pollution in the area.
The Taj Mahal was Shah Jehan’s enduring monument to love. This beautiful mausoleum is a place of astonishing beauty and an architectural marvel. It is understandable why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the iconic symbol of India.
Emperor Shah Jehan, fifth of the great Mughals, was devoted to his second wife Mumatz Mahal (“Jewel of the Palace). She died at the age of 39 giving birth to their 14th child. He went into mourning for two years – turning away from running an empire and becoming more and more involved with his other great love, architecture.
The Taj was built over a period of 22 years from 1632 by 20,000 workers and artisans. It is constructed of whileIndian marble. As many as 35 different types of precious and semi-precious stones were used in the inlay work.
The Taj Mahal is placed on a high plinth (platform). Four tapering minarets at the corners frame the tomb. (They lean slightly outward so if there were an earthquake, they would not topple into the dome.) The tomb is square and beveled at its corners. A central bulbous dome crowns the structure. It is surrounded by four domed canopies supported by pillars.
The dome is an important component of the Islamic style of architecture, as it is believed to be the link between heaven and earth. While the structure of the edifice represents the material world, the dome symbolizes the vault of heaven. The octagonal part symbolizes the transitional phase between heaven and earth.
There is a large entrance gate built of red stand stone whose arch frames the distant Taj. To each side of the tomb’s raised platform are two identical red sandstone buildings. The one to the left contains a small mosque. The beauty of the Taj Mahal is accentuated by the garden laid out in the Persian four-garden style.
Everything, including the tile pavement designs, is symmetrical and laid out with precise architectural alignment. The only asymmetrical object in the Taj is the casket of the emperor which was built as an after thought alongside the queen’s.
Atul, another very great guide, kept us moving through the large complex – ensuring that we had perfect spots for great views and out of the massive crowds.
We certainly felt lucky to enjoy for ourselves the changing colors of the sunset being reflected on this great monument to love.
We met our group near the entrance and took the electric buses all the way back to our nearby hotel. We enjoyed another Indian buffet and turned in shortly thereafter – with our alarm set for 5:00 a.m. for our planned sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal.
Karen and Larry
Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:
picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise
Photos of our first day in Agra have been added.
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