India – An Epic as Old as Time

General Thoughts

From its origins as one of the world’s great ancient civilizations centered in the Indus Valley, to its status today as the world’s largest democracy with a population that may soon become the largest on the planet, India’s story is a epic tale thousands of years in the making. Some of humankind’s most legendary figures were from here: the Buddha, Ashoka, Shah Jahan, Mahatma Gandhi. It is home to countless treasures of universal importance to humankind, including among others, arguably the most beautiful work of architecture and testament to human love in the world the Taj Mahal, the elusive and critically endangered Bengal tiger, and the ethereal solemnity of religious rituals on the Mother Ganges.

India today is a country undergoing monumental transition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely popular in many parts of the country, his efforts to ensure that every Indian has a bank account and his implementation of an ambitious new national goods and services tax system that replaces the old patchwork of regional tax regimes have been widely applauded. However, India’s deep-seated animosity and ongoing tension with its neighbor Pakistan feels as palpable today as the days of Partition, which was most evident during my visit after the deaths of two Indian soldiers near the Line of Control area in Kashmir. 

What words can do justice to my feelings for India? It is the country I have wanted to experience my whole life, that would require many lifetimes to appreciate all its nuances, and that is home to some of the oldest extant traditions, languages and religions in the world. To experience India is to indulge in the organized chaos, like navigating through oceans of people, maze-like passages and auto rickshaws in Delhi’s historical Chandni Chowk market. To experience India is to bask in its sublime natural and manmade wonders, such as the plethora of architectural wonders built by the Mughal Empire (including the Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb, the Jama Masjid of Delhi, and the Red Fort). To experience India is to reflect on one’s soul, wafting through a battalion of illuminated boats that dot the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi like fireflies, and witnessing some of the most intimate and spiritual moments of life and death. Every moment of my inaugural journey to India was unforgettable, just like reading the first few chapters of an epic tale as old as time itself.

My Journey in India

Delhi

My journey through this ancient land began in the capital city of Delhi, an enormous city home to almost 20 million people. I arrived in April and could already feel the extreme heat as soon as I exited the airport with my travel buddy Tony. We flagged an old Tata car that took us to our hotel near the airport. One thing that surprised us about India on our first day was the high level of security around hotels and other places where people gather, our taxi was thoroughly checked and even the hood was opened for examination. We had booked guides and drivers to visit the Golden Triangle of India, which starts in Delhi, goes down to the ancient capital of Agra and ends in the pink city of Jaipur. There is of course free time everyday that we reserved for our own adventuring.

On our first day in Delhi, our guide and driver took us to the India Gate, a memorial to the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country. From there we reached the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a gigantic building that serves as the official residence of the President of India and apparently the largest residence for a world leader in the world. We then travelled to the Qutb complex, where the UNESCO World Heritage site of Qutub Minar is located. The Qutub Minar is a minaret built by the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. It is one of the oldest that still stands in India. Tourists were able to climb to the top once but access has been closed for almost 40 years due to an accident that killed a group of children. Nearby the Qutub Minar minaret is the mysterious Iron Pillar, whose date of construction is still unknown and is renowned for being resistant to rust and corrosion. That evening after our tour ended, we took the Delhi metro to Connaught Place, a a commercial and business district of New Delhi, to have delicious kabab at Nizam’s. The Delhi metro itself was an experience, the subway cars are quite new but don’t expect to have any personal space once you are on it!

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On our second day in Delhi, we started our day with the Jama Masjid of Delhi, a centuries old mosque built by one of the most famous emperors of the Mughal Empire, Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan’s greatest achievement may have been the Taj Mahal, but many of his other monuments are as awe inspiring. The Jama Masjid even bears a resemblance to the Taj Mahal.

From Jama Masjid we took an auto rickshaw across the heart of Old Delhi, the historical market of Chandni Chowk. In the auto rickshaw, we observed the deluge of people, cars, motorbikes, and animals that carry on their daily activities. In our auto rickshaw, we felt like we were too “sheltered” from this mass of activity and so we vowed to return in the afternoon on our free time. Once outside of Chandni Chowk, we went for a tour of Raj Ghat, a memorial dedicated to the national hero of India, Mahatma Gandhi. The memorial constitutes an eternal flame that marks the site where Gandhi was assassinated in 1948.

From Raj Ghat, our guide drove us to the magnificent Humayun’s Tomb, another UNESCO World Heritage Site of Delhi. Humayun was an ancestor of Shah Jahan and a great Mughal emperor himself. The exquisitely carved interiors of the tomb as well as the architectural design of the building definitely influenced the builders of the Taj Mahal. Our tour ended with this visit, and as stated above, we returned to Chandni Chowk to enjoy the full experience of walking through it. As we had imagined, personal space does not exist here. The organized chaos of people, vehicles and animals hustling and bustling in this large market is truly overwhelming for the senses (all of five of them). Walking through the seas of moving people, one should be fully aware of their surroundings and dodge people carrying large objects.

Coming out of Chandni Chowk, we reached the Red Fort, another of Delhi’s multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Red Fort is again a creation of Shah Jahan (like I said, the man did have a taste for epic constructions) which served as the official residence of the Mughal emperors for two centuries. Today, the building has become a symbol of India and is where the Prime Minister raises the flag every year for Independence Day. Inside the Red Fort is a series of gardens, courtyards and palaces where the Mughal emperors carried out their affairs of state.

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Agra

After our adventures in Delhi, our driver drove us to the historical city of Agra, the capital city of the Mughal Empire for some of its most famous rulers including Akbar and Shah Jahan. The crown jewel of Agra, of course, is the Taj Mahal. I came to India to see this teardrop on the cheek of eternity, and I could barely contain my excitement. I had the same feeling as I did before seeing other world wonders like Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu. We went to visit the mythical Taj Mahal for sunrise at around 5 am. The air was cool and comfortable. As we entered the huge gate into the Taj grounds, the play on perspective made the Taj appear larger and larger as we approached. When I finally saw the Taj in all its glistening splendor, I was reminded that this building was built because of Shah Jahan’s undying love for his eternal love, Mumtaz Mahal. When he eventually died, he was buried alongside her underneath the Taj. Photography is not permitted inside the Taj, and one should put away the camera and appreciate the ornate pietra dura flowers inlaid into the white marble walls. We strolled around the Taj grounds for several hours, appreciating this feat of beauty and passion. They say that there is always a bit of the Taj that stays with every visitor, and that was certainly true for me.

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From the Taj Mahal, we went for a tour of Agra Fort, a residence of the Mughal emperors who ruled from Agra. It is a large fort complex with many palaces and courtyards that bear architectural resemblance to the Red Fort. Shah Jahan was overthrown by his own son Aurangzeb after the building of the Taj Mahal exhausted the state coffers, and was imprisoned at Agra Fort. From a window, legend has it that he stared at the Taj Mahal, forever mourning his dead wife. It is a truly a Shakesperean tale of tragedy and loss. Our final destination in Agra was to visit the “Baby Taj”, a small mausoleum where Mumtaz Mahal’s grandfather is buried. There is a population of monkeys in this area and visitors should be careful as they tend to be very aggressive.

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Fatehpur Sikri – Jaipur

Leaving Agra on our way to Jaipur, we visited the Fatehpur Sikri complex, which briefly served as the capital of the Mughal empire under Emperor Akbar. The complex is made of red sandstone, and features many unique palaces and buildings quite unlike the other monuments left by the Mughals. There is a functioning mosque inside the complex, which is entered via the enormous Buland Gate. One has to fly over it to appreciate its every detail.

As we approchaed Jaipur we also made a short stop at the step well of Chand Baori, famous for serving as the inspiration for the prison in the movie The Dark Knight Rises. The step well was historically used, as its name suggests, as a water source where the community gathered in times of extreme heat. Climbing down these flights of stairs must have been exhausting on the legs!

Our final destination in our tour of the Golden Triangle of India is the city of Jaipur, nicknamed the pink city due to the color of many of its buildings, most notably the City Palace of Jaipur. One of the highlights of Jaipur is the majestic Amer Fort, perched high atop a hill some 10 km outside of Jaipur. This expansive fort was built by the kings of Rajasthan and is a labyrinth of hallways, towers and palaces. There are elephant rides on the way to the fort and apparently the mahouts are not supposed to ask for tips.

The other highlight of Jaipur is the Jantar Mantar, a collection of astronomical devices which includes the world’s largest sundial (it is essentially a tall staircase). Our Jaipur tour ended after our visit to these monuments as my travel buddy suddenly got sick. We returned to Delhi the next day where we parted ways – him flying to China while I continued on my journey in India to the holy city of Varanasi.

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Varanasi

I arrived late at night in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi, and from the ride to colonial era home that is my hotel, I could sense the spirituality and level of human activity in this city. The next morning, I booked a walking tour with my hotel and experienced the labyrinthine alleys and streets in the oldest parts of Varanasi, where only pedestrians can access. Countless pilgrims come to Varanasi to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges, and that fact is apparent when walking through the crowded streets. Another item to note is that most of the restaurants in Varanasi are vegetarian due to the holy nature of the city. In my walking tour, I tasted the best lassi I ever had in my life at the famous Blue Lassi.

From there, I visited the Manikarnika Ghat, a deeply spiritual and emotional place where the bodies of the departed are washed with the waters of the Ganges and cremated. I learned that the cremation wood must be purchased, and most of the people who get cremated in Varanasi are those wealthy enough to afford it. In the evening, I took a boat tour of the Ganges and returned to Manikarnika Ghat, where columns of cremation fire flickered against the dark night sky. It was an incredibly moving experience and reminded me of the finality of death. To end our day, we moored our boat with countless other to witness, from the Ganges, the daily aarti ceremony at the Dasawamedha Ghat. It was a beautiful and surreal scene as I sat on my boat surrounded by the soft, mellow pockets of light that glowed like fireflies. These performances have been passed down through the centuries, and it was a true privilege to experience it. On my final day in Varanasi, I got up at the break of dawn and took another boat ride to the Assi Ghat to witness the sunrise aarti. After sunrise, many of the ghats in Varanasi becomes filled with people of all ages, bathing and swimming in the holy waters of Mother Ganges.

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Mumbai

My last destination in India is the cosmopolitan city of Mumbai, home of the celebrated Bollywood film industry. Mumbai has a different feel from northern India, even the local dialect spoken (i.e., Marathi) by the people here is different. My stay in Mumbai was short, but I had the opportunity to visit some of the landmarks of this metropolis. From the dock near the Gateway of India, I took a ferry to the Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site that features intricately carved sculptures of Hinduism. There is a very steep staircase that one must climb in the heat to get to the caves, so those with health conditions should be careful. There are also many “tour guides” who ask to guide you around, and the one who showed me around literally spoke for 15 minutes and asked for a large sum of rupees so beware! Upon returning to Mumbai, I took an Uber to the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail station, a still functioning station built in the Victorian age that is replete with travellers. The gothic design of this railway station is quite unique and awe-inspiring which is probably why it is listed as one of India’s many UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites visited in India:

• Agra Fort
• Taj Mahal
• Fatehpur Sikri
• Elephanta Caves
• Humayun’s Tomb
• Qutb Minar and its Monuments
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
• Red Fort Complex
• The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
• Hill Forts of Rajasthan – Amer Fort

See more pictures from my adventures in India at: https://storiesofnoah.com/gallery-view/india/