January 13, 2008

Day Nine: Agra and Lohri
At 8:30 we travelled to the Taj Mahal with our tour guide who provided a solid historical narrative. Upon reaching the Taj, we were read an extensive list of no-no's and frisked prior to entry. The first view was dramatic and upon closer inspection I was amazed at the intricacy of design and skilled craftsmanship not captured in most photographs. An interesting note is that the pillars by the main building are leaning slightly outwards by design, so that if they ever fall, they will not damage the primary structure. The Taj was built from 1631 to 1653 and required moving huge blocks of marble 400 miles from Rajasthan via camel cars. A Turkish architect developed the design of remarkable symmetry combining Moslem and Hindu influences. Inside the mausoleum visitors find a perfect replica of tombs, with the actual tombs in the floor below. This was done at the time of completion, anticipating the visitor demand. After leaving, we drove by the Red Fort, a 2.5 Km circumference fort built over a period of 80 years by the Mughals. The fort included a 30 foot outer wall and a 70 foot inner wall, each originally surrounded by a moat, one with crocodiles and one with wild land animals. Next we visited a specialty cottage industry shop where we saw skilled craftsmen shaping semi-precious stones for inlay into white marble. I was given three tiny pieces as a souvenir. The shopkeeper then led us into the store to see the finished goods, which were remarkably intricate and commensurately expensive. 3" by 5" jewelry boxes exceeded $100 and I was barely able to count the number of digits on the larger statues and tables. I passed.

On the way back we stopped just once to use restrooms and held a relay race to break the monotony. The farmland was remarkably lush, which we had missed in the darkness of our bus trip to Agra. Other sights included small villages of grass and mud huts, a group of five partially clothed children standing outside a set of tents by a railroad track, shepherds with sheep, and some of the ugliest dogs known to man.

The trip back was much faster due to a lack of traffic, and we arrived at the cultural celebration of Lohri just after the prescribed time of 7PM. Lohri is a traditional festival of great social significance that celebrates the winter crop with thanksgiving and a renunciation of poverty. Upon entry, I saw several Indian males in traditional festive garb as I ran to the restroom. When I took my seat, music was blaring as they were jumping, waving, and smiling in time on the dance floor. Dances were separated by drum solos. Following the dancing were two separate multi-religious groups performing traditional folk music. We were treated to an outstanding buffet and warmed our hands by several small wood fires and our bodies around a huge central bonfire. Towards the end of the night, our professor led the charge to get our group to dance. After three or four were on the floor, I joined other classmates, and a very Malcolm Gladwell-esque charge followed. Soon the area was filled and an older woman danced into our circle weaving her hands in rhythm. A middle-aged man in a turban jumped in the ring and began to perform as we did our best to mimick. The music was fast and lively and we had a blast. We returned to MDI full and exhausted, and I made tentative plans to join some classmates for on-campus yoga at 5:30 AM, but yearned for a full night's sleep. I hit the hay at 1 AM.