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Voyage to India: A Work in Progress By
Arnie Greenberg (Borrowing from the phrase on this construction sign above in Delhi, India is, indeed, a "work in progress," as travel writer Arnie Greenberg discovered) Introduction After three weeks in India, I have new a perception of a poor and crowded country that is taking major strides to conquer the circumstances that hold her back. I discovered a country that is as diverse as any, including monitored compulsory education, diligent labor forces and a desire to move ahead. There has been much progress in technology and social changes. India is vast with a much-needed system of highway services to feed the needs of visitors. It has come a long way from the 1947 independence and the days of peaceful disobedience of the revered Mahatma Gandhi.
(Bicycle transport like this are quite common in Delhi and other India cities) There are beautiful residences, hotels, monuments, public buildings, vistas and beaches. There are posh hotels for foreign visitors. But there is also abject poverty, with people living on the streets, beggars, hawkers and barefoot children picking at the garbage. Women toil among the cow dung they mix with dirt, dry, and carry home on their heads to supply fuel for cooking, often in open areas as they live wherever they can. There are also clean, uniformed young students from private schools, smiling and eager to meet foreigners. Yes, there's a long way to go and only when you return home do you sense the feeling of luxury we live, work, and play in.
(Privileged, uniformed children from private schools in a Delhi neighborhood) For many barefoot children playing cricket is done on the streets in the shadow of five-star hotels. They earn pennies selling trinkets to tourists...and they don't easily take no for an answer. What I will be bringing you over the next month is a series of articles to let you look closer at this incredible country. There are no protests as we know them, only a gentle population of lovely people slowly emerging. But the key word is slowly. India, if you will, is "A work in progress." Part 1 Our tour in general was a true adventure, taking us to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur Pushkar, Jodhpur, Udiapur, Mumbai and the south. Delhi is a congested city with buses, cars, Tuk Tuks (3-wheeled conveyances) vying for space with bicycles, taxis, private cars and people. In some areas you move at a snail's pace and it's a miracle that there are as few accidents as there are.
(India's ubiquitous Tuk Tuks, 3-wheeled conveyances, share the road with a variety of other conveyances) Even getting into the city is a task. A two-lane road carries trucks and busses passing each other with only inches to spare, as vehicles coming in the opposite direction flash their lights and blast their horns. Horns, of course, are synonymous with traffic, and every space is used up as the left-hand traffic causes the tourists to look the other way. Adrenaline flows when traffic doesn't. Remember, too, that often, trucks or buses can't move left to let cars pass. The left edge of the road is filled with bicycles, pedestrians, rickshaws and the occasional animal (or herds of cattle or goats in the country). In
all but central Delhi there are pushcarts selling food, clothing and a sundry
list of necessities. These take over all the space beside the road with garbage
mixed with vendors and barefoot children vying for space...and a chance to earn
a few rupees. People of all ages swarm to the tour buses, which park for a look
at a special site. Everything from books to beads to fans, puppets, paintings
or toys are bartered with everyone talking at once. As far as the history of the city and country, I'll not go into that as it is complicated and filled with names unfamiliar to western travelers. However, I did perk up when our guide, going through a general list of conquerors and dynastic leaders, mentioned that the beautiful city of gardens, forts, mosques and towns in the area of Delhi were destroyed by Tamerlane, a Central Asian Turk, in 1398. I stood at his grave in Samarkand and heard the story of the sacking of Delhi. But even his successors were ousted and the city fell into foreign hands The capital moved to Agra, about 240 kilometers south, and by 1556 Akbar, a Moghal, became monarch of India. Akbar was considered the most distinguished of his dynasty, and his grandson Shah Jahan became "Ruler of the Universe" in 1628, with an extravagant reign that gave rise to the construction of the finest monuments, including the Taj Mahal. Akbar built the massive fort for military purposes and as a palace and court. There was much construction that is worth visiting today, but it was all surpassed in 1628, when Shah Jahan took the throne of the Moghal Empire. After the Shah's second wife died while delivering their fourteenth child, a devastated Shah Jahan was motivated to build a monument that would employ beauty and ingenuity to symbolize their eternal love. It took about 20,000 laborers, carpenters, craftsmen, artists and engineers almost 22 years to build the Taj Mahal. The site covers an area of slightly over 3,000 square feet and stands on a base that is itself about 22 fteet. The minarets are over 1,236 feet high. They give balance to the structure and rise at an angle away from the mosque to prevent damage in case of an earthquake.
(The magnificent Taj Mahal) With the best marble and both precious and semi-precious stones, it is one of the great wonders of early architecture and is best seen at dusk or at dawn when the light from the sun brings out the greatness of the structure. I cannot express the awesome feeling one has upon standing before this wonderful testimony to a man's love. In Delhi we also visited the Red Fort, the most opulent fort and palace of the Shah. I was happy to have time to see Raj Ghat, the memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi, and the small museum dedicated to the impact he had on India. His story alone makes for interesting reading.
But prior to Gandhi, a New Delhi was designed and built by British architects. The "imperial city" had palatial-style buildings set amid broad tree-lined avenues and Moghal gardens boasting fountains and shallow pools. But after 20 odd years of rule, India obtained its independence. Other
things to see are Humayun's Tomb, India Gate, Parliament House and the delicate
lotus-like Bahai Temple. In
Delhi we stayed at the 4-star Hans Plaza, which was quite welcoming, despite questionable
elevator service. Perhaps the fact that I was in a suite helped me become acclimatized.
In Agra our hotel was the Howard Plaza, a 5-star haven with a wonderful roof restaurant
and a view of the Taj Mahal in the distance.
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