Around India in 17 days - Act I (take 2)

If Beijing and Phnom Penh were tossed into a blender, the result would be New Delhi.  Of course, this doesn’t do any of these three capitals justice, but within a day of arriving in Delhi, this was my overall impression.  I was there to ensure everything was in order for a delegation of socially concerned citizens from the USA to network with eight nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and partake of a smattering of the cultural and natural wonders that abound along the way as we visited Agra, Jaipur, Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur again, Udaipur and Kolkata (Calcutta).  And to sample some really great curry, of course.

As the trip itself was packed, I’m just going to cover the highlights, which will still take three posts to keep it manageable.  Along the way, I’ll point out three of the NGOs that I thought were particularly brilliant at what they set out to achieve. That's me standing in front of the Baha'i House of Worship a.k.a. Lotus Temple due to its shape

For me, one of the cool things about visiting New Delhi was seeing some of the architecture within the capital, including the Baha’i House of Worship – the only one in Asia so far.  It’s also known as the Lotus Temple due to the way the walls resemble the petals of a lotus flower.  Viewed from above, the Lotus Temple appears to float on the pools of water that surround it.  As a kid, I remember contributing paper route money and such for its construction, so it was great to visit the Lotus Temple and to see thousands of people visiting something I helped contribute to build (in a very small way).  While there, I ran into the niece of Beijing based director, Dayyan Eng, who is an AnD artist.  Small world. Mughal Emperor Humayu's tomb is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Depending on traffic, not far from the House of Worship, lies Humayun's Tomb, the forerunner to the Taj Mahal.  It is a stunning piece of architecture and it’s grounds are laid out in a Persian garden style which was the first of its kind in SE Asia.  There are even some older ruins on the site all of which made it add up to my favorite place in New Delhi.  As a disclaimer, I did not get to do much site seeing in the capital, but for me it would be hard to beat. Exterior wall of Humayun's Tomb Afternoon light filters through the stone filigree in the window and illuminates the floor of Humayun's Tomb

The added bonus is that the number of visitors was minor compared to the House of Worship or the Taj Mahal, so it was a much more personal experience for me.  While there, I happened upon the filming of a scene from an upcoming Bollywood film directed by Rensil D’Silva.  Not to worry, my knowledge of Bollywood is just as poor as Chinese films, the shoot just happened to be covered in the Delhi Times the next day.  I suppose I should have lingered with my telephoto and sold a scoop.  As it is, I managed to catch the leading lovers, but only by chance.  There was some film crew guy looking menacing and saying no photography, but I ignored him anyway.  After all, I had paid to get inside. Somewhere in there, Director Rensil D'Silva is hard at work. This film production, staring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, looked so natural that the crew had a difficult time keeping people from walking into the shoot.   Who knows, I might be in the final cut walking absent-mindedly in the distant background. After the delegation arrived, we had one NGO site visit in Delhi, did some hasty sight seeing, and then drove, the next day, to Agra, home of the Taj Majal itself.  If you visit India, and you have the time, driving between cities is a great way to see and experience parts of the country that would be missed by flying.  It also gave me the opportunity to shoot hundreds of photos from the side of the car; photos that rarely looked good and where the lighting always looked better on the driver’s side.  Typical. Roadside mobile fruit vendor

The Taj Majal is stunning, no doubt about it, and countless lines have been penned in its honor, so I will let the photos speak for themselves here.  I will say that 5 days into my trip, I was so tired that I opted out of the sunrise visit and contented myself with the afternoon and sunset tour the day before.  Reports from the adventurous early birds indicated that it was equally stunning in the morning, but with far fewer visitors. Having already walked a good deal that day, this man opted to rest his heals These gentlemen soaked in the scene while awaiting the sunset to cast its glow upon the Taj Majal. Inside and out, the marble walls are adorned with inlaid semi-precious stones The Taj Majal From Agra, we drove south to Jaipur.  Along the way, tragedy struck when a gentleman on a motorbike trying to cross the highway, pulled out in front of one of our Toyota SUVs.  The car I was in happened to be right behind the vehicle that hit the bike, and from the black smoke emitting from underneath the SUV, we first though they had blown a tire.  Then we saw the down motor bike and rider.  It was only as we passed the scene of the accident that I saw the man had a child of about 2 or 3 years old cradled in his lap and arms.  He never let go of her.  It was an intense moment.  Local villagers quickly ran to the scene and the owner of the tour company, who I was traveling with, was worried they might start stoning the vehicles.  Consequently, I was told to stay in the car with the doors locked while he went to asses the situation and calm things down – which he did.  Fortunately, (amazingly considering the accident and the lack of helmets) neither the father nor the little girl was seriously harmed and two hours later, we continued on our way. For some time, the white SUV was surrounded by 40 or so agitated men and boys from the local village, but things soon calmed down.  Note the damaged to the viewable fender.  The motorbike in view is not the one from the accident.

The next morning, we headed out about an hour away from Jaipur to meet with Gram Chetna Kendra (GCK), an NGO dedicated to helping the rural women and families of some of the poorest desert villages of the region by aiding them to reach their full potential.  Annual per capita income ranges between USD 90-120.  On top of the economic hardships are social prejudices against the birth of girls, malnutrition, lack of education and the lack of rights or enforcement of rights for women.  One way that GCK is making a difference is in helping initiate micro finance programs run by the village women.  This gives the women a voice is their futures and has enabled them to contribute to the family income.  GCK is also working to improve education, health and hygiene in the villages. Since our vehicle got stuck in the sand, we walked the last kilometer or so to the village We first visited the village elementary classroom, housed in a building with one classroom a simple kitchen and a storage room The students treated us to some music and dancing We sat upon mats under the shade of a tree while meeting with the village women.  Once married, their custom is to cover their heads. They were as fascinated by us as we were by them

The day was extremely rewarding and everyone was impressed with the great work GCK is doing with limited resources. Around here, camel power is the beast of choice One more from the road

That’s all for now.  Next up: more road travel, a tiger safari, palaces, the scene of Octopussy and an extraordinary shelter for women.  I'll post these and other photos in an India album soon.