Brad and Lily in Dubai-India-Pakistan: July 18--Taj Mahal and Chand Baori

Today was the Taj Mahal. I have to say that it amazed me. I expected it to be pretty cool, but it was beyond my expectations, both in size and in the intricacy of its workmanship. There’s not too much to say about it that you can’t read on the internet, I suppose. But it was incredible. Also, today was the first day after Ramadan, so there were thousands of Muslims there to pray at the neighboring mosque. It was great to watch and photograph. Lots of dads were there with their little boys, and it really reminded me of priesthood session of general conference. At the end, as the crowd filed out, I imagined the imam was announcing, “Please be courteous and mindful of traffic laws as you travel home.” It did appear that there was a lot of goodwill in the crowd. They were smiling and kind, and seemed to be relaxed and enjoying each other.

There were plenty of people in Agra eager to sell us stuff. The hawkers are pretty aggressive. The girls were all excited to buy anklets, which run less than 50 cents a pair. They had some amazing tabletops of marble with inlaid stones—truly incredible handiwork. I’d love to have one just because they’re beautiful but what the heck would I do with it? And they cost a fortune.

Then we began our drive to Jaipur. It’s fascinating just to look out the window as we drive around. There’s always lots to see, especially when we’re stopped at toll booths. The cars are close together and the Indians typically aren’t shy about gaping at us. Sometimes it’s fun to gape back or wave or gesture. Today we were right next to a big passenger bus for maybe five minutes as we both waited in line. In the bus there were several families, two with little children. One of the little girls, maybe 18 months old, was gorgeous. We were waving at her and her mother was grinning and trying to get her to look at us, but she didn’t want to. Finally the mom took the little girl’s face and kind of forced it toward us. The girl was crying. The mom and I kind of shared a laugh and it was really cute, but I felt bad for the girl! At another stop a couple adolescent boys were walking around holding hands, which is common for young men here who are friends. One of them looked at the girl in the bus in front of me and made a kissing gesture, and it was pretty funny. And there were plenty of guys jumping out of their vehicles to take a quick pee by the side of the road while waiting in line to pay toll.

On our way we stopped for lunch and had some tasty Indian food. I really like lassi (a runny yogurt drink) and nan (flat bread kind of like a tortilla, but more airy and tasty). The tour guide told me to try my Hindi on the owner, so I tried. He also mentioned that I’m going to Pakistan, and the restaurant owner said, “Oh, at my house when I’m going to the toilet I always say “I’m going to Pakistan.” He was joking, but of course there is some significant friction between the two countries, and it hasn’t been that long since they were fighting a war. In fact, I understand that for the past week or so things have been heating up in Kashmir. Thankfully that ain’t where we’re crossing the border. Indeed, I don’t think you even can cross the border there.

After that, then drove to a step well in Chand Baori. It’s a well and royal dwelling place from the ninth century. It was pretty incredible. Basically it’s this huge rectangular hole, maybe 60 feet deep. Three of the sides descend diagonally down into the hole and are covered with patterns of steps. The fourth side is a palace where the royal family used to live. At the bottom of the hole water gathers—hence the “well” aspect.
There is a temple right next to the step well. During the reign of the Moguls (Muslims), they smashed up the Hindu carvings on the temple, because such idols are considered blasphemous to Muslims. So most of the faces of the gods on those carvings are missing. But they’ve collected those carvings for display around the step well.

The kids around Chand Baori were somewhat used to foreign tour buses—enough to beg and say “hi” and “how are you?” it was fun to talk a little Hindi to them, because they’re so surprised when I do. I got some cute pictures.

We also visited a traditional potter. The members of our group got to try to throw a little pot on his wheel. It was pretty amazing to see his rickety little wheel, which he would start up by whirling it with a stick pushed into a hole on the wheel. The women’s dress in Chand Baori—and everywhere else in India, especially the north—was particularly colorful. In fact, as we were driving around we often would se women working in the fields or tending water buffalo or riding on motorcycles in flowing, brightly-colored saris. They don’t seem to ever wear work clothes.

In the evening we got to Jaipur and checked into the hotel. We had some great Indian food, and as we were driving a kid standing on some temple steps flexed his muscles at me. He was shocked when I flexed them back, and hooted and pointed at me.