Agra

July 20, 2009
I can see the Taj Mahal from the window of my room. The domed marble structure made me catch my breath when I first saw it. It is huge and glorious and every bit as beautiful as the pictures.

Yesterday we arrived in Agra on the train from New Delhi. It was the first of many Indian train rides I'll be taking in the coming weeks. I love public transportation. There's something about moving quickly along the ground that touches my soul. I was expecting that after we left Delhi city limits we would ride through green fields and quaint suburbs. Instead, most of the scenery was dusty brown urban sprawl littered with trash. Occasional fields were scattered with tent cities and straw huts. Children defecated in ditches while mothers fanned cooking fires.

I think every Western tourist who visits India has to at some point comment on, or at least acknowledge, the poverty they see. It's unlike many other poorer countries I've visited because India is so overwhelmingly populated. So far there hasn't been a single street or site or rickshaw ride where the pollution, the garbage, and the poverty of the citizens hasn't slapped me in the face. I know that eventually I will stop feeling sadness and sympathy; that this will all just become normality for me here. But as of now, it breaks my heart.

Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet, once wrote that the Taj Mahal is a "teardrop on the face of eternity." This colossal grave site is, in face, a wonder. Stunning. Amazing. Opulent. We lucked out on our timing because the site (normally with a hefty entrance fee) was free for all today. We lined up at 2 pm, after a morning tour of Agra, to enter the Taj Mahal. Although we were among a crowd of thousands, that couldn't detract from the Taj itself.

You must remove your shoes to get close to the actual structure. The day was scorching hot. So after our bare feet sizzled on the stones, we sought refuge in a shady marble alcove. As we lazed in the shade, sitting in a nook of the Taj Mahal, overlooking the Yamuna River, I got my first real "Wow!" moment. I am in India. India! This is real. It's all actually happening after so much planning and worrying and waiting. India!

After visiting the Taj, we regrouped and headed off to the train station where we left for Jaipur. Tomorrow is going to be a slow day for me. I haven't been sleeping well, and the heat is beating me down. So Jaipur might not see much of me. It'll live.