Well, our trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal was unforgettable for many reasons. First, seeing the Taj at sunrise was absolutely surreal. You walk through a big archway and gaze upon the perfect pools of water and the elegant gardens leading up to the Taj. It looked so unreal that we felt like it was a mural that we could walk up and touch. Only a few of us were up on the marble foundation at the base of the Taj right as the sun was stepping through a curtain of clouds and mist still hung on the river behind it- it felt like I was walking barefoot on a cloud in heaven. The Taj itself is magnificent- it has astoundingly intricate marble work, inscriptions, and gym cuttings- as the king, who built it in honor of his beloved wife, demanded perfection. He would apparently cut off a worker's hand if he messed up.
After this our "tour guide that SIT hired," or so we thought, who had taken us to the Taj, led us to a workshop where "ancestors of the Taj gem cutters," who were master craftsmen, produced beautiful marble and gem pieces such as table tops, vases, elephants, etc. After being paraded around and given detailed explanations on how much time and skill everything required, most of us bought a pretty expensive marble piece, something special from the Taj. It was when they took us into the second room with less expensive items that it dawned on us that this might be a scam. Our tour guide peaced out and we were left frustrated with ourselves for trusting our guide. Our hotel manager told us that Awadesh Ji, our SIT staff member who coordinated most of the trip for us, had hired the guide for us, and we trusted his word. When we got back to Jaipur, we learned that he had not been hired and really just hopped on our bus and probably got a cut from the marble/gem place. Azim Ji had warned us to be careful, so we felt bad that we had fallen into such a thing. But we're all OK, we learned a lot, and now we have a great story to laugh about. Agra is kind of an unpleasant city, and people were constantly bombarding us with trinkets to buy. We laughed when people offered us the following sequence: "Taj keychain? T-shirt? Postcards? Leather whip!?!" How random. On the way back from Agra we stopped at a lost city of sorts. It used to be some capital city, a fort with a vast stone courtyard that strategically straddled a high hill. We scaled the red steps, which were teeming with children, and walked around the courtyard as vendors followed us and tried to sell us things. It felt like a place from the Lord of the Rings- some aging vestige of the past. We were all happy to get back to Jaipur.
This week we had lectures on Gandhi, the caste system, and an overview on development in India. We visited a "basti," an area where the people have constructed concrete houses on government land, to observe and then discuss what we thought the most pressing development issue was. Then we talked with community members- women in colorful saris, curious children, our teachers, and 16 American girls all crowded into one room- and we realized that their priorities and needs were far different than our perceptions. We also visited a rural village that innovatively created a water harvesting system to irrigate fields, provide water and grass for their dairy cows and village use. They dug out squares of earth and created hills to maximize rainwater collection. We walked across the brittle, cracked earth under the scorching sun and talked with the village leaders under a tree. One night this week I went with Mami Ji to her temple. A long drum and an accordion were played while two women led singing, praying, and chanting. We all sat on the floor, and there was incense, flowers, and candles. Another memorable moment this week was when six of us piled into a rickshaw (probably not meant for more than 3 adults) and puttered and choked along at a pace slower than that of an ancient, arthritic turtle.
Tomorrow we depart on a week-long excursion to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner, which are to the west of Jaipur, to visit some NGOs. Apparently there are scorpions in Jaisalmer. Yikes.
After this our "tour guide that SIT hired," or so we thought, who had taken us to the Taj, led us to a workshop where "ancestors of the Taj gem cutters," who were master craftsmen, produced beautiful marble and gem pieces such as table tops, vases, elephants, etc. After being paraded around and given detailed explanations on how much time and skill everything required, most of us bought a pretty expensive marble piece, something special from the Taj. It was when they took us into the second room with less expensive items that it dawned on us that this might be a scam. Our tour guide peaced out and we were left frustrated with ourselves for trusting our guide. Our hotel manager told us that Awadesh Ji, our SIT staff member who coordinated most of the trip for us, had hired the guide for us, and we trusted his word. When we got back to Jaipur, we learned that he had not been hired and really just hopped on our bus and probably got a cut from the marble/gem place. Azim Ji had warned us to be careful, so we felt bad that we had fallen into such a thing. But we're all OK, we learned a lot, and now we have a great story to laugh about. Agra is kind of an unpleasant city, and people were constantly bombarding us with trinkets to buy. We laughed when people offered us the following sequence: "Taj keychain? T-shirt? Postcards? Leather whip!?!" How random. On the way back from Agra we stopped at a lost city of sorts. It used to be some capital city, a fort with a vast stone courtyard that strategically straddled a high hill. We scaled the red steps, which were teeming with children, and walked around the courtyard as vendors followed us and tried to sell us things. It felt like a place from the Lord of the Rings- some aging vestige of the past. We were all happy to get back to Jaipur.
This week we had lectures on Gandhi, the caste system, and an overview on development in India. We visited a "basti," an area where the people have constructed concrete houses on government land, to observe and then discuss what we thought the most pressing development issue was. Then we talked with community members- women in colorful saris, curious children, our teachers, and 16 American girls all crowded into one room- and we realized that their priorities and needs were far different than our perceptions. We also visited a rural village that innovatively created a water harvesting system to irrigate fields, provide water and grass for their dairy cows and village use. They dug out squares of earth and created hills to maximize rainwater collection. We walked across the brittle, cracked earth under the scorching sun and talked with the village leaders under a tree. One night this week I went with Mami Ji to her temple. A long drum and an accordion were played while two women led singing, praying, and chanting. We all sat on the floor, and there was incense, flowers, and candles. Another memorable moment this week was when six of us piled into a rickshaw (probably not meant for more than 3 adults) and puttered and choked along at a pace slower than that of an ancient, arthritic turtle.
Tomorrow we depart on a week-long excursion to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner, which are to the west of Jaipur, to visit some NGOs. Apparently there are scorpions in Jaisalmer. Yikes.
Hey Sarah:
ReplyDeleteYour story about the "guide" at the Taj reminds me of "Slumdog Millionaire" where the guy did the same thing. Only in the movie, the viewer was on the guide's side!
Great lessons all along the way!
Oh those ancient, arthritic turtles... they get you every time...:)
ReplyDelete