Courtney’s Vicarious Voyage...
India: Part 1
By Courtney DeSchepper  
April 2, 2012 

Hello from India!  I spent from March 12-17th in India. While I didn’t spend much time in Kochin, it was a beautiful city. The weather was in the 90’s in southern India and very humid. Northern India was only in the high 70’s to mid-80’s and almost no humidity. I spent the first four days in northern India and the last 2 in the south. 

The first day was mostly travel which was unique in itself. My flight stopped in the middle to pick up new people and drop off some people. Could you imagine flying from Dayton to Atlanta and stopping half way through to let off half the passengers and pick up new ones? Well, this is how my flight was almost every time. The flight was also not as smooth as it would have been in the states. I think a lot of that is because all the planes are as small or smaller than our jets.  After my flight I checked into my hotel and prepared for the week of a lifetime. 

The next day I visited Agra. I think one of the most impactful things I saw on this whole trip was walking into the train station.  As I walked up to the train station, there were close to 100 people who were sleeping on the hard chilled cement floor outside the station. Our guide quietly told us that most of them were generally homeless and the half full tattered canvas bag they used as pillows was all the belongings they had. They laid there sleeping, just sleeping like we do in our beds every night. They used their bag as a pillow and various forms of blankets, from just a shirt over their head to a thin cotton blanket. Just so everyone knows India can get cold in the morning. I was chilly when I first arrived. I could not believe that the people were just sleeping there. It reminded me of this time last year when I slept outside for hunger and homelessness awareness week. I remember how cold and alone I felt even for just one night; I could not, in this moment, even begin to imagine what the people were feeling.  

Once I stepped off the train in Agra I was quickly ushered into the bus where we started the day. The first stop was the Fatehpur Sikri. This is where Emperor Akbar had palaces built for his three wives. He had a Muslim, Hindu, and Christian wife.  Each wife had her own home, place of worship, and kitchen. This was all made out of red sandstone which is indigenous to India. This was a beautiful place. I could not believe that it was all made by hand. Of course no Emperor would ever admit to having slaves, but many of the people who built the palaces were in fact slaves. My next stop was the Agra Fort.  The Agra Fort has a long history. For me, I think the most interesting historical fact was that it was rebuilt with red sandstone by Emperor Akbar. He lived here for many years. This fort was the site of many battles and had many rulers before Akbar. Akbar not only lived here, but used much of the fort as a place to let his concubines live. He could have up to 400 of them at any one time. Eventually Akbar’s grandson owned the fort, and at the end of his life died there as a prisoner. Akbar’s great-grandson imprisoned his own father for reasons only known to them. These two places were incredible, but the highlight of my whole trip was the Taj Mahal. 

I walked through the archway into the garden in front of the Taj Mahal. Walking through this archway I couldn’t help but hold my breath; I was about to see with my own eyes one of the Seven Wonders of the World. When I finally laid eyes on the Taj Mahal I could not believe what I saw! It is probably the most beautiful sight I have seen in my entire life. Many people who see the Taj in pictures think that the whole building is made of plain white marble. However, there is actually hand carved patterns in the archways and inside of the Taj that were then filled with precious and semi-precious stones mainly from Africa, Pakistan, and India. This was beautiful. I feel as though my words cannot even begin to describe what I saw. The building is simply more majestic than words.  

I started the walk up the garden to actually get right in front of the Taj and go in. The garden is beautiful. This might sound silly but there were tons of flowers that I recognized from back in the states. I guess in all the things that you think you will see flowers are not one of them. Anyway, there is a beautiful water centerpiece that travels down the whole garden. Once I stood in front of the Taj I prepared myself to go inside. The inside had the caskets of Jahn (the man who built it) and his wife. The caskets and walls were covered in this hand carved patterns. I could not believe I was actually in the Taj Mahal. The time permitted in the Taj is very short. So, after exploring for as long as I could I walked outside and watched the sun set over this majestic building. It was so intensely beautiful. The reds and oranges reflecting off the white marble almost made it hard to look at. This was definitely one of the most incredible moments of my life. The next few days seemed to fly by. 

My next great stop was the Ganges River. I was able to see the Ganges River at both sunset and sunrise. I think the most impactful was at sunrise. Just before sunrise, I arrived at the Ganges River. I quietly stepped onto a wood paneled boat that was steered by just 3 young men who could not be any older than I was. Once on the river I began to see everything the tour guide had told me about. I could see people stripping down to their under garments and bathing, people drinking the water, and people washing certain dishes that had religious purposes. A little further down I noticed a person actually spreading the ashes of a loved one. In the moment it was very somber. I could see the pain on this woman’s face. I could tell that she really loved this person, but yet I could also see a glimpse of hope in her eyes. I can only think that this glimpse of hope was that maybe in this person’s next life would be better or easier, or that they would reach closer to nirvana. The last thing I really saw was the crematory.  This building had some beautiful architecture, with very simple yet elegant carvings. There is a flame that they keep lit 24 hours a day. I actually saw a family preparing to cremate a loved one. Again, this was a very somber moment. However, I was able to see what I had learned in class. It was a very enlightening moment. I was getting to see all sides of a religion’s rituals. I tried to soak it all in; this was something I will never forget. 

India was our longest port so far. Stay tuned for part 2 to come shortly. In the meantime please read my blog at agirlaroundtheworld-2012.blogspot.com 

Bon Voyage ☺