Agra: Eternal Love Isn't Real

Bacon cheese buffalo burger with mushrooms =)

The weekend started on Friday after work when Marisa, Melanie, and I went to Ambience Mall in order to find a more formal Indian outfit to wear to the US Embassy on Tuesday. I wasn't feeling very confident that I would find anything, since I was the only one out of the three of us that hadn't been able to find any kurti's that fit properly. I was getting pretty frustrated! After looking at all the stores, we ended up back at Biba where all three of us ended up buying full salwar kameez sets. This is an Indian outfit that consists of a dress that falls mid calf, pajama-y pants that puff a little, and a matching scarf. They are so gorgeous! I'll be sure to post pictures of us all wearing them after we go to the embassy. We were all so excited about our outfits and ended up eating at Chili's in celebration. Let me just tell you...Chili's in India is IDENTICAL to America! It was crazy! All three of us ordered bacon cheeseburgers, and man o man were they absolutely delicious. Obviously the burger wasn't made from beef due to the cow being worshiped in Hinduism. It was made from buffalo. Holy cow was it tasty! It was definitely the best burger we had ever had..well, relative to our situation anyway. Next time we get a 

Yum! Paradise Pie!

      Aside: Hindu's actually view the cow as 'mother'. Cows 
                 give milk and symbolize mothers whom give milk to  
                 their children. This is why cows are worshiped as a 
                 God in Hinduism. Killing a cow would be like killing 
                  your mother.
craving for some more American style food we definitely know where to go! After dinner we shopped for kurtis! I was sooooooo excited because I had finally found two that fit me! I'm not even a little bit built like an Indian woman so finding kurtis for my proportions have proved to be challenging. Sure enough though, I found two! I was excited! I was very happy to know that I would get to wear some cute Indian clothes while in Agra.

One of the huts!

The next morning Tapish drove us to Agra! It was a fun car ride. Tapish was able to explain the lyrics for 'Balam Pichkari' which is Marisa, Melanie, and I's favorite Hindi song. It is from the Bollywood movie Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The car ride was an interesting experience too because it was the first time we had really seen anything other than a city. While traveling we saw mostly farm fields. Sporadically throughout the fields were straw huts. The huts are constructed using manure and straw. Manure is the foundation and straw is placed on the outside. People who tend the fields live in these huts.

Agra itself was like no other town we had seen before. We so so many monkeys climbing on buildings and trees. There were more street vendors selling food and various trinkets also. Normally wherever we go we see cows roaming about (and blocking traffic..it's pretty funny to see cars weaving in and out between cows in an effort to keep the traffic moving) and Agra was no different. This was the first time we had seen buffalo though! There were so many cows and buffalo. I felt like there were also more horse or camel drawn carriages and buggies than we had previously seen as well. It was strange to see and a little hard for me to handle all the people in their makeshift homes on the side of the road. We were definitely exposed to poverty this weekend.

Displaying our room! Also, this is my first ever Indian out

We stayed at the Radisson Hotel Blu. The hotel was gorgeous. Breakfast and dinner were also included in the price, so it was nice to know we wouldn't have to search too far to get food in an unfamiliar area. After checking into the hotel we headed to the Taj Mahal.

At the entrance

A little info on the Taj Mahal: In Hindi, the Taj Mahal means 'crown palace' (the top dome being shaped like a crown) It is done in Mughal style architecture completely constructed from white marble. This type of construction combines Islamic, Persian, Turkish, and Indian architectural elements. It is a mausoleum that King Shah Jahan had built for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died birthing the couples 14th child. Construction of the Taj Mahal begam in 1632 and was completed in 1653. It is known to be the greatest symbol of eternal love. The love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtax Mahal was recorded by the courts of his kingdom. Beautiful calligraphy is present throughout the building quoting verses from the Quran and chants that were to provide guidance for their souls to reach heaven and be prosperous in their after life (similar to what the ancient Egyptians did). The Taj has 4 pillars, each one pointing to the cardinal directions north, south, east, and west. Like most of the architecture we have seen here everything is completely symmetrical. Mumtaz Mahal's tomb is in the direct center. There is a chandelier that reaches down and ends just before touching the tomb. Shah Jahan's brother had plans to build a second Taj Mahal directly across the river. This one was to be constructed completely from black marble. Only the gardens of this structure were made and are completely identical and symmetrical to the Taj Mahal.

First Peek!

So excited to see our second world wonder!

The detailing was incredible.

In all its glory!

Sunglasses are a MUST at the Taj Mahal or you can't see anything!

Just me picking up the Taj Mahal

My purse makes my kurti ride up! #IndiaProblems

Hilarious group photo of us...

You can't see Mumtaz's tomb in this picture (here's is right
underneath the light), but you can see Shah Jahan's tomb

I can't say enough about its beauty. As corny as it sounds, it really was breathe taking. The designs were so detailed and intricate. Shoes were not allowed to be worn on the white marble, so those with expensive tickets (aka all foreigners) were given shoe covers. All others were required to remove their shoes in order to step on the white marble. Tapish was our tour guide while we were there. He explained that the Taj Mahal used to be covered in precious gems and jewels of all colors. I could only imagine how it must have sparkled back when these stones were still attached. British soldiers and government officials removed them during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. There are two mosques on the sides of the Taj Mahal as well where people can pray and worship. The myth goes that after the construction of the Taj Mahal was complete, Shah Jahan ordered that the hands of all the workers who had constructed the Taj Mahal (and there were thousands) be cut off in order to prevent another Taj Mahal from ever being constructed. In return, Jahan provided for their families the rest of their lives. On Fridays the Taj Mahal is closed and only family members of the workers who constructed the Taj Mahal can come and see the world wonder and worship in the mosques. The family's were issued cards that are passed down from generation to generation. This is what allows them access on Fridays (In the BBC World Documentary Series In The Shadow of the Taj, descendants of some of the workers who built the Taj Mahal all say the 'hands cut off' story is a myth).


Throughout our time there Marisa, Melanie, and I would get all mushy gushy about love and eternal love. Tapish would make sure to interject that 'eternal love isn't real.' Then we would ask ourselves, what does eternal love even mean? Haha even though we never came up with a great answer the thought was still nice. Tapish always made sure to rain on our romantic thoughts of love. He often said things like 'yeah it's cool but it was ridiculously expensive and what did the guy even accomplish.' To which we would respond with 'the greatest symbol of eternal love.' He would again say that 'eternal love isn't real.' This humorous repertoire continued throughout our entire Agra visit.

After seeing the Taj Mahal, we went to visit Tapish's uncle. This was the first time we had ever been in an Indian family's home, so it was great to experience that dynamic. They were so welcoming, and their home was beautiful! They had just moved into it 15 days prior so it was so gracious of them to invite us over for lunch, and upon Tapish's warning even make food that wasn't spicy. It was seriously such a delicious meal. His aunt kept forcing food upon us, and even though we were full it was just too good to refuse! They also gave us a tour of their house. Their front room was a dedicated temple and was decorated with pictures of various Hindu Gods. We had such a great time meeting and visiting with them! Their daughter had just gotten engaged and will be married in November. We were able to see the proofs of the photos that were taken from their engagement ceremony. I had no idea that aside from the wedding there was a huge ceremony and party to celebrate the engagement. The pictures were absolutely stunning, but everyone kept commenting 'if you think this is a celebration, just wait for the wedding.' It was hard for me to imagine a grander party and celebration than that.

That evening we went back to the Taj Mahal to see it in the moonlight. It was just as beautiful at night, but in a different way. I felt completely at peace looking at it. Unfortunately the time of year wasn't right for the moon to be directly behind the Taj Mahal, but the light still illuminated the white marble structure. The light coming from the simple chandelier that is directly above Mumtaz Mahal's tomb shone so brightly in the dim moonlight. It again made the three of us get all mushy gushy romantic-y imagining what a love the two must have shared. Of course, Tapish chimed in on cue to remind us that eternal love was not real, but we didn't really care. All the jokes in the world couldn't ruin the gorgeous site and feeling of peace. I would love to visit India in the winter and witness the Taj Mahal with a full moon behind it.

Walking in! =)

The light in the center is always lit. Mumtaz Mahal's tomb rests
right beneath it. 

Marisa's camera got some really cool pictures!

Picking up the Taj Mahal

Me admiring the Taj Mahal at night.

On Sunday we went to the Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal was one of the kings who lived in this fort. His son however made the most impact on it and expanded it quite extensively. His 4th son desired to be king so badly that he killed his three elder brothers and imprisoned his father (don't be alarmed...the jail was very fancy and nice and had a view of the Taj Mahal so he could gaze at his wife) so that he could rule. The Taj Mahal can be seen from many points of the fort. The fort was absolutely massive. We only saw about 25% of the fort because the public only has access to that much. The other 75% is utilized as a military base for the Indian army. The part we did see was absolutely massive, so it was hard to imagine there being even three times that much which we could not see. We had a guide for the fort since Tapish had only been once before when he was a small child. It was helpful having the guide because we were really able to get a lot of good history out of the experience.

Super sad we didn't get let in =(

But Super Happy When We Did!

In front of the first king's palace

King's bathtub! It used to be completely covered in gold!

The Dancing Square! The king and his two queens would watch from
the holes  in the upper right hand corner

The Taj Mahal is outside this window!

'Porch' for the lesser favorite daughter (her home was made from
plaster while the favorite daughter's was made from marble

Outside of the Shah Jahan's Prizon...Rough life...

Crown architectural styling-like the Taj Mahal! 

King and Queen's Palace

Similar detailing to the Taj Mahal

Where the king, queens, and prime minister
would sit to see the people

The people's court! This is where the common people would  lounge around and come to hear the king speak

Second Indian Outfit! Can't wait to buy more!

People's Court

Exploring with Tapish and Melanie!

It is amazing to me how hot the area is yet back in the 1600s people were able to build kingdoms and stay cool. It was a scorching hot day, yet every time we went in a building I was able to cool off due to how airy they were. These people were so intelligent in the way they designed buildings. One room was built specifically to significantly alter temperatures. The walls were hollow so cold water could be placed in them in the summer and hot water could be placed in them in the winter. The king had hundreds of concubine. The guide explained kings would simply marry as many women as they could with the single goal of expanding their kingdom and army. There were so many women that the king never tired to remember their names and simple assigned them all a number token. In the square of rooms where the concubine resided, there was also a jail. When the women would fight each other, they would be thrown in the jail for misbehaving. The guide told so many facts I couldn't possibly write them all down! If you want me to explain a particular picture to you let me know, and I'll tell you all about it =)

Love,

Sequoia

DISCLAIMER: I only posted a few of the photos on my blog! I'm just putting a select few of them on the blog. If you want to view all the photos you can check out this public Facebook album. You do NOT need a Facebook in order to look at the photos =)

Taj Mahal: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152982046630249.1073741834.509380248&type=3

Agra Fort: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152981997570249.1073741833.509380248&type=3