Passage to India

Elaine Simpson on 14 October 2014
My first trip to India and well overdue. I thought I knew a bit about it, having booked lots of trips, but there is certainly no substitute for the real thing!

Landing in Delhi during a state visit by the Chinese PM meant that many roads were closed partly because of demonstrations by Tibetan refugees and sympathizers: so my first impression was of traffic – crowded, chaotic, noisy, smelly and more than a bit scary, with bikes, mopeds, cows, goats, people, trucks, buses and cars weaving in and out without any obvious ‘rules of the road’. Taking 2 and a half hours for a 40 minute journey did have a positive side though: it gave me lots of time, in air-conditioned comfort, to drink in other impressions: vivid colours, street life, sign-painting done by hand, smiling children waving, makeshift shelters built from debris, laundry spread out to air: all fascinating and so very different from home. Next stop was Delhi railway station: not a pretty place, but huge and all human life is here! We board our train for the 6 hour journey to Amritsar, an opportunity to view the countryside, and fortunately we are travelling in the air-conditioned comfort of executive class, which includes food and drinks: this was quite interesting – with guess-work required to decide what we were actually eating, but not an unpleasant experience.

Our stay in Amritsar was marvellous: we visited the Golden Temple, the holiest place of the Sikh religion, where all people of any faith or creed are welcomed, provided that they show respect by covering their heads and take off their shoes. The Golden Temple itself is in the centre of a lake surrounded by the white marble communal temple buildings and the faithful cross a bridge into the Golden Temple to pay their respects to the holy book which is kept there. Volunteers at the temple prepare and serve over 2000 meals every day to all comers, no-one need go hungry in Amritsar, and I was really impressed by this incredible inclusive community action.

Another highlight was the Wagah border: the border-post on the road between India and Pakistan is closed at sundown each day, the flags are lowered and there is a fabulous, dramatic display of mock-warfare between the border guards who are dressed in very colourful ceremonial uniform: it’s a hugely popular community event, with lots of chanting, flag-waving and crowd-participation and whole families lining up in front of the gates and guards to get their photos taken. Like the Royal Horseguards in London, the border guards are chosen for their height and they are truly impressive – you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of them!

Back in Delhi we toured both halves of the city: the beautifully manicured gardens, formal buildings and grand parks of New Delhi with its government institutions and affluence; followed by a rickshaw ride through the narrow streets and alleys of Old Delhi, and evidence of much a more hand-to-mouth existence and lively street-life; in the process we also learn quite a lot about the varied history of the city and the land itself. India truly is a land of great contrasts.

We leave Delhi by road to travel to Agra: despite it being quite a modern fast road it’s not unusual to see an elephant or camel wandering along, or a cow munching on the central reservation, or the odd vehicle moving in the opposite direction to the rest of the traffic! We reach our destination: which is, of course, the Taj Mahal! So familiar, but so much more fabulous ‘in the flesh’ the Makrana marble glows and the semi-precious stones inlaid in the surface are breathtakingly beautiful. And the gardens surrounding it are so lovely: a gorgeous place to sit. In fact it’s much better on the outside: once you get inside it is so crowded that it’s not easy to contemplate the beauty surrounding you, just the elbows prodding you in the back!

This evening there is another treat in store too – a saree lesson – our lovely guide Arti brings along a saree for each of us, and helps us to dress for a special dinner: mine is orange and it’s quite unbelievable how elegant it makes me feel.

On the road from Agra to Jaipur we visit Fatehpur Sikri, the beautiful, deserted medieval city of Akbar the Great, with fabulous views over the surrounding countryside and including a monument to his favourite elephant and the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. We reach Jaipur and travel to the Amber Fort, where we should have been riding elephants to the fort, but due to a festival the elephants were on holiday so we were taken to where they are cared for, and were able to meet them and have a short ride. The ascent to the Amber Fort was by jeep instead and was accompanied by the theme to Indiana Jones, sung very loudly – Jaipur has that kind of effect on you! It’s been the location for countless films.

The Amber Fort is amazing, up high on a hill with fortified walls stretching away onto the surrounding hillsides – I lost count of the number of palaces within the fort and the reasons for them all, but it was beautiful: one of the palaces was decorated by mirrors and silverwork; another covered in gorgeous frescos; another with filigree screens and overlooking a lake. A definite highlight of the trip.

We flew from Jaipur to Mumbai: here the impressions of extremes, contrasts, and crowds is intensified: in Delhi the city is divided but in Mumbai rich and poor, ancient and modern, the haves and the have-nots live side by side and on top of each other: it is quite unsettling. But not, apparently, to locals: it is just the way things are. In Mumbai, due to a festival (or two?) we spent a ridiculous amount of time in traffic jams: but we were fortunate to visit ‘Hotel India’ – the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel – to see the rooms and suites and for tea: it is a lovely hotel and you can see why those with the resources would return time and time again. Immediately outside is the Gateway to India, which embodies the multi-cultural spirit of India; with its architectural influences from all the major belief systems that co-exist side by side here. I can see why some people love India passionately, and why others hate it with equal passion. Its extremes are not comfortable and one has to change the habits of a lifetime in order to bear some of them; but there is such a zest for life, an acceptance of differences and such strong community spirit and spirituality that it’s very seductive. I'll be back sometime: the food was wonderful and despite all the early warnings from kind friends I had not a sign of 'Delhi belly' or any other debilitating condition, and the standards of service in the hotels (4 & 5 star) was excellent.