We’re on a bit of a mission today. When we booked, we didn’t realise Taj Mahal isn’t open on a Friday so we need to get to Agra today in time to visit the Taj before it closes – we couldn’t come all this way and not get to see it. We left Jaipur at 6am. The trip from Jaipur to Agra is 240km and takes over 4 hours – a good 2 lane motorway but this time it was thick fog and multiple trucks (many without tail lights or even reflectors) to weave between and slow us down.
Our driver said that in India you need 3 things when driving. A good horn, good brakes and good luck. I’d add a fourth thing – no cell phone!
As we drove out of Jaipur there were many small groups of people huddled around tiny fires on the side of the road. They burn whatever they can find to keep warm – sticks, cardboard, plastics – there’s plenty laying around on the streets. When we were out walking last night we saw people pouring engine oil on their fire for a bit of extra heat. Not exactly good for the environment but I can’t imagine global warming is a topic of discussion when you’re struggling to keep warm and survive. I can only assume that at least some of these people have slept around these fires overnight – an existence that’s difficult to comprehend.
On the way to Agra we took a detour to Chand Baori to see a stepwell that BJ was keen to photograph. Unfortunately the fog and lighting weren’t the best for photos but this is one impressive structure and well worth the detour. 3500 steps, over 13 stories deep, extending 30m (100 ft) below ground level and dating back to the 8th – 9th century.
Our accommodation in Agra is just over 1km from Taj Mahal. We’d purchased tickets online for 2.30pm for our visit to the Taj but strolled down a bit earlier which didn’t cause a problem with entry.
There are 1000’s of people but the grounds are vast and it’s only at the classic photo spots that it gets congested. There has been smog hanging over Taj Mahal for the last couple of days but the sky cleared while we were there and we had the most amazing view. I struggle to find words to describe the absolute beauty of the Taj and the story behind it only adds to the experience of being there. Every angle you view it is another photo opportunity and I had to consciously put my camera away and just soak in the moment. I hope I never forget this experience.
Our accommodation is a family run home-stay. The mother, daughter and son (no mention of the father) live downstairs and there must be 15 rooms on the floors above in the purpose built building. There was a rooftop area with a view to the Taj and the ground floor had a massive kitchen and dining table where they served meals. We decided to have dinner at the home-stay and sat next to a couple from Belgium, hearing about their travels and sharing stories of ours. Dinner was delicious, as was the breakfast. I could have easily stayed a few nights but we’d been told that, other than the Taj, Agra wasn’t great, so to get in and get out fast.
We checked out today, left our bags at the hotel for the day and firstly visited the Red Fort. Another impressive fort and palace, huge open areas with gardens and grass cover.
Next was what’s called the Baby Taj, a mausoleum built prior to Taj Mahal for the father of one of the royal wives. The marble inlays on this mausoleum are more detailed than on the Taj and, with less people, it was very peaceful.
We also visited the gardens across the river from Taj Mahal for a photo opportunity. The clear sky of yesterday has been replaced by low smog so today’s photos are hazy.
Our tuk tuk driver was a bit of a hard case, calling the tuk tuk an ‘Indian helicopter’ and the dust ‘Indian talcum powder’. As he pointed out things along the way he kept referring proudly to “Incredible India”.
A car picked us up from the home-stay just before 6. Our packs got tied to the roof rack and we piled in for the 45 minute drive to Tundla train station. We had confirmed tickets for 4 first class beds in a cabin and 2 were wait-listed (with 2 second class sleepers as a backup). On the drive to the station the other 2 first class beds were confirmed so everything seemed to fall into place.
Our train was coming from Deli so there would only be a 2 minute stop for us (and everyone else) to get onto the train. We’d done as much online research as we could to be prepared for catching the train.
I’m not exactly sure where to start to explain what happened at the train station. We had about an hour and a half till our train’s scheduled arrival. The India Rail website was saying it was delayed 15-30 minutes. We settled ourselves on some seats on the platform while we worked out where our carriage was likely to pull up. The guys selling snacks said it would pull in a little further down the platform so we packed up and moved to another seat. On the seat in front of us, closer to the rails, a woman lay with a shawl draped over her head and upper body, her thin legs dangled over the end of the bench. A black backpack sat an the ground behind her. We didn’t think much of it, people sleep everywhere at night and in the middle of the day. But after the first train roared by and she didn’t move, we started to wonder if all was ok. We took turns at looking to see if we could see signs of her breathing – nothing. Others had been sitting on the seats nearby when we arrived and plenty of people were walking by – none of them seemed to see anything wrong. We weren’t quite sure what to do. After a few minutes debating it among ourselves, a railway porter came along and stood watching her for a few minutes. We felt our responsibility to do something had transferred to him. He walked away. Someone else walked by and stood watching for a while. BJ spoke to him and he said “dead body” as if it was a regular occurrence. A couple of official looking guys eventually came down and lifted the shawl from her face, they photographed her and replaced the shawl. By now most of the people around us who were waiting for the train were watching this unfold and the two guys spoke to a few of them, presumably trying to find out some of the facts .The announcement that our train was arriving came over the speaker. At the same time people arrived with a stretcher, lifted the young woman onto it and walked her away down the platform.
We couldn’t believe what we’d just witnessed but there’s more to this story.
A young man had been sitting at a seat along from us with a small baby. At one stage we was talking to an older man – it all seemed very normal. After the officials had photographed the woman, the young man walked over to the backpack that sat beside the woman and took out what appeared to be a disposable nappy for the baby. We couldn’t understand why he’d left his bag away from where he was sitting. As the women’s body was carried away, the man came over, collected the backpack and, carrying the baby in his arms, followed the stretcher.
Our train had arrived, we hurried to the carriage, pushed our way to our cabins and breathed a sigh of relief that we’d made it on-board. Then we tried to process what we’d seen. Was the woman his wife? Why had he left her laying alone? Why hadn’t help arrived sooner? Was she ill and on her way to the Ganges to die?
Our train trip to Varanasi is 9 hours, plenty of time to try to reconcile something so sad. “Incredible India” – I’m not so sure.
Baby Taj
