Taj Mahal Agra India

Taj Mahal Agra India.... Ben has set up a competition for Holiday Velvet, where he is working some months of his gap year in Barcelona. To enter you have to submit a touristy photo, with location attached. So I spent the early morning at the taj mahal trying to take some funny photos with Clare performing any act I suggested to try and get our award winning photo. It was fun doing and I am hoping for bias on the part of the judge to pull us through and win us a luxury stay in Barcelona! We couldn't have been in a more touristy venue thats for sure.

Taj at sun rise

 The Taj itself is so beautiful, simply soft and mesmeric as the rising suns rays touch the white marble dome - but the mad rush to photograph the spectacle is quite scary. Its hard to remember to just look and absorb, keep the camera in the bag, just be here and take it all in. This mausoleum is a tomb built out of grief and love for a dead woman - that in itself is extraordinary - are there any other such mausoleums anywhere in the world? Inside this huge place is one small woman. Reflecting on this and the emotion behind such a deep and determined grief - I notice an awkwardness in myself, maybe an unfamiliarity with such deep love? If money was no object would I do the same for my loved ones, what was the deal for Shah Jahan? I have suffered grief of very dear dear close and adored ones but the Taj is something else..... (I have considered that my awkwardness may be connected to the other wives of Shah Jahan, and the fact that he married yet again soon after Mumfaz' death, or that many people died building the mausoleum (no evidence for this one according to wikipedia) - but I have put these factors aside as distractions, in spite of all these things it was for love that this crown of palaces was built).

Everyone around me was running to capture the sun rise on the Taj! The queues were agitated as sun rise approached, pushy europeans angled for the oblivious India ticket collectors to hurry along - cameras were primed in the queue. Then once past the queues THE POSING! Myself and my friends at the Taj, My friends and me holding the Taj up by its tip,

Clare is in there trying to get in on a group shot! - stood on a bench for some height, obviously.

That guy on the left is holding the Taj by the tip - common pose here - ha ha!

The wild life here on our roof top restaurant overlooking the magnificient Taj is prolific which is a joy! We have monkeys Jumping, SLAM! onto nearby corrugated rooves, red raw bottoms shining like fresh cut tomatoes as they scamper around looking for rich pickings. Then there are the tiny Indian three striped squirrels whose tails contract upwards as they chirrup their shrill bird-like calls. There are hundreds of these around on trees, walls, roof tops. In the air - flocks of pigeons - aahh the pigeons are back - how lovely. People train their birds in the mornings and evenings - here and in Delhi I have seen it. Lauren got such a lovely picture of the birds with their trainer from a roof top in Delhi on our last trip -I have the picture on my desk at home - so beautifully captured.

There are pigeon towers here too I notice, brick towers with little square holes in to house the birds. You can hear the trainers calling instructions as the birds swoop and circle above us. There are kites (the birds too) in the sky in the evenings here too, ducking and diving around on strings tightly controlled by children on the same rooftops, cutting through the air, circling and swirling in the lively wind. Lots of Eagles and Kites too - I suppose picking up the debris all around us. Sewage channels on the sides of every road here, its gross and stinks. The hideousness right out here amongst us all as we walk, chat, laugh and banter - part of the life - not hidden and very distressing - the roads stink.

My favorite happening at the Taj was watching a group of beautiful men. As we walked up onto the high marble surround to the mausoleum entrance this group of men strode past us.

I walked in amongst them as they entered the tomb, they carried nothing with them but their entrance tickets, they didn't stop to look at the tomb, they simply entered - walked at quite a pace around the circular inner chamber containing the stone tomb and walked straight out again. They regrouped outside the main entrance then met up with some women folk in bright saris and then I lost them....

It was the way they were all wearing the most superbly pastel coloured fine cotton dohtis, some yellow, some very light pink and shades of white. Against their fine strong legs and bare brown feet it was wonderful. They were all ages, all upright, powerful looking and elegant, there heads were wrapped in equally gorgeous fine cotton cloth or various shades too. Maybe it was the first morning light that made the scene captivating. I imagined at first that they had come from the Hindu Kush - because it made them seem slightly dangerous too - but after a while I realised it was Rajastani cotton cloth they were wearing, so more likely from nearer to home - Rajastan being not far off.

 We sat on a wall for a moment to catch our breath as we walked out of the main Taj site and some Rajastani women came straight up to us, one sat really close and talked with me in Hindi. I knew exactly what she was saying to me, although I speak no Hindi! We chatted warmly and just sat close almost cuddled up. We were interested in each other, wanted to hang out and see what it was like to be with each other and it was lovely! Worlds apart but one as well.

Women friends

Only difference is the metal object hanging from my wrist really?