Day 7: Taj Mahal and Cultural Show

Day 7: Taj Mahal and Cultural Show

By: Sabrina Beyda & Gabriella Somana Prada 

We rolled over and looked at the clock, it was 4:27am in Delhi and it was made clear the night before that we were to be in the lobby at 4:30am for breakfast. Oops. Knowing that we could grab some breakfast on our way to the bus, which was leaving at 5:00am, we got dressed as fast as possible and made it to the lobby by 4:50am, with 10 minutes to spare in order to grab some breakfast. Breakfast that morning was a boxed breakfast since we were heading out so early. Breakfast consisted of muffins and croissants, which everyone appreciated. 

When we pulled up to the train station we were not expecting what would come next. There were people sleeping everywhere. The floor was covered with blankets and people. As we navigated our way through the people we tried to keep our baggage close by. Once on the train from Delhi to Agra most students caught up on some much needed sleep. During the ride there was cereal and hot milk served but most of us were suspicious of the milk and chose not to drink it. Once we arrived in Agra, we quickly noticed the monkeys. We had all heard about the monkeys but this was our first sighting. It was funny to see the mixture of dogs, cows, monkeys, and goats all living together in the streets. We headed to the hotel and when we arrived we were all pleasantly surprised. The hotel was amazing. From the rooftop, we had a view of the Taj Mahal, It was a sneak peak before we headed over to the see the mausoleum. We wanted to immerse ourselves into the culture so some of the women wore bindis and the men wore kurtas.

During the ride to the Taj Mahal our tour guide, Anil I believe his name was, gave us some background information on Agra and the Taj Mahal. He told us that 3 million people live in Agra and that “Taj Mahal” is only a shortened version of the mausoleum’s actual name. We were told that the Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, for his third wife after she passed away while giving birth to their child. Shah Jahan had intentions of building a second, black, Taj Mahal for himself but before he was able to do so he was put in jail by his son. His son believed that Shah Jahan was spending too much of their fortune on this mausoleum and so he put his father in jail and killed his brothers in order to become the emperor himself. Shah Jahan spent the remainder of his life in Red Fort where he died. He was able to see the Taj Mahal every day from Red Fort. We learned that it took 22 years to construct the Taj Mahal and 20,000 people.

Our tour guide explained “India is a country easy to love, difficult to understand." He says this is because India is “different.” The mausoleum is a symbol of love and is more amazing in person than any picture can display. Once we arrived, we weaved our way through beggars and people avidly trying to sell us everything from key chains to marble elephants. We went through security, women on one side and men on the other, and then we finally reached the Taj Mahal. It was easy to tell from the face of each and every student that we were in awe. 

We took the time to walk past the fountains and enjoy the garden. We walked through the Taj Mahal and analyzed the designs on the walls that were created by semi-precious stones. We learned that the Taj Mahal always looks new because it was built from a marble that is not porous and that this marble can only be found in India. We spent time taking many pictures as we had two photographers who were eager to take pictures of us. Once we were all back together at the entrance of the Taj Mahal, we began to head back to the bus. Once again, people trying to sell us replicas of the Taj Mahal bombarded us. 

We were encouraged by the tour guide to have lunch at a restaurant he suggested, which he called “a very hygienic restaurant.” I think we were all put off by the idea so we elected to go to McDonald’s for lunch. Although there were no cheeseburgers served, we were satisfied with the “Veg Pizza McPuff” and other Indian style foods. 

After lunch, we tried our best to go shopping but we had some trouble finding a place that had quality products. We ended up back at the hotel where we found shops selling Indian style clothing. From the start of the trip we had decided that the night of the cultural show we would all dress up in Indian attire so being that the show was that night, we were happy to find these stores in the hotel. After buying our saris and kurtas we headed upstairs to get dressed. We helped each other put on the Saris and we learned from the native Indian students how to wrap ourselves in the very long silk.

Photos were not allowed in the cultural show but we did take one group photo on stage. The show was incredible. The clothing worn by the actors was so ornate and colorful. The dances were unlike any dance we have here in America. After the show, we headed back to the hotel and had dinner at the hotel restaurant. As always, there was the perfect combination of Indian and American food. Many of the students were happy to find a pasta bar. After dinner we headed to the hotel lounge to reminisce on the day and then headed off to bed in order to rest up for our next eventful day.