The Agra Fort Incident

We were pleasantly surprised on leaving the rug factory to discover it was raining, with a very pleasant accompanying drop in temperature (to the low 90sF). We piled into the rickshaw for the relatively short drive over to Agra Fort which is located about 2.5 km from the Taj Mahal. Agra Fort, mentioned in history as far back as 1080AD, was used at one time as the capital of the Mughal empire. We headed on into the fort over the drawbridge across a moat into a gate in the lofty walls. High on the walls were monkeys sitting or running along the top. Eventually the path opened into a large square which we walked around taking pictures. Then Phil handed me his camera with the instructions to take a picture of him jumping off some steps. Seemed like a great idea. We set the camera to rapid fire which allowed me to take 4 shots per second and he climbed up for the leap. The leap was great - arms out - face to the camera - big grin. Phil hit the ground and I stopped snapping, but then he lost his balance and fell back. I quickly took another shot, laughing that he had lost his balance. It was immediately apparent that all was not well - "I think I sprained my ankle!" he said. Off came the sock as a crowd began to gather to inspect, including a security guard (who was about to yank on Phil's toes as part of the inspection but Phil stopped him). The ankle was already beginning to swell, but Phil decided to stand and see if he could put any weight on it. Nope! In fact he decided it was time to lay down before he actually fainted. We left him laying there on the steps to recover, security guard hovering, while the 3 of us headed off for a quick look at the rest of the fort. It is huge - part of it actually still in use by the Indian Army and thus off limits. From one side you could look down the river and see the Taj Mahal in the distance. When we finished our quick sight seeing, it was back to Phil to see how he was doing and figure out how we were going to make it back to the rickshaw. He wasn't walking anywhere, and it had been a lengthy walk into the heart of the fort from the main road. Hopping with an arm over James and Merv's shoulders didn't last long - hopping is VERY tiring. Then there was the crossed arms carry position - also quickly discarded. Finally James tried piggy-back. What a beast! He ended up carrying Phil all the way back out to the road with only one rest. It was amazing. We had drawn lots of stares before - imagine how it was now! :-)

Eventually arriving back at the railroad station we had to figure out a way to get Phil all the way down one platform, up the elevated walkway to cross a few sets of tracks and then back down to the platform on the other side. It turned out there was a wheelchair available so we hired a coolie, loaded Phil up and set off. This pedestrian bridge over the tracks was actually a ramp, highly unusual for India. However, it was so steep that it took one of us pulling with the coolie pushing to get the wheelchair up. Coming down the other side it also took two people for braking the chair. We made it though, boarded the train when it arrived and had an uneventful 3 hour return journey to Delhi. The wheelchair in Delhi did not work out quite so well. As soon as we arrived I jumped off the train and set off in search of a wheelchair. I eventually found one near the main entrance, a coolie was co-opted (against his will) and we set off to retrieve Phil. As soon as Phil sat down we discovered that this chair was long past its prime. The wheels were so loose that they would rub on the frame and hardly turn. James and I tried supporting the front by each grabbing an arm rest but the wobbling wheel would end up running over James' foot so we had to stop that. Another solution was needed. Suddenly Phil got up, hopped/climbed into the train still sitting at the platform, and went out the door on the far side onto the tracks with us following. The coolie was left behind shouting at us - he had to stay with the wheelchair since it was his responsibility. With Phil hopping we traversed along the railroad bed and across about six sets of tracks, finally reaching a back street and a block later out on the main road. A taxi was located, we climbed in and about 30 minutes later were checking in at the YMCA. Tomorrow we would see how bad the ankle was going to be.

Videos Of Carpet Making

Carpet Shop In Agra

So after visiting the Taj Mahal, our rickshaw driver took us to a very nice restaurant for some good food. Everyone's stomachs were back to normal so we all ate well. It was stinkin hot outside and the A/C in the restaurant wasn't keeping up that great but it was still better than being outside during the heat of the day. Instead of going to another landmark to see right away, I asked the driver to take us to a carpet shop. He took us to a government run cottage industry where they make carpets on the premises as well as make designs and have a warehouse to supply villagers with yarn and patterns which they make in their villages and return to be sold all over India. It was very interesting and we all ended up buying some carpets which they ship home to the US and Cananda via UPS for free. We purchased them on Monday, May 4th and the UPS dude showed up on my doorstep early Monday morning on the 11th, just 7 days later! Unbelievable!! It takes longer to get a letter from Canada!

Don't hold back Randy....go for it!! Even though James has this "look" on every picture, he really did have some fun and good food on his trip!!
I'm lovin it! Merv is enjoying something Randy said.
I pigged out, now it's time for a nap!!
Here are a couple dudes working on a 5 x 7 carpet. This takes them about 4 months to finish. You complain about your job?
His fingers are flying so fast you can barely see them. It's crazy to watch! He ties a knot and cuts it with that curved knife in about 1 second!
Here he is showing us how they trim the carpet for the first time.
This is his partner sitting beside him.
Looking at the back of the loom.
You can see the pattern better on the back until they trim the front.
This is the manager of the shop who was explaining everything to us.
Another dude working on a smaller carpet by himself.
Someone doesn't look very happy right now......
This guy is drawing a pattern by hand for what looks like a pretty big rug.
He erases what he doesn't like and starts over....
These next two dudes fill the pattern in with colors, hand painted. Talk about a never ending job....color color color....on and on
..and on and on...
...and on. Could it get any more tedious or boring? Yes it can!!!
This job is the worst!! This dude takes a tiny little pick and goes through the entire carpet seperating the different colors.
Wherever two colors touch, he goes through and separates them to make the pattern crisp and sharp. After all the trimming during making the rug and the wash, the threads tend to get mixed together where they touch.....
..and this dude separates them before the carpet goes on sale. Talk about a tedious job...this is it.
The showroom upstairs where they lay out carpet after carpet after carpet for us to look at.
Merv picked the 2 x 6 runner on the right as well as a wall hanging of the Taj.
Randy picked the red one at the top. It is a 6 x 9 wool carpet which he got for approx $780 US.
Here is a better look at it. I loved it but it wouldn't go with our house. James bought a 2 x 3 of this same design for approx. $87 US
My choice was between this 6 x 9 blue one...
...or this 6 x 10 brown / yellow one. Pearl had given me colors to look for and this was it so I picked this one. Mine is also wool and cost approx. $870 US. All the carpets we bought were wool on cotton with 550 knots per square inch.
Here is looking at it from the other side. Hand made carpets look lighter from one end and darker from the opposite end. Mine looks great in my living room!!! Pearl loved it!

The Taj Mahal (post #1 of 3 with lots of pictures!)

The Taj Mahal. It is the one landmark of India to which everyone is familiar. Yet, for all the years I lived in India, I did not visit the Taj until a return visit to see Mom & Dad. It was the same for Phil - he only saw the Taj after he no longer lived in India. As Phil alluded to, Tony described the Taj as being like a lily which grows in the middle of a swamp. Approaching the Taj we walked down these narrow decrepit streets, lined with stores and vendors, eventually going through a gate (after buying tickets at the tourist price - about 2000 % of the Indian price) and voila we were on these spacious kept grounds surrounded by this amazing architecture. The Taj isn't just the single building everyone recognizes but rather a whole large (approx 3 acre) complex surrounded by red sandstone walls on three sides and the river on the 4th side. The main entrance is a monumental structure also built primarily of marble. At the far end of the grounds against the river stands the Taj Mahal in its entire splendor. Also at this far end of the complex are two more large red sandstone buildings that are open to either side of the Taj. Their backs parallel the eastern and western walls and the buildings are precise mirror images of each other. The Taj was built as a tomb for Shah Jahan's third wife (his favorite) after she died during the birth of their 14th child (in 18 years! Gee what a surprise she would die you dummy!) It is said to have taken about 22 years to complete - more than half of that time for building the tomb itself. One estimate puts the cost of construction in current dollars as being in the trillions!
As expected it was another stinking hot day - it felt good for about 2 minutes after the too cold 3 hour AC chair car train ride. In spite of the weather there were lots of people visiting the monument. We took lots of pictures, even managing to get some inside the mausoleum where you are not supposed to take pictures. Phil's camera was sensitive enough to capture images in spite of the darkness inside. (The Taj Mahal site is also open each month on the night of the full moon and the 2 nights before and after. That would be an awesome sight to see!) We eventually had taken enough pictures and endured enough heat so made our way back to the rickshaw, asking our driver to take us somewhere with GOOD air conditioning and good food. The air conditioning wasn't the greatest but the food was great!
Randy's view of Merv, James and me, walking upto the West Gate, the most used entrance to the Taj.
My view of the gate.

Here we had just walked through the gate, pretty amazed at how big and clean the grounds were and wondering where the main event was hiding.

Grounds keepers doing their thing in 43C heat. (110F)

It's a green mower but I don't see a "John Deere" logo anywhere.

It was beautiful here but we're still looking for "it".

Almost there.... Here we are looking at the inside of either the North or South gate.

Finally we arrive at the main entrance and can see some white marble in the distance.

My first look at her through the camera.

I zoom in as much as I can... .. and James is first to venture in.

Looking at her from inside the main entrance.

Merv and Randy come on through.

Finally, we were there. It had taken me 44 years, 16 of which I had lived in India. How could it be that I had never been here? The Taj was beautiful! My family had taken us on countless trips all over India when we were kids, just never to Agra, never to the Taj Mahal. I wondered what I would have thought of her as a kid. It would probably have been no big deal to me back then, perhaps just another vacation? At least now I appreciated what I was looking at. One of the ancient wonders of the world. It was pretty amazing!

The brothers posing in front for the "postcard" picture.

This one is for you Liz.....

... and this one!

The newbies to India, posing for their postcard picture.

Just trying a little photoshop. I thought it looked kinda cool.

Randy posing for his solo shot.

I had to try the corny touristy shot taken by James....

... and Merv had to try it too!!