Team Seven:

The streets of Delhi were relatively quiet in the morning on the way to the Taj Mahal. As the bus moved swiftly through the cows, rickshaws, pedestrians, and broken down cars of Delhi, most people were sleeping or looking at the sights. As we made our way to the outskirts of the city the roads began to open up and we were able to cruise at a relatively high speed while swerving in and out of slow trucks. The road to the Taj Mahal and Agra goes through mostly farmland and small farming towns that are different from rural country roads in the United States. There are slow moving farm tractors like the U.S., but there are many delivery trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, and wandering cows which require non-stop honking. Along the side of the road in some areas there were some factories and compounds of notable multinational corporations. One that stood out in particular was the JCB tractor factory and compound along the road; the factory was massive and the storage lot was full of brand new JCB backhoe tractors and cranes. It was obvious that JCB has made a significant investment in India and is planning on taking advantage of the growing market of construction equipment in India.

Upon arriving at the Taj Mahal, we parked the bus a little outside the area and took electric powered taxis to one of the three gates that you can enter through. It’s ironic because electric vehicles are used to limit the pollution neat the Taj, but there is already a large amount of pollution in the air from all the other vehicles. After exiting the vehicles we passed through security and entered the gate. This lead to a long walkway that lead to a nice courtyard. All three gates opened into one side of the courtyard, with the fourth side being occupied by an even more impressive gate that lead to the actually Taj Mahal. The gate featured 20 domes, 10 on each side of the gate to represent the 20 years that was spent in construction. It was upon walking through this gate that the main building first becomes visible, and it is spectacular. Everyone has seen of what the building looks like, but pictures cannot do it justice. No only is it enormous, but it was made from a special kind of marble that is one of the hardest materials on Earth. To make it even more impressive, the marble features intricate writings and designs that were created by inlaying precious and semi-precious stones into the marble.

Our tour guide stopped us outside the monument and explained the history of the famous structure. It was built by an Indian king as a tribute to his wife who had passed away. He had promised to build her a palace during their lives, but she died in her mid-thirties. Although the king had been married twice before her met her, he never married again after her passing. In total the king spent 40 million rupees on the 3 million hours of labor that it took to be constructed. After its completion the king decided that he wanted to build a separate matching black Taj Mahal across the river for himself. His son decided that the cost of such a structure would be detrimental to the country, so he decided to imprison his dad and chop off the arms of the main workers who had constructed the building. This would prevent them from building another one. The king’s only request from his son was that he be imprisoned in his castle that overlooks the Taj Mahal, so he could see it every day.

While there, many of us were expecting to see some foreign tourists in India, however our consensus at the end of the tour was out of thousands of people, there were about a handful of foreign tourists besides ourselves. The tour guide explained that 85% of the Taj Mahal’s visitors are Indians; we thought the summer heat was keeping many out. Additionally, the Mosque on the located to the left of the Taj Mahal would bring many Muslim visitors daily because it is still operating. Additionally, the way the tour guide shared about the Taj Mahal reflected the sentiment many Indians have toward the monument - great pride and awe. Since the monument was ultimately a token of love to an emperor’s wife who passed away it is a great symbol of Indian culture. Many who visit and observe the unbelievably extravagant structure can’t help but be inspired to create and go above and beyond expectations. As a business takeaway - when you go all out, people will flock by the thousands just to observe the hard work, dedication, and overall investment put into a project.

Following our grand tour of the Taj, we went to the local shop that manufactured the granite inlays we had witnessed earlier. Immediately upon entering the shop, one of the salesmen started rattling off the ins and outs of the manufacturing process, as two of the workers sat on the floor building one of the pieces. One of the workers was tasked with shaving tiny pieces off of the precious stones to be inlayed into the granite. The other worker cut shapes into the granite and placed the stones in each of the designated holes. The granite became so sharp from the cutting process that it caused the man’s index finger to slowly be cut into two distinct pieces.

After this demonstration, we all walked into the showroom to haggle with the salesman. The products created by this process were utterly amazing. They ran anywhere from $45,000 tables to $10 jewelry boxes. Unfortunately, this store had a monopoly on such products and was not desperate to make a sale. Therefore, bargaining was nearly impossible.

As we left the granite inlay place, Dr. Singh pointed out that we were going to eat at a hotel, which had the best food of the trip yet. We were ready as many had eaten a light breakfast and the thought of an air-conditioned buffet sounded pretty nice after walking around in the heat all day.

We arrived to a VERY nice hotel and were greeted with an extensive buffet. While the hotel we are staying in is nice, it was nowhere the level of this hotel. Our current hotel could be equated to a basic Best Western, while the one we visited would have been on par with a Four Seasons. Most importantly, it was the first time we had the opportunity to eat fresh veggies! An onion broccoli goat cheese salad, fresh cucumbers and fresh tomatoes were just some of the vegetable choices we had. Like most of our high-end eating experiences, the choices seemed endless. There were roughly 15 main courses to choose from. Most of the staple curry choices were available, and also an excellent potato eggplant dish that had not been offered in our previous meals.

Following these main courses was a nice selection of desserts. Most of the choices were standard American sweets, with the exception of a sort of hot Indian donut. It was similar to a donut hole except soaked in a sort of sweet honey sauce. Jay informed some of us that the best way to eat it was to combine it with the coconut ice cream. Much like hot apple pie ala mode, the combination of hot and cold really capped of what was a superb meal. Fortunately, this was also accompanied by the best cup of coffee we have had so far (for those who are true coffee drinkers Indian coffee has left something to be desired). All in all, it was great to enjoy another fantastic Indian meal!

After lunch the group headed to Agra Fort, which is where the King who built the Taj Mahal lived, was later imprisoned, and eventually died. The outside of the fort was made from red stones that gave it a very unique look. The high outer walls and moat added to the castle feel, although it lacked the high towers that are common with medieval castles. Upon entering the fort main gate, we had to walk up a long sloping road, which lead up to the main fort grounds. At the top of the road was a wide-open courtyard with four separate squares of grass and bushes. Walking paths separated these areas, and a 7 foot tall stone cup was at the center. On the other side of the courtyard was a series of hallways and separate smaller courtyards that demonstrated their architectural skill. Like the Taj Mahal, the rooms and walls featured intricate carvings, although these walls were not made of marble and didn’t have the detailed inlays. After walking through several of these rooms and courtyards, we came upon the side of the fort that faced the Taj Mahal.

The sight down the curving river was breath taking. Off in the distance, to the right of the river, stood the Taj Mahal in all of its glory. Seeing it from this distance demonstrated how big the structure really was. Many people took advantage of the view and took lots of pictures. As you walked long the side of the fort, each different courtyard and room offered a different view and perspective. At the far side of fort was the area where the king was imprisoned by his son. The king chose this area because he wanted to be able to see the Taj Mahal. This area was also the area where the king eventually died. Sadly this section of the fort was closed off from visitors, so we were not able to see it.

At the very center of the fort were the two largest courtyards of the facility. Walking paths crossed both areas that featured lots of vegetation. The first courtyard had a large fountain at was situated at the center. Water was no longer in the fountain, but its design signified the beauty that it must have had when it was filled. Several other areas also had empty fountains and one room even had a waterfall that came out of the wall and flowed down the length of the room before collecting in a small pool. To have seen these features filled and flowing with water would have been spectacular.

The second courtyard was one of the most visually pleasing as it featured a large open room with many arches and pillars. Walking through the arches was beautiful as each new area offered a different perspective of the aches and columns. At the steps of leading up to the column were also a group of ants that were about the size of a fingernail. One ant was even lifting an aluminum soda can pop-top that was twice his size up the vertical service.

After the last courtyard, the group was extremely tired from the long day. A group of us congregated along some benches in the shade and rested. We enjoyed to the peaceful scenery until it was time to head back to the bus and begin the long journey home. It was surprising that even though the day was focused on the Taj Mahal, the fort was also spectacular and will definitely be one of the highlights of the trip.

The trip back from the Taj Mahal to Delhi was relatively long but was entertaining because of the dance party that occurred thanks to some iPods and portable speakers. It was a long ride there and back, but it was well worth it because we all got to see the Taj Mahal and get a look at the rural side of India.