Agra, etc.

We're back on the bus, returning from Agra to the Delhi airport, which means two things: I have time to blog and the students are playing silly games - this one involving animal noises. The battery in my noise-cancelling earbuds died, but I can still use them to listen to I Am Harvey Milk at full volume.

Agra was a pretty good time; the Doubletree hotel was really nice and the three meals we had there were great. Last night they let us use the bar area for our debrief meeting during which our students shared a number of good insights, except for the three students who fell asleep.

Yesterday afternoon we went to Agra Fort and all was well until the deluge. I was prepared with an umbrella and we were able to shelter in a portico facing Shah Jahan's palace so it was ok - we just had to wait for a break to continue the tour. While we waited, our students started posing for photos in the rain, under umbrellas and in cute poses with friends at first. Things gradually devolved... first the umbrellas were cast aside. Then people began walking around further out on the patio, then there were groups of students, then there was dancing - all the while with dozens of other, mostly-Indian tourists (and a few loiterers) looking on. Finally someone crossed the line, much to our shock and Nandini's horror, and we had to put an immediate stop to the shenanigans. This whole episode led, later in the evening, to lengthy processing amongst the facilitators (sans-alcohol). We're hoping we can be more educational from this point forward about appropriate behavior amongst other cultures, especially considering we're moving from the mostly-sightseeing portion of the trip to the more academic/business-focused portion.

Taj Mahal and Yamuna River as viewed from the Agra Fort just prior to the downpour.

Fortunately the rain let up and we finished the tour without further incident. The guide Aditya took us beyond where my two previous tours had stopped, so I enjoyed that, and we enjoyed watching the monkeys climbing on the fort walls. Unfortunately, the rain did nothing to lower the temperature, and with 100% humidity we returned to the hotel sticky and miserable.

This morning started early, although not early enough for me. I wanted to get up at 4:15 and indeed my alarm went off then. I hit "snooze," but what I didn't know is that apparently my phone didn't charge overnight. Rather than sounding the alarm again, the phone chose to die completely. At 4:56 I happened to open my eyes and see that I had 4 minutes until the bus was leaving. I threw on clothes and made it in time, but I wasn't organized or properly prepared for the morning's outing. I remembered to wipe on some bug spray before running out the door, but it proved ineffective against the flies as we stood in line to enter the Taj Mahal.

In spite of all this, our sunrise visit to the Taj was generally a success. We walked along the path to the site in the near-dark, dodging dogs, scooters, and resting cows. Only one student tripped on a hole in the path and fell over. It appeared as if the path was undergoing improvements, if not brand new construction, but like many things in India it was difficult to tell if the path was being put in or coming out, and whether construction was ongoing or stopped. Piles of bricks lined the route, with no barriers protecting materials or pedestrians, and there was a surprising number of bricks randomly missing from the center of the "finished" path.

Once the gates were open we made it through security (not nearly as "thorough" as the temple security the other day) and into the Taj grounds where the guide shared a familiar-sounding description of the mausoleum and its construction. Then we had time to view and enjoy the site. Good news: no rain; MUCH cooler than previous, mid-day visits; relatively small crowds; nice bird song; great group photo; some decent lighting for photos; visit not particularly rushed; we survived the tonga rides to the bus without incident. Not so great news: it was overcast, so no brilliant sunrise; I gave up my booties for a student and went barefoot through the Taj; the front minarets were covered by scaffolding for cleaning (of course they were); the guards blew their annoying whistles a few times; the light bulb inside wasn't even working(!); people were late at the meeting place so I spent 10 minutes anxiously wandering around wondering whether I was confused about the plan or simply lost; I spent too much time unnecessarily fretting over the tip money for the tonga drivers.

I had to marvel over the upkeep of the site. As beautiful as it is, it is still India... walking back from the Taj to the gate, amidst discarded booties and various small wrappers and trash bits, I noticed at least six discarded water bottles in the edges of the lawn. I encountered a man vigorously sweeping leaves (and booties) off of the path. I thought the leaves seemed perfectly natural and wondered if his time might have been better spent picking up bottles. Tia suggested maybe that was someone else's job. We will never know.

After breakfast at the hotel and an hour and a half to get ready and check out, I somehow ended up being the last person to exit the hotel and board the bus. At least I made it out before all the bags were loaded. Our journey through the city and out of Agra was a reverse of the trip in, and equally as fascinating. The busy, colorful street scenes delighted me, but we're also, in a way, devastating. And yet, everything about it is perfectly normal for those people living here.

Spotted:

•  Tiny children playing and running, shoeless, immediately next to the road (largely because at that point there was little distinction between "road" and "not road.")
•  Adorable school children neatly dressed in western-style uniforms - some of whom were being led hand-in-hand by an older woman in colorful, beautiful, traditional dress.
•  Brightly colored, highly-decorated trucks and tuk-tuks, and many colorful, often hand-painted signs. Nandini pointed out some Hindi script on a dilapidated brick building: "Built with German engineering."
•  Multi-layered, multi-storied buildings in every imaginable state of repair, disrepair, or completion, many with bricks or garbage (or both) littering the space leading to the entry, or even bricks piled inside the walls.
•  Amongst these crumbling facades, countless tiny storefronts, and modest homes are the occasional tiny temple.
•  People everywhere... sitting, waiting, socializing atop their scooters, wading barefoot through flooded streets, sleeping in front of their store, resting under trees, walking with purpose, loitering in shops, riding in truck beds with cows or co-workers, pedaling rickshaws, walking with baskets of grass on their heads, urinating.
•  A filling station with two urinals mounted on the exterior wall around back.
•  Water buffalo wading in the wide river and lining the river bank, as well as cows, monkeys, goats, homely dogs and parrots along the streets.

Agra Street Scene.

Decorated trucks in Agra.

I've been taking note of a number of other sightings, observations, and aspects of India which don't necessarily surprise me, but which (on my third visit) I should better remember. It makes for a long post, but hey - it's a six-hour bus ride...

•  I enjoy seeing platonic boy friends holding hands or even walking arm-in-arm. It warms my heart.
•  Commerce is different, and happens on so many levels. There are so many tiny shops, some in small buildings and some simply set up in the street on a cart, in a tin shack, or under a canopy. All are mixed in with the trash, rubble, and commotion on the street. All are staffed by a single shop owner or the family members, who sit there all day until someone comes along and happens to pick them for a sale. Some shops  appear to sell all the same stuff as the shop next door; others are very specialized, selling only one or two items that people invariably need. There are even barbershops set up outside on the street.
•  Hundreds of men are making a pilgrimage to the Ganges in honor of Shiva, carrying elaborately decorated yokes for transporting water home. There are rest stops set up align the way - large tents (or sometimes smaller ones) with benches and chairs, sleeping platforms, fans, faucets for bathing, portable squatty-potties, and racks on which the yokes can be placed while the pilgrims rest. It's colorful and fascinating to see.
•  All of the buses and auto-rickshaws in Delhi (and some cars) run on compressed natural gas to help control emissions. CNG is sold at stations alongside petrol and diesel. We were told there are 18 million registered vehicles in Delhi, which does not include the millions of scooters, which are not licensed.
•  Large groups of men on scooters gather under overpasses in an effort to seek shelter from the pouring rain. Not on the "shoulder" - right out into several lanes of the roadway.
•  Street and highway lanes are optional.
•  Drivers honk when they are about to overtake someone.
•  Animal-drawn vehicles can be found on the roads, along with everything else.
•  Delhi streets are distinctive for black- and white-striped curbs. In New Delhi and the government and diplomatic zones, streets are characterized by the stripes; boulevards and rotaries; tree-lined streets (it is incredibly green here); walled homes, businesses, and government and military buildings; armed guards; yellow barricades; street signs in four languages; people and dogs; and traffic and tuk-tuks.
•  Yesterday we saw a  peacock in the middle of the toll road and as we approached it took flight - beautiful.

We're back in Delhi now, in the midst of a pouring rain. This could slow us down, but we've been making good time so far. Our flight leaves at 7:30 pm. DAMN these students are loud. Now they are super-loudly playing that Password-like game with their iPhones. Do these people ever sleep?

Typical Delhi street scene.