Meghna | New Delhi, India | Week 7 & 8

On Sunday morning, McKenzie, Purabi and I left our apartment at 4 in the morning to catch a train to Jhansi ( city in the state of Madhya Pradesh) at 6. We were told that the auto ride would take an hour but we got there in less than half an hour. We had to spend that extra time sitting on the railway platform. To make things worse, I made the poor choice of staying up all night. On reaching Jhansi, we had to take another 4 hour hour cab ride to get to Khajuraho. So, obviously we were all exhausted and spend the evening resting. The following morning we took a tour of the western complex of the Khajuraho temples, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The carvings depict the daily lives of ancient Indian culture and Kama Sutra. The architecture of the temples were breathtaking. On some level though, I wish there was more to see and do which made the eight hour journey worth it. However, it was nice to get out of the hustle-bustle of the city.

Western temple complex of Khajuaho

The next week and a half was pretty slow in terms of work since we had already implemented solar panels in all our sites. It wouldn’t have been worth it to identify new sites since I was only there for ten more days. We utilized this time to the maximum – exploring, shopping and relaxing. We also visited one orphanage home in our neighbourhood where we spent some time with the girls living there.

That weekend marked the end of the fasting month of Ramadan for Muslims and they celebrated this as Eid. Our boss had invited us to Sirohi to celebrate Eid with the villagers. All of us were very excited and also bought Indian clothes and sweets. However, when we were confirming our trip with our boss, she informed us that she would have to cancel the trip. Personally, I was very disappointed especially by the fact that she didn’t let us know ahead of time and quite possibly wouldn’t have if we didn’t contact her. Even though we couldn’t go to Sirohi, we wore our Indian clothes and visited the Humayun’s Tomb. Humayun was the second king of the Mughal dynasty and after his death, his first wife had the mausoleum made in his honour. The tomb was spectacular and since it was Eid, it was crowded with people in the most colourful and bedazzled clothes.

Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi

The following day, Purabi and I travelled to Agra.We reached Agra early in the morning and went straight to the Taj Mahal.  The weather was amazing and it wasn’t super crowded. I have been to the Taj Mahal five times now, but it never fails to take my breath away. Besides the beauty, I love the engineering of the mausoleum. The tour guide told us how the builders made sure it was earthquake and flood proof. The minarets on the four sides are tilted outwards by just 2 degrees so in case of an earthquake they fall outwards and not on the dome. Considering that the Taj was made in the 17th century and the architects barely had an technology, these small aspects of the mausoleum make it so much more remarkable. We also went to the Agra Fort which was the residency of the Mughal emperors and queens. After Aurengzeb (the last Mughal king) took over the throne, he imprisoned Shah Jahan ( who built the Taj for his third wife Mumtaz) in the Agra Fort. It is said that the Taj Mahal can be seen from every room of the fort. Shah Jahan grieved for his wife as he looked upon the Taj Mahal from the fort. After his death, his daughter made sure that he was buried beside Mumtaz in the Taj Mahal.

fell in love again

view of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort

We returned to Delhi the following morning after which I had only two more days in the city. We spent this two days exploring and shopping some more. I left for Kolkata on Thursday morning with some wonderful memories and experiences. Delhi was a great learning experience for me – professionally and personally. As happy as I am to be back home ( and its amazing weather), I do miss waking up with new adventures ahead of me everyday!