This morning we went upstairs to breakfast in the hotel restaurant which has a view of the Taj Mahal across the river. But not today - the fog obliterates the view completely, and nothing outside is visible except the white blanket of low-lying clouds.
It's time to check out of the hotel, but the elevator is reluctant to let Bob go. The door closes on him, but won't reopen nor will the elevator travel downstairs. Andrew valiantly tries to force the door open, but can't do so even with my half-hearted help. Aid comes in the form of a key that opens the door from outside, and we ride the other elevator down instead.
After an hour's drive, we arrive at Fatehpur Sikri, the "ghost city" built by Emperor Akbar. Our guide seems quite knowledgable and leads a good tour, starting with a crowded tuk-tuk ride to the site. Akbar was very ecumenical in his beliefs. He married three principle wives, one Christian from Portuguese Goa, one Hindi and one Muslim. From his appreciation of all religions, he proposed his own to include the faiths of all others. Regrettably, this even-handed approach did not gain popularity, and his own religion lasted all of fourteen days, according to the guide.
Eager to treat his three wives equally, he offered to spend the same of money on separate homes for each of them. The Hindi wife chose a very large house, simply furnished. The Christian wife chose a small house which was decorated with a gold door and semi-precious stones in the carving. The Muslim wife chose something in between (which was "just right" for Goldilocks - oops, wrong story).
A broad pavilion is laid out with a parcheesi board. In the center of it is a platform used by the Emperor and his feted queen of the day to play a game of parcheesi with servants playing the part of the tokens on the board. We get a family shot on the central platform.
There were other rooms for secondary wives, and areas for the Emperor to listen to petitioners. A pool has bridges leading to a center pavilion on which musicians would sit and perform. A multi-layer house provided views and meeting places. The "sorceror's house" was built to read fortunes, and used some Jain-style architecture. The gardens brought an orderly peace to calm the mind, and as at many temples, basil was grown in the center of a broad pavilion.
Though his religious beliefs may have been quite tolerant, Akbar did have a fierce - or perhaps cruelly playful? - sense of justice. Some criminals were executed by being trampled under the feet of his favorite trained elephant, who was loved enough to have his own minaret built as a memorial.
Adjoining the city is a mosque, dedicated to the Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, who correctly predicted that Akbar would father an heir to the throne (something he had frustratingly not yet been able to accomplish). The mosque is still in use, and sports the highest gate entering any temple in India (according to our guide). A building housing the Sufi's tomb gives one the chance to tie a red string around the carved window to assure that your wish comes true, particularly if you are a wife hoping for a child. Lindy is not eager to walk barefoot on this chilly morning, so she guards our shoes while Bob, Andrew, Isa and I indulge in the mosque tour.
Continuing on toward Jaipur, we see a lot of evidence of a thriving business in gathering and drying cow patties for fuel. Our driver Manoj points out Albert Hall and the statue of Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur, on the way to Hotel Clarks Amer.
Lonely Planet has described the lovely Raj Mandir as India's most colorful theatre, so we take our driver to the movies and watch the first half of "Desi Boyz". The audience claps and cheers along with the Indian stars trying to make a living in Britain, while romancing their women, all with much singing and dancing. The art deco walls and ceilings delight us. After the show, Bob checks out the menu at a nearby McDonald's. They have chicken, cheese (paneer) and vege burgers, but no beef.
Today Bob, Lindy and I check out of our hotel. We are to meet at 8:00 in the morning at the Jains' home to begin a drive to Chandigarh and then to New Delhi. However, the check-out process is rather complicated. Arun has put deposits down on our rooms and on another couple's room, from some of the money we sent him earlier, and it takes a while to figure out who owes what. The hotel folk call Arun and we examine a few versions of revised billing, eliminating two charges for laundry belonging to other hotel guests, before we are ready to check out. We leave in our chauffeured transport around 9:00 which delays the departure for the whole party, mostly in bus, to Chandigarh.
Chandigarh is an engineered city, designed by architect Le Corbusier who also designed several of the government buildings. The city has broad tree-lined roads meeting at right angles. Most intersections are traffic circles. The roads are named, and each of the rectangles created by the main avenues has a sector number. When the city was laid out, many of the rectangles were not yet developed. Nek Chand decided to use the empty space in one of them to house his rock collection. He loved unusually shaped rocks. He also created a multitude of sculptures created out of scraps from the city's construction - creatures made of broken pottery shards, left-over electric wiring, burnt remnants of rock from manufacturing. The city officials finally got around to his sector and found his (illegally) placed treasures. Rather than demand their removal or plow them over, they hired Nek to develop the sector into a fantasy sculpture park and gave him fifty employees to help him. Arun knows Nek Chand and has arranged to have us all meet him after we tour the grounds of the Nek Chand Fantasy Rock Garden.
In another game, an area was set up with plastic and towels to protect the rug. A shallow dish was filled with water made opaque with flour and herbs. Various things were dumped into the dish - keys, metal loops, utensils and a single ring. The object was to muck about the water, pull out a handful of stuff, and hope that you have the ring. This, too, was played with the highly competitive, but loving, spirit that J.D. and Ankita exhibit during our game weekends. Finding a ring in water turned out to be a new form of martial arts. Some water escaped its confines, though the mess was minor.
Meanwhile the band plays on ... (see video) The "Maharajah Band" plays music outside the front door of the house while the wedding party gets prepared to depart. Finally, we are ready and board a bus which is driven to the Siddhartha Resort, all of which has been reserved for tonight's festivities. By the time Lindy and I get off the bus, J.D. has already been boosted up to the top of a robed and painted elephant, which is elegantly walking to the resort entrance. When we finally enter the grounds, we see dozens of stands preparing various food treats. Waiters cruise the crowd offering drinks (all non-alcoholic) and finger foods. Plates full of delectables are available on the perimeter, tables are scattered around and seats are arranged in rows before an elevated front stage where J.D. now reclines luxuriously on a huge couch. After many pictures are taken, Ankita arrives, walking elegantly despite her 40 pounds of dress, bangles and jewelry. Several men carry a roof of butterfly tied fabric above her as she walks. She joins J.D. on the stage, where they drape each other with colorful leis. The holy man with long white hair has them repeat phrases in English that he composes with inspiration on the spot. J.D. is reminded that he can only succeed and be happy by making Ankita successful and happy. This is about the only part of tonight's ceremony that reminds me of a classical American church wedding. The vows do not last long. Then friends and family take their turns on the stage for picture opportunities. This lasts about an hour. A dance floor next to the stage lights up and the DJ starts playing music. The dance routines that some of the wedding party has been practicing are performed to the cheers of the crowd. Arun takes a turn with Renu to thunderous applause. J.D. and Ankita have a Bollywood take on romance as he approaches her, but she pushes him away, until their mutual love overcomes all resistance.
Today is the henna day. For almost twelve hours, four men apply henna to all the women in the party and a few of the men (at least, to the back of Bob's hand). Ankita, of course, gets the most attention and the most detailed henna work - not only on her arms, but also on her feet and calves.
Eventually we arrive at Arun's house where we are warmly greeted and introduced to a burgeoning household of relatives and friends. We are served good home cooking, and begin to get used to a daily regimen of breakfast, lunch and dinner interspersed with snacks. Arun asks how our travels have been up to now and I am able to give him a better idea of our satisfaction than I was able to get across in our daily phone calls. Renu, his wife, is gracious. We meet more people than I can name here today, including; Anita, a good friend of Andrew's from Cincinnati; Hank and Pat who are staying at the same hotel as Bob, Lindy and me. Andrew and Isa will be staying at a nearby hostel. Adam and Kelly are young Americans with their own wedding plans. Ashima is one of Ankita's aunts. We meet Nada and her daughter Serena, Sammi and Anusch, Sophie and Matt, Jessica and others.
After an hour's drive, we arrive at Fatehpur Sikri, the "ghost city" built by Emperor Akbar. Our guide seems quite knowledgable and leads a good tour, starting with a crowded tuk-tuk ride to the site. Akbar was very ecumenical in his beliefs. He married three principle wives, one Christian from Portuguese Goa, one Hindi and one Muslim. From his appreciation of all religions, he proposed his own to include the faiths of all others. Regrettably, this even-handed approach did not gain popularity, and his own religion lasted all of fourteen days, according to the guide.
There were other rooms for secondary wives, and areas for the Emperor to listen to petitioners. A pool has bridges leading to a center pavilion on which musicians would sit and perform. A multi-layer house provided views and meeting places. The "sorceror's house" was built to read fortunes, and used some Jain-style architecture. The gardens brought an orderly peace to calm the mind, and as at many temples, basil was grown in the center of a broad pavilion.
