INDIA

We arrived here in the evening after a long flight.
The air at night in Delhi is thick and smells of burning cow dung . . . kind of burns your nose and throat at first but you get used to it. Hotel is lovely, though, and thankfully good air conditioning.

Our first day was a touring one - a fort built by Muslims in 1200 AD and then a mini
Taj Mahal that was a tomb of a former Mughal king. Impressive architecture. The streets are sort of wild - many cars, no lanes, lots of honking, cows, and adorable monkeys on the sidewalks that Richard won't let me near.

After lunch the delegates went to their meeting and the wives did a bit of shopping - the cab ride home was a bit scary as he kept insisting to take us to another shopping area, which of course he gets a kick back from, and I kept firmly insisting (I was in the front seat)that we weren't going to do that, and he kept teasing me that we were. I appeased him, I think, by saying "next time" I'd like a tour of the textile factories he knows so well, and so he wouldn't let me out of the cab without giving me his name and phone so I would call, "next time". They are quite persistent.

The worst poverty here I know is mild by comparison to other cities in the country; there are tents constructed of that blue plastic tarp that families live in, the children playing outside them in bare feet and mangled hair. These are on the side of a street that has a large hospital or government building across from them, all mixed in. Wierd.





Today was fantastic - started off with a trip to a breathtaking showroom of handmade wooden furniture and accessories with very contemporary designs. (http://www.kaaru.com/) The owners travel to over 15 areas in the country to find artisans in their environment, making a variety of crafts indigenous to each area, and enhance these designs with a more modern flair. The result is a combination of exquisite craftsmanship and quality with style.

Next we went to a charming enclave of studios and museums where artists from all over the world come and work. Such a magnificent setting, a huge banyan tree at its entrance, and behind it, lots of exciting terra cotta sculptures and grassed terraces and a series of buildings that reminded me of our first Palm Desert condo in color and design . . .

Dinner was a spectacle - a bus ride to a carnival type setting where we were greeted by a beautifully ornamented elephant and a camel, which we could ride if we wanted to. As we proceeded down the driveway there were people on stilts and all kind of music makers and merriment, and we were showered with flower petals.
Inside, there were vendors selling elaborate gifts and servers offering drinks and Indian hor'sd'oeuvres. There were a series of dance shows where thousand year old traditions were performed. These dancers are so graceful and they move their heavily made up eyes up and down and side to side, just as is portrayed in traditional flat Indian miniature art.

I have neglected to mention the sari's - all women, rich and poor, always have a coordinated outfit on. The sari and the scarf and the pant all either match exactly or are designed to be worn together. It is quite stunning to see the variety.

I hear Jaipur is even more spectacular than Delhi, which is a modern city. We go there on Monday.



Day 3 was my day to hit the bazaars of Delhi – after we’d attended a dissertation
by a swami to the World Law Group explaining the benefits of yoga and clearing the mind. After lunch, Richard and I went with the Davis’s from Melbourne to a charming
high-end shopping court . . . India’s version of Montana Avenue. A little enclave of specialty shops with quality goods – really exceptional modern-day silks and cottons in vivid patterns and colors – saris and scarves and pillows and throws, everything beautiful.
We could have happily spent a few hours there but the boys were sort of antsy so we did not stay long. They dropped us off in the middle of New Delhi to do some “street shopping”.

We started at the state emporium –a block of buildings where each state presents merchandise from their respective villages. Some colorful scarves later, we made our way to the madness of the street bazaars. Not a pleasant experience. The sidewalks are teaming with tourists, locals, begging children and aggressive stall owners peddling their livelihood. It is difficult to navigate through it all, watching where you step, holding tight to your purse, perspiring, while quickly evaluating assorted goods to see if there is any worthwhile reason to stop – because if you do, you’re barraged by everyone. And if god forbid you might want something, then you have to bargain for it because it’s been drummed in to you that that’s what you do. Then you feel like an idiot if you don’t get it for half of what they’re asking. But the truth is, you’re in a hurry, it’s cheap enough anyway, and you just want to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

We stumbled upon a gem after that - The Imperial Hotel, just off the street – British colonial interior, leading to a surprise oasis-like veranda with seating overlooking what could be a cricket field, and rewarded ourselves with tea.



Day 4

We were downstairs at 6:45 to depart by coach for Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal.
As it is a 4 hour plus drive, we stopped for “breakfast” on the way. Now you have to understand that before you go to India, you are told not to eat off buffets. We’d only had buffets at our lunches and dinners with the World Law Group; but these were at good hotels so you just grin and bear it and hope for the best. But as we’d luckily been fine up till then, we weren’t about to eat off a buffet somewhere between Delhi and Agra at some halfway stop. To their credit they were totally prepared to receive our large group, the bathrooms were clean, and I bought a few ornamented purses in their shop; but we only had water and bread.

The Taj - very breathtaking from a distance, and crowded and dirty up close.
Here we are with some of our group - The Schecter’s from Toronto and the Davis’s from Melbourne. The Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in loving memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal. It is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, ( Muslim rulers of India) and built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj is surrounded by 2 other monuments built after the initial one you see pictured, with a long fountain on the approach and grass gardens along the sides, full of monkeys. We were a bit surprised that the government doesn’t take better care of this wonder of the world. It was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers. It was completed in 1648 C.E. at a cost of 32 Million Rupees. Oddly enough it was not the highlight of our visit – the forts at Agra and Jaipur were.




The Taj at dawn from our hotel window



The Agra Fort, or “Red Fort” built by Akbar and constructed in 1562 AD, is a wonder in stone.A lot of inlay with semi precious stones, unbelievable for that time period. Shah Jahan’s son imprisoned him there.

Richard at Red Fort and an example of the marvelous inlay work




At the end of a very long day we finally got to go to our hotel . . . a true Shangri la in the middle of Agra. The Oberoi chain of hotels is among the finest in the world, topped only by the Aman resorts in Indonesia and Bali. And you will see why . . .



The architecture is reminiscent of the Mughal dynasty encompassed by complete luxury.
Like nothing I’ve ever experienced and I am well traveled. The transition of a few steps from street poverty to utter opulence is astounding.

I very much enjoyed being with the World Law Group and a rich variety of people from all over the globe, but I was relieved to now be on our own schedule. We could eat dinner when we wanted (we never ate before 9 in Delhi and that was usually after a dance performance that lasted over an hour) and we could tour when and where we wanted. Still, we hardly had down time, as evidenced by the fact that I am writing this after our return. We had time for a refreshing swim and drinks served in the pool before dinner, and we arose by 9 the next day to begin our drive to Jaipur, our favorite city.

It is a 5 hour drive, and I insisted we get boxed lunches from our hotel so we didn’t have to worry about what was along the way. (And I recommend this if you are driving long distances from city to city).

About three quarters of the way through, we got a flat tire. Frankly the replacement our driver used looked worse than the one he took off, but it wasn’t flat. And at least we had one! It was our luck that a lone camel and master were lazily approaching during this ordeal, and Richard was anxious to finally get a picture of one, so here it is. Oh, and unlike pulling over in our country where you fear for your safety, all is pretty safe in India. Mostly people were just curious to see tourists.





Okay, as good as our last hotel was, this next one was better. Plus we got to stay 2 nights, an added bonus. But this is where I fear we made our first food mistake that did cost us in the end. You DO NOT eat fresh vegetables, fruit, or dairy here, even in the best hotels, unless they are cooked. We were given watermelon juice upon our arrival, and since we had been fine, we took a chance. The reason is simple: there is an abundance of water in their fruits and vegetables, and unless the dairy is pasteurized, it’s just not prudent to partake. Now I will say that the finest hotels here do filter their water and so you CAN brush your teeth with it, and I DID put cream in my coffee AT HOTELS ONLY, but I’m still not convinced about the fruit . . .





This is the path on the way to breakfast . . . ladies in saris sweep the leaves away throughout the day . . .







And this is our view to the left on the path. ..
There was a temple . . .

And this is the entrance . . .

And the rooms are just as beautiful – we had a marble bathroom with a sunken oversized tub overlooking a garden and a shower that could open onto it, all glass. The bed was a canopy and had a crisp white spread with tiny glass ornaments sewn into it. There was a delicate quilt thrown across the foot of it; and the pillows! I searched hi and low to find the fabric to buy and couldn’t . . . my one regret as well were the robe fabrics which were delicate floral patterns in taupes and olives and browns – some with repeated rose mums, some with blue wildflowers, all subtle and lovely and I wanted them all and there were none available for sale, nor was I successful in locating the fabric studio. Next trip. I will mention that the highest quality goods are found in the luxury shops and never on the street and there is a marked difference between the two. Also, so many of the goods I sell are made in India, but who knows where to find them there, as they are made only for export. And I learned that to manufacture, you need huge quantities for them to make it worthwhile to run if it’s a specific design. I wished only for an instant that I had many stores to design product for so I could really have fun . . . but it was only for a very brief instant.


Okay- Jaipur- and the City Palace – but first, a trip to see the monkeys. You can actually feed them and they are adorable and you’ve never seen so many.


Then on to the City Palace – where the Maharaja lives, and where there is a costume museum and an arms museum and a craft museum . . . This is where I recommend you do some buying. It is quiet, contained, better quality, perhaps slightly more expensive than the street but well worth the peace of mind. We met an artist from a school who made replicas of the traditional Indian miniature paintings, and he told us he was familiar with all the artists in the region and he could tell just by the tiniest details of their workmanship who had copied what.

I bought great beaded shoes here for the girls – the best I’d seen, even on the street. And he had loads of sizes. There were rugs (do not buy these here) and pashminas and soapstone and some jewelry, most of which didn’t impress me but the art and the shoes did.
There are many places to buy saris and have them custom made for you. I did not do this and was sorry. I thought I would never wear them at home. The truth is, you can. You can wear them to entertain, you can wear them to a cocktail party or a wedding, and I am tempted to have one made for mine, though I don’t know where. They are so elegant and graceful and make such a statement.

Okay the colorful, chaotic city of Jaipur. It is said there are over 400 types of transport “vehicles” in India, and many of them are represented here. Our guide tells us that to drive in India you need 3 things: good brakes, a good horn, and good luck. It is true.
There are camels, oxen, goats, elephants, bikes, motorcycles, busses, cars and motorcycles and they all exist simultaneously– and amazingly we saw no accidents. Horns blare constantly. It is cacophony. There is one sad piece of info regarding the cows, who wander everywhere. When they stop giving milk, many of their owners are unable to afford to keep feeding them, and so they release them to the streets, where they are forced to fend for themselves. That is why you frequently see them feeding on the garbage in on the side of the streets . . . very sad.

The poverty – because I was prepared, and also saw serious poverty in Peru, I was not at all surprised. You almost become numb to it because it is part of everyday life here.

Us at the entrance to the Maharaja’s home at the City Palace
















The street outside

There were 4 different doorways similar to this and each one spectacular but this was my favorite –the lotus flower – there was a peacock, too that was splendid.












We visited a textile factory where we learned how they block printed their textiles by hand, and how they wove their rugs by hand as well. It was quite an experience.
These weavings are quite complicated, and I asked how the weaver knew which color to knot at a time on the loom to create the overall pattern of the finished piece. The workers are from families who have done the same patterns for generations, and know them intimately.
Richard bought 2 great rugs after a presentation by the owner who we liked a lot and had much charisma and salesmanship . . .



Richard’s attempt at textile blocking . . . he should keep practicing law. . . hee hee









At the end of the day we went back to our luxurious hotel because we had massages booked at 6 pm. The spa there is quite special. We had side by side Thai massages in a glorious stone bungalow with hand painted walls, a footed bathtub, dimmed lights, a sweet oil fragrance, and utter tranquility. Our therapists were Thai as well, and beautiful. They began by sitting us down and washing our feet in rose petal water. . .


Dinners are on an outside patio that resembles those in the Mughal palaces, where you would imagine a spectacle would take place in the center of it all, and usually there are musicians and dancers that entertain you in a tranquil and elegant candle lit setting.

The next morning was our last day and we arose early to ride the elephants up to the Amber Fort. The reason you ride the elephants early is because they get hot and bothered as the day goes on, and you don’t want to be around them when they are like that. As it is, we are told each animal can only make the 20 minute run up and down 3 times, and then he retires for the
day.

Us on our way up to Amber Fort




Amber Fort was our favorite. And I said sight seeing is not my thing. It is hard to imagine that they had engineers in the 16th and 17th centuries to orchestrate an air cooling system. This palace had it all – complete with a courtyard of queen’s apartments that the king could overlook into from his apartment, to decide which one he wanted to visit. And there was a secret passageway from his apartment to all the different queen’s apartments so that no one knew where he was going . . . or which queen he was visiting. The glass inlay work was unbelievable.
The gardens were designed geometrically and they grew saffron for cooking and also so the smell would permeate up to the palace.



















After that we went shopping for Salutations Home. Which was challenging for me as there was only one afternoon and many stops to make and I had Richard, our guide, and our driver all waiting for me. They were quite patient, I have to say. I wish I’d had a week, or been more prepared for what the possibilities were so that I could have planned better. But the truth was, this was never a trip for business for me. It was our first introduction to another world, another era, a way of life unimaginable compared with all we know. And we got to see it, and live it, and take back with us the richness of all we learned and all we experienced, a little bit of the magic of India. . . .