Hare Krishna! Hare Rama!

*posted by Jeet

After our extremely weak excursion to Agra, we were all happy to escape to the much more dignified and extremely holy city of Vrindavan. Vrindavan is the city where Lord Krishna (one of the avataras of Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation) is said to have spent his childhood days. Krishna is one of the most widely worshiped gods in the Hindu pantheon and is the central figure of divinity in the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita, the most well known Hindu text in the world, is merely a short excerpt from the massive Mahabharata, the longest epic poem of all time - ten times the length of The Illiad and Odyssey combined. Krishna's own life story is very interesting and has had an immense impact on the lives of average Indians throughout history.

The story goes that a prophecy fortold the death of the king of Mathura (a neighboring city of Vrindavan) by the hands of the king's sister's child. The king, fearing death, systematically killed each one of his sister's children immediately after they were born. Six children were killed in this manner, but the eighth child, Krishna, was saved. It's interesting to note that the seventh child, Krishna's brother Balarama, was also saved - through a womb transfer. Yep - we won't get into the divine logistics of that for now.

Anyways, Krishna was taken across the river to the city of Vrindavan, where he was raised by foster parents. He lived in a family of cowherds, and grew up just like any other child in rural India during the time. Krishna's childhood antics are very personable - he was friendly, mischievous, and, believe it or not, very flirtatious with all the village gopis. As an adult, Krishna reveals his divinity (and the divinity of all things) in the Bhagavad Gita. His life is said to be an example for all to follow.

While in Vrindavan we stayed in the ISKCON mandir. ISKCON stands for International Society of Krishna Conciousness, and is a very interesting and unique Hindu movement which was actually founded in New York City in 1966 by Swami Prabhupada. ISKCON emphasizes the path of Bhakti Yoga, which revolves around devotion. The central mantra of the ISKCON movement is the Maha Mantra - which is a very simple mantra offering praise to Krishna/God/the Universe - however you want to look at it. One of the most famous ISKCON devotees is the great George Harrison - another idol of my brother and I. We even saw a Grateful Dead concert poster from the 70's within the mandir walls which had an image of Swami Prabhupada levitating on it. Psychedelic.

The mandir was a very beautiful place, and for the first time in my life I saw Hindus of all nationalities in one place. Never before had I seen so many Caucasian Hindus, and I even saw an African Hindu - it was pretty cool. ISCKON is also known for its love of music and dance, and devotees were singing, dancing, and playing music in the main mandir hall throughout the day.

It was all a welcome relief from the materialism of Agra, and we were happy to spend the night at the ISKCON mandir.

A final note: it is said that there is a room in Vrindavan where the spirit of Krishna remains. Nobody is allowed to enter this room, for it is said that anybody who enters will go mad from the overwhelming power of Krishna's spirit. Every night there is prasad offered to Krishna which is placed inside the room, and every morning it is said that the food is gone.

Hare Krishna indeed!

avatara - avatar (this is where the word originated) 
gopis - Krishna's girlfriends
prasad - divine offering

The Taj Mahal has some pretty awesome rugs

*posted by Arny

Alright, sure, we've already posted a bunch of stuff about the various temples, historical sites, and other ballin' places we've seen in this great land of India. And those were all exciting and everything, but... we were told time and again... I mean, we KNEW that every single one of these so-called 'beautiful sites' would go completely limp in the face of the one... the only...

Taj Mahal.

!

Yeah, you probably just shit yourself. I know I did.

But wait - something is amiss. Upon further introspection, I realize that the reason I shit myself is not out of utter disbelief at the immense beauty and grandeur of The Taj, but instead out of utter disbelief at how weak the entire city of Agra has become (the city in which the Taj Mahal was built (by an obsessive, neurotic emperor)).

The Agra parade began with attempting to buy our tickets for entry.

Absurdity 1: Tickets for Indians - 20 rupees. Tickets for foreigners - 750 rupees.

Okay, we can deal with that right? We'll just pay 37.5 times more for Kayd's ticket, and we'll be through with it, yeah?

Absurdity 2: Out of the blue, the assholes at the ticket office accuse me and my brother of not being Indian, and demand that we buy the 750 rupee 'foreigner' tickets.

After a good 5 minutes of arguing in a mix of English, Hindi, and Bangla, they finally cave and grudgingly let us buy the 'Indian' tickets.

We board a shuttle bus that goes back and forth from the ticket office to the front gate. After some more nonsense about how we need to buy 'shoe covers' (which we spent more money on) in order to walk around the Taj, we finally arrive at the front gate (after spending more money to pay the shuttle bus driver).

Lining up single file to get our ticket ripped by the guards at the gate, they let my brother, Kayd, and our cousin Toby in. I hand my ticket, my Indian ticket to one of the guards. He hesitates, looks at me a bit...

Absurdity 3: Out of the blue, the assholes at the front gate accuse me of not being Indian, and demand that I shuttle back to the ticket office and buy the 750 rupee 'foreigner' tickets.

After a good 15 minutes of arguing in a mix of English, Hindi, and Bangla, they finally cave and grudgingly let me in. Props to our cousin Toby for berating the guards about how what they were doing was wrong on principle.

 

And remember: PRINCIPLE ALWAYS TRUMPS BULLSHIT.

So finally we were inside. Wow! So many tourists! Everywhere! Oh, and there was also a giant, white marble tomb in the center. We walked around for awhile and it was pretty cool.

We left the Taj Mahal and then went to Agra Fort, another historical monument. Like at the Taj Mahal, one must buy tickets for entry, and these tickets are divided into Indian and foreign types, the latter being much more expensive. Like at the Taj Mahal, we successfully bought Indian tickets for all of us except Kayd. Like at the Taj Mahal, all of us successfully gained entry at the gate except one.

Absurdity 4: Out of the blue, the asshole at the front gate accuses my brother of not being Indian, because he said "Thank you" after his ticket was ripped, a standard English phrase regularly used in India.

We immediately started shouting at him and showed him all of the other 'Indian' ticket stubs we had from seeing other monuments, after which he shut up and let us in.

Agra Fort was pretty cool.

Looking back, it seemed there were a lot of assholes in Agra. Money-grubbing assholes. Kind of like an Indian Las Vegas, or something.

At this point, our Agra experience seemed tarnished, nearly ruined by the extreme commercialization of a place that used to be a bit more peaceful and a bit less focused on charging helpless old white people 37.5 times the standard charge.

However, when all hope seemed lost, our perception of Agra was saved when we saw these epic rugs near the side of the Taj Mahal:

The Royal Treatment

*posted by Jeet

Today we were lucky enough to get a tour of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace of India, courtesy of our Tuntun Getu, a cousin of our dad's. Tuntun Getu works for an Indian television station akin to CNN and covers stories related to conflicts in India and its surrounding countries (ie terrorism in India, India-Pakistan issues, etc.). Yeah, he's kind of a big deal.

Anyways, back to the palace.

Let's just say the White House looks like a little bitch compared to this bad boy - Rashtrapati Bhavan is the largest residence of any head of state in the world. The palace originally served as the residence of the Viceroy of India, the appointed leader of India during the British Raj. India was the most valued part of the British Empire, and it's clear that the Brits wanted the importance of India's Viceroy to be felt around the country and around the world.

We toured many impressive rooms and galleries within the palace and even saw some amazing peacocks chilling in the presidential gardens, not to mention tons of monkeys jumping around outside the main palace gates.

Although we couldn't take photos inside the palace (security was unbelievably tight in this massive government residency) we did manage to get some nice shots of the grounds. Check the awesome palace guard outfits as well.

Mad props to our Tuntun Getu - master of the Press Club.

Somerville

*posted by Kayd

 

Mithu Auntie is a kindergarten teacher at a school which is a few miles away from her home in Noida. The school has received many awards for theater, dance and singing. Obviously this school was right up our alley!

I was amazed by all the students! Not only do the kids speak Hindi, but they are also learning English in school (interesting to note that English is the national language of India). In addition, many of the kids speak a third regional language which is used only at home, depending on where their family originates from in India.

During my visit I also watched the kids practice writing in cursive and heard them all count down like rocket ships! They even sang a few songs for me (including Do Your Ears Hang Low) and one little talkative girl explained what one of the kids’ Hindi song meant in English (so cute!). I taught the kindergarteners how to disco dance and how to play Simon Says. They are just beginning to learn body parts so it ended up being more like follow the leader.

Then we visited some music classes (it reminded me of School of Rock). We were AMAZED by the talent and were thrilled when the students began singing songs by The Beatles and Queen. Students can choose either to sing or play an instrument. Not only are they devoted to their studies but they are also passionate about their music. With all these talents in one room it was like being at a live concert! It was GREAT to say the very least. 

The dance classroom was next. The girls showed us the routine they were learning and I taught them a simple routine in Step. I was so excited to be dancing again!

If I were to rank all of my experiences so far on the trip, traveling to the school was easily one of the best. I loved the students! 

Old School

Delhi - arguably the most impressive city in the world. Today, Toby gave us an awesome tour of some of the incredible sights Old Delhi has to offer. These monuments are a testament to the might of the Mughals, who ruled much of India from the 1500's up until the British bastards rolled in. Each of the monuments we visited displayed characteristic Islamic architecture, incredible in its meticulous detail. Delhi during the Mughal era is known to history as the 7th city of Delhi - the last before the British and modern ages.

The first stop: Red Fort. Built by Shah Jahan, the same guy that ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Red Fort was the final stronghold of the Mughal empire before the British took over India. After the fall of the Mughals, the British utilized the fort as a military camp until Indian independence in 1947.

The second stop: Humayun's Tomb. Humayun was a great emperor of India in early Mughal times, who managed to unify India better than any of his predecessors. Humayun was an avid astrologer and astronomer, and was known for his love of art and science. His tomb was built by his wife following his death, and is known to have greatly inspired Shah Jahan in his vision for the Taj Mahal. Personally, I like Humayun's Tomb better than the tourist infested Taj. Note: The first tomb shown is not Humayun's Tomb, but the tomb of Isa Khan, an Afghan noble who fought against the Mughals in the early era. This tomb was located just near Humayun's own.

The final stop: Qutb Minar. This monument is actually much older than the other two - its construction preceded the Mughal Empire by several centuries. The initial construction of Qutb Minar was ordered by one of the first Islamic rulers of India, Qut-ud-din Aibak, in 1193. Qutb Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world, and is one of the oldest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture. The bricks used for the minaret were sacked from the surrounding Hindu mandirs, which are now mere ruins. Due to the Islamic rejection of idolatry, the Hindu statues which originally encompassed the area were meticulously destroyed. However, if you look in the right spots, you can still find some remnants of the original Hindu murtis and artwork.

McChicken

*Posted by Kayd

Yep, I went to a McDonalds in India. (Shameful I know - and Lys, I thought of you the entire time)

You can spot the gigantic yellow arches for miles on the streets that are lined with vendors doing business out of their small wagons.

Tiya and Emma took me to McDonalds when we went to the mall food court because they were both craving a McChicken. (other places in the food court included Subway, Dominos, Mad about Doughnuts some chinese places and other Indian food places). Right before we left Abhrajeet, Arny and I watched Food Inc so I was less than thrilled to be eating some fast food knowing how it is grown and prepared in the States but I had my McChicken (tasty, but too much mayo) and Fries (who doesn't love fries) enjoying what would be a good and embarrassing story to tell. I opted out of the ketchup - it's much thinner and has some spice in it that I really don't enjoy.

Interesting to know: India is the only place where McDonalds has changed their menu. When they first started setting up in India no one would purchase their food because it had beef and in Hindu culture cows are sacred. McDonalds now offers a lot of chicken sandwiches and even some pizza hot-pocket things.

I also had to use the bathroom when were were roaming the streets and after so many road trips with the family I knew that a McDonalds bathroom should be fairly safe - I was wrong. The only bathroom offered was for senior citizens, I snuck into it not knowing if this was a very strict rule, held my breath, made sure I didn't touch anything and got out my hand sanitizer right away. I think the thing I miss most about America is the bathrooms.

Plip

*posted by Abhrajeet
 
I found a baby stork today.
I named him Plip

Street Food in Noida

Toby took us around the block for some delicious Noida street food - kabobs and jillibee. Yum.

Anyone who tells you not to eat the street food in India is missing out on some good grub!

aka: I didn't get sick