The Concluding Part

.....Resumes.....

0330h: The alarm rings and I can not hear the rainfall outside. Having gone to sleep while it had been pouring, it meant probably Rain God had finally decided to take a break. A quick SSS (S..., Shave and Shampoo) and it was time to wake Czia up. And as always, she was up in minutes, without any fuss or issues. And if at all there were any, the sound of TAJ MAHAL was enough to boost her up. She, in any case, gets up whenever she is woken up (though she does not fall asleep easily). And yes, when we came out at 0400h, it was dark (obviously), cloudy (in order) but not raining (thanks to Heavens!). And we had to start this early because of little princess's plan to visit Taj and that too on a Sunday. 

Allahabad looked so serene and calm at an early hour but not because people had been sleeping. There were people all around but somehow the place had a peaceful disposition.

A charm of its own


A whole lot of tents and arrangements had been made. Beyond the peaceful road, one can see a colony of tents


And who says that Kumbh means taking a dip only at Sangam? 


Railways guys also decided to do something, finally!


Thank God, they thought about such things; there were many such basic amenities


Even cops were alert at 0400h

The easiest thing in life is to be critical about practically everything but there are times when one needs to appreciate the good work done by some people. Rains and flooding notwithstanding, administration appeared to be effective and a sense of purpose was apparant. And when you have some one from a different religion as the man-in-charge of such a ritual, the real strength of our nation, however beleaguered it may appear to be today, stands out.

The city was quiet and peaceful too. Look at this Church near Civil Lines..

The school affiliated with this church had put up a banner for accommodation of pilgrims.... another strength of our Indian way of Life


As part of heavenly blessings on such occasions, concerned places do get a face-lift and that does well for the natives. This road looks fresh and neat.

150 Kms through a dark, cloudy morning brought us back to the same place where we had our break the previous day. It had stopped raining sometime during the night and while clouds looked equally threatening, we did not face any showers beyond a very light sprinkle and that too for a shortwhile. 

We had been stuck at a place some 120 Kms short of Itawah in 2002 and situation had been pretty alarming that night. Things have changed but guns are still around. Not in this pic, another guy had a carbine on him; though not in any kind of uniform, he appeared to be someone's body guard

Some more accidents, some more dead animals, some slush (no water though) and half-sleep populace enroute brought us to Agra yet again. Suddenly, we were crawling in slow traffic but we did manage to reach Taj's south end parking by 1100h. Hopped on to the eco-friendly transport..

Good initiative this... the electric rickshaw

There was loooooong queue for tickets and another looooooooong one for entry from the south end. Our guide, Akram, offered to guide us via eastern gate through Labour Colony. We saw the logic and found lesser crowd there. Lady and Czia simply walked through while I joined them a bit later. The guide did nothing else after that since our own knowledge about the place seemed to be more sound than that of him. BTW, I had spent two months at Agra in early 1990s, while on a course. Our favourite past time, during that era of slower life, would be to enter Taj at 1545h or so on a weekend and then stay on till full moon spell. They would, instead of clearing people from inside the area, change the ticket rate from ₹5 to ₹100 (night special) at 1600h. So, we would pay ₹5 and stay on to enjoy the views till late in the evening before hitting one of the five star hotels for a meal. All big hotels there offered (and offer even today) 50% discount on eats and snacks to my community (liquor was allowed to be brought in; only service charges would be taken).... those were the good'ol days!

Our guide turned out to be a novice so we turned him into a photographer for this pic (wonder what makes the gate behind us look skewed a bit!)


Taj looks magnificient as it begins to come in full view


Intricate and yet beautiful

A thing of beauty is joy forever..... have included the human beings here to give it a feel of a real pic. Any angle; any camera and beauty is so very perfect, always!


Massive and beautiful


It is not that THEY dirty less than us; it is just that their ticket is pretty fat and, thus, they have been exempted from paying.

But WE are US! The care-takers, while not allowed to charge foreigners (and charge only ₹2/- from us), play their own games. Firstly, the loo inside is water-free one and does not need flushing. But comodes and our rituals necessitate washing. So, they simply tell you that there is no water inside - two effects: 1. Indians prefer to go elsewhere, especially, if they intend using comodes. So, low profit client is discouraged. 2. Foreigners are handed over a bottle, some napkins and sanitisers, if they want to use these items. So, high value customers are fleeced in the process. All this happens in open and we claim ATHITHI...whatever!

Woken up at 0345; does she look tired?


Any doubts about the energy levels?


Shah Jahan wanted the monument to be Unmatched, Unparalleled and Everlasting..... how many of us actually see our wishes come true! This spot is for reflection viewing


Why this TILT de? Well, the outwardly tilt in the minarets was incorporated to make sure that in the event of a devastating earthquake that could bring these structures down, they would fall away and not on to the main building...... a bid to ensure its longivity (Everlasting) after craftsmen were able to meet first two expectations of the emperor (Unmatched and Unparalleled)


Girls' talk and I am not privy to the contents


Czia tries her hands at a Pan-shot


See from any cardinal direction; it looks the same


Another factor for longivity of Taj and it explains the selection of this site..... This course of Yamuna had not changed over centuries while every flooding season would bring a new course for the river everywhere else (ie when Yamuna was alive and kicking). It means that this area will never be dry or without water. The foundations of Taj are based on sand filled, wood rafter covered wells and as long as these components remain moist, they would be effective as anti-earthquake measures


Taj is also unmatched in a way that unlike all other Mughal era monuments, it stands at an end of a garden and not in the middle of four lawns or gardens. The latter is a typical layout followed in all other monuments of that era


Does it look different?


We said bye bye to a useless guide once we entered the monument; here, our young photographer is at her best


But this photographer has a huge cost; something that money can not compensate 


Fourth attempt and she got it right!


If Heavens were to be on earth; this would be the place


By using another of eco-friendly mode of transport (horse drawn), one contributes to a bigger cause


The Journey Continues..... Insha' Allah!

Stats : - Total Distance Covered (ex Dwarka, New Delhi) - 1522 Kms
Rough KPL - 13.3 KM/ltr of Diesel.
Total expenditure - Approximately 15K
Experiences - Priceless!

Washing Sins - The Maha Kumbh Dip

He took a small leaf of betel (Piper Betle or PAN) and applied Chuna-Katha mix (Slaked Lime-Catechu; pre-mixed) on it; placed one chunk of areca nut (supaari) on it and handed it over to the man waiting in front of me. Before the customer could settle the little Pan in his mouth, the vendor repeated the process but dipped a part of the leaf in katha before offering it to the man again. So, here was the Jodi of Paan! But wait, the vendor then poured some tobacco on the palm of the man, (as if it were some sacred offering), before handing over some raw and wet chuna on a small piece of another leaf. The customer, after sifting through the tobacco, placed a portion of it inside his lips and repeated the same process with lime..... must be a great paan but definitely a perfect recipe for mouth cancer! I, however, asked for Saada Meetha, the one we love and he did not disaapoint us either. That was Banarasi Paan vendor at Allahabad..... would follow a bit later!

Hi guys, just back from a weekend drive to Allahabad and back...... the declared motive was a Holy Pilgrimage and the undeclared one was to TRY and wash off some of the more washable sins. For Czia, however, it was a journey to some place where people congregate like anything, where pa-ma's hands should not be left for own safety and where three rivers meet but only two are seen! And added attraction for Czia was the possibilty of visiting something called Taj Mahal. So, after a hectic week, on Friday (15 Feb 13), we took off at 1600h from Dwarka. Aim was to hit Agra before nightfall (Being a Friday, Taj was out of bounds in any case!)

Weather God had slightly different plans...... before we could hit Yamuna Expressway


Yamuna Expressway looked fabulous with cool breeze, light drizzle and its sheer dimensions

Driving on YE (Yamuna Expressway) was a fun but soon it got a bit boring. With the max speed of 100 Kmph (permissible) and tendency to follow rules actually did us in. As one does not get the idea of the real speed of an aircraft while it is high up in the air, one gets no idea of speed of a humble car when one is driving on a road like this. So, very soon, eyes started feeling drowsy but in the company of a chatterbox, I managed to keep awake till our destination for the night, ie, Agra! We decided to hit our favourite area (when Taj is closed) in Agra, ie, Sadar before checking in....

Sadar looked changed (for good) since our last visit

After Taj, Agra is known for two more things.......

First ...Many international brands have their lines at Agra


This is reason-de-fame No 2... Petha! Panchi is one of the oldest and most authentic brands and this outlet at Sadar has been great since years. Watch out for fakes like Pakshi, Old Panchi, Real Panchi, Original Panchi and so on

And then this chat street is always so tempeting....

This street has grown too

We woke up to a light drizzle the next morning but we hit the road at 0600h. Some packed stuff that we had picked up the previous evening, enabled us to continue non-stop right till a place some 150 Kms short of Allahabad. It kept on raining throughout the journey and water on the road added to the uncertainity factor. With consistent rain and water logged roads, tyres tend to lose grip when breaks are applied suddenly. No wonder then that we saw many accidents, many dead dogs and lot of poor road discipline all along the route. Having done this route a number of times before 2002, it was a nice change. Unlike those days, it is four lane all the way from Agra to Allahabad with some intelligent bye-passes and long bridges/ flyovers but somehow, the road does not give you much peace.... wonder why!

The stretch also lacks joints and eating places worth any mention. The highway has retaining walls that isolate population centres and any facilities thereof. The first decent place that we found was this dhaabha, some 150 Kms short of Allahabad...

Khao, Khilao, Khush Ho Jao.... Czia's smile justifies it all

The road was pretty slippery due to consistent rain that did not take a break throughout the day

We reached Allahabad (the last 35 Kms, after your leave the bye-pass, were not very pleasant with muck lying on the road due to blocked drains) at around 1300h. A local friend, thereafter, guided us through the maze to OD Fort (Killa, as it is known) that is located bang on banks of Sangam itself. A great place in the sense that it had all the security and safety and one does not need a vehicle to reach Sangam. But the sights enroute were pretty depressing. The arrangements and systems had been undone by the rain and resultant flooding and all camps were virtually empty....

Rains, in the meanwhile, gave us no break at all. Even inside the complex that has its own touch of military methodology and systematic way of life, there was water all around and it started getting dark by 1600h itself.

We had to take a call now and had to decide whether we would wait out the rains or take a plunge and do the thing for which we were there in the first place. We, therefore, opted for the obvious choice.....'lets do it'! The staff posted there told us that because of consistent rains, there has been no huge rush that day and we would be able to take our car right till the banks of the river at Sangam without any issues. We took to the internal road and emerged from the other end of the fort only to find a very thin crowd in the area below us (the road emerges from a vantage point where the fort is located).

We had been briefed to hit for the VIP ghat but as we drove down, we found a managable crowd on the bank. And in the given setting, we decided to forego the privilege of taking a dip in isolation and opt for being where everyone else had been. So, we just took a turn and reached the ghat. The boats (including Army streamers) had been locked up due to rough weather (negative effect of rains) but we could drive up to the ghat itself and there was some healthy crowd (plus side). And as I reversed the Grizzly to park it properly, suddenly the rain stopped and sun came out. Czia, more than anyone else, was thrilled since Sun God had eventually beaten the Rain God in the ongoing battle.

No rainbow but a streak of sun to indicate the victory

The scene looked too great to be true for long. So, we decided to take a dip straightway.... wooho, the water was ice-cold and it freshened us up in no time! We are not classical believers; when it comes to rituals, we are actually atheists. So, it was a dip, some water collection and before we could really change, rains were back, this time with full force. The 20-odd minutes long spell had been good enough and now we had to rush before the steep climb would get jammed due to slippery surface. We did make it through the unmetalled patch and hit the road before climbing back further (it is an interesting climb with two gates where you got to stop at an awkward angle before moving on) into the fort.

A cup of tea, some more change and we had nothing left to do at 1730h itself. It was getting darker and rain was pouring outside.... an ideal time to get into a quilt and enjoy a drink or two.

But we were low on diesel and since Czia had already decided to take us to Taj Mahal, we had no option but to start early next morning so as to be back home by last light (next day was a working day!). So, we went out to take a fill and pay a visit to Civil Lines for an evening meal. As we landed at Civil Lines, the ferocity of the rain increased suddenly and we had no option left but to rush into Atlantis, the only mall of the city...

In Czia's perception about a Mela, ethnic works like Henna painting were something indispensable. Though rain affected mela had disaapointed her a bit, she was thrilled to find a Mehndi Artist sitting right at the entry to the mall. Rest needs no explanation...

...................And the usual thanksgiving..... 

After an hour and a half, rain stopped again and we took a stroll along the road. We found this place and decided to check it out....

Good food and reasonably priced and even though there was some flap with the order (my fault, the food did not disappoint.

We called it a day after a visit to the paan vendor (as described above) and after enjoying the paan that literally melted in our mouths. It had been quite an eventful day wherein we had witnessed some fresh accidents, had driven through the rains and slippery roads and had tried to wash off our sins too!

............continues!