India Through Chris' Eyes

FOREWARNING ------ THIS IS A LONG ONE!!!

Interesting Things While At Sea:
Our trip from Mauritius to India was a lot calmer, allowing everyone to regain their sea legs and enjoy being on the ship. One of the highlights of this stretch was getting to meet the interport students, Elekhya and Rhea. They are both students at universities in Chennai and were our insight to what life would be like in India. In addition to spending a few hours discussing various cultural differences, Jay and I decided to learn a few dances from the girls. At first we thought that it would just be an hour long session, as a chance to get to know what Indian dances were like. By the end of the third night of dancing we had our entire routine fully practiced. We performed our routine in front of all of the students, staff, faculty and lifelong learners. It was quite a fun dance, with my smiling face being the centerpiece of our finale. My social life took a major hit that night and has yet to recover.

India:
I will do my best to describe the things I saw, felt, smelled and heard in India, but I can assure you they will not be sufficient to describe what it is truly like. India is a place of amazing uniqueness that can truly only be understood by visiting. We arrived in port at about 8 am on Sunday, to a smoggy, hazy horizon. We were then thoroughly introduced to the bureaucratic system which the Indian government has so perfected. First we met face to face with Indian customs officials (after already having a visa and filling out 3 other forms). After everyone had cleared, we had to head back to the faculty lounge to get two forms which we had to show at several checkpoints throughout the port. This port is not very common for cruise ships, as you may imagine, so we stuck out a bit. Alex, Alissa, Jay, Casey, Leigh and I all went on the Chennai city orientation with Semester at Sea. It was a great opportunity to see a large part of the city in the limited amount of time. We first visited Saint Thomas cathedral, where Thomas, one of Jesus’ apostles is buried. I was completely shock. It is one of only three cathedrals that have the body of one of Jesus’ apostles. Next we went to the home of our tour guide, a middle class family of three generations. From the outside it looked like a slum of the inner city Los Angeles, but on the inside it was a lot larger with beautiful decorations and a lot of rooms. They served us drinks and cookies and showed us where they pray and how to put on a sari. After finishing our cookies, we went to a Hindu temple. It was a very colorful and beautiful place. I think only picture will do this part justice. After visiting the temple, and returning to the ship, we got ready for our evening welcome reception. We were greeted by several college students who put bindi dots on our head, sprinkled a jasmine water shower and showed us some native druming. It was amazingly beautiful. Once inside, we were treated to a show of authentic Indian dancing and food. We were also welcome to get henna and buy some fabrics that had been brought in from the local area. I had the opportunity to chat with an electrical engineering student about Indian education and technology. It was a great night and a wonderful way to cap off our first day in India.

The next morning we (Alissa, Alex, Casey and I) woke up at 4:30 and headed of on our whirlwind tour of India. Our first stop was the airport, where we boarded a plain to Delhi. From Delhi, we flew to Veranasi and then transferred to our hotel (Sheraton) by bus. After a quick bite to eat, we headed to Sarnath, the site of Buddha’s first sermon. It was a fairly inconspicuous place that had been worn down to ruins through generations of abuse. There was a museum with Buddhist and Hindu artifacts which was quite interesting. We also visited a Buddhist temple that had been built in the early 1900s to celebrate the site where Buddha first preached. We then went to a factory which had hand made garments such as pillow cases, bed spreads, and decorative items all for sale at a ridiculously high price. After returning to our hotel we had a wonderful dinner, watched some cricket and went to bed.

The next morning found us waking up at 4:15 again. We had a quick bite and headed to the banks of the Ganga River for sunrise in Veranasi. The banks of the Ganga in Veranasi site the holiest site in the Hindu religion. It is a place where worshipers go to bath, pray, and cremate loved ones. It was one of the most amazing places that I have ever been, because of its awe factor. I was so overwhelmed by Veranasi that I did not talk afterwards with anyone on the bus for a few hours. To get to the river we had to walk through the streets of Veranasi, being constantly asked by beggars and shopkeepers for money. After reaching the Ganga, we boarded a boat that was powered by men pushing sticks, much like the gondolas of Venice. Each province had a special area to pray and we visited all of them. The climax of the morning came in seeing the site where bodies are cremated. It was all so surreal that I think I have yet to fully process it. After returning to our bus and then hotel, we headed to the airport for lunch and to catch our flight to Delhi. Once in Delhi we had a brief city orientation of the parliament building, WWII memorial and some other important historical sites. We then had the opportunity to shop around a market full of some cheaper souvenirs. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel by auto rickshaw, but were stopped by a parade celebrating a major Muslim holiday. Our hotel (Hotel Ashok) was a very nice hotel, but the best part was definitely the Chinese dinner. It was an amazing dinner with authentic American-style Chinese. Mmmmm good. After some hot chocolate and an enthralling game of cricket, we called it a day.

The following morning again saw us waking up at 4:30. We headed to the local train station to catch our train to Agra. The train station was a crazy place with people everywhere and rats shifting in and out of sight. The smells ranged from putrid to amazingly delicious depending on the direction of the wind. Once on the train, we settled in and watched the city pass into countryside. Once in Agra, we headed to Fatehpur Sikri, an abandoned city about an hour outside of Agra. It was built by the Moghuls a couple generations before the Taj Mahal. It was another surreal place that looked like it was straight out of a movie set. The city was surrounded by a red sandstone wall and was built with influences of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It also had a palace and mosque that were built all with the red sandstone. After purchasing a few necklaces and souvenirs we headed to a hotel for lunch. After lunch, we went to the Agra fort. It was very similar to the forgotten city because it was built by the same people. The fort was surprisingly large, surrounded by a large moat and built out of the same red sandstone. It also had a mosque and a palace that had beautiful views of the Taj Mahal. This was also the site where Emperor Shah Jahan, the man who built the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned by his son because of his excessive spending habits. After getting glimpses of the Taj Mahal, it was finally time to make our way to the monument. I was very amazed to find that it was not a lone building, but was surrounded by amazingly beautiful buildings. Each building in its own right could be praised as a major work of art. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built to honor Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Emperor Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal was only 37 years old and died at the birth of her 14th child. For 14 children you should get something like the Taj built for you. We stayed at the Taj till sunset and took pictures of us in front, on top of, next to and below the Taj. After a brief dinner at the famous Indian restaurant, Pizza Hut, we headed to the train station to wait for our train back to Delhi. The Indian army was practicing troop mobilization at the train station which made it feel as if we were in a war zone. There were guns lying in rows of hundred and cots lining the sidewalks. It was quite surreal. We were also able to have our pictures taken with some Indian soldiers who were about our age.

The next morning we got to sleep in late, have breakfast at the hotel and then headed off to the airport. Our flight was uneventful and we arrived back at the ship and had a quick bite to eat. After lunch we decided to try our hand at venturing out to the local mall to pick up some souvenirs. After bargaining with the rickshaw drivers, we headed to the mall. It was quite modern and we were able to do some damage to our wallets in just a couple hours. On our way back we were stopped midway and asked if we would like to go to some more stores. We didn’t but the driver just wouldn’t take that answer. In short, after about a 10 minute discussion that was finally resolved by a police officer, we were off on our way back to the ship. We hopped back on and were off on our way to Malaysia.

Things I learned in India:
-I can’t really dance, regardless of country and style.
-Traffic lanes, center dividers and other traffic devices really aren’t a necessity.
-You can be blind and drive easily in India.
-Three lanes are enough to fit 2 buses, 3 cars and 5 motorcycles.
-Motorcycles bounce off buses quite easily.
-If it smells like feces, it’s because it is feces.
-Rickshaw drivers are some of the cleverest salespeople.
-Everybody is not the same in India.
-The reason the chairs are covered is because of the layer of soot that builds up after 5 days in Chennai.
-Poverty is not just something on the TV.
-India is the most shocking and eye-opening place you will ever go.
-India is a land of amazing people, amazing sights, amazing tastes, amazing sounds, and amazing smells.