Far from Mumbai
As word about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai filters in, I’m glad to say that we’re not in the city or anywhere close to it, but I’m pretty shocked nevertheless. We’re in Agra now, heading for Varanasi tonight, and then spending most of the rest of our time in India in two states – Sikkhim and Orissa – that don’t see many tourists and are unlikely to be targeted.
Meanwhile, life in India has been a bit of a mixed bag since we left Jaisailmer. I very much enjoyed our first two destinations, Ajmer and Chittor, but I didn’t think Bundi was the undiscovered gem that it’s made out to be, and in two safari excursions into a national park in Rajasthan we again failed to spot a tiger.
But to focus on the good things.
Indian Muslims consider Ajmer to be the second holiest place in the world after Mecca, and seven pilgrimages to Ajmer is said to equal one to the birthplace of the Prophet. (Since non-Muslims are not permitted to go to Mecca, I guess if I want to simulate the experience then I only have six more trips to Ajmer remaining…). The shrine to a sufi saint in Ajmer is almost like a tiny walled village and while the architecture was nothing great, I found the atmosphere and holiness of the place to be quite special. The peacefulness and order of the place is a stark contrast to the noise and chaos outside, and anytime you can find a sanctuary like that in India you must be thankful. Afterwards as an unexpected bonus, we virtually stumbled across an old and impressive mosque contemporary with the Qutb Minar complex in Delhi and with similarly impressive architectural features.
In Chittor, the fort is more like a fortified city, with impressive old palaces, temples and towers contained within. We had to hurry through to site to catch a bus, but spent nearly two hours wandering around and enjoying every minute of it – from the centuries-old temple sculptures still in excellent condition to the band of monkeys and their new-born babies jumping about the main palace complex.
Our current stay in Agra was unscheduled and came about because of transport connection difficulties that forced us to miss Gwalior and its famed fortress. To compensate, we got to see the Taj Mahal again instead, so it worked out OK in the end…
Tags: Ajmer, Asia, Chittor, India, South Asia, Taj Mahal
Nick