India's Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
By Shura Collinson
Staff Writer
|
|
Shura Collinson / The St. Petersburg Times
The marble interiors of Delhi's Red Fort are inset with precious stones.
|
India is often described as a subcontinent rather than a country. The largest democracy in the world is home to 1.2 billion people of staggering diversity. Religions ranging from Jainism to Judaism have dedicated followings in India, and 18 different languages are spoken respectively by one million people or more, while many others are spoken by smaller groups across the country. The diversity of India’s people and culture are mirrored by its geography, which ranges from snowy mountain peaks to lush tropical vegetation, and in its astonishing and ever present array of wildlife. Nature is never very far away in India, even in the sprawling cities inhabited by millions, where it is not unusual to see cows grazing on traffic islands. In smaller towns and villages, hairy black pigs foraging for scraps and goats with comically long ears skipping atop corrugated iron roofs are also a part of the everyday landscape. Between cities, elephants decorated with colored powder serenely plod amid the whirlwind of auto rickshaws, lorries and buses, while brazen monkeys are a frequent sight at many of the forts and other tourist attractions. The unending array of the nation’s contrasts and contradictions, along with its image of romantic exoticism in the West, have long tempted travelers and explorers from around the world. The first port of call for many is India’s Golden Triangle of cities — Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Crowded and chaotic, exhausting yet enthralling, the Golden Triangle cities contain some of India’s historical and cultural jewels, and present a good way to become acquainted with India as a travel destination before venturing to its less visited — though no less rewarding — regions. DELHI As the gateway to the expansive plains of the River Ganges, Delhi has always been at the center of events in India. Old Delhi, built in 1639 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, had long been the center of political activity, even before it gained the status of capital (from 1799 to 1857) of the Mughal Empire that ruled India for more than three centuries. The heart of the bustling old city is the Chandni Chowk — a maze of improbably narrow, malodorous streets, where tiny shops and outdoor hawkers sell everything from silver and fabrics to bloody animal parts, people in auto-rickshaws and mopeds whizz past tourists in bicycle-rickshaws, skeletal dogs lope past monkeys on leashes, and the smells of people, meat, fish and urine mingle. Looming over the chaotic alleys of the Chandni Chowk is the Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in the country. This historic place of worship, built in red sandstone and white marble between 1644 and 1656, still functions as a working mosque, and on holy days even exceeds its capacity of 25,000 worshippers. It is also open to tourists, who are provided with full-length, long-sleeved gowns to put on over their clothes, while entrepreneurial youngsters sell socks at the entrance (as is customary, visitors must remove their shoes before entering the mosque, and the stone floor can become painfully hot in the sun). The serene atmosphere inside the walls and the shade of the cloisters are a welcome respite from the heat, noise and bustle of the Chandni Chowk. The entrance to the old walled city lies beyond a sprawling book market, whose predominance of medicine and science textbooks and other educational literature reflects India’s vast, enthusiastic brainpower. New Delhi was built to the south of the city in the 1920s after George V of the United Kingdom moved the capital back there from Calcutta. The broad leafy boulevards and copious verdant roundabouts of the new city, planned by the British architect Edwin Lutyens, could hardly be a greater contrast to the ancient, narrow streets of Old Delhi. THE RED FORT Outside of the old city lies the sprawling Red Fort, one of Delhi’s trio of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Imposing and military from the outside, it was a veritable pleasure garden after its completion in 1647. The marble interiors were inset with thousands of precious stones, and the jewel in the fort’s crown was the legendary Peacock Throne. Today, only its marble stand remains — the throne was taken by the Persian king Nader Shah in 1739 when he ransacked the palace and city, as were most of the precious stones. Narrow channels running through the halls and grounds of the fort were once filled with scented water, while fountains dominated the pool. From a verandah facing the pool, the maharajah would recline, drinking wine, listening to music and watching his more than 150 concubines dance. The floors were richly carpeted, and curtains enclosed the halls. Not for nothing is the couplet “If there be a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this” inscribed in the ornamentation of the palace’s walls. In 1857 the fort was captured by the British, who destroyed some of the palaces and made the territory the headquarters of the British Indian Army. Today, the Lahore Gate of the Red Fort is the site from which India’s prime minister addresses the nation on Independence Day (Aug. 15). The tradition dates back to the original Independence Day in 1947, when Nehru unfurled the independent nation’s flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort. A short distance outside the center of New Delhi lies the Qutub Minar — the world’s tallest free-standing minaret and another World Heritage site. The 72.5-meter tapering tower is made of red sandstone and covered with carvings and verses from the Qur’an. The tower was erected in the 13th century to mark the Muslim victory over the Indian king — the first monument built by a Muslim ruler in India. The crumbling pile of bricks nearby is all that remains of a second planned minaret, which never grew beyond the first story. Beside the Qutub Minar are some carved pillars — the remains of a Hindu temple that was later turned into a mosque. As the portrayal of people and animals is forbidden in religious buildings under Islam, the heads and faces of the intricate sculptures of people and animals have been chipped away. In the center of a nearby courtyard lies an object of mystery — an iron pillar that despite dating back to the 7th century has not rusted during all this time. MONUMENTS TO THE DEAD The third World Heritage Site in India’s capital is Humayan’s Tomb, which was built by the wife of the second Mughal emperor in the mid 16th century. Humayan’s tomb is often described as a precursor to the Taj Mahal, with many clear architectural similarities but on a more modest scale. The tombs on display are in fact replicas and do not contain the remains of Humayan and his family — the real tombs lie in the crypt below, but this is closed to visitors. One of Delhi’s more poignant monuments is Raj Ghat, the tomb of Mahatma Gandhi. An eternal flame set in a simple, elegant black marble slab surrounded by incense lies at the heart of a pleasant park. Gandhi’s memorial is highly revered among Indians, and this is reflected in the solemn, peaceful setting and the immaculately kept gardens through which visitors respectfully file after removing their shoes. The India Gate is a large arch inscribed with the names of more than 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in the Afghan wars and World War I. Surrounded by gardens, the monument stands at one end of the Rajpath — a sweeping boulevard that is crowned at the other end by the Presidential Palace, built by the British for the viceroy in 1929. Combining elements of Mughal and Western architecture, it is flanked by two colossal secretariat buildings — the ministries of finance and external affairs. MOVING AROUND Visitors to the capital are spoilt for choice in deciding how to get around. Alongside the bicycle rickshaws and stuffy buses, Delhi’s young metro is impressive and a very comfortable way to travel. Built just a few years ago, there are several more lines still under construction. It is delightfully cool and uncrowded, not to mention safe — passengers must pass through metal detectors (men and women go through separate channels, as is customary in India) before reaching the platform. Security is tight all over India — a constant reminder of the devastating terrorist attacks that killed at least 173 people in Mumbai in November last year. The country is visibly trying to prevent such a wide-scale tragedy from occurring again, with bags, car trunks and guests all checked upon arrival at 5-star hotels. AGRA The city of Agra, the second destination in the Golden Triangle and most famously home to the Taj Mahal, was made the capital of the Mughal Empire by the emperor Akbar in 1558. The city’s most popular attraction is of course the Taj Mahal, situated on the banks of the Yamuna River. Its majestic image and silhouette are familiar all around the world, and the monument was voted one of New Seven Wonders of the World. Such fame puts a lot of pressure on the fabled mausoleum, but it cannot disappoint. Built between 1631 and 1653 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj is made of white marble inlaid with thousands of precious and semi-precious stones. Passages from the Qur’an adorn the walls throughout, including over the entrance arch, where the size of the lettering is imperceptibly increased toward the top of the arch so that it appears the same height everywhere and remains legible from the ground. Just as at Humayan’s Tomb in Delhi, the tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, who was buried beside his wife upon his death in keeping with his wishes, are replicas. The reflecting pool situated inside the tranquil green gardens is surrounded by tourists jostling to take a picture of the Taj’s reflection in the water, while loitering photographers will provide instant snapshot souvenirs for a moderate price. The four graceful minarets that surround the mausoleum lean imperceptibly outwards so that in the event of their collapse, they would fall away from the building and not onto it. Of the pair of mosques that flank the ensemble, only one was and remains a functioning place of worship — the other was erected to continue the flawless symmetry that characterizes the Taj and was used as a guest house. It is said that the best time to see the white marble mausoleum is by moonlight, when its splendid dome appears to change color. Failing moonlight, sunset is also recommended, when in clear weather the dome appears to turn pink with the setting sun. Motor traffic is not allowed within a 500-meter radius of the Taj Mahal in order to protect the monument from pollution and prevent its translucent white marble from becoming discolored, so visitors usually arrive by bicycle rickshaw or on foot. While excluding traffic may have proved easy, separating the wild from the manmade has turned out to be more of a challenge at the Taj, where visitors may be entertained by dogs frolicking on the well-kept lawns or cooling off in the channel of water that leads from the entrance gate to the building itself. Agra’s other World Heritage Site is its fort, which is bigger than the Red Fort in Delhi. Begun in 1565 by Emperor Akbar, it now swarms with tourists and monkeys. It was in this red sandstone citadel that Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb, who overthrew his father and had all of his brothers killed in order to ensure his succession. Shah Jahan spent his last seven years under house arrest in the fort, gazing out of his window at the Taj Mahal that he had built for his wife. The area surrounding the fort’s Pearl Mosque — so named because of the iridescent sheen of its white marble — is teeming with particularly persistent beggars and sellers, and can be overwhelming. It is nevertheless well worth the effort to visit the small, exquisite mosque. THE ABANDONED CITY One of the most fascinating and poignant attractions of the Golden Triangle is the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri, located about 35 kilometers from Agra. The emperor Akbar began building the fortified city in 1570, and it was capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, when the empire’s headquarters were moved back to Agra Fort because the water supply on which Fatehpur Sikri depended had dried up. Yet another World Heritage Site, the abandoned city boasts some beautiful and impressive buildings, many of which reflect Akbar’s famed tolerance. In the center of the compact Hall of Private Audiences is a large column atop which Akbar would sit, surrounded by four bridges leading to the corners of the edifice’s second floor. In each corner would sit an adviser, all four of whom would represent different faiths. The emperor also had wives of different faiths, including Hindu, Christian and Muslim, all of whom had their own temples and quarters decorated in keeping with their religion. Here, however, the animal kingdom has outlasted mankind: Now the rooms of the former palaces are inhabited only by bats. JAIPUR The famously pink city of Jaipur, capital of the state of Rajasthan, is arguably the jewel in the crown of the Golden Triangle. If it were to be twinned with a Russian city, that city would certainly be St. Petersburg. Jaipur was founded in 1727, less than a quarter of a century after Russia’s northern capital, as India’s first planned city. Like Peter the Great, Jaipur’s founder, Maharajah Jai Singh II, was personally interested in town planning, and the city was built along regular geometric lines — just like St. Petersburg. The city was first painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales (in India the color is associated with hospitality), and it is still the overwhelming prevalence of the color in the old city that strikes the first time visitor to Jaipur. The second impression visitors are likely to take away with them is the hordes of monkeys leaping across the roofs of the houses in the old walled city, whose windows are barred to stop these streetwise creatures from entering homes and raiding fridges — a feat of which they are more than capable. Jaipur offers as much interest and history as would be expected from the capital city of a state whose name means “the land of the kings.” The City Palace, traditionally home to Rajasthan’s royal family, is now open to the public as a museum and can even be rented out for spectacular weddings, though the royal family — an elderly king, his wife, their daughter, her husband and son — still inhabit a seven-story section in which each of the levels is decorated in a different color and style. Some of the palace’s highlights include the Chandra Mahal courtyard flanked with four gates — one for each season — the most photographed of which is the Peacock Gate, adorned by a magnificent sculpture of a peacock — India’s national bird. Inside, a pair of enormous silver bowls that are said to be the biggest objects made out of sterling silver in the world were taken by Maharajah Sawai Madho Singh II when he went to London in 1902 for the coronation of Edward VII. As a devout Hindu, the maharajah had to confront the taboo that existed about undertaking a voyage overseas. He overcame his dilemma by filling the vast urns with holy water from the River Ganges in which he bathed while he was abroad. Jai Singh II’s keen interest in astronomy is attested to by another of Jaipur’s marvels, the Jantar Mantar observatory situated beside the City Palace. Despite its resemblance to an outdoor modern art installation, the construction of the observatory began in 1728, and it was continually added to and improved over time. At first, small-scale models were used, and when an accurate model had been created, a full size version was built. The instruments were impressively accurate for the time, enabling astronomers to predict eclipses in the 18th century. Along with a giant sundial and various complex hollowed out globes into which the astronomers would climb in order to read the measurements, there is one instrument for each horoscope, though these do not correspond to Western birth signs. The observatory is considered to be a treasure of Jaipur, not only for its historic and scientific interest, but also because it represents a rare combination of art, science and religion. AMER FORT Just outside of Jaipur lies Amer Fort (also known as the Amber Fort), which is no less impressive than the Red Fort in Delhi or Agra Fort. On the contrary, it is a masterpiece of engineering in which it seems that everything was thought of and carefully planned, from giant water tanks that functioned in a way that ensured not a single drop was wasted, to the practice of hanging damp rushes at the windows to create a cooler, slightly damp breeze. The apartments were built in such a way as to create wind tunnels to keep the corridors cool. The various halls and living quarters, from the breathtaking mirrored hall decorated with thousands of tiny mirrors that would create a million spots of light when the curtains were drawn and candles lit, to the Hall of Pleasure — the women’s quarters — fronted with latticed stonework in a honeycomb style through which the women could see out without being seen, surrounded a garden of rare and expensive scented flowers, which is now planted with herbs and fragrant plants. The narrow corridors of the fort were built with defense in mind, complete with huge boulders positioned on strategic landings ready to be rolled down the corridors, crushing invaders and blocking off their access to the rest of the fort. Unsurprisingly, the fort, which is situated high up in the hills overlooking a seasonal lake for some of the year, was never taken. Construction of the fort began in 1592 but various rulers were to make their own additions and modifications to it for the next 150 years. The older part of the fort is occupied by snake charmers and small stalls selling jewelry and souvenirs, but also contains an early model of a Jacuzzi in which the queen would take her bath. Also of note inside the fort are the exquisitely carved silver doors to the Kali Temple, crowned by an image of the elephant god Ganesha carved from a single piece of coral. Religions ranging from Jainism to Judaism have dedicated followings in India, and 18 different languages that have one million or more fluent speakers, while many more are spoken by smaller groups across the country. The diversity of India’s people and culture are mirrored by its geography, which range from snowy mountain peaks to lush tropical vegetation, and in its astonishing and ever present array of wildlife. Many travelers enthuse about the “special energy” that sets India apart from other destinations, and gain spiritual satisfaction from visiting a land that is teeming with life in all of its multiplicity. Others return shocked by the poverty and sanitation, haunted by images of begging children. Most are agreed that India is not only a holiday; it is an experience. It is impossible to experience the country and return home without gaining something, whatever those memories and impressions may be, and it is easy to see why people keep going back there. Crowded and chaotic, exhausting yet enthralling, the Golden Triangle cities contain some of India’s historical and cultural jewels, and present a good way to become acquainted with India as a travel destination before venturing to its less visited — though no less rewarding — regions. Information How to get there Aeroflot operates daily flights from St. Petersburg to Delhi via Moscow. See www.aeroflot.ru for prices and timetables. Where to Stay Delhi: Ashok Hotel. Behind the magnificent fa?ade of the elegant Ashok, the rooms are a little dated, but this is more than made up for the attentive service and spectacular South Indian cuisine served up in the basement restaurant. Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakayapuri, 110021, tel: +91 11 26110101, www.theashok.com Agra: Hotel Yamuna View (Formerly Hotel Agra Ashok). A slightly shabby but perfectly comfortable hotel run by friendly, helpful staff. 6B Mall Road, 282001, tel: +91 562 2462990, www.hotelagraashok.com. Jaipur: Gold Palace and Resorts. A top-notch luxury hotel set in vast grounds between Jaipur and Amer with excellent facilities and stunning interiors. 8th Mile Amer Fort, Jaipur-Delhi Highway, Kukas, tel: +91 1426 515500, www.hotelgoldpalace.com ***The St. Petersburg Times was a guest of the India Tourism Office in Frankfurt. Tel: +49 69 2429490. www.incredibleindia.org***
|
Ïåðåâåñòè íà ðóññêèé
Print this article
