October 12-19, ROMA = AMOR (ROME = LOVE)

BLOG ENTRY: October 12-19, ROMA = AMOR (ROME = LOVE)

This might be the last Blog Entry for a few weeks. Tomorrow we join our tour of Italy followed by a cruise from Venice to Florida arriving in Fort Lauderdale on November 10. I understand that there is either no internet service or it is expensive.

Rome is by far the most agreeable and the most interesting tourist visit of our world tour. We arrived 5:30pm Monday, October 12, at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino. We knew there is a train that would take us into the city but we were not sure how to arrange it or the location of the Termini station where it would drop us off. Evening was coming and after 10.5 hours of flying and changing planes plus another 1.5 hours getting to the airport and checking in New Delhi, we decided to find a cab or shuttle. We saw an ‘official’ shuttle desk in the airport. They wanted 60 Euro $92 to take us to our hotel. Right next door was another service at 36 Euro , $55. We took it arriving at 8pm, some 12.5 hours after leaving our hotel in New Delhi. We later found out that the train would have cost us 22 Euro. We later bought a week pass on the transportation metro/bus system for 16 Euro $26 each.

Our previous experiences had left us very cautious about our hotel. We booked with the North American chain, the Best Western Hotel President, over their web site, and paid $272/night to be sure we had a good place. The entrance was OK but not as modern looking as we expected, given the web site claim that it had been modernized and the price of 174 Euro, $272/night. The elevator also was a little rickety, small, and slow. Arriving at the 5th floor, the door to our room was electronically operated but had no safety locks. The room had something like a woven burlap floor, with single beds, although the mattresses were good. The bathroom was modern with a good tub as we requested, but narrow for our liking, and a bidet. AND I could not get internet access. There was a fridge but no kettle and coffee/tea supplies. I marched down to the front desk to say that the room was not as advertised. The lone attendant told me how to hook up to the internet and sent me to the bar for coffee/tea supplies. When the bar tender was available he took me into the dining room and came out with all the supplies we would need leaving me to carry them up to our room. That night we were suspicious of every itch and checked our beds many times. Over the next day we began to relax and enjoyed the hot water bath/shower which worked well, water drinkable from the tap, our excellent beds, high speed internet and good breakfast included in the price, and plasma TV but with only one English channel, CNN.

THE ROMAN COLOSSEUM, PLATINE HILL, and FORUM

We slept in on Tuesday and walked about 2km to the Colosseum. The streets were clean and well maintained. Construction sites were well secured and safe. Traffic lights and pedestrian walk lights were obeyed. We didn’t hear any horns honking. We felt like we were in a civilized place, not that other places were not civilized, but this place was very agreeable. Arriving at the Colosseum we found it as expected; large and partially destroyed after its 2000 year history. Lots of people were there but unlike the Eiffel Tower, the lines were short and we were inside in about 20 minutes, with tickets costing 24 Euro each for visiting the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum.

According to Rick Steeves, our audio guide downloaded off the internet at the suggestion of our friend Carol Tanner, Rome was a major civilization with a 1000 year history. Beginning in 500 BC, it reached its peak during the building of the Colosseum, 72-80 AD, and for the next 200 years. Then Rome declined for another 300 years. For the first 500 years Rome was a republic, ruled by an elected senate. However, Julius Caesar, was so successful as a warrior and so popular that he was able to the override the senate to become the final authority, the emperor, and Rome became an Empire.

While it is only a physical structure the history of the Colosseum makes being there a momentous experience. The Coloseum held 50,000 fans, and was mostly covered – the Roughrider stadium holds about 30,000, but discussions are taking place to build anew or to cover it. I wonder if that means that we are at the peak of our civilization, and that the end is only a few centuries away. Caesar walked the same steps we took! We saw the seats in which he and other emperors sat, the area where the nobility sat, and the high bleachers where the common people sat. The centre oval, about the size of 2 football fields, is a maze of walls which were once under the floor of the stadium. During Roman times these walls were covered with a wooden floor, on which 9 inches of sand was placed.

The Colosseum had several functions. It showed the power of Rome and the Emporer. It provided entertainment for the nobility and the poor who also felt power as they were given the choice of whether a fighter in the ring should live or die. Great spectacles were created. The Colosseum was inaugurated with a 100 day festival, during which 2000 men and 9000 animals where killed. They didn’t have Febreeze but they did have perfumes to cover the stench of all the blood and guts. Gladiators would fight each other, the loser’s life, if he was still alive, left to the wishes of the crowd. A slave would be the star of a show in which a great mythical hero was slain – the slave. Just as we had heard prior to arriving, another favourite event was to put hungry lion/lions in the ring. Then a slave, a captured warrior, or a Christian would be raised naked from below into the ring and left to the lions.

Rome became Christian in the year 312 when Constantine defeated his rival in a battle to and became the sole ruler of Rome. A huge arch, the Arch of Constantine, was mounted outside the Colosseum, honour him. Soon after the use of the stadium for human slaughter was stopped and many decades later the use of it for animals was stopped too.

THE PALATINE HILL AND THE FORUM

After the Colosseum we continued to visit the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Rome was a massive city and much of it still exists even though in ruins. We did not realize the size of the area. The hill was the home of the emperor and nobles, who could walk down into the Roman Forum, the civil centre of Rome. There the republican Senate met and the halls of justice existed. There is no point for us to try to describe all the areas and building. More details are available on the Roman Forum at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum and on the Palatine Hill at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatine_Hill and http://www.roman-empire.net/tours/rome/forum-romanum.html which includes a model of how the forum looked in 300 AD. Finally the following site is impressive in the way it provides sketches of the way buildings looked by in Roman times and explains them http://maquettes-historiques.net/P5.html

Suffice it to say that the area is massive and clearly was the centre of a powerful well developed society.

By the time we had walked through much of the Palatine Hill and the Forum our legs were getting very sore and we returned to the hotel, easily finding a bus that took us there. We had a nap and later found a small Chinese food restaurant with take out food, two dishes for 8.50 Euro $14.

VATICAN MUSEUM AND THE SISTINE CHAPEL

Wednesday the 14th we took the metro, the entrance of which was right in front of our Hotel, to the Ottavario stop about 500 meters from the Vatican. As we left the Metro station and continued on to the Vatican, there were several people offering guided tours and handing out restaurant deal promotion sheets. We ignored them all. As we were walking toward the Vatican we chose to head toward St. Peter’s Basilica, the home of the Pope. One of the people offering guide service told us it was closed because the Pope was celebrating mass. So we walked around a large building to the entrance of the Vatican Museum which includes the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo. We paid 14 Euro $23 each, to gain access.

The museum is massive, the second largest in Europe after The Louvre in Paris. There are halls for massive tapestries (carpets hung on the walls with images like paintings), Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, a special room for the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the Sistine Chapel, ancient maps, and many other areas which were really lost on us. One would need to study the Museum for some time before visiting in order to appreciate and notice the history and meanings behind all the items on display.

In the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo we listened to one of Rick Steeves audio guides which we had downloaded to Rose’s IPod. The Sistine Chapel was painted in 4 years between 1508 and 1512 by Michelangelo and his staff. That’s around the time that Columbus discovered America. The painting is by fresco which means that his staff would apply the plaster and he would do the painting on it before it dried. He stood up the whole time and looked up while he was painting, a process which caused great pain and suffering. The total area painted is 12,000 sq feet, 1,100 sq meters. That’s about the same size as doing detailed paintings on every square inch of a Canadian football field up to the 20 yard line.

In my view Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel, in both technical and artistic expertise and in thematic composition probably were a major contributor to promote general belief in the biblical stories from creation to Christ. The chapel ceiling is composed of 9 large frescos from the creation story in the book of Genesis: 1) Separation of light from darkness, 2) creation of the sun, moon, and earth, 3) the separation of land and water, 4) the famous scene of the creation of Adam, 5) the creation of Eve, 6) the temptation and expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, 7) the sacrifice of Noah, 8) the great flood, and 9) the drunkenness of Noah. Around the edges of the ceiling he painted many prophets, and the ancestral family of Jesus. Fifteen years later, at age 70, Michelangelo painted the last judgement on one the wall behind the main alter. The years between the paintings tell part of the story. The ceiling is full of creation and life. The wall is full of judgement and the failings of man. At one point an angel is holding hostly figure by its clothes, deciding whether to let it go down to hell. The figure is said to be Michelangelo himself wondering about his lifetime behaviour. The theme recognizes that humans have a special relationship with God but that we always fall short of our potential, a common theme of Christianity.

ST. PETER’S BASCILICA and PIAZZA (Square/courtyard)

Thursday the 15th was our day for St. Peter’s Basilica. The Basilica and the Vatican Museum are all part of one complex. As we walked into the square or courtyard in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, we found ourselves almost surrounded by the large oval cloisters, called colonnades, around the ‘square’, like two open hands welcoming the people. They were built between 1656 and 1657, around the time that my French ancestors came to Canada from France. On top of the cloisters are 140 large statues of Saints. At one end connecting colonnades, massive St. Peters Basilica stands. On each side in front of the Basilica are large statues of the Apostles Peter and Paul who were executed in Rome. Peter is said to be buried under the Basilica. In the middle of the Piazza is an Egyptian Obelisk from 1300 BC. It was brought to Rome by Emperor Caligula, and placed in the square in 1586.

We continued to the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica and entered. Impressive is just not adequate for the largest church in all Christendom. It holds 60,000 standing people and covers 6 acres of land. Our large RC Holy Spirit church in Saskatoon holds 800 people sitting. The basic design was by Michelangelo, who also sculpted the famous Pieta, the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, which is in one corner of the Bascilica.

Later we went to the top of the ‘Cupola’, the dome of St. Peter’s. By the time were near the top my camera battery went dead and my extra battery was in my back pack which we had checked. A nice young man from Norway took our photo at the top and agreed to send it to us. The view of all Rome from the top is breathtaking. Although getting there is a long walk up 320 increasing narrow steps as you near the top of the Dome. I’ll bet the Pope doesn’t go up there these days.

After visiting the Piazza we followed the wide thoroughfare and had lunch in a small restaurant before crossing the Ponte Sant' Angelo (Bridge), which is beside the Castel Sant' Angelo. Continuing up the streets, which were lined with hundreds of small shops in old buildings filled with tourist products, quality products and antiques, we passed through the Piazza Navona, a large market square filled also filled with small market stands, artists, and fountains. One one side was another large church. It is remarkable that this city has so many large churches all with marble columns frescos, statues and history that makes Saskatoon seem like a baby.

We finally arrived at our destination, the Roman Pantheon. This is said to be the best preserved piece of Roman architecture, originally built around 35 BC to honour the Roman Gods, and rebuilt in the second century AD. Large and ulilitarian, it is an engineering masterpiece. Later, like most Roman buildings that were not destroyed, it became a Christian Church.

After the Pantheon stopped at a McDonald's to use the bathroom, and then, with the help of a tourist information office we found earlier, we hopped on Bus 218 which took us back to our hotel.


BASILICA OF ST. JOHN LATERIN AND THE CHURCH OF STS. SERGIO AND BACCHUS

Friday the 16th we walked just 2 blocks from our hotel to the Basilica of St. John Laterin, the oldest of Rome’s 4 basilicas. It is also huge, not as large as St. Peter’s but still huge. Around side of the main aisle were massive statues of the 12 apostles. We took a photo of St. Thomas as an example, and as my namesake. Five Ecumenical councils of the Roman Catholic Church were held in this Basilica. Ornate is truly a description of the ceiling much of it in gold. Massive ancient paintings, frescos, adorn the walls, one of the holy family. The centre alter is a large square construction and near the top in gold behind a gated wall are sculptures of God and Jesus (I thought they were one with the holy spirit, but who is to question 2000 years of Christian doctrine).

Across the street is yet another large church. The entrance includes a large stairway raising up to an enclosed alter which is said to have included relics of St. John, which have now been moved to St. Peter’s Basilica. The stairs are covered in Oak which is said to have been brought by St. Helen from Jerusalem. They were the stairs that Jesus climbed to be condemned by Pontius Pilot.

Our friends Jim Komar and John Irwin wrote us to mention that two gay Saints Sergio and Bacchus had a church built in their name in Rome. Later we went back to the Colosseum area to look for the church, Santi Sergius and Bacchus. We found it within 200 meters of the Colosseum, a small church, but we were not able to enter it. Wikipedia has an excellent article on the church SEE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santi_Sergio_e_Bacco . And another article on the saints is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius_and_Bacchus

THE CATACOMBES

Saturday the 17th we went to see the Christian Catacombes at Saint Callisto. They were outside the Rome’s old city borders because only Roman citizens could be buried in the city. We were corrected immediately in our belief that the catacombs were used by the Christians to escape their Roman persecutors. They were in fact just burial chambers carved out of lava rock, and from local quarries for cement ingredients. Bodies were laid into small body sized carved into the walls, covered with lime to speed up the rotting, and then the chambers were sealed with brick and mortar. Apparently everyone wanted to die like Jesus, in a tomb (although Jesus didn’t have lime poured over him, so we find again another stretch of the Christian imagination). Like Canadian cemeteries, each one had a name inscribed, although as we saw them they were all open and empty. In some places a grotto was created and lined in slate or marble and even a few statutes were added, but most had been destroyed. Even a few Popes were initially buried here. The chambers were apparently raided for hundreds of years by various groups and conquerors likely looking for gold and jewels. Then they were ignored for a 1000 years before an archaeologist began investigating them. There are apparently 60 catacombs around Rome. The catacombs included Christians, Jews, the poor, slaves, and criminals, all who were not allowed citizens of Rome.

OUR LAST DAYS IN ROME
Sunday we went to the 10am church service at St. John Laterine, did our laundry, rested, worked on our blog, and found a local restaurant for supper. We shared a small lasagne with a salad, garlic toast, and a half bottle of Pinot Grigio wine – 23 Euro, $38 (not tip because we found a live bug in the salad – the staff just shrugged) – coffee and desert in our room.
On checking our reservation for Monday at our next hotel, Hotel Melia Aurelia Antica, we were not registered. Experience allowed us to calmly find the number of our tour company in USA, YMT Vacations. We learned that the hotel was now the Holiday Inn West, also on Via Aurelia, and in which we were registered, but we could not check in until 2pm. We have been away so long that the final package of information for our tour likely arrived in Saskatoon after we left, September 1.

Monday morning, October 19 we packed, left our luggage at the hotel and went to visit a local palace. More later, whenever we get more internet service.

October 8-11, Thursday to Sunday – New Delhi & Agra

BLOG ENTRY: October 8-11, Thursday to Sunday – New Delhi & Agra

THE CANADIAN CONSULATE IN CHANDIGARH

Wednesday evening Jag invited Saranjit, a condo association board member, Ms. Sabnam Johnson, a Trade at the Canadian Consulate in Chandigarh, and her husband Naveen for a social hour. They brought their 2 year old daughter, who like any young child in our family, proceeded to try to touch and try to use everything within reach in the condo. Finally Sabnam could take it no longer and phoned for her 9 year old son to come to the rescue.

We were surprised to learn from Sabnam that the Consulate has about 50 staff, mostly in the immigration area. I thought to myself, if Jag Trana is any indication, Canada is greater for each person who immigrates. Sabnam and I had an interesting conversation about the economic sectors covered by the Chandigarh office: agricultural and automotive equipment. She mentioned that the Indian government currently has as a priority the development of grain handling and storage systems. I’ll have to pass this information on, I thought, to Bill McKnight, who I often see and chat with at the Fieldhouse in Saskatoon. Since Bill was a Minister in the government of Brian Mulroney, he has working with a consulting company on international projects. He has visited India several times.

Sabnam and Naveen, who sells insurance for an AIG company, live in the same condo complex and Jag and Pam. It did not take long for Jag, Naveen, and Saranjit to be embroiled in a debate about management of the condo complex. I took delight in photographing their animated gestures.

DRIVING TO NEWDELHI

Thursday morning October 8 we got up early to leave for New Delhi by 8:30am for the 6 hour drive. As soon as I heard the delivery people’s whistles, I rushed down to take their photos. One young man had a three wheeled bike with bread, juices (Tropicana) eggs etc. Condo dwellers would come to the balcony and lower a bag with money to collect the products they were buying. Another delivery was fresh cow’s milk, delivered directly to the door of the subscribers by the farmer. The milk was brought to the condo in a small truck with coolers on the back.

As we drove along the highway, which had less traffic than I remembered on the trip to Chandigarh, I reflected on my changing view of India. No longer is the focus of my attention on the dirt, the grime, and the continuous congestion with endless streams of people. Looking beyond those ‘facial features’ I now see a country bustling with small entrepreneurs, where the free enterprise spirit seems to be at the heart of life. Layered over this abundant life, are the larger companies who build toll roads, manufacturing plants, and the other things of a major industrialized society. And along side both these layers of the economy is the Government sector. While corruption is claimed to be rampant, the government, with support from the World Bank, is spearheading major infrastructure projects throughout this massive country. The roads on which we travelled will be completed in a few years, in time for the Commonwealth games in 2010 and the World Cup for soccer in 2011. Just as highways were an engine of economic development in Canada and the USA, they will surely be an engine in India. India is so massive though and has so many different peoples and cultures, its development will always be a challenge.

Arriving in New Delhi Turlochan, our driver, and Jag knew that our internet booked hotel, the “Emblem, a boutique hotel”, was in the New Friends Colony, a ‘well to do area’, but the maps were not detailed enough to get us there, so every so often we stopped at the side of the road, immediately being honked at for slowing traffic, to ask anyone who looked knowledgeable for direction. We found our hotel by 2:30pm.

The Emblem is a new hotel, only operating for three months. After Rose and I inspected and accepted the room, Jag and I settled up our accounts. I had agreed to pay the cost of the hired car and driver, and gasoline for the duration of the visit, about $50/day, and had already paid $US 190 (8800 Rupies) + 15,000 Rupees. We agreed to another 5,000 Rupees which the hotel provided using my VISA card, totally about $655 Canadian for the week. Any currency calculation is an estimate since conversion rates change continually and fees are often charged. Rose and I had a rest. Later dinner at 8:30pm in the small hotel restaurant, situated beside the reception desk on the first floor.

INDIA GATE, PARLIAMENT, PRESIDENT

Friday, we arranged a car and driver for 1200 rupees ~ $28 for the day to see some famous sites: the president’s mansion, the parliament buildings, India Gate, the Red Fort, the Canadian Embassy, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi memorial, and Gandhi Smriti (the place of Gandhi’s assassination).

PRESIDENTS MANSION AND PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS:

The President’s house, called the Rashtrapati Bhavan, ( SEE http://presidentofindia.nic.in/rb.html )was built for the last British ruler of India, called the Viceroy, to show the permanence of the British rule of India. Ironically it was finished the year India became an independent republic, 1947.

We were disappointed to only be able to look through the gate to the mansion which was a long way away. The same was true of the parliament buildings. We took photos but they did not do any justice to these marvellous architectural creations.

MEMORIAL TO INDIRA AND RAJIV GANDHI

Indira Gandhi (not a relative of Mahatma Gandhi), was the Prime Minister of India three times, a total of 14 years, prior to her assassination by two of her Sikh guards in 1984. The assassination took place after she had personally ordered the military to quell the occupation of the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, (during which major damage was done to the temple) by a group of Sikhs trying to establish a separate Sikh country. We visited the Temple, a world heritage site, when we were in Amritsar.

Her memorial is the home and garden in New Delhi where she lived and died. Her last steps prior to being shot are covered in glass crystal, and the place at which she was shot is a piece of clear glass. We were gratified to see the simple way she lived and other personal aspects of the life a great leader of India.

Indira’s son, Rajiv Ghandi, who had avoided politics and was a pilot in the Indian Air Force, became Prime Minister after her death until his election defeat 5 years later. According to Wikipedia he is credited with several moves to modernise India. He was also aggressive in dealing with descent and sent Indian armed forces to Sri Lanka to battle the Tamil Tigers. In response the Tamil Tiger leader arranged Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by suicide bomber near Madras 1991. A memorial has been constructed at the spot of his assassination. A few rooms in the Indira Gandhi memorial are devoted to his photography, and photos and quotes from his life.

GANDHI SMRITI – the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, January 30, 1948

Mahatma Gandhi is credited with a major role in securing India’s independence from the British. During the British imperialist era they ruthlessly and arrogantly ruled India from around 1757 to 1947, according to Wikipedia. During that time there were several uprisings which were put down with great force. For example, in Amritsar, the site of the Sikh Golden Temple, we also visited Jallianwala Bagh, the site of the 1919 massacre of several hundred unarmed people who were protesting English rule.

We visited the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. His non-violent protest and philosophy energised the people of India. The change he brought about was so dramatic that it marshalled India’s large population to focus on and achieve independence. After India’s independence, Mahatma Gandhi had been living a very Spartan life in New Delhi. We saw the stark room in which he slept, and the attached study. He would walk to a nearby courtyard to speak to the people. As he arrived on January 30, 1948, a gunman pressed through the crowd and shot him. The path Gandhi took to the courtyard is cast in concrete with raised footprints to mark his way. At the point at which he was shot there is a small obelisk with inscriptions in Hindi, I think. All along the path and afterwards small signs show quotations of his comments and sayings. After the obelisk the history of India’s struggle to rid itself of the British occupiers is recounted along with artwork and photos. Gandhi was very much a man of the people. He praised the ordinary people who are the basis of society, and encouraged education. Further along the area are small live demonstrations of children in school, sewing, weaving, making thread on a spinning wheel, and sculpting marble.

A short video (1:13 min) and other information on the Gandhi Smriti memorial site, is at the following web sites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi http://www.eternalgandhi.org/index.htm

THE TAJ MAHAL

Saturday was our day to visit the famous Taj Mahal. The trains were booked so we had to take a taxi for 4500 rupees, about $100. We were up 4 am and left at 5:15 for the 4 hour 200km drive to Agra. We were amazed to be able to stop at a McDonald’s restaurant on the way. On arrival 9:30 our driver picked up a friend to personally guide us through the site. The Taj Mahal is a World Heritage site managed by UNESCO. Arriving within 1km of the site, we learned that cars are not allowed because of pollution. We purchased our tickets to the Taj site for 750 Rupees each $17. We decided not to walk in the 35 degree heat and hired an electrically powered rickshaw to take us to the Taj Mahal (100 Rupees). Our guide was excellent and provided much more information than I can recount.

The Taj Mahal was built by a Mughal Emperor in the 1600s, in memory of his favourite wife. To place its construction in a European time line, this was about 150 years after Columbus discovered America. The emperor lived in another world heritage site, the Mughal Agra Fort, similar to the Red Fort, another World Heritage site in New Delhi. We did not visit the Agra Fort since we had seen the Red Fort in New Delhi, and by the time we saw the Taj Mahal, it was getting late and we were getting tired.

Entering the East Gate site we were in a large courtyard with 4 large arches (gates) in the North (leading to the Taj Mahal), East, West and South. The gates are connected by cloisters. Apparently this was a public area in the Mughal’s time, in contrast to the private area around the Taj Mahal. You could see the Taj Mahal, a gleaming white marble structure, through the North gate.

As we passed through the North gate, we were in beautiful gardens in front of this amazing structure. It must have been even more amazing when the construction was finished. Time and weather change things a lot. There are shallow pools leading up to the Taj Mahal and to the East and West about half way between the North gate and the site. Unfortunately they did not have water in them, so what must surely have been a striking effect was lost. The gardens around the temple though were in excellent condition and well cared for. I recall visiting the site in 1990 during a commercial visit for work, and the gardens were well trampled. Now they are cordoned off and the public walks along tiled walkways.

We took photos along the pathway to the Taj Mahal. Arriving we donned our ‘shoe covers’ and proceeded onto the temple itself. Being made of high quality impervious marble, the stones were not hot even thought the temperature was high. Inside we saw replica’s of the tomb of the Emperor’s wife, for the love of whom the mausoleum was built, and the Emperor himself. The actual tombs were below. I had seen them during the 1990 visit. As we walked around the structure we could see how the 4 minarets around it were built so that they leaned slightly outward. This was done so that should the ever fall they would fall outward and not damage the mausoleum. It is hard to imagine the number of slaves it took to hall all the marble to the, then to carve it into the intricate patterns we could see on the stones. When it was first constructed precious stones and gold were used, but later generations of rulers removed them for their own benefit. You have to be moved to see such a marvellous structure, despite the exploitation required to create it.

Following out visit to the Taj Mahal, our guide took us to a craft store, J. K. Cottage Industries, makers of handmade marble inlaid articles and handicrafts. We explained that we were on a world tour and could did not want to purchase anything because of luggage limitations. They had a ready answer – they would deliver any item purchased by DHL so there would not be any luggage problems. We were shown the craftsmen and how they did their work, and told the difference between marble, the high quality product, and soapstone, its inferior alternative; and the difference between semi precious inlaid stones and plastic used in many soapstone inlaid products. During my 1990 visit I purchased several soapstone jewellery type boxes. Most were broken by the time I arrived home. Perhaps if I had not packed my bags with so much leather and other products for family members during the trip, more might have arrived home in one piece. Then came the sales pitch; for example just $US 300 for an intricately designed plate, and a smaller ‘cheese’ tray place for $US 200, or a package deal for $US 450. And the offers continued. The items were spectacular and very beautiful and we were surely tempted. But we realize that our jewel is our trip itself, and beautiful as these pieces are, they would be expensive stuff for us at modest home with little function in our egalitarian approach to life.

The drive home was long, another 5 hours, during which our driver was getting very tired. On one occasion he stopped and quickly exited the car to vomit on the side of the road. We could not question him since there was a language problem but we did our best to encourage him to stop for a rest. Later he did stop for 15 minute at a bar under a big sheet on the side of the road
On the way home our drive showed me some text messages on his cell phone with an offer he had to work in Nigeria. Difficult as communication was I described the Nigerian scams we see in Canada, which come by fax, email, and letter, and the problems encountered by the few people who accepted them. He was anxious to accept the offer since he thought it would allow him to provide a better life for his wife and two young children. I suggested that he could do more for them by staying in New Delhi for his family and trying to train for a better paying job. How would you feel I suggested, if you went to Nigeria, the deal was not as described, and you became a virtual slave to your ‘friend’ without any ability to return to India or provide support to your family. Not only greed, but also poverty makes people take desperate chances.

OUR LAST DAY IN INDIA

Sunday October 11 was our last day. We planned an easy day, see the Baha’i Lotus Temple, and a modern mall. We arrived at the Temple to find it closed, even though the tourist information said it was closed on Mondays. Our next stop was the Satek City Walk mall. Modern like any in Canada, and architecturally unique, we felt at home. While open the stores did not open until 11 and it was only 10am. We got our mall fix walking the mall, and found an eyeglass store which was open, a perfect time to get my glasses fixed. They had fallen apart in the previous evening. They were fixed in no time and for no charge. Finally, something that operates like Canada. We had a coffee in a modish coffee bar which was playing Pump It by Black Eyed Peas, a favourite song of our children John and Jolene Rogers at their wedding.

We were getting tired of visiting tourist sites, and wanted to return to the hotel to pack. We decided to visit a more modern Hindu temple in New Delhi, the Birla Mandir, built in the 1930’s by the Birlas, a wealthy industrialist family. It was opened and attended by Mahatma Gandhi. Like the Taj Mahal, much of the building, particularly the floors, are in white marble, keeping them cool even in the hot sun. The temple is dedicated to Vishnu, Dirga, Shiva, all Indian deities, and has painted scenes and elaborately adorned statues depicting my events and personages in Indian mythology. It is a beautiful temple constructed in a more modern way. Like other temples and sites we visited in India, seeing this temple just whets the appetite for learning more about this great nation and its history.

After the visit we returned to our hotel, rested, packed, had dinner, and settled accounts with the hotel, total $920 for our 5 nights at the hotel, dinner and breakfast each day, and car and driver to see the sites.

We rose at 4am and left for the airport at 5:30am for our 8:15 flight.

September 30-October 7: Eurostar Paris to London, Incredible India, and our hosts Jag and Pam Trana

BLOG ENTRY: September 30-October 7: Eurostar Paris to London, Incredible India, and our hosts Jag and Pam Trana.

LEAVING OUR PARIS HOTEL

Wednesday the 30th Rose was up at 2 and I was up at 4 – bed bugs – and we didn’t go back to bed. It was a good lesson to learn. We were paying a reasonable price I thought at 90Euro, ~$150 for a 2 star room in Paris, but regardless of the price it isn’t worth it if there are bed bugs. We will be changing our unknown B&B in Rome at 90 Euro to a 3 star North American chain at around 145 Euro, ~$240/night. By 7:15 we were waiting with all our luggage for the McDonalds beside the Paris North train station to open at 7:30. We could not check in for the Eurostar train until 11:00. We had what we now consider a good breakfast for 11 Euro ~$18 at McDonalds, put our luggage in a locker for a few hours and further explored the area around the station – still packed like a sardine can with grungy narrow streets of people, buildings, cars, trains and the metro. Smokers and cigarette buts are ubiquitous – adding to the generally smelly, dirty experience.

A RIDE ON THE EUROSTAR

The fast Eurostar train from Paris to London, which goes under the English Channel, was interesting and clean but a disappointment. We found ourselves booking the train because our travel agent informed us that our best travel plan was to use London as a base for major flights. Arriving a little before 11:00 we found the departure area on a mezzanine floor was somewhat like an airport. We passed through security and inside were greeted with bathrooms (free at last, free at last), snack shops, a few stores including a duty free, and waiting areas – with seats (contrary to the train station itself).

As the boarding process started at 12:15 we went to the ‘gate’, showed our tickets, walked out onto a platform on the side of the station and down a ramp to the train. We were in car number 4 seats 26 and 27. Walking along beside the train there were smartly dressed attendants at each car, but there where no numbers on the cars. On asking, one told us the car number was printed on the platform in front of each door – it was but it had faded. We found our car and our second class seats. The car was clean but the seats were no better than a good bus seat.

Soon the train started. It was smooth and fast, by my guess, judging by the rate at which we passed vehicles on the sometimes nearby highway, about 140-160km/hr. We scooted out of the city, past towns, farms and country side. I was fascinated to see the entrance to the tunnel under the channel. Would I see the ocean just before we entered? Even though we were tired and Rose fell asleep immediately, I was looking out at the country side, expecting to see the tunnel entrance at any moment, surely after the next rolling hill, or the next hazy area which might denote the upcoming ocean. We were facing backwards so I had to twist and turn to see the upcoming landscape. Due to a time change in Britain we lost an hour. By 1:15 UK time my neck was getting sore and there was no sign of the tunnel. I went to the cafe car for a snack. It was more open and the big windows gave a better view. The attendant said said we would be entering the tunnel in 15 minutes so I hung around. Suddenly, there it was. It looked like a little hole in the side of a hill. No sign of the ocean.

The rest of the Eurostar trip was a letdown. I bought a peppermint tea for Rose, and a Panini snack for the both us. We were through the tunnel in about 20 minutes, and after a few more we arrived in the London station by 2pm, nearly a three hour train wide.

LONDON

Immediately we noticed a difference between London and Paris. The station was clean. There were no smokers and no cigarette butts. The car numbers on the platform were sharply outlined and bordered in brass. The station itself was nicely modernised. Entering the station we found smiling welcoming attendants, doing their best to help us along our way. Toilets were free and clean, and everyone spoke English.

We found our way to the ‘Tube’ Picadilly (Blue) metro line and left for Heathrow Airport. The Tube was not as modern as that in France, and the rails were noisy, but everything worked well. Forty-five minutes later we were at Heathrow. We hoped to be able to get to our hotel and back without having to get any cash but we learned that the shuttle bus to our hotel required cash. We found a Barclays ATM, with whom our bank, Scotiabank, has an agreement which allowed us to take out 50 Pounds, enough to buy our return shuttle tickets for 16 Pounds, ~32$. Our hotel, the Comfort Inn Heathrow, $70/night, booked site unseen through Expedia.ca was like a good modern Canadian 3 star hotel. Our room was small and the bathroom only had a small shower with a curtain that was impossible to keep inside the shower, meaning we had to wipe up the floor after a shower. But we had a kettle and coffee/tea in our room, and it was clean. Meals were another question. The specials were 15-17 Euros, ~$23-35 for two limited choice courses, ie starter and entre or entre and dessert. We had a late breakfast the next morning - the English Breakfast and a pot of tea for 13 Euro ~$22, and shared.

Heathrow airport is another pleasant experience – modern, all sorts of friendly helpers, lots of shops and restaurants. We left for the airport right after we had to leave the hotel at noon. We had to hang out, visit shops and read until 3:30 when we were allowed to check in for our 5:30pm flight to India. Then we had to hang out again. We found the perfect carry on bag for Rose, a nice smallish bag with rollers and which could be used also as a back pack, but it cost 239 Euro, ~$370. I said to the salesman, ‘Thank you. Good bye’. He smiled as we walked away. We picked up 4 bottles of wine at the duty free for our India hosts, Jag and Pam Trana.

ARRIVING IN INDIA

At 5:30pm October 1 our flight took off on time. A supporting air stream meant we were arriving in New Delhi 40 minutes early at 5:55am October 2, 7.5 hours later (5 hr time change). As we were taxiing to the terminal I noticed what looked like a jet plane parking lot, seemingly a hundred or so planes parked. Arriving we had to wait 20 minutes while until a gate became clear. Then we entered an airport very similar to anything we know, but the air was warm and moist. We went through customs and found our luggage. As we were going into the public area our good friend Jag was waiting, to greet and give us a warm welcome to India.

As we left the terminal for the car, the hot heat of India enveloped us. We had a short wait before the driver arrived in our air conditioned rented van and driver, which we agreed with Jag to rent for the duration of our stay. By 7:30am we drove off to Chandigarh, a 6 hour drive for 250 kms, much of it at 70-90kms/hr. Leaving the city on a modern freeway, sometimes a toll road, we saw many construction cranes, large office buildings for major companies like Reebok, raised traffic interchanges, and a small above ground section of New Delhi’s renowned new metro system. Traffic was different. It moved rather slowly, about 70kms/hr, and the freeway sometimes had streets crossing it. At these points we were introduced to India’s traffic melees. We saw hundreds of bicycles, a lot of scooters and small motor bikes, human and motorized rickshaws, cars, trucks, and occasionally a horse drawn cart, or a free roaming cow or cows (called buffalo). We also saw what I now recognize from my 1990 visit, bits of the organic mass of India. People everywhere, even living in tents at the side of the street as ‘Daddy works on the manual labor part of the road building crew’.

Twenty minutes later we were coming to the edge of Delhi, and the countryside started to appear. Still the traffic on the divided highway was heavy with this melee of traffic moving haphazardly across the lanes and honking at each other, and every so often an intersection, a crossing of the organic mass of India. All the cars honk a lot. I realized that the honking is necessary since you have no knowledge of when people will be moving towards you to get a better position in the jostling traffic. Rickshaws on the road have no signal lights or mirrors, so honking is a necessary part of life. Jag says they will be banned in Chandigarh in 2010.

There is really no way to describe the experience of India. India is an assault on our sanitized western senses. The climate, culture, history, architecture, economic situation, massive population are so different from Canada that words, at least my words, fail to convey the reality.

ARRIVING IN CHANDIGARH

We finally arrived in Chandigarh, “CITY BEAUTIFUL” as it proclaims on welcoming signs, around 1:30pm. In the 1950s a world famous French Architect, Le Corbusier, was given the contract to design a new capital city for Punjab. He created a design for a modern city (giving me memories of Brazilia in Brazil), which has since been integrated into ancient India with interesting results, as we came to see and experience over the next few days. Again I struggle to convey a sense of this reality. The travel guide, Lonely Planet, says “Chandigarh is India’s greenest, cleanest, and most prosperous city, and has more ATMs than cows, and more mobile phones than beggars.” I don’t know about the ATMs – we haven’t found one yet that will accept my Scotia Bank debit card (we found one in Gorodek Ukraine). But the cows, the beggars and the mobile phones are true. It is a beautiful and prosperous city in many ways, but right along side of the beauty are many un-kept areas, and a bustling population of very poor people. They are poor but they are also entrepreneurial. It only takes a few crafts, or bananas for someone to set up a tent for their family on the side of a dirty road and offer their products for sale.

As soon as we stepped out of our air conditioned van we were hit again by the hot heat and started to sweat – a lot, dripping sweat, onto our clothes, and into our eyes. The smell of open fires was in the air, and there was an odour, not a strong or bad odour, somewhat like chickens were running around outside. We entered the elevator of Jag and Pams condo block with our luggage and rose to the 3rd floor. Entering their condo there were cooling fans but no air conditioning. We were again warmly welcomed, this time by Pam and Jag together, into their spacious 4 bedroom, 1500 sq ft - 250 sq meter, condo in the Mohali Cooperative Housing development, a modern housing complex of several 4 floor buildings in a gated community. Middle class: professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, retirees like Jag, Pam, Rose and I, live here. They have all the conveniences of a condo in Canada – water and sewer, satellite TV, internet, electricity etc., but not as fully or completely. Electricity is shut off for 7 hours a day, and water is also shut off for a period, but both are done by a schedule and life revolves around the schedule. They have a propane gas stove. The temperature was 37 degrees Celsius, and with the humidity it was like 42 degrees. After tea, Chi, and a brief visit, we were tired so went to our spacious room to rest, ie try to rest in the heat. Even Jag and Pam were uncomfortable.

OUR TIME IN CHANDIGARH WITH GENEROUS FRIENDS

We can’t say enough about the generosity of our friends Jag and Pam Trana. Even though I had visited India as the agricultural technical expert on a diplomatic mission in 1990, I could not begin to personally arrange a visit to India myself. Jag and Pam welcomed us into their large condo, fed us, and are touring us around.

After our rest, we visited more and were served supper. Later around 9pm, because of the heat, we had a shower and went to bed. While Jag and Pam’s condo is newly built, it was built as a stock item, ie everything in the 100’s of condos in the complex is very similar and according to Indian building norms. Plug-ins and light switches are all together up where light switches are at home. The switches are like toggle switches in the middle of a large metal plate attached to the wall. There are three shower/bathrooms in the condo, but the shower just sprays over the floor in a corner of our bathroom. After the shower you squeegee the floor and wipe up water which has sprayed on the toilet and other areas. The shower head doesn’t work, so we took it off (later we learned that we could scrap out the calcium with the head of our cuticle scissors). The water is not heated, ie not by gas, but by the ambient temperature, so it is warm. So we are safe and sound and being well looked after but it is stressful adapting to this new environment. On top of all this Rose has many welts from the Paris bed bugs which are making her itchy and uncomfortable.

THE SITES OF CHANDIGARH

Saturday October 3, were got up about 7:30. Jag and Pam made us breakfast of an omelette for me, and Rose had a type of Nan bread with a light filling of onions. A maid comes about 9am to do the dishes, and light cleaning for a couple of hours. After a leisurely breakfast we visited the Nek Chand theme park. Nek Chand of Chandigarh, was a labourer but a man with a dream. Why do we throw away so much useful garbage and jink? He began collecting it and making it into pieces art: birds out of bottle caps, doors out of old cans and barrels, walls out of discarded pieces of ceramic and toilets, statues out of miscellaneous pieces of junk. The government recognized his talent and his environmentally friendly approach to art, and created a park site with staff for him to further develop his dream. His work has now been recognised by the United Nations.

His dream has been turned into a theme park, with several water falls at various points around paths through crevices in mountain like hills made of natural rock, lava rock and junk. The park is decorated with sculptures and scenes all based on the use of junk. A large open area, with platforms tiled in pieces of ceramic, has become a favourite area for weddings, entertainment for children, and snack shops. We visited the small ‘laughing mirrors’ pavilion, and we took Rose’s photo beside a camel on which rides are offered to children. Pam, who can’t walk a lot, stayed at the entrance to the park. When we returned she had arranged a meeting with the 84 year old Nek Chand, who is now the Director of the park, and has a small private area for himself and his assistants inside the park. He was a humble man, fulfilling his dream, and meeting him was humbling for us.

After visiting Nek Chand’s park we returned home for lunch and an afternoon sweat removal shower and nap. Later in the evening Jag and Pam took us to Sukna Lake, a man made lake in Chandigarh which has become a park for the public. The visit also offered some relief from the heat, as the water, which also was warm, slightly cooled off the air. The lake as beautiful with people on its paddle boats, and greenery.

ROPAR, PUNJAB & ONKARJOT’S FAMILY

Sunday, October 4, was another remarkable day. In the morning we visited the Rose garden, a park created by another man with a dream for the beauty of Chandigarh. Later we drove through the organic mass of India, about 80kms to Ropar, Punjab, located on the banks of the Sutluj river, to visit the family of Onkarjot Singh. Onkar had boarded with us for three weeks in September 2008 when he tried to enter the University of Saskatchewan. Unfortunately for Onkar the University is not very supportive of foreign students, despite charging them double the tuition fees Canadians pay. I worked hard with Onkarjot to get him set up in a study program, but it became clear than an acceptable program was not going to be developed. With my advice he decided to leave before the deadline for paying tuition. He went to Toronto where there were more options for him to study. The long fingers of bureaucracy didn’t let go completely, and Onkar found himself having to pay cancellation fees.

On the way to Ropar we stopped at a Sikh temple on the Sutluj river, one of the major rivers in India. The temple is in contrast to the surrounding area of life, bustling life, in the midst of dirt and grime. Supporting walls have been constructed to hold the river bank in place, and the gleaming temple is built on the top. It is an impressive structure to see as you pass over the dilapidated river bridge. Jag and I entered the temple while Pam and Rose used the nearby bathroom. It was a Turkish toilet, and the smell was so gross that Rose actually threw up. Luckily I did not need a toilet at that time. We had to remove our shoes to enter the temple (a bit yucky since it there had been a rain shower in the morning, and while generally clean, the marble floors were somewhat gritty). Inside a priest and several women were sitting in the lotus position, in front of microphones, carrying out a long incessant chant, which was being amplified inside and out by large speakers. We both bowed on our knees in front of the priest, and then went onto the deck outside, where Pam and Rose met us, to view the massive river.

We also saw, from the road, the 7 acre farm, just small fields on which Jag was raised up to age 17, in a home of two multipurpose rooms. They lived in a small village of only a 1000 or so people. As the only boy in a family of three Jag inherited the farm. The home no longer exists in the same form and the farm is ‘rented’ from Jag free of charge.

Onkarjot’s family, friends of Jag and Pam, had been talking to Jag about arranging a visit of Rose and I, Onkar’s host family in Canada. When we arrived the whole family was there to meet us. It was a festive occasion. They live in a strip mall, above the local DHL office, which they run. Onkarjot’s siblings are all professionals. The oldest, Tripat Kaur, was recently appointed a judge. Her husband Ravinder Singh is a business man in the retail sector. Onkar’s, Dipanjot Singh, who owns the condo, is a lawyer. His proud parents live with his brother, his wife who runs the DHL business, and their 3 young children. They have 2 servants, a nanny/servant, and a male servant, who both do general household duties.

I continue to be amazed at the situation in India. Onkarjot’s family is a family of very bright professionals. To get to Onkar’s family’s place we drove through what would be alleys in Canada. They are paved but often covered with a layer of dirt. The strip mall is a mixture of private companies and retailers. The area in front is not well finished and is dirty, although photos do not show it. We walk through the small DHL office, clean but drab, and climb a small stair a few short flights to their flat. There we find a humbly and sparsely furnished and decorated large room, with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom through doors in the room. There is apparently an upstairs with another bedroom, and on leaving I saw a large patio on the upstairs floor. The bathroom like all in India it seems, is very utilitiarian; a marble floor, with a toilet, sink, and shower head over it all – no decoration or design. It seems that the people of India are so focussed on life itself, that the stuff of life in the west: decoration and quality, is just not important.

Onkarjot’s family is charming and intelligent from the youngest to the oldest. Despite Jag telling them we would only visit for an hour, they had not only arranged appetizers but also a complete meal. We were offered our choice of wine, scotch, or more juice to drink. We chose scotch and they brought out a bottle of Chivas Regal. Onkarjot, who is still in Canada in the Toronto area, is always in touch with his family by phone, email and internet chat. He had obviously been making our likes and dislikes known well ahead of our visit. Not only that, but he telephoned from Canada shortly after we arrived.

We were surprised to find this family, in the heart of the organic teaming life of India, so knowledgeable of our likes and dislikes and full of gratitude for our support during the short time Onkarjot was with us in Saskatoon.

BACKGROUND OF OUR HOSTS – JAG AND PAM (KAUR) TRANA

Over the week to date of our visit we have come to know more about our generous and gracious hosts. Jag and Pam have interesting backgrounds. The farm work on Jag’s farm was done by hired workers so Jag was free to study. At age 17, 1956, Jag graduated and began teaching Punjabi. Later he went away to college where he earned a Master’s degree in History, became a professor, had an arranged marriage with Pam and together they had two children. Pam’s parents were both teachers. She grew up in a large home where each of her six sisters and her brother had their own bedrooms. They were all well educated. Pam has also has a Masters degree in history. Her first degree, though, was in Phys Ed and she became a sports officer in New Delhi. Their children are now both very successful and living in the USA. Their daughter Aman, single, works in a senior role with the World Bank, and was recently appointed regional representative for India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. She is moving from the Washington headquarters of the World Bank to New Delhi. Their son Greg, is married with 2 children. He teaches at a community college. His wife Simran works for Dow Agriculture. Jag and Pam, and Greg and his wife all had arranged marriages.

This background sure puts a new light on the claims of my parents as I grew up – eat your food, people are starving in India. Of course people may have been starving in India, but the comment ignores the many millions who live much like we do in Canada.

THE SIKH GOLDEN TEMPLE IN AMRITSAR

Monday, October 5, Jag and Pam took us to Amritsar, another 5 hour drive for about 250 kms (the distance from Regina to Saskatoon), through the ever bustling, teaming, incessant life of India. Major highway construction activity seems to be taking place throughout India (according to Jag India has loans from the World Bank to improve infrastructure), so you might drive a short stretch on a beautiful 4 lane highway, and then be struggling through a 2 lane or gravel stretch. A problem in road building in India is that the land is valuable, like $3000 per acre, and in small cities it is easier to raise the highway over the teaming squalor of the city than to try to negotiate expropriation. These raised highways are built by the private sector. Often there is a short toll road, and since nothing is automatic, we encounter yet another line-up to pay. The highways are always full of cars, trucks, bikes, rickshaws, people, animals, and in rural areas, tractors and horse or buffalo drawn wagons. It never stops and the driver is incessantly weaving around the road to find the best path forward, honking, slowing, passing, and narrowly missing other vehicles. No wonder people hire their drivers here.

On the way we stopped for lunch in a beautifully constructed, decorated, and air conditioned restaurant, the Haveli. The theme was traditional Sikh living and dress. Displays were around the inside and outside, and the waiters wore traditional clothing. It was an oasis in a roaring sea.

Arriving in Amritsar around 2pm we wove through the congested streets looking for a new parking garage a friend had told Jag about, near the Golden Temple, stopping every so often to ask for directions, with the traffic behind immediately honking their frustration. There is no roadside at which to stop, just people everywhere in the street amoung the traffic; because the shops use up the sidewalk space to display their wares . Arriving near the parking garage we were met by the brother-in-law of a friend of Jag’s in their Mohali condo complex. We exited the car into the heat of the day as he escorted us, beggars at our heals, and the driver into the garage. Then we all walked over to the temple guest rooms which had also been arranged by Jag’s friend, the best ones available. Both couples had their own bedrooms with private bathrooms. After Jag paid for the rooms were led up a couple of flights of stairs, down a wide stark hallway to our rooms. On entering we found our rooms large, but stark and spartan. Our large double beds had a firm mattress with a dirty sheet on them, and the private bathroom was a concrete room with toilet, sink, water taps and bucket. Rose announced that she could not stay in the room because it was dirty and she had open sores from the Paris bed bugs. Once that situation was absorbed we went back to the entrance. They gave us our money back, and we headed back to the car, as always in the heat and incessantly bustling, dirty streets, squeezing through the traffic.

As we neared the parking garage we saw a hotel with large clean glass windows and doors, and even a bit of clean tiled sidewalk in front; the CityHeart Hotel. On entering we found it nicely air conditioned, clean marble floors, smartly dressed staff, and an oasis in this sea of dense human life. We asked if they had rooms and whether we could see them. ‘Of course’, they said and showed us what would be good 4star rooms in Canada: working showers, LED TV (grainy from poor satellite reception), large North American style soft beds with white cotton sheets, air conditioning, and beautifully decorated and designed. The teaming traffic noise below in the street was still there but muted. We took a two bedroom suite for the four of us, had a nice supper in the restaurant and breakfast the next morning for 6132 Rupees, ~$133. No bed bugs. Match that Paris!

To over simplify, and using the Lonely Planet and Wikipedia as resources, Amritsar (Population 1.5 million in 2007), was founded in 1577 by the fourth Sikh Guru, Ram Das, with permission of the Mugal Emporer Akbar (the Mughals from Northern China rulled much of the world for centuries). Back in the 15th century, ie the 1400s, around the time that Columbus discovered America, Guru Nanak, from Lahore in present day Pakistan, decided that the Hindu and Muslim religious practices were not appropriate. He started the Sikh religion, focussed on family life, hard work, sharing, and equality for all. Over the century’s various religious leaders and Maharajas built an amazing temple complex in Amritsar – the Golden Temple.

In the early 1980s a group of extremists intent on creating a Sikh homeland, by violence if necessary, occupied the Golden Temple. The government of the day, led by Indira Gandhi saw this as a pivotal time to stop the movement, and after long negotiations failed, attacked the temple with military force, destroying much of the temple, killing hundreds, and quelling the occupation. However, Sikhs were so enraged by this attack, that later in 1984 Indira Ghandi’s Sikh bodyguards killed her. The destruction has been completely repaired.

The temple is a remarkable place, visited by millions each year, and no money is requested. We had to remove our shoes, don head coverings (used ones were in a canister), walk through a pool of disinfectant (I hope), and then proceed toward the large marble walkway around a large sacred pool, maybe 100 yards square. As we walked in the evening the scene was serene, and filled with people. It is called Amrit Sarovar, pool of nectar, from which Amritsar gets is name. The main temple, covered in gold, is an inverted lotus flower, a symbol of the goal of a pure life, placed in the middle of the sacred pool, which can be visited by all. A causeway leads to the two story temple in which several priests chant continuously in Punjabi from the Sikh holy book. The chanting is broadcast through loudspeakers throughout the temple. We passed hundreds of people sleeping on a larger area of the marble walkway; they have no money and simply lay there to rest. Leaving the temple we passed a large kitchen/dining area, the Guru-Ka-Langar, in which visitors are offered a complete meal free.

According to the Lonely Planet, The original copy of the Sikh ‘bible’, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept in the temple and taken to and from the Sikh Parliament, the Akal Takhat, also heavily damaged during the army attack in 1984, each morning and evening. There is also a Sikh Museum, the Baba Atal Tower, part of the parliament building. We did not see these and many other sites given our short stay and the confusion and tension over the hotel rooms.

JALLIANWALLA BAGH

At breakfast on Tuesday the 5th, eaten in the nicely appointed eating area of the hotel overlooking the dirty grimy street below, we decided to cancel our visit to the changing of the guard between the Pakistan and India armies at the Wagah border crossing. It is apparently quite a spectacle as the two sides have developed macho rituals to show their discipline and power. The spectacle takes place at 4:30 in the afternoon so that would mean staying another night. Jag also had some business to transact on the way home. After breakfast we visited the nearby Jallianwala Bagh (Park). This is the site of a 1919 massacre of 2000 unarmed Indians by the British rulers of India, who feared protests asking for independence. The massacre became a pivotal event in history which led to India’s independence August 15, 1947. In the midst of a beautifully designed and maintained park, the story is told, graphically and with evidence and signs of how the, arrogant and powerful British occupiers of India slaughtered their helpless victims in a walled area were none could escape.

Many jumped into a large well in the area, now called the Martyrs’s Well, to escape the barrage of bullets mowing down everyone – 200 bodies were later removed from that pitiful site. As you look into it today the bottom looks like a cesspool of human blood.

After visiting the Jallianwalla Bagh we headed home, stopping at Jag’s HDFC bank in Ropar to conduct business. I was surprised to be able to take out money from the ATM there, so I took out 20,000 Rupees, giving 15,000 to Jag, $328 as a contribution to the cost of the rented Toyota Innova van and driver, about $50/day, during our stay.

Wednesday, October 7 we managed to convince Jag to leave as a day of rest, and to conduct personal business. The history of this nation seems to be one of the mass of humanity overcoming itself and all who would seek to rule it. As well plan to leave Chandigarh for Delhi tomorrow, we are eternally grateful for this experience of India. We have new respect for this densely populated bustling nation, a major part of the humanity of the world. We are humbled.