Goa

Goa, a seaside Indian state, is very different from the rest of India. It was colonized by the Portuguese, unlike the rest of the country, which was under the British rule, and the resulting differences in culture, religion, and architecture are very visible. The Portuguese ruled differently and tried to convert their colonies to Catholicism, while the British allowed their subjects to continue their current religious practices. The capital city of Goa, Panjim, has numerous old Catholic churches and cathedrals, most of which are still operating to serve Goa's numerous practicing Catholics. I have seen many old Catholic churches across Latin America, and those in Goa were among the oldest. One of the churches, the Bom Jesus Basilica, has the remains of St. Francis Xavier, a famous Catholic saint.


Our meetings were held at a lovely seaside resort that was literally right on the shore of the Arabian Sea and allowed several lovely walks on the beach during sunset. The meetings themselves were intense (we were working towards producing a training manual), but gathered people from the executive committee of the program that I work on, so the conversations, work, and cultural experiences were a lot of fun. This was a perfect site for a writing workshop like that.
Our resort

Sunset over Arabian Sea

Several funny things:
1) The resort where we stayed was full of...Russians!!! Apparently, Goa is a very popular destination for Russian tourists with direct charter flights from Moscow. My co-workers were remembering the Russian pilots at our hotel in Uganda (February 2007) and were joking that I have a Russian posse following me everywhere:). I'm very grateful to the Russian tourists at our hotel---because of them, the food was not very spicy and I could enjoy most of the meals. (And once again, the proof of my firm belief: there are Russians in every corner of this planet:)
2) On our sightseeing day in Panjim, our local collaborators wanted to give us a full Goan experience. (Goans are very lively and fun-loving people who like to eat and dance.) In the evening, we took a boat cruise on the Mandovi River---it turned out to be somewhat of a booze cruise, but instead of getting drunk, people were dancing to the Indian pop music like crazy, especially the men, who were having a great time despite not being able to dance with women (India is a very traditional sex-segregated country). It was hilarious to watch!
On the way back to the US through Mumbai and Amsterdam I learned that I can now fall asleep anywhere---I laid my head down on my hands at the Mumbai airport and fell asleep for a good hour while waiting for my 2am flight.

Agra

As it turned out, the Taj was not the only famous site to see in Agra, the city 2 hours north of Delhi. The Agra Fort, also known as the Red Fort, is a UNESCO World Heritage site about 2 km away from the Taj. It is a walled city where the Great Mughals lived with their numerous guards, wives, and concubines. In fact, it was one of the Mughals, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj in honor of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Later, he was imprisoned by his son in one of the towers at the Agra Fort that had a marble balcony with the view of the Taj. We toured the fort and learned a lot about the early history of India and the ruling Mughals.


Our next stop was a workshop and store where they make encrusted marble souvenirs in the same style as the Taj, which is a masterpiece made of white marble encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones (some rooms in the Agra Fort are made of marble as well). Making even the smallest jewelry box takes a long time. We were shown some bigger pieces made by the artisans---they were amazing!

Finally, the Taj. After going through some bustling and dirty streets and passing through extensive security (they even made me put my iPod in storage), we were immediately treated to a majestic view of the Taj Mahal, situated at the end of a walkway lined with canals.


Before going up to the Taj, we had to take off our shoes and stand in a pretty long line. Inside were the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shan Jahan. I also realized that the Taj is actually a collection of structures with minarets and gardens of traditional Persian style, which took about 21 years to build, and what is typically referred to as the Taj Mahal is the actual mausoleum with the tombs. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the mausoleum, but could get some more close-up shots of the exterior and other structures.


Full of impressions, we went back to Delhi, stopping by a famous temple of Krishna, one of Indian gods, allowing me a chance to see a real Hindu temple.
One more shot of the Taj, reflecting in the water

The next morning on the way to the airport the driver took me around Delhi to see the famous India Gate and the beautiful Houses of Parliament (unfortunately, I had to snap the pictures from inside the car so they didn't turn out very well).
India Gate

Back to India

Even though I had previously traveled to India, I was only able to visit Bangalore, the site of our workshop in April 2007. This time, the meetings I was coming for were going to be held in Goa, but I could get a flight through New Delhi, which offered a unique opportunity to visit one of the seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal. I decided to take the opportunity and was rewarded by a once-in-a-lifetime experience of this majestic palace.