We need a steamer

Last week we had a party and our new Nepalese housekeeper and her husband were going to cook the meal including momos - a type of dumpling originally from Nepal and Tibet. "Ma'am, to make momos for that many people we need a steamer." Last time they had to use the old colander-in-a-pan-that-almost-fits trick. Well, obviously this home-made contraption would not be near enough sufficient for the upcoming culinary challenge.
The driver was summoned and off we went, Om and I, on a hunt for the appropriate utensil. The car took us into the lesser explored part of town known as Old Gurgaon, on the other side of the road - Sector 15. 

On slightly shaky legs I stepped out of the comfort of the airconditioned car and followed Om down a road flanked with shops selling everything from the ever present small bags of crisps, attached to each other in seemingly endless rows, to plastic containers in all sizes, shapes and colours, cheap t-shirts with various messages, screw drivers, religious paraphernalia and baby shoes. Oh, don't forget the sweets!

The noise level was amazing and I instantly regretted having left my ear plugs behind. 

We soon realized the source of the level of decibel - there was some kind of festival going on. "There is one every Thursday, ma'am." How convenient that gods managed to have birthdays or whatever reason for celebration on Thursdays - makes it easier to remember. 
A never ending stream of marching bands and floats, either carried or pulled by some animals paraded down the narrow street making it almost impossible to pass. As always there were motorbikes trying to squeese past, their owners never dissuaded from anything really. A lot of them have installed a proper car horn to make themselves known as they slalom between rikshaws, pigs, pedestrians, pot holes, camels, lorries, cows, cars, and whatever else you find in the streets.

I desperately tried to keep up with my guide, or, as I soon started to think of him, my body guard. Being a person of short persuasion, that was not an easy task and I found myself being surprisingly relieved every time he reappeared in my view after having been lost for a few minutes.

Om and I actually found that the fastest way forward was in the middle of the street among brass instruments, drums and ... bag pipes?

The "musicians" very bravely blew in banged up pieces of metal, occasionally cooling them down with water from their bottles, undoubtedly each playing their own song of choice in multiple keys simultaneously, but that did not seem to bother anyone at all. I suspect most of them must have been rather hard of hearing already.

How these poor cows could stride down their path heads held high without flinching in all the racket is beyond me.

And, as we all know, brass instruments do not carry sound enough, so loudspeakers are a must. 

Om was happy, he was on a quest for the best steamer Sector 15 could produce. At one point he suddenly turned to me and smiled, profusely apologizing for his hair style of the day - "who has not had a bad hair day?" I told him, but that did not seem to be a concept for him.

We found a shop owner who proudly presented us with a very shiny three tier steamer for 850 rs, but I sensed the chef was not absolutely convinced, so there was no other choice but to tackle the pandemonium outside yet again. 

We pushed further down the lane. Before long we spotted a shop with kitchen utensils. I thought I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Om diving in past a very sourly looking owner, but I was not sure. Suddenly he was gone, vanished into thin air. I stopped for a moment at the entrance to said shop to contemplate my options while trying to protect my ears, taking pictures and staying out of the sun - I had my phone on me, or? Yes, I could feel it in my bag, pew! - so I could always call the driver, but would I be able to make myself heard? We had not made any turns, so the car would be at the end of the street. If that did not work, maybe the SOS-number the insurance company had provided in case of emergency? Hmmm. How could I explain that I was stuck between sousaphones and cows in a religious parade in Sector 15 to someone sitting in the peace and tranquility of Vevay, Switzerland? Best not. It could be a long time before whatever institution they'd put me in would release me again.
My temporary conundrum vanished as quickly as it had arisen when Om suddenly reappeared from the back of the shop through a cloud of dust raising an aluminium steamer over his head in triumph.

Now, there is a happy and content consumer. He very meticulously examined every square millimetre and had them exchange one of the knobs that was a little loose fitting. "Only 700 Rs, ma'am!" We'll take it.

Yet another mission succesfully accomplished in Incredible India

P.S. The party was a success and the momos definitely worth the adventure in Sector 15. A big thank you to Om, my hero, and to Durga of course.
Yeah, I forgot to take a picture of the momos!

A magical night in Patan

On our way from Gurgaon to Jaipur we broke off the journey in a small village called Patan, which dates back to the 12th century. Two rooms had been booked for us at Patan Mahal, and we expected to find a hotel, albeit one that used to be the home of a Rajput, but that was a long time ago. Oh boy, we were all completely gobsmacked ... that is, when we finally found the place. Note to self: go in a jeep next time.

The main entrance with a view of the garden outside.

Stepping through the door left us in an open courtyard, which serves as a lobby and reception. The architecture is designed to let a breeze through everywhere to keep you cool, well, less hot, during the summer months.

We were shown to our rooms on third floor via a sloping passage rather than stairs, which, in the days of the Raj, would have allowed guests and residents to be carried up by horse. We walked.

This is from patanmahal.com
"In 2005, the current scion of the family, Digivijay Singh, decided that it was time to return. He spent the next five years lovingly restoring the palace and grounds to their former glory.
Along the way, he took a concious decision not to carve out more rooms, and retained the old, large and airy rooms. The period furniture showcases the skill and expertise of the Rajasthani artisan. Beautiful paintings on the wall and roofs have been carefully restored. The nooks and crannies have been retained, and many rooms contain surprises — there is the room with a trapdoor, and there is more than one room with little doors and staircases that lead into the turrets, the kind of spaces that a writer or artist looking to escape the world will love."


Personally, I would have settled for the bathroom alone! Simply gorgeous.

It was announced that dinner was served, and eventually we did manage to find our way back down and to the back yard, where a table was put right in the middle just for us. Turned out we were the only guests in the whole place.

Excuse the poor quality - Nokia is brilliant, but still lacks a little when it comes to night time picture taking.

After a fantastic meal with a nice glass of wine under a clear Rajastani night sky, we decided to take coffee up on the roof terrace. Yepp, that table right there. An enchanted evening in the very welcome silence of Patan sipping coffee under the stars.

This is what the roof terrace looks like in daylight.

The black and white marble floor together with all the small turrets and arches make for a superbly luxurious and slightly unreal feel. The backdrop is the Aravalli hills.

Breakfast room ... and a half! Beautifully restored to its former glory.

We could not bring ourselve to leave straight after breakfast, so we opted for a couple of hours of relaxation by the pool before embarking on the rest of the journey to the very busy, noisy and dusty city of Jaipur - the next stop on this action packed weekend trip.

 Everything in and around the pool is made of marble.

The steps are designed so that you can sit at different levels in the pool all around it  - no doubt to be able to stay in the water all day just to prevent overheating.

 We especially enjoyed the elephant shower.

A beautiful Saturday morning in the shade and complete silence with a good book - bliss!

A large flight of birds repeatedly tried to settle down on the building, but an eagle was patiently circling above, so they kept on the move in different formations. It was almost like watching an air show!

Well, we did have an appointment with a guide in Jaipur in the afternoon, so we bid our good-byes and promised ourselved we will be back again after the worst of the summer heat. If you would like to join us for a weekend in paradise à la Patan, do let us know.

 After a quick look in their gardens - they grow most of the what they need themselves - we were off.

Yet another glimps of Incredible India!

The deed is done - Taj Mahal, check

"Let the splendor of diamond, pearl, and ruby vanish
like the magic shimmer of the rainbow.
Only let this one tear-drop, this Tajmahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever"

~By Rabindranath Tagore (translated by Kshitish Roy) from One Hundred and One Poems by Rabindranath Tagore. Full poem 


On June 17th 1631 Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, died while giving birth to their fourteenth child in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh. Thereafter, Shah Jahan spent more than twenty years building the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife. (source)

However, there are differing theories in this matter. The facts just don't add up between the different sources of information about Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal according to one blogger, who seems to have done a lot of research. He points to some discrepancies and suggests that Shah Jahan had a rather substantial number of mistresses (of all walks of life, they only had to be beautiful) whereof one was indeed his own daughter and that he built the Taj Mahal out of guilt when Mumtaz died.

The author/playwrite/expert in international affairs Dilip Hiro suggests in his play Shah Jahan-o-Mumtaz that all was not well in the lovers' paradise and questions the motive behind the building of the Taj.

"Taj Mahal Architecture :
Built entirely in white marble, its a fusion of Mughal, Persian and Islamic architecture style. The entire architectural complex mainly consists of Darwaja or gateway, garden, Masjid or mosque, mausoleum. The actual tomb is situated inside the Taj. With a hight of 213 feet, its central dome is 58 feet in diameter. It has four subsidiary domed chambers and four minarets with 162.5 feet at each corner. There is an octagonal tower at the centre with a central hall and four smaller halls grouped around it. Taj Mahal is a two storied structure and its walls are decorated with exquisite inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious and semi-precious stones."

After 360 days in India (who can believe it!) we have now finally been to see one of the wonders of the world, which really is only around the corner ... well, with Indian standards anyway. I did not have any expectations, or, well, I don't know what expectations I had, but it really is all it is said to be ... and more! Look at the picture on top - the building looks like it is photo shopped in, and it looks like that in real life as well! Unbelieavable.

I took this picture walking through a gate, as did a million other people .... When I transferred the picture to the computer Taj Mahal was gone! I had to edit the picture by taking the light down 50% before it  reappeared :-) As big and heavy as it is, I still lost it - a magnificent elusive marble wonder.

"Taj Gateway - The main gate is built in red sandstone and stands 30 mt high. The walls of the gate are inscribed with verses from the Koran in Arabic. In the centre of the gateway, there is a platform from where tourists can capture the Taj on film. Originally the door of the gateway was made of solid silver and there were letters inscribed on it."

Our guide was telling us that the inlay in the red sandstone is black and white marble and that this pattern is very old. It looks modern and retro to me! Goes to show ...

Excerpts from the Quran surround the gate and to make it look the same size all around, the letters increase in size little by little the higher they are. Isn't that just amazing? Although, I suppose I should not be surprised - if they could build something as fantastic as this they were of course very bright people.

 The door that was once all covered with silver.

 Inside the beautiful floral decorations continue.

 

Like a big, fluffy meringue floating in the garden.

There are 4 pillars, one in each corner of the platform on which Taj Mahal stands. They all lean 2 degrees away from the mausoleum. Why? This is very clever, I think anyway - the idea is, that in case of an earth quake the pillars would fall into the garden and not on the building!

"Taj Mausoleum - From the garden the visitors climb on to a huge red sandstone platform over a meter high. A double stair case takes the visitors to a marble platform of about 95m square, which is the only way to reach the tomb. Each side of the central structure or the mausoleum is 56.6 m long with a large central arch. The main chamber contains the duplicate tombs of Mumtaj and Shah Jahan which are surrounded by decorated marble screens"

Absolutely every square inch is decorated with something or other.

It is not allowed to take pictures inside the mausoleum, but you can go here to see what we saw inside - replicas of the tombs. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are actually buried below, where nobody is allowed. This is presumably what they looked like while they were alive.

"The main gateway of the Taj Mahal is one of the five main elements of this magnificent monument. Adorned with Hindu motifs, the Taj gateway is a tall niche doorway in the shape of an ogival arch that rises till the mid-height of the structure. With a vertical symmetry, the main gateway of Taj Mahal stands bordered with Arabic calligraphy of verses from the Quran, made up of black stone. An optical illusion is brilliantly at play here as the size of the letters has been increased in such a way that it all seems consistent all over the arch from top to bottom. It was done by gradually increasing the size of the letters in a pre-calculated manner as their distance from the eye increased. Also, part of this gateway are octagonal towers that stand on the corners and are surmounted with broad and open domed kiosks and a heavy door made up of eight different metals at the base that are adorned with knobs." (source)
Some details of the stunning decorations of the main gate.

Taj Mahal is flanked by a red building like the one in the picture below.
"Taj Mosque - To the west of the Taj is a mosque made of red sandstone and is used for Friday prayers. An identical mosque is also built to the right of the Taj and is known as Jawab (answer). It was built to maintain symmetry. This cannot be used for prayers as it faces away from Mecca, the Islamic holy place."

Behind the Taj Mahal the holy river of Yamuna makes its leisurely way on to join the Ganges eventually.

There are so many amazing and beautiful things to see in every direction! Both here ...

 ... and there!

 

"Taj Garden - Taj gardens were designed by Ali Mardan Khan, one of the nobles of Shah Jahan's court. These were laid out by Persian garden plan style. The entire area of Taj complex is 580m by 300m and out of which the gardens alone consists an area of 300m by 300m. The fountains and running water channels are supplied with water from a set of reservoirs which are atop the rooms in the garden walls."

This magnificent garden houses a lot of beautiful species to go with the rest of the splendor.

Oh, sorry... This is what I meant to show you.

"This magnificent monument of love (or is it?) was built by the great Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal. Its construction was started in 1632 and completed at the and of 1648. It was designed by Ustad Ahmed Lahauri and was completed in 22 years by the hard labour of 20000 crafts men and at a cost of 32 million rupees. Its now famous as one of the seven wonders of the world and listed as a world heritage monument by UNESCO." (source)

The compulsory tourist pictures were of course taken. We need proof, mostly for ourselves. Yes, we have been there, really. Really, really.

On our way out we had to sit down and just be quite and take it all in, well, try to. We were not the only ones. This group of beautifully colourful people caught my eye. I did not have the courage to take a picture of them from the front ...

Getting arty ...

I think we might have to let it all sink in and then go back to appreciate it even more. Does anyone want to join us?

P.S. We had a rental car, but that is not the only way to approach this truly awesome place.