Cows are honored by Hindus as a symbol of unselfish giving (labor, milk, and fuel for cooking and heating).
Their belief is respected by others in India.
That means cows can be seen everywhere in towns and along the highways.
The pictures on these pages
are the
result of the combined efforts of the
photographers who agreed to share their pictures.
Their
contributions are very much appreciated since we each captured our own
unique view of the trip.
My sincere thanks to Don
Fischer,
Dorota Kotowska, Patricia
McCleaf, and Don Sledz.
A small
Hindu temple
and a goddess on
her lion vehicle.
I would have said this was Durga because of the lion but she is usually
represented with many arms.
These
donkeys were
resting but were
ready to carry clay, cement or bricks for a construction company.
The guys riding on the roof of the bus were there because no one else
would fit inside.
Entertainers
were
often seen at lunch
stops and places where checks were required as we went from one state
to
another.
More
views from the
bus as we passed
through towns.
Stands selling little packets of tobacco and/or offering phone service.
Where the road was being widened from two to four lanes some houses
were partially demolished.
These people were scavenging bricks and loading them on a tricycle.
The Taj
Mahal, built
by Emperor Shah
Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife Mumtaj Mahal who died giving
birth to their 14th child.
The first picture shows the entry gate.
Our
first views of
the Taj.
Some
details.
The
entry gate as
seen from from the Taj.
Some
other tourists.
As the
sun sets.
The
entrance to
Agra's Red Fort with
monkeys guarding the drawbridge over the dry moat around it.
Inside
were massive
walls and towers
inlayed with stone mosaics.
Did you see the monkey on the tower in the first picture?
Much of
the inside
of the fort is filled
with gardens.
The
Emperor Shah
Jahan spent the last
years of his life here under what amounted to house arrest.
From this rooms he could see the Taj Mahal.
When we visited the view was poor because of air pollution.
I am sure that in the mid 17th century that wasn't nearly as big a
problem.
A
panoramic view of
the central area of
the fort.
Akbar's
Tomb
These
monkeys were
in the garden that
surrounds the tomb.
As were
these
antelope.
Fatephur
Sikri, the
deserted city.
Between 1570 and 1585, during the rein of Emperor Akbar this was the
capital of the Mughal Empire.
Because the emperor had no male heir he made a pilgrimage to a saint
who lived here.
The saint foretold the birth of Akbar's son and
Akbar then transferred the capital to this site and built the city.
The city was eventually abandoned due to difficulty with the
water supply.
An
amazing place
with even more
restoration in progress.
We
stopped at a shop
were we watched the
crafting of tables inlayed with semiprecious stones.
The design layout is drawn on a brown coating on the marble top.
It is then incised in the surface.
The
stones are
shaped on hand powered
grinding wheels and placed together to test the fit.
The
result can be a
six by eight foot
table covered with intricate designs.
If you have to ask the price there is no way you can't afford it.
Go to
our page about Delhi,
Agra,
Jaipur, Kathmandu,
Khokana,
Mount
Everest,
saris
See other places we have
visited here.
E-mail Nancy
and
Alan