Year: 2008

The train slowly screeched to a stop and passengers scurried through the narrow isles to disembark. We have survived the 18-hour train ride from Bundi to Agra. Traveling through Rajasthan for the last three weeks we have finally come to see the most extravagant monument ever built for love, the Taj Mahal.

It’s early morning and unseasonably cold when we exit the busy train station. The moment we step outside the game is on again. We are instantly swarmed by eager guides, rickshaw drivers and other vendors, all wanting a piece of us. Being a bit experienced by now, we quickly negotiate a fare with a rickshaw driver and his son. As we head into the busy maze of traffic, the cool air whips against our cold faces and through the cloudy sky the grand Taj Mahal begins to appear. On cue, the driver and his son pull the rickshaw over for a better view. Even from a distance, you cannot help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer beauty.

Our driver offers to take us to a special place to get a different view of the architectural masterpiece.  We agree and a half hour later we leave our driver behind and start walking down a dusty road. The path opens up to the vast farmland and we notice the other side of Taj Mahal separated by the Yamuna river.

This is a place void of the many merchants and hordes of tourist, a place where the locals live of the land, a place where the children run carelessly. Unlike many other kids, they are uninterested in the token piece of candy and we are surprised not to hear their “One photo please!”. The boys are running through the barren land, flying their kites, the girls chasing one another.

We keep walking along the river and watch the buffalos wading through the water, women washing clothes, older boys tending to their goats.  We take in the daily life on the other side of the river with the Taj Mahal looming just a few feet away against the whitewashed sky.

It’s refreshing to hear the children’s laughter as they dart all around us. Their happiness overpowers the sense of despair we have felt traveling throughout Rajasthan.