Taj Mahal

We left Varanasi and took an overnight train to Agra. There are no words to describe the trip to the train station, so I won't even try. I've almost become immune to the harrowing traffic conditions and thousands of near misses and look almost as bored as the locals when riding. Almost.

The overnight train was a blast! We had berths with 4 and 6 bunks, depending on the car we happened to land in. We all gathered in one 4 bunk berth and played ukelaile and cello and sang for 3 or 4 hours. I even sung a solo improv verse about being on a train to Nirvana. We have the most amazing people in our group and that was the most fun I think I've ever had. After a night of gently rocking, we got to Agra mid morning, checked into our hotel, had a delicious breakfast (I love fruit lassis!!!) and chilled for the afternoon. We had heard sunset was the best time to see the Taj, so we made plans to do that. The Taj is in a no pollution zone and cars aren't allowed, so we took the last bit of the journey in single axle horse drawn carts. Just when I thought I'd been in every conceivable type of conveyance...

The Taj Mahal has the most delicious energy! When I took my shoes off and stepped on the stone it was humming. The love, anguish, and devotion is palpable. The grounds are gorgeous and even though they say no photography, everyone was taking pictures. I took a lot of pictures myself and we got one of the roving photographers to take a group shot and some individual shots. The group shot turned out really good, I'll be posting a shot of it when I get home.

We sat and chanted on the terrace outside the tomb and watched a gorgeous sunset. We chanted a Sufi chant and a group of Muslims came up and talked. The people were so very friendly. There were Muslims and Hindus and Westerners and everyone seemed happy.

Some of us then put our hands on the building and the energy increased. It was alive! Then we went inside. I went in and then came out and was speechless. I still can't describe the feeling that overwhelmed me. Wow.

The tomb is circular with the grave mounds in the middle. Amy, a friend in our group, was already inside toning about 1/3 of the way around when I went back in. The acoustics are phenomenal in there and it sounded like a choir of angels. A few of us walked around to her and joined her. The guards like everyone to keep moving clockwise, but we sat and toned for a while. It was magical.

All of a sudden several guards rushed up holding sticks and blowing their whistles and told us to move on. We went outside and it was dark. We all sat on the terrace again and talked. I lay back on the stone and just let the vibration have it's way with me. After a while we decided as a group we'd do one final chant and leave, as it was about to close. We decided to do another Sufi chant, as the Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim. We got about 2/3 of the way through the word Allah, our 10 voices all melded beautifully into one, when lots of giant flashlights and whistles came out of nowhere. We were surrounded by guards shouting No Prayer! No Prayer!

Oops.

It's totally understandable, prayer can be divisive and cause major issues. We were just trying to honour the space though and the guards were totally cool when they figured out we were harmless. It was quite the rush though.

I'm glad we went. I originally thought it was not worth the two days of grueling travel to get there and then move on to Rishikesh the very next day, but it was so worth it. It's not something I will ever forget.