Ranthambore and Agra: Tigers and a love story

No trip is perfect. We went to the famed Ranthambore Tiger Park at 6 a.m. in a cantor, a large, open topped jeep. Our little safari group included some Japanese folks, a cute Indian family, 2 Dutch anthropology students, and a crazy Eastern European lady who kept standing up and waiving her arms around. It just so happens that tigers only attack people in cantors when they stand up and waive their arms around so, lucky for her and unlucky for us, we never saw a tiger. The most exciting moment of the safari was a three-way tie between spotting an owl, seeing some tiger paw-prints, and having a magpie land on our dashboard. This was not the tigers’ fault. They were poached for hundreds of years before they became a protected species. Then, in 2008, it was discovered that park officials were being bribed so the poaching could continue. This has caused the tiger population to dwindle down to 32. We were so bummed that the only thing that could possibly cheer us up was seeing the most beautiful building in all the world. So, we got back in the car with a hung-over Phool Singh and headed to Agra to see the Taj.

Believe the hype. The Taj Mahal is spectacular. If you haven’t been yet, go write “GO TO THE TAJ MAHAL” on your bucket list right this second. Not only is it one of the man-made wonders of the world, it symbolizes a truly fantastic love story. Cue the piano music and release the doves…So, one of the most acclaimed Mughal Emperors, Shah Jahan, had three wives which turned out to be two too many. He didn’t care for wife one or three, but number two, Mumtaz Mahal, was the love of his life, and they made Jon and Kate look like total amateurs by having 14 children. But, like all good love stories, something really sad happened. The renowned beauty Mumtaz died in childbirth, and Shah Jahan had a complete meltdown. He bailed on his imperial duties and went into hiding for a year, leaving his daughter Jahanara, the Mughal Hilary Clinton, to run the show behind the scenes. He also left his son, Aurangzeb, who had a fondness for conquering neighboring countries and discriminating against Hindus, unsupervised. Shah Jahan finally came out of hiding and did something constructive with his sadness, building the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his beloved wife. It took 22 years to build, cost $60 million dollars (in 1653!), and it was worth every rupee. Rudyard Kipling said it was “the embodiment of all things pure” and Shah Jahan wrote the following lines about his creation:

Should guilty seek asylum here, like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.

Should a sinner make his way to this mansion, all his past sins are to be washed away.

The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sights, and the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.

In this world this edifice has been made, to display thereby the creator's glory.

I am not going to try to linguistically compete with guy who created Mowgli and an emperor so just check out the link below for pictures.

Next we are off to the train station for a 14-hour ride southwest to Mumbai, the city formerly known as Bombay. I wish I had packed an Acela in my backpack.