PHOTOBOMBING AT THE TAJ

We arose early to begin a painful long journey by road to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Our travel plan called for us travelling along a modern expressway to Agra. A trip which would have been an easy three hours. But the expressway was closed due to fog as there were just too many collisions. So we went on the old road – four long hours through monochromatic dirty countryside of beeping and weaving in and out of traffic.

The Taj Mahal has been photographed millions of times and everyone knows what it looks like so I didn’t bother trying to photograph it.

Nevertheless it’s probably one of the most photographed palaces in the world and all visitors want a photo of themselves in front of the monument. So I decided that my challenge at the Taj would be to get a great photo bomb. After a few failed attempts (Joseph wasn’t quick enough with the camera) I found the perfect challenge. Two young men were holding up their arms to frame the Taj. I quickly handed the camera to Joseph and landed in place for the photo bomb. Joseph fired off a few frames just as the photographer was. I watched long enough for the three young men to review their photo in their camera but by the time they noticed the photobomber in their photo I was long gone.

I have seen many photos of the Taj from a distance and seeing it in real life was pretty much as I envisioned it. But I really didn’t know what it looked like up close so I approached and touched the Taj with great interest. The story of the stone inlay work is particularly interesting. The architects of the Taj knew it would take a generation to build and complete and would require highly specialised skilled labour. So they would only hire craftsmen in their late teens or early 20s to ensure that they could continue working on the Taj for 20+ years. The techniques they developed for the stone inlay work were particularly well developed and the actual glue used for the inlaid work followed a recipe as closely guarded as Colonel Sanders or Coca Cola’s recipe.

The recipe for the glue for the inlaid work was only passed down through male descendants. Today after 18 generations, descendants of those original craftsmen still do stone inlay work. We visited a centre where these descendants produce inlaid work.

Working with stone inlay is ridiculously tedious and tiny pieces of coloured rock are precisely ground down to an exact shape and placed in a design.

We had a look at some of the stone inlay products which were quite impressive and very expensive due to the high degree of labour required to make the pieces.

I didn’t even try to get a great photo of the Taj. There were just too many people and we were there around mid-day and the light was crappy. If I wanted a nice pic, it would have been easier to buy a post card. Instead I just enjoyed watching other people shoot their snaps. Our guide however did insist we take a few pics of us posing in front of the Taj so we do have photos to prove we were there. 

We have now seen of one the seven wonders of the modern world (depending on which list you agree with). The Taj certainly is magnificent and an awe-inspiring sight to behold. Most people would agree that you can’t go to India and not see the Taj. I’m not sure that I’m one of those persons.

Many years ago I lost interest in traditional sightseeing. By the time I was in my late 20s I had seen enough palaces, castles, ruins, paintings and other man-man structures to convince me that there have been many gifted architects, engineers and artists in the history of man. Since then most of my subsequent trips have been that of a cultural traveller where I have taken a greater interest in immersing myself in the present way of life of the people I have visited rather than trying to take in the sights which the tour books rate as a ‘must see’. I also much prefer to see the natural wonders of the world as I never tire of seeing the great non-man made creations in nature, including this Indian chipmunk we saw at the Taj.

In this trip we have very much been the cultural traveller and plunged head first into the Indian culture and have lived for two weeks with family and have grown to understand and love the culture of India. Has that enriched our lives? No doubt about it.

I’m glad I finally got to see the Taj and even more happy that Xander and Joseph got to see first hand one of the wonders of the world. Are our lives enriched now because we have seen it in person and have touched it? I guess they are. But would I have had regrets if I had gone to India and not seen the Taj? I don’t think so.