Agra and Fatehpur Sikri

So I finally made it to the Taj Mahal four weeks into my second visit to India. It's huge, impressive, and beautiful, but for me was cer
tainly anti-climatic. I really enjoyed visiting it, but after all the hype about it being so amazing and this great testament tolove it didn't quite live up to my personal expectations for it.

It is certainly an interesting exercise in symmetry. For example, on one side of the Taj Mahal there is a mosque and on the other is an identical building that is there to ensure symmetry. Interestingly enough the only thing that is not symmetrical in the entire complex are the cenotaphs in the center of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for his favorite wife and her cenotaph is exactly in the middle of the building. Years later, when Shah Jahan died, his usurping son had him buried beside his beloved wife, thus destroying the symmetry.

As in Agra is the Agra Fort, where Shan Jahan lived out his final eight years, as the prisoner of his son. Agra Fort is still used as a fort by Indian military forces so much of it is off limits for visitors. However, it is possible to visit the old palaces within the fort. The palaces are extensive and beautiful. The fort is situated down the river from the Taj Mahal so it is possible to see it from the river side of the fort. This is said to have been Shah Jahan's sole consolation during his imprisonment. There are also huge buildings to house the harem and the largest bathtub I have ever seen. The fort is mostly made of red sandstone, but the buildings where Shah Jahan lived while imprisoned are made of white marble - clearly his favorite building material.

My favorite part of the day was visiting Fatehpur Sikir. Fatehpur Sikri is about 40km away from Agra and is the location of the capital of the Mughal Empire, under Emperor Akbar, from 1571 to 1585 when it was abandoned due to a lack of water. The capital was moved here in honor of Sufi saint Saikh Salim Chisti, who had predicted that Akbar would finally have a son on one of Akbar's pilgrimages to visit the saint.

The complex of audience halls, palaces, and a mosque are all made of red sandstone. The work is absolutely exquisite. The complex is in the Persian style and took 15 years to plan and build - one year longer than it was actually used as the capital. Among the buildings are the Diwan-i-Am, the public audience hall, and the Diwan-i-Khas, the private audience hall.

There is also the Panch Mahal, Akbar's residence.

There were also three palaces, one each for Akbar's Muslim, Christian, and Hindu wives. His Hindu wife was his favorite and the one who bore the foreseen son. On the left is part of the Christian wife's palace, and on the right is the Hindu wife's.

Just outside the walls of the palace is the Fatehpur Sikri Jama Masjid. It is home to a shrine to the Sufi saint Shaik Salim Chisti. It also has, according to our guide the highest arch in Asia. It's a pretty stunning complex. We enjoyed our visit largely because at the last Jama Masjid we visited we were rudely kicked out after being required to pay an entrance fee. Neither of those things happened here.

The shrine is the white marble building in the background. Here are two photos of the arch. One from outside. It was so big it was difficult to get in one photo, especially on burning hot stones. Next there's a photo of me my co-intern Melanie with the inside of the arch behind us.

Gender in India

A few days ago my father sent me a Wall Street Journal book review of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men by Mara Hvistendahl*. This book is about the systemic biases against girls in countries such as China and India. In addition, I have recently seen a PSA in the metro reminding women that it is illegal to find out the gender of a child in utero in India and a news article in one of the national newspapers about prosecution of doctors for performing sex change operations on infant girls. In the midst of working for Indian women I am being reminded of how difficult it can be to be female here – sometimes even before birth.

In his review of Unnatural Selection Jonathan V. Last states that Hvistendahl writes about advertisements in India for abortions on the grounds that it is better to spend Rs. 500 now – on a sex test on a fetus – than Rs. 5,000 later for a dowry. Hvistendahl makes the claim that an improper balance of the sexes (she claims that naturally there should be 104 males for each 100 females) leads to an increase in violence. Apparently there are a lot of statistics that back up this contention and the review states that, in India, the best predictor of violence in a given area is sex ratio. I suppose given this it’s not surprising that the instance of violence against one SEWA’s members happened. With thoughts of gender related feticide, infanticide, and plastic surgery on my mind the research into the laws, but as they are written and how they are actually in effect, is both less shocking and more outrageous.

For me it is both shocking and very disturbing that this problem still exists and that, according to Hvistendahl, still is prevalent in higher, educated classes. I find that shocking in a country that is home to impressive women like Indira Gandhi, Ela Bhatt, Renana Jhabvala, and, for example, the mother of a friend, who used to be the Post Master General of India. How is it that in a country that respects these women parents are still so desperate for boy children that they will have their young daughters surgically made into boys?

This week I visited two different Sufi shrines. The first was the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, where I went to hear the Qawwalis. Following the advice of my India guidebook I went at dusk and stayed through what I know think was only evening prayers. I went with Melanie and despite now knowing that we missed the Qawwali we had a good time and made a new friend, Hiba. She was there with her mother, sister, and husband. They welcomed us and shared their food with us. I wish we’d known at the time that we were missing out on the main event because it would have been interesting to get to know them better.

At least we saw the shrine. Once we got there it was incredibly beautiful, but walking through the windy pathway to get there was one of the most depressing experiences I’ve had here in Delhi. The beggars and the display of uncleanliness and hunger were very difficult to see. So far that neighborhood has been by far the worst poverty that I have actually walked through here. The scene inside was very different with dozens of families gathered with offerings and mini meals to sit and enjoy the Qawwalis.

The shrine was very beautiful, but I was disappointed that women were not allowed into the shrine itself. This surprised me at a Sufi shrine, but I learned a few days later that this is not the case at all Sufi shrines. For some reason there is a history of excluding women here. There were many men who entered to make offerings of flowers and cloth coverings for the tomb.

The second Sufi shrine I saw was in Fatehpur Sikri at the Jama Masjid. Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of Akbar’s empire for only 14 years, but Akbar initially moved the capital to FatehpurSikri because of the Sufi saint now buried there. The Sufi saint, Shaikh Salim Chishti, is buried in a white marble tomb in the central courtyard of the Jama Masjid. At this shrine women are allowed in to see and pray directly at the tomb. We went in a saw it. Melanie and I had also been given red and yellow threads to tie through the jalis of the tomb. When you tie the thread you can make up to three wishes because Shaikh Salim Chishti is believed to grant wishes because he foresaw Akbar’s wish for a son coming true. The shrine and the rest of the mosque were incredibly beautiful.

The mosque features what our guide described as the tallest arch in all of Asia. It was about 54m high. I ran out onto the piping hot red sandstone to get a picture of the whole arch. It’s so big it was impossible to get the entire thing in one photo – especially while my feet felt like they were completely on fire. Almost as scary as permanent damage to my feet from the hot stone was the incredible amount of bee nests that are present at the FatehpurSikri Jama Masjid. Not only were there quite a few to be seen in the arched entrances, but also they were really rather large. I am not usually scared of that sort of thing, but in the intense heat it made me nervous to think about how well attached they were and how much speed one would pick up if it were to fall. Luckily we didn’t find out from first hand experience.

Pictures/Map

I have a lot more picture up on my Facebook page than I am able to share here. While some of you may be on Facebook and therefore have access to my albums, others of you do not. For those of you who have avoided the pull of Facebook here are links to my various photo albums.

Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri: click here

Delhi, Part the Second: click here

Internship with SEWA: click here

Trip to Ahmedabad (Amdavad): click here

Delhi, Part the First: click here

Kashmir

For many years now I have wanted to go to Kashmir, particularly to Srinagar. I was encouraged to pursue other plans for my two weeks of traveling so initially I did so. Then I met someone from a small town near Srinagar on Saturday and within an hour we'd planned a trip for me and I'd gone and bought it. I do not yet have my tickets in my hand, which of course makes me really nervous, but I am very excited for this trip. Luckily I have a contract with the company that I was able to book everything through and I've read the Indian Contract Act of 1872 so I feel a bit better about it. Two weeks from today I will have already had the pleasure of spending an afternoon floating around Dal Lake taking in the views and the history.

Besides seeing Srinagar I am going to head out to a small village and do some day treks into the mountains from there. I cannot wait to be in mountains and hear a river that actually has water in it. It was an impulse purchase, but one I am super thrilled about.

Mosques and Temples of Amdavad

The Mosques - Sidi Saiyad’s, Bai Harir’s, and Sidi Bashir Mosques

Melanie and I visited three small mosques while in Ahmedabad. The first was easy to find as it was across the street from our hotel. The second we happened upon by accident when visiting a step well. The third we only found after much confusion, bad directions, and an argument with a rick driver. Each in its own way was spectacular.

Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque is small, but stunning. It features tree of life motif jalis that are breathtaking. It was built by an Abyssinian, who was in the service of Rumi Khan, around 1572. He died four years later and is buried within the mosque grounds. With the exception of the jalis it is very simple, which makes them stand out even more.

Bai Harir’s mosque is tucked away behind the Dada Hari step well on the outskirts of Amdavad. We not only got to see the mosque, but the caretaker took us to the top roof. It was also quite small, but stylistically similar to the neighboring step well. Both were built within a few years of each other. On the grounds of the mosque was a separate building housing a few burial sites.

Finally, the Sidi Bashir mosque is famous for its shaking minarets. In fact, they are basically all that remain of the original structure. The shaking minarets were ornately carved and clearly function as planned because they have survived many earthquakes that have bested other shaking minarets. As they are still whole and because they are an impressive 70 feet tall these are often considered the finest example in Amdavad and I assume therefore everywhere.

Temples - Two Swaminarayan Temples & the Jain Hatheesingh Temple

One day, after completing what SEWA had planned for us we went in search of the Swaminarayan Temple in the old city. Apparently there are three Swaminarayan temples in Amdavad. We were originally taken to the wrong one. Eventually we walked to the one we had hoped to see, but not before getting a little lost. The temple itself wasn’t totally spectacular, but the wood carving on the surrounding havelis was incredible. It was very ornate and brightly painted. It was definitely worth the hike just to see the woodcarvings.

The happy outcome of being taken to the wrong Swaminarayan temple was that we had to walk past this Jain temple. I loved this temple! It’s completely different from the Jain temple in Sarnath. Unlike in Sarnath there are no paintings, but there are amazing stone carvings. While we were there a crew was working on either restoring some of the interior stone or replacing damages pieces. It was possible to tell where prior replacements had been made because the stone was different. The stone carvings were amazing, but, unlike the paintings in Sarnath, I am not sure what the carvings meant within the cosmology or belief system of the Jain religion. Also, in the temple were dozens of little niches with figurines in them. They all seemed remarkably similar and again there was information about their significance to be found. Nonetheless, it was an awesome and interesting sight. Particularly because there was a stone carved tower in the outer courtyard. I am not sure the reason for, or importance of, the tower, but it was stunning. It was removed from the temple entrance by a couple hundred feet and, again, there was no information about it or why it was there. Stylistically it was mostly the same as the temple carvings, but the stone appeared to be different.

The SEWA Constructions Workers Union – building up women and building Amdavad

On our second day in Amdavad Melanie and I met two organizers for the construction worker’s union at SEWA. One was Kapilaben, who had been a textile mill worker, but switched to construction when the mill closed in 1996. The second was Shobaben and we had a young lady, new to SEWA, named Khushvuben as our translator. The main problem faced by female construction workers is accidents followed by any reimbursement for medical expenses. Despite the fact that by the late 1990s there was already a national law concerning construction workers it was not implemented in Gujarat until 2003. The implementation was largely because of the efforts of SEWA members. In addition to creating the union in 1998 SEWA started an insurance program in 1999. That first year 1,100 SEWA members joined, paying a Rs. 52 premium. Of that group between three and four hundred received benefits of 100% of their medical treatment costs, and 50% of lost wages. In addition to the insurance program, SEWA has set itself up in such as a way that it can guarantee year round work for its construction workers. What I understood is that SEWA does this either by serving as the contractor for a construction site or coordinating with contractors to ensure that there is consistent work. If the women take SEWA up on this offer they make less money. As opposed to making Rs. 250/day with no job security they make Rs. 150/day with year-round job security.

Now, the construction worker union is, apparently, the largest, with 20,000 members. With so many members they take on the issues of discrimination that face female construction workers. These primarily are gender bias against any woman over the age of 35. There is also a bias against hiring any woman that is either pregnant or has small children. With SEWA working as the contractor or as the coordinator these biases impact the women much less. With their large numbers the union is also able to provide scholarship for the children of members. These scholarships start at Rs. 250 for elementary school and go up from there, covering collegiate education as well. The union also provides maternity benefits of Rs. 3,000. Last year four women were able to take advantage of that benefit.

Most of the women construction workers in India are unskilled laborers and as such usually work as headloaders – women who carry building materials on their heads, often up and down bamboo ladders. This work does not pay nearly as well as skilled work on a construction site. For this reason SEWA has established a training program so that the women can learn the skills they need to get better and higher paying jobs. We were lucky enough to get to see the training center with Khushvuben and Kapilaben. It was an incredibly inspiring place to go to. I was awed by how proud the women were of their work and training projects - and rightfully so. We asked if they would take a picture with us, but they only wanted pictures of them doing the work. They were learning how to do various mortaring jobs including removing old mortar, applying new mortar to walls, and building walls of brick and mortar. The training is 35 days long and we understand that while they are there they make Rs. 150 each day. At the end of the 35 days the top few students get selected to enter into a higher level of training to get even more specialized skills. According to Kapilaben SEWA has to work hard to get women into the program because rarely do they approach SEWA. Instead SEWA must go out and recruit women, after explaining the long-term benefits. I think this must be a challenge because for many it must be difficult to give up on Rs. 250 today because it can be so hard to think to the end of the week, let alone in the real long-term.

The growth in Gujarat and Amdavad right now has created an incredible opportunity for women to work, learn, earn, and save. Amdavad is India’s fastest growing city and it’s amazing that 20,000 SEWA members are helping to make that possible with their hard work.