The Taj Mahal of India
February 10, 2008 email #27
A trip north with Bob and Demme was a wonderful interlude from the stress and pressures of life at Prakash.  Loren had not been to New Delhi or Agra since 1989 so he was excited about seeing all the tourist sites again.  Many changes have happened in that length of time---like a charge of $20 per person for foreigners ($00.25 for Indians) to tour the Taj Mahal. 911 has caused many of these changes.  India is CHANGE and India is ADJUST!!! You can no longer fly into Agra, so it is a 7-hour car trip from Delhi to Agra.  By doing this Bob had a chance to take tons of photos and recover some of his loss. All the way to Agra and back on the theoretical highway, plodding along, were many camel trains carrying enormous loads of cotton.  Down in Nagpur area you rarely see a camel.
Yes, I took this picture with my little old Kodak.  Isn’t it great???
I have to say, it still thrills me each time I see this awesome Taj Mahal, a “Wonder of the World.” God was so good with the weather, it was cold and a trifle windy, but that is more desirable than heat and we were not deterred one bit from enjoying the beauty of the magnificent architectural wonder of love.  Don’t you just love the hairdo??? As an added bonus, our guide was an Indian National Soccer player, a center back, I think.  Bob and he really connected and Bob ended up giving him a treasured National Federation Soccer Patch.  The historical sites of India are many and are now well kept, breathtaking and awe-inspiring, but to be honest I think Demme enjoyed the Gypsy Market (Dilli Haat) the best.  Shopping is always fun for women

By gathering all the goodies that the hotels gave, today I was able to give each of the girls four cherished items.  They were completely overwhelmed.  Not one of them has ever been in a real hotel so getting this kind of treasure was like Christmas. In addition, only one of them had even seen a photo of the Taj Mahal, so I took my computer and showed them pictures. Of coarse, it could not end with just those pictures so I showed photos of the girls putting on the Valentine’s Day event.  It was so cute to see their reactions while seeing their own photo.

Now we are on the count down to our leaving.  Each of the executive staff has, with great relish, presented a list of things they would love to have completed before we leave. I can see Loren drooping at the thought!!! There will be no time now for chitchat, only priorities

http://www.prakash4india.org
Sylvia H. Eckhardt
Prakash for India