Love is in the Air at jEDI blogs

Love is in the Air

Published by Jedi June 3rd, 2006 in India

Day 20 in the motherland and love is in the air. I mean in theory at least, since it's the 14th of Feb and Valentines Day. My opinion of Valentine's Day isn't very high, to be frank. I feel this was a day invented by flower shops and greeting card companies. It is not surprising that this day appeals most of all to kids and teenagers, who I'm suddenly surrounded by these days, and overly diabetic over the top mushy people. Having said all that, I have little objection to people celebrating it. If you need a special day to “celebrate your love” so be it.

Where do I fit in? I couldn't care two hoots about it, but if this day is important to my partner or anyone else close to me I gladly join in and do my bit. Anything to make them happy. At the same time, and as was the case today, I use this occasion as an excuse to achieve something I want.

I had been to Taj Mahal as a kid. I have vague recollections of it and its fair to say it was as good as never being there. I've always been fascinated by it and wanted to see it, especially when Delhi is so close to Agra and I've spent so much of my life in Delhi. What could be more romantic than spending Valentine's Day at the Taj Mahal? Or to put it differently what could be a better excuse to motivate people to accompany me and visit it? Yes, I know I'm evil!

The four hour journey from Delhi to Agra was an adventure in itself. I wouldn't want to go into the details but I'll describe it in a few words. The traffic was mad, I caught a lot of our drive on my camcorder, we stopped at a few places, then lost our way, then stopped at a few more places and then lost our way again and ultimately made it to one of the gates. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky with the driver this time. I felt not only did he have no idea where he was going most of the time, he would also choose the longest possible routes to reach there. We probably made 15 semi-circles around Taj Mahal before we finally found one of the entry gates. And that too when I scolded him and took the burden of trying to figure out the way myself.

At first glance I felt that Taj was almost mmm.. artificial. I mean it looks so lovely that it almost looks fake. I had to convince myself. â€˜No, its real! And I'm really here' Once I got over that, something else started bothering me. It looked much much smaller than I had visualized it to be all these years. Was it really worth all this hype, I thought. As I kept getting closer those thoughts fast started fading away. I won't belittle Taj by trying to describe it. I don't even possess the words to describe it. To call it a piece of art is blasphemous. It's a thing of beauty! After spending hours there we decided to head back. As I was walking away I looked back and took one final glance at it. I thought to myself, there was only one word I could find for it - mesmerizing! The picture is still etched in my memory.

The travel back from Agra to Delhi wasn't that exciting. I guess mostly because now we knew which routes to take and weren't reliant on the driver. Ok, it wasn't that bad now. Again I filmed a little, we dined along the way and as a bonus visited one of our relatives on our way back home. It was a long day but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In some other news today, one of our extreme right-wing parties proved how much they valued the strong virtues of justice and equality. Usually they only beat up boys on Valentine's Day. This time around, they beat up girls too. Wouldn't want to be seen as partial now, would they? By this gallant act of heroism, they almost immediately endeared themselves to the youth of the Nation. Sigh! Some things never change.

jEDI

17 Responses to “Love is in the Air”

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1 Supremus Jun 3rd, 2006 at 10:19 pm

Now if there is one place in this world I want to see badly, it has to be Taj Mahal. I have heard the same things from million people - getting there is the most difficult part; but once there, its all worth it.

Did you also happen to cath Taj by the mooonlight - it supposedly looks ethereal. BTW, the pic you took is good - the structure looks pretty imposing from the angle you have taken the shot!

“Usually they only beat up boys on Valentineâ€™s Day. This time around, they beat up girls too.”

– ROFL!

S
2 Jedi Jun 4th, 2006 at 9:14 am

@Suyog: I agree. Taj is not the easiest place to get to. But as you say its definitely worth it. I really wanted to see Taj in moonlight, but sadly we had to return home the same day. They charge 25 rupees for entry into Taj and 250 rupees to see it in moonlight. From that one could deduce that it is 10 times more beautiful in moonlight! LOL

Seriously though, I’ve seen films of pics of Taj in moonlight and it looks amazing. Perhaps next time.

jedi
3 Jedi Jun 4th, 2006 at 9:15 am

P.S. I took a lot of pictures at Taj. Perhaps I should upload them as an album hmm..
4 Princess Jun 4th, 2006 at 9:30 am

Last I visited Taj was when we visited Delhi/Agra when I was 7-8 years old (that means at least 12 years back) Honestly, I do not remember a thing, except that it was crowded.. I’ve been telling Dad since long time to plan a trip to Agra.. (Mental Hospital not being the reason).. I soon will..

And on Valentine’s Day this year, I took two exams back to back for my prelims! I am so jealous now! *fuming smoke out of nose*

Ever thought of giving up your crypto job and taking up photography as a profession?!

Princess Nirwa
5 Karan Jun 7th, 2006 at 11:31 pm

The very mention of this moral policing done by some states’ police makes my blood boil. UP is like a hypocrite haven.

Just like a true-blue middle class UPite, I never visited the Taj Mahal in the whole of 16-17 years I spent within a 1000 kms of it. Quite a shame, but it sure is on my list of must-sees in my next trip to India(although in the same breath I must add that I find the Mughal architecture–all those plant motifs and intricate jaliwork quite suffocating to look at–not that its to demean any of the attention to detail–just that its all too floral and awfully repetitive for me. Either that or I am spoilt by Ikea.)

Had seen this post before but just like a kanjoos baniya I saved reading for moments like now when I am almost comatose with cramming medical latin.

Thanks for never disappointing and yes, keep writing!

Cheers!

Karan.
6 Jedi Jun 10th, 2006 at 8:47 am

@Princess: In some ways I can see why the Mental Hospital is situated in Agra. Agra streets are so crowded and confusing that if a patient tried to escape, he would run around in circles, give up and come back to the Hospital again being more insane then he was before:P Photography as a profession? Hmm.. I wish I could..

@Karan: “Spoilt by Ikea” LOL!! I agree about your point about the Mughal architecture though. It can get pretty repetitive. I guess this applies not only to cities built by Mughals, but across the whole world - whether its Roman, Greek, Egyptian or the more modern ones a few centuries ago. But at the same time its easy to see why Taj Mahal stands out. It really is a jewel in the crown of all the Mughals ever did.

Medical Latin! I can imagine your plight. It about time they replaced these againg Latin terms with something more fun - say Klingon!
jedi
7 SS Jun 10th, 2006 at 4:35 pm

I have seen Taj a few times in my life mainly during my childhood. I have been one of the lucky ones to see it in moonlight on a full moon day but that was a long time ago. Last year, after a long gap I visited it again with my family, unfortunately on a very hot day. I dare say no monument or an art piece or anything can beat it’s beauty in the moonlight. I would borrow jedi’s words here “It is mesmerising.” But I guess during day things are a little different. It is beautiful no doubt and a little more from distance but upclose it’s just beautiful not mesmerising. Instead I found Akbar’s Maqbara (Sikandra) much more beautiful, which we saw on our way to Taj. I know a lot of people will disagree with me here and I guess I feel this way cos I have seen it at night. I vaguely remember anything (the day when we visited Taj in the evening) but Taj as it stood so majestically. There weren’t many people around, my family and I were sitting on one of the white marble benches. The lights in the long fountain area were on. I dont have words to describe how it felt except that everything was so calm and Taj felt so alive. I dont think we can get that sort of atmosphere now as it is always too crowded. Sometimes I think, if I have a time machine I will go back in time and see Taj, when it was built, in it’s full glory

SS
8 Jedi Jun 11th, 2006 at 9:55 am

@SS: Thats a beautiful thought SS. Going back in time and seeing Taj when it was built. Its overcrowded these days. Not to mention that pollution is starting have some effect on it as well.
I agree Akbar’s mausoleum Sikandra is quite beautiful. We visited it along the way too. One thing I immediately noticed was the there were hardly any people present there. Not even 0.01 percent of what u’d normally find at Taj, for example hehe.. So it was quite calm and peaceful. Do you think that contibutes to creating a better impression of it too? I definitely think so.
Also, I loved the gardens surrounding it, with deer running freely and so on. Very umm.. royal !

jedi

p.s. good to see u back commenting
9 GuNs Jun 15th, 2006 at 6:42 am

Hey man !!

I’ve regularly come across your comments on Suyog’s and Karan’s blogs. I know both of those guys through our association/acquaintance on Mouthshut.com. Were you a part of that site too? I was on there as great_guns

I just love that photo of the Taj that you’ve put up. Very few people take photos of the Taj from unconventional angles. Everywhere, you see the Taj photos from the same angle. Are you a professional photographer? Which camera do you use? BTW, Nirwa mentioned some crypto job…what DO you do?

I was in Delhi for just a day on my trip to North India and I got a chance to see the Qutub Minar. The Alai Minar is another wonder to behold. The sheer size of it is staggering. Find photos on my album at http://greatguns.zoto.com

I am adding your blog into my bloglist now. Look out for more cheesy comments from me on your other posts.

-PeAcE
–WiTh
—GuNs
10 Jedi Jun 15th, 2006 at 9:21 pm

@Guns: First of all welcome to my blog. Hope to see you here more often.

Yes I was briefly on mouthshut too as carefreechap.

I made a special effort to shoot Taj from various angles and not the usual full frontal ones. The results were good and kinda show a different side of it. Someday I’ll upload them as an album perhaps, although I must say I am quite a private person and that extends all the way to my photos too lol. No, I’m no professional just an amatuer and I use all kinds of run of the mill cameras, although I must say that i’ve gotten better over the years because I’m passionate about it. Perhoas soime day I’ll take it more seriously. Saw photos on your album Very nice.

Thanks for commenting. And oh, cheesy comments are welcome
jedi
11 livinghigh Jun 16th, 2006 at 5:16 am

hey - wat happened here? vday in june????
and wat happened to the new format?
trouble in html-land, my dear vader?
12 GuNs Jun 16th, 2006 at 5:41 am

Hi,

Good to read your reply. I hate it when people dont reply to comments for days at stretch. Do check out my blog as well and if you find anything interesting/stimulating/inspiring/irritating, drop a comment !!

You’ve taken a lot of trouble to put those formats together but its slightly confusing coz its difficult to see your latest posts. You could do with the latest 5 posts in each category showing up on your homepage and not to mention …ALONGWITH THE DATE of posting.

Aren’t you in India now? Where are you? Working/studying?

Its weird coz most of the bloggers in my favourites list stay away from India and that love for the country and the sense of belonging is there in everyone. Its just that when we are here, we dont appreciate what we have and everyone says India is a dump and that life is a lot better in a developed country. Do share your experiences on that.

-PeAcE
–WiTh
—GuNs
13 Jedi Jun 16th, 2006 at 11:06 pm

@LH: What I’m posting here is the day by day account of my recent visit to the Motherland. Sadly what began 4 or 5 months ago as a week long mission has dragged so long. But since I started it I wanna finish it. I’m still at Day 20 of my visit. 6 more to go

And there’s no trouble in HTML land hehe.. What you must have seen that day was the homepage, which can be found here http://www.thelastjedi.net/
14 Jedi Jun 16th, 2006 at 11:30 pm

@Guns: I usually reply as fast as I can unless I’m terribly busy. Yes, I’ll surely check you blog soon. In fact I’m finally free and there’s a huge list of blogs I need to visit this weekend.

Regarding the formats and stuff. Actually I have three separate blogs. One this, another a movie blog and another my sports blog. What you see on the homepage is an excerpt from the latest posts of each of those blogs. You can visit them by clicking directly on the posts or go the the blogs straight through the menu on the left. If you wanna see a list of the latest posts on each at the same time there is a link called ‘Latest Posts’ too

But I do realise it might be a bit confusing for some. In near future, I will look to perhaps simplify it a bit.

Currently I am in a nearby galaxy in the Alpha quadrant fighting the Sith - like every Jedi must do

I guess the sense of belonging and love for the country is natural. Especially for people who were born and brought up in India and spent most of their lives there. Yes, its interesting how we veiw it when we are living in India and when we look at it from a distance. The current series of my India visit posts somewhat reflects that fact too.

jedi
15 GuNs Jun 19th, 2006 at 8:23 am

Is this the last in your series of posts about India? I hope not man, I hope not.
16 Jedi Jun 19th, 2006 at 10:02 am

@Guns: 6 more days to go
17 Don Lapre Max Jan 10th, 2007 at 10:09 am

Hi Jedi! I want to have a look on your album (which contains the photos of the Great Tajmahal!)soon…when will you provide it in the blog??! I am looking forward and interested to see….

Don Lapre Max
webmaster@don-lapre-richards.com
http://www.don-lapre-richards.com

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Love is in the Air

17 Responses to “Love is in the Air”

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