Although we left the hotel early by India standards, and were beyond the city limits of Jaipur, the ride seemed long. We stopped along the way at restaurants that offered washrooms and toilets. This gave us the chance to stretch our legs and possibly even get some of the kinks out of our backs or necks. During most of the week at the project, we generally gravitated to the same seats on the bus, but now, we ventured out of our comfort zones and dared to cross the aisle or move to the back of the bus. The perennial question asked by most kids of their parents, "Are we there, yet?" was most assuredly on the tip of the tongue of most of us at one time or another. Pallavi had suggested that we should just push right on through to the hotel, have some lunch, settle in and then go for our tour of one of the wonders of the world - the Taj Mahal.
The Howard Park Hotel was where we would be staying for the next twenty-four hours (actually about eighteen or nineteen hours) and when we arrived, we were greeted with a blue fruit drink as we waited to be assigned to our rooms. Our bags were brought into the lobby and once identified, were brought by the bellmen to our rooms. We were all assigned to rooms on the third floor. My room was very pleasant, although the smell of stale smoke permeated everything - sheets, upholstered couch and chairs, even the towels in the bathroom. I realize there is nothing worse than a reformed anything, but the smell was pretty intense. I asked if there were non-smoking rooms and was told that hotel did not provide for non-smokers. I turned on the air conditioner and the exhaust fan and figured out a way to have them remain on even when I was not in the room - since the key tag had to be inserted into the switch by the door in order for the power to be on in the room. I removed the key and left the tag in the switch.
During the trip from Jaipur to Agra, Pallavi and I were contacting Past District Governor (PDG) Naresh Sood from one of the Agra Rotary Clubs. Five years ago, I led about twenty-five Rotarians to India for a National Immunization Day against polio (NID) and while visiting Agra, we were shown a medical facility that had been donated by O.P Aggarwal and his family. The facility was where corrective surgeries were conducted - free of charge - for polio victims. Several members of that group committed to raise funds for a Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation, to eliminate the list of one thousand patients who awaited surgery. With the cost of approximately $40.00 per surgery, we raised about $45,000 for the project. I wanted to visit the facility to see how the project was progressing. Therefore, I was disappointed when I learned that PDG Sood was out of station, attending the District Conference. In addition, the officers of the Club were also attending the same conference. After several calls, Naresh was able to contact two senior members of his club - Rotarian Jain and Rotarian Gupta, both past presidents. We arranged for them to meet me at the hotel after lunch and they would take me to visit the facility, and then on to the Taj Mahal gate so I could meet the rest of the team. We met in the lobby following lunch and left for the hospital.
As we proceeded to the hospital, I felt I recognized these two men. Finally, one of them spoke and said, "I believe we have met previously". I told him I felt the same and after a bit of conversation, we determined we had met several years before. We arrived at the hospital, now operated by a different surgeon. The chief medical officer of this tiny hospital (attached to his home) had retired from his private practice of orthopaedic surgery, and devoted his life to our project. His son and daughter-in-law are also surgeons. I learned every Thursday seven or eight (sometimes ten or twelve) patients who have paralyzed limbs come to the hospital or clinic for their corrective surgeries. Additionally, once they are healed, they may return to the clinic to be fitted for braces (or calipers) to help support them while they are undergoing a regimen of physical therapy. The restorative nature of these surgeries is tremendous. Imagine having been relegated to a chair or a hand-bicycle or crutches, and then learning that such a facility exists and you can have your surgery at no cost. Imagine being crippled one day and being able to live a far more "normal" life, able to find employment and to become a productive member of society. This is the opportunity our Matching Grant provides to each of these patients. Thus far, more than 700 surgeries have been performed. Although brief, my tour of the clinic was most satisfying. The two Rotarians accompanied me back to the car-park area near the east gate of the Taj Mahal, and we said our goodbyes. I met Pallavi and we were at the gate and entering within five minutes of the time the team had arrived. I was even able to jump into the group photo before we proceeded with the tour.
If you have never read or heard the story about the Taj Mahal and the undying love Shah Jahan had for his beautiful wife, take the time to read about it. It would not serve any purpose for me to attempt to relate the story here in this BLOG. Once one enters the gate, goes through security, and walks a few hundred yards to enter the main gate of red sandstone that somewhat obscures ones view of the Taj, and then enters through that gate, one's breath is literally taken away. I believe each and every time I have visited the Taj Mahal, something very special occurs and today was no exception. Whether taken by the incredible ornate simplicity of this mausoleum, or moved by a personal moment, one can not help but be affected by this wonder of the world.
We were provided with small bottles of mineral water, as well as booties to cover our feet or our shoes, if we chose not to go barefooted. We walked along through beautiful gardens and every few seconds we paused to appreciate the beauty of the monument that lay before us. Some of us went to the mosque adjacent to the Taj, while others walked back through the gardens. We looked across the river where Shah Jahan had intended to build the negative image of the Taj - the black Taj. This never happened and I fear would have detracted from the beauty of this monument, had it ever been built.
Restoration is taking place all the time, and artisans work as they would have hundreds of years ago, using hand wheels to sand down and polish precious and semi-precious stones they use to replace those that have been chiseled out and stolen from the walls.
That evening, we met in the lobby and walked to a nearby restaurant - The Silk Road, where we were served typical food of Rajasthan. Back to the hotel and sleep to prepare for another very full day.
Elias probably means:
ReplyDeleteWhether taken by the incredible ornate simplicity of this mausoleum, or moved by a personal moment, one can not help but be affected by this wonder of the world