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Taj Mahal and Trust No One
11 February 2007
Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
Shortly before packing up the Madison apartment and heading overseas, Andy had a conversation with a friend from college about India. This friend, who shall remain nameless, had traveled in India not so long ago, and we thought it would be useful to get the opinion of someone who had seen things first-hand. After all, we had heard many contradictory things about India: were Indians really the ‘most loving people in the world’, or were they ‘bloodsuckers who would hassle you until you pulled your hair out’? Andy's friend's response was, paraphrased: you'll be mumbling terrible condemnations about the Indians shortly after arrival.
‘Well,’ we thought, ‘India might be stressful, but surely experienced travelers like ourselves will have no problems… right?’ Which sounds reasonable from North America, but here in Rajasthan things look slightly different. It's a good thing Andy has thick hair, because he's been on the verge of pulling it out for several days now! We'd like to be easy-going and at peace with the way things are in India, but admittedly it can be difficult. All day, every day, we are hassled by vendors, beggars, rickshaw drivers, small children, touts, etc. These people show no respect for us, and some, I'm sure, want nothing more than to put us in an uncomfortable situation so they can rob us. Seriously. Most, of course, want to relieve us of the burden of our wallets by less violent means: jacked-up prices, hidden commissions, etc. You find yourself unable to trust anyone after a short while. As soon as you talk to anyone, or even meet their eye, they begin, often quite aggressively, to sell you whatever junk they may be hawking that day. The fact that you have no interest in buying (assuming they're selling something and not just demanding money) said junk means absolutely nothing. The attitude is that you must give them money, because you are a foreigner in India. Government policy even reflects this attitude: a museum that charges a 20-rupee entrance fee to Indians might change the fee to 900 rupees for foreigners! You are assaulted in this manner all day, every day. It's enough to make you want to kill someone! It is especially frustrating if you're naïve enough to want to learn something about Indian culture. Very stressful indeed!
Well, you might say, if you spent a bit more time in India, you'd get to know who you could trust and who you couldn't. Fair enough. We thought the same thing. Then, we met Dan, a Canadian who has lived and worked in Varanassi for the last seven years. To this day, when Dan goes into the shop next to his house, the keeper tries to overcharge him on every item. When I asked Dan if with time you came to know who could be trusted and who couldn't, Dan responded that with time, you come to see that those you thought you could trust are also not to be trusted. In other words, trust no one.
Now, to finish on a happier note, we were finally able to visit the Taj Mahal today. It is a truly beautiful structure, and we hope you thoroughly enjoy the photos. Of course, photography can not do justice to such an amazing place, but we hope to have captured at least a sliver of the beauty!