Woman of India plus a hidden gem.

The women of India are breathtaking.
Their colorful Sari's and dark mysterious eyes, I
was captivated by their beauty throughout my trip last summer.
Whether draped in diamonds and expensive fabrics or
standing on the side of the road in rags of vibrant shades of red & yellow I couldn't help but look and smile at them. Their beauty was everywhere.

During our trip through Rajastan the adults took a day trip to the magical Jain Temple,
Ranakpur. If you ever visit India it is one of the MUST SEE DESTINATIONS on my list. The road was long and steep and extremely narrow, we got into an accident (head on) in our bus and as you find out quickly the men don't exchange insurance information, they fight than go their separate ways. It was very dramatic.

Upon our return from the forest as we slowly made our way back to civilization we stopped for a cold drink and stumbled upon this group of young women mixing concrete. They all stopped when we exited the bus and watched us walk towards them, cameras in hand. My husband (luckily for us he speaks Hindi) asked the men if we could take a few photos of the girls and they nodded and smiled.

The girls kept giggling. I thought they were beautiful. They thought we were strange.

The rag on the girls head is for the bowl of concrete that she will carry down the road to the site of construction. 

This photo courtesy of Payal's iPhone

Ranakpur was the highlight of my trip. Well I had many highlights, all of which I will share here, someday. But Ranakpur was so amazing in that I had absolutely no idea what to expect. My mother-in-law insisted that we (Me, hubby, father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law) take the day and drive to Ranakpur, she would stay home with the children so they could play in the pool and have one day off from being dragged around town. None of us researched where we were going. About an hour into our drive we slipped off the main highway onto a very narrow road and crept deep into the forest.

The road in and out of Ranakpur.

As you can see in the map here Ranakpur is very isolated. Our guide/priest explained that the temple was abandoned and all the villages surrounding it were destroyed by the Mughals some 500 years ago. It was cut off from life until this road was built. I believe it has been in the past 40 years that people can access it by car. It was amazing.

Our Desination: Ranakpur

The Jain's built the temple around this magical  tree.

Each column was hand carved and no two were the same. There are over 1444 marble pillars. It is said it is impossible to count them. We didn't try.

 Feed Me. 

Back in the saddle

With summer in my rear view mirror, I take a deep breathe of fresh california air and focus all my energies on the slow process of getting back into 'photography' mode. I have taken the summer off for fun in the sun. We traveled to India as a family and had the most amazing time. We ate, we drank, we bonded with new family members. It was so heart warming watching my boys develop close relations with their "Indian" cousins. Aside from meeting family we were able to visit some monumental palaces and tombs along our route. We started our journey in New Delhi, where Nikhil's aunts and cousins live. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family that opened not only their homes to us but their hearts and love as well.
We hoped into a bus, 10 of us total, and traveled to Agra, Fatepur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ranukpur, and finally Mumbai where the party really picked up.

For the next few weeks as I edit the daunting 8700 photos that were taken on our iphones, digi cameras and my 5D I will post a few of my favorites for you to see. Enjoy!

 

First stop on this photo tour is the town of Agra. Located about 200 miles south of Delhi, Agra is situated along the Yamuna River. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a dedication to his favorite wife upon her dealth delivering her 14th child. It is a symbol of love and honor. Photographs do not do it justice. The tomb was breathtaking.

 

Monkeys are everywhere in Agra. They have taken over homes and businesses. I imagine they can be quite a nuisance but they sure were cute outside our bus window.

 Cows are all over India in general. I found this quote regarding the cow:

In Hinduism, the cow (Sanskrit: go) is revered as the source of food and symbol of life and may never be killed. Hindus do not worship the cow, however, and cows do not have especially charmed lives in India. It is more accurate to say the cow is taboo in Hinduism, rather than sacred.

There was major construction happening all over the place in Agra. The railroad being repaired, flood control from the Yamuna River (Monsoon season) and basic upkeep keeps a lot of people busy at work. These people carried baskets of rocks over to a truck for some unknown construction project .

 I can't help but think of the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" in this photo it sure looks like that is the truth.

 More manual labor. I am not sure about the labor laws in a country like India but I sawa  lot of children doing some heavy lifting all over the country. I hope my children understand what a privileged life they live.

This view was from the Agra Fort across the Yamuna River to the Taj Mahal. This was Shah Jahan's palace and when his son imprisoned him to his death this was the view he had fro his window of the beloved Taj Mahal.

Kid's followed us everywhere we went.. These two were on our heels for an hour or more.

The "Taboo" Cow

I imagine that this blog will be about India for the remainder of 2013. Until then

Namaste.