Pictures (Finally!)

Again, because we stupidly forgot our adapter cord on our vacation trip we were not able to upload pictures while we traveled this past week. We will hopefully be unveiling a few pictures every day for the next week or so, chronicling Jack and Karol Palmer's conquest of the Gangetic Plain. It starts, of course, with the Taj Mahal in Agra--site of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan's timeless monument to his "favorite" wife Mumtaz Mahal. (An interesting footnote: our guide talked breathlessly about the classic love between Shah Jehan and Mumtaz Mahal, but historical records point to the fact that the emperor had hundreds of courtesans in his palace and there are rumors he even had intimate relations with one of his daughters. Oh well, the building is still beautiful.)

The Taj as an architectural model is no joke and it is not overhyped. It is as breathtaking and awe-inspiring as all the guide books make it out to be. If you ever come to In

dia, this is a MUST. As you walk through the main gate you can see the Taj in the distance through an archway. If you stand directly in the center of the archway you get a view of the entire structure, including the four decorative minarets (or towers) in the corners of the gigantic plinth that supports the Taj. If you take two steps to the right, the view is perfectly divided in half. It is the same if you step over to the left. Wondrous symmetry.

As with most white people in India, my parents eventually got cornered by a group of curious Indian teenagers. On the giant marble plinth that holds up the Taj, my parents found themselves taking a series of pictures with these star-struck students

from the Indian state of Gujarat (on the Pakistani border). Of course, my dad--as evidenced by this picture--did most of the talking.