A shot I took of a smartly dressed young woman waiting for a bus at the swelteringly hot bus station in the middle of Kuchaman City in Rajasthan.
During our stay we resided at the once opulent but now rather dilapidated Kuchaman Fort perched atop a 1000-foot-high (300 m) cliff overlooking the sandy desert beyond and the town below.
Trips down to the town were a highlight and were only achieved by walking, or taking a beat-up jeep, down a winding old cobbled former elephant path.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It is one of the most recognisable structures in the world. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love.
This shot was taken very early in the morning, almost at first sunrise, before all the crowds turned up during my manic but also enjoyable trip around Northern India’s Golden Triangle.
This is more true of India than any other country I have traveled to thus far. Which is why one day I hope to return to the great sub-continent and delve more deeply into her mysteries and nuances. I wish to return to other parts, possibly in the south, to the Tamil Nadu or Kerala regions and experience the unique ways, cuisine and customs of a people who once populated this great land mass many centuries before the countless waves of invasion and immigration that created the modern day India that we all know today.
But that is for another time, until then however I have the extensive memories of my time in Rajasthan, from the elephants and pink forts of Jaipur to the poverty-stricken slums of Aggra, from the splendour of the Taj and the riches of the City Palace to the street kids that were just about everywhere.
India is the greatest paradox on this planet and that is why it is so alluring and beguiling, and that is why I know that one day I must return.
To truly experience India you need to experience Indian railways! This is a well known popularly held belief around the world. Armed with this thought my last day in India was not going to be one of sadness at leaving, but one filled with excitement at having a six hour rail journey ahead of me across the vast desert expanse between Ajmer and Delhi aboard the famed Shatabi Express. Continue reading “Planes, Trains and Automobiles … 05/04/2010”
JAMES HANDLON 