Taj Mahal

One of the wonders of the world! And rightfully so. I got up at dawn to see it in the early light, and I'm glad I did. There were very few people around, and for once in India, it was quiet and serene. This monument to enduring love after death is stunningly beautiful. The white marble and semi-precious stone detail work gleams against the sky and is reflected in the pools that surround it. The proportions are mathematically precise and although it is a huge building, it seems contained and accessible. The minarets that surround it were built so that they lean 12 degrees out from the building so that if there were an earthquake, they would fall out away from the building. During the second world war there was danger that this site would be bombed, so the whole building was covered and disguised as a mountain.

But even here the disparity between men and women is evident. Three screening lines men and one for women, and we've been told that the young women should not go out of the hotel without one of the guys with them. I will be glad to leave this piece of cultural baggage behind. I guess that both Amritsar and Dharamasala are much safer and more respectful of women. It will be a relief not to feel so constrained. I guess that although there is still lots of work to be done in America, we have come a way. I just read statistics on child birth gender ratios in Dehli and there are 865 female births for every 1000 male births. Abortions of female fetuses is still a relatively common practice and little boys are the darlings of every family. (I'm not sure how I got from the Taj to gender relations, but I guess these things have been on my mind.) The fate of widows, although not as bad as depicted in the film WATER, is still pretty harsh. Because she 'belongs' to the husband's family she can become a virtual slave, doing chores and living on the mercy of her in-laws. In Indian cultural practices, a girl child does not belong to the family of her birth. She is just housed there until her true family is found. Even if she marries out of caste, she takes on the new caste status of her husband, regardless of her family's caste status.

We leave for Amritsar this afternoon. Another overnight train ride. I hope less stressful than the last.

M