Thursday, May 2, 2013

Pictures from India


Two weeks ago I came back from a trip to Sri-Lanka and India with my sister and took hundreds of pictures of the beautiful places we visited. WE visited the olden Triangle in India.; Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. They are referred to as the Golden Triangle because they are approximately the same distance from each other and form a triangular shape on a map.

The Amber Fort
 The architecture of the places in India was breathtaking and I every time we visited another  kept wondering, "How in the world did they build such magnificent structures with limited technology?" Hundreds of laborers were used to put together the jigsaw puzzle of building blocks without a cementing factor to glue them together. They relied on the weight and pressure of one block on top of the other to hold them in place and these structures survived hundreds of years against the forces of nature.

Jama Masjed
 The Art on the walls, which were painted in natural colors and filled with precious and semi precious stones,  must have taken them years to complete as they were intricate and life looking. Each wall was a masterpiece in its own right. Each carved marble was spectacular as if no man has touched it. If they had made one mistake, they had to throw the slab away and start over. 

Th silver looking pieces are actual mirrors and is was cad the Mirror Palace at the Amber Fort.


The marble designs at the Taj Mahal which was ordered to be built by Shah Jahan for his deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahal.


The was Shah Jahan's "prison" at the Red Fort

Each flower animal or bird design was a specialty of one family and the secrets of how the are made were never shared with anyone else except the sons for fear that the girls could divulge this mystery to her husband's family when she gets married. These families exist to this day and their art has passed from father to son over hundreds of years.

Qutub Minar
Oh the number of stories we heard about the beautiful historical sites. Oh the questions these triggered in my head on how humanity has evolved and how many of us, in many ways, are leading a much more fulfilling life.


The Taj Mahal
The treatment of women and how she was seen as a , baby factory, caregiver and pleasure object puzzled me. Each of the maharajas, kings or princes had several wives and hundreds of concubines to keep them busy and happy and since I was not born during that time,  could not fathom how first, men had time for all these women and second, how the woman accepted such treatment.


Another being how poor people were expected to build these majestic structures and then, at the end of the day, go home to their humble abodes and yet, still be loyal to the royal family after having had seen such luxury and over spending on decorations. 

The Amber Fort
The Red Fort
The Red Fort
 Still those questions did not dampen my sense of awe and fascination. 
Qutub Minar
  I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

6 comments:

Birdie said...

I did enjoy the pictures ! Just beautiful.

Ofelia said...

The picture are amazing and I'm totally into you thoughts about the treatment of women, the poor, the privilege of being born into royalty and how this old buildings and temples were made without modern technology on the back of thousand of people.

Tabouleh said...

Thank you both... I am glad that you enjoyed the pictures... the trip was amazing and eye opening... a once in a life time opportunity.

jyothisethu said...

revisiting the blogs after a short (or, may be long) break, i found it interesting to visit link on one of my blogs: http://mywebsearches.blogspot.in/2011/11/one-of-best-blogs.html

Ofelia said...

Hi Lana, I hope that you are doing well and that you are adjusting to your new place and having fun.
Miss reading your posts!

Tabouleh said...

Hi Ofelia, I have been so busy lately.. moving countries and house... then starting new work and also sending my husband off to Jordan from Tanzania to have major back surgery while I took care of the kids here... it has been crazy busy to the extent that I do not write anymore or post anything... i should go back to it as I find it so stress relieving. I miss you, your comments and your posts. promise when everything settles and I get all my shipment and make a home out of the house we are in, that I wills tart writing. it is just too stressful at the moment and I cannot come back to a home to feel comfortable. I am sorry Ofelia... Thanks so much for asking after me. You are a treasure!