December 8, 2009: Mumbai, India, formerly known as Bombay, is a city of over 20 million people, teeming with life and color. It is one of India’s major port cities and one of its largest commercial centers. As Bombay, it was a key city when India was part of the British Empire, and some of the grand British Colonial buildings are still in existence. But the real growth occurred after independence in 1948 when many millions of people moved from rural India to the cities in search of jobs. Some of the world’s largest slums can be found here, even right up to the edge of the freeways and runways at the airport. (The recent movie ‘Slum Dog Millionaire’ depicts some of this fairly accurately.) It is also home to a lot of multi-national companies and their thriving movie industry called ‘Bollywood’. Despite the poverty and the throngs of people, you can see the innate entrepreneurship of the Indian people as small shops and kiosks are everywhere. The majority of the people are very industrious and do not sit idle. There is also a fairly healthy middle class here that is in evidence by the heavy advertising everywhere to their needs and desires.

However, we only were able to see a brief outline of Mumbai, as we had chosen to do a full day (14 hour) tour to fly to Agra, India and back to visit the Taj Mahal.  This excursion, organized through the cruise line included a 2 hour flight on a chartered jet to and from a military airport in Agra. It was well organized and we had good Indian guides each step of the way. Driving through the streets of Agra is in itself a colorful and eye-opening experience. You see almost every form of conveyance from all types of cars, buses, tuk-tuks, pedicabs, bicycles, motorcycles, donkey and horse drawn carts, and even elephants and camels. Traffic control and regulations are basically ignored or non-existent, and driving is a free-for-all, although we witnessed very few accidents. At the side of the roads, there are small shops, kiosks and food stalls everywhere. And the colorful array of people, and especially the varied and beautiful sari’s of the women was a sight you did not tire of.

Our first stop on the tour was to visit the impressive Agra Fort, built by the Mughal emperors in the late 16th century. This sprawling red sandstone fortress, complete with moat, was built near the banks of the Yamuna River (a tributary of the Ganges River). The builder of the Taj Mahal, the Shah Jahan built part of the fortress and the Taj Mahal can be seen from parts of the fort. After exploring the fort we stopped at a nearby five-star hotel for a quick Indian buffet style lunch.

Everyone then had great anticipation for our visit to the Taj Mahal, recently voted one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Modern World’. Despite the crowds, and rather pushy street hawkers, viewing the Taj Mahal in person exceeded expectations. As part of a plan to reduce air pollution which was beginning to damage the marble of the Taj Mahal, regular vehicles must stop a certain distance away. You can then proceed the next part of the way via electric bus and then on foot. Perhaps not surprisingly, judging by people’s dress, almost half of the tourists were Indians. Our guide said this was a good sign for the local economy that so many local people were traveling to sites like this.

The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a tomb and memorial to his love for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died after childbirth in 1631. Approximately 20,000 workers labored for 12 years to complete it in 1643. This Islamic garden-tomb is also a mosque, complete with four minarets and a lotus pool, and was built at a cost of nearly 41 million rupees and over 1,000 pounds of gold. The beautiful white marble is almost completely covered with various decorative elements that come into focus the closer you get. Much of the gleaming edifice is covered by what’s called ‘Pietra Dura’. This is a Florentine technique in which minute slivers of precious stones such as lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite and others are arranged in complex stylized floral designs that are set into the marble base. Favorite flowers were the tulip, lily, iris, poppy and narcissus. Other parts of the tomb are covered with inlaid calligraphy in black marble that inscribes Koranic passages. And yet other areas are geometric and floral patterns carved into the polished marble and sandstone surfaces. In the center of the tomb, safely ensconced behind the intricate marble screens, the marble cenotaphs for Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan sit on a raised platform. However, their actual graves are now buried in a dark crypt area below, closed to the public.

So, despite the crowds, the visit to the Taj Mahal definitely was a highlight of our trip, and worth the effort to see it. And despite it being a long day’s journey it was reassuring to return to the ship’s safe and familiar cuisine, comfortable bedding and many other amenities.