Madhya Pradesh and the Taj

I want to write about music, but these places deserve some words, so I'll get online tomorrow to talk about the Tansen Music Festival.

After Jaipur, I headed to Agra. I coughed up the 750 Rupees entrance fee (and almost cried when I saw the Indian Price: 20 Rs.) and walked into this seventh wonder. The story goes that Emperor Shah Jahan was so heartbroken by the death of his wife that he decided to make the world's most beautiful tomb for her. Years later, his son overthrew him and he was confined to Agra Fort, condemned to watch this beauty from his cell. So it's an incredible symbol of love, but also one of tragic hate. Ok, it's pretty amazing, pale white and looming against the blue sky. But still, overated. Anyway, I had to draw it:

Much more fun where the sexy (and, at times, downright wrong) carvings at the Khajuraho temples, my next destination, and a Unesco World Heritage Site.

These temples were also some of the most amazing I've seen in India, really incredible to try to imagine (I can't) how much work and time went into these. Next up I headed for Orchha, a small town on my way North, where I met this baba, smoking ganja and chatting to friends in front of his wooden hut.

Now, I'm in Delhi, the chaotic capital. A 30 minute walk around the center will leave you exhausted. For me, it's crazier than Mumbai, really insane crowds and markets, bazaars, traffic... but so far I really like it. It's so fun and has so much personality, from the Hindu Temples to the churches and mosques, the colourful and delicious street food, the businessmen, holy men, touts, gangsters, street kids, cows, goats, dogs, rats, cockroaches (one fell on my head this morning) all sharing the same streets. It's breathtaking and exhausting and sad and exciting and dirty and smelly and loud and annoying and fun: it's INDIA.

I've decided to head South to Goa for Christmas, Delhi was so cold at night, I don't think I could handle the North. In Bhopal now, and I'm waitlisted for a train in two days so hopefully I will get a ticket!