Agra - A predicament to India's tourism?

I have often been told that the Taj Mahal is the glory of India and when I knew my folks were planning a visit in between my semester exams, I did not think twice when it came to making a decision. All I wanted to do was to see that one marvelous architectural wonder and satisfy my eyes and senses. I’ve been planning a trip to the Taj for sometime now and finally, I got an opportunity to make it happen. Speaking frankly, I’m someone who doesn’t complaint much and would just make-do with whatever is being provided to me. But a visit to Agra just gave me a blunt shock and a reality check of where exactly our country is in terms of concrete development and where we’re heading towards. 

Our train to Agra, the Bhopal Shatabdi Express reached Agra from Delhi at 08:30 A.M., as soon I walked out the station a pungent odour gave me an instant headache. Apparently, Agra does not have a sewage treatment plant which in simple words means that water from toilet drains flow through the open gutters on roads which gives the whole city an unbearable stink. Outside the station, you are not-so-happily greeted by a bunch of taxi drivers and guides who start charging you an exuberant Rs. 4,000/- a day for just renting an Omni and touring around Agra. Thankfully, the pre-paid taxi stand came as a blessing in disguise where I managed to get ourselves taxi service for one full day i.e., till our train back to Delhi at 08:30 P.M for about Rs. 2,000/-.

Our first stop was Fatehpur Sikri where we hired a guide licensed under the Archaeological Survey of India for about Rs. 350/-, the guide made it look like he was doing us a favor free of cost by coming with us and showing us around with his major attitude problem and a bloated ego about how he knows the place in and out. Fatehpur, Akbar’s palace for his three queens was a delightful experience since it let people inside only with tickets and hence it wasn’t too crowded and was quite peaceful. Sikri on the other hand was a dreadful suffering! The place is a Durgah built to glorify Chisti Salim’s legacy and does not live up to holiness it seeks to portray. Entry into Sikri is free of cost and hence you find a range of street hawkers (mostly little kids) who chase you into buying things from them to sweepers and beggars who end up emotionally blackmailing you until you give them some money. The guide informed us that once in the Durgah people make wishes by buying a shawl; some flowers and a sacred thread and place the same on Chisti Salim’s crypt, at that moment I knew this dude was spinning a tale and would definitely take us to one such dealer from whom he would without a doubt collect a commission from later. My intuition came to be true when he actually did the same. The dealer showed us shawls ranging from Rs. 1,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- reminding me of my moral obligation of pleasing god and the consequences if I failed to do so. I was however not satisfied with his offer and told my family that we should just skip buying things from this guy and walk away. On seeing us do that, he came behind us and brought the price of the shawl down to Rs. 300/- and asked me if I wanted one for myself. When I refused, he said that Chisti Salim is going to be very disappointed with me and I am going to be cursed with a life of sorrowfulness; I was amused to say the least! 

After spending about 3 hours in Fatehpur Sikri we headed back to Agra which is about 40 kilo-meters away. On reaching the Taj Mahal complex, we were told by our taxi driver to get off the cab and take a cycle rickshaw. The rickshaw took us through the south gate and I’m more than sure that memories of that disgusting hell hole will haunt me for the rest of my life. The road was extremely narrow filled with tiny shops on both sides. There were about three mutton shops right outside the Taj infested with flies and the other shops basically included handicrafts and souvenirs all overpriced. The road was filled with people, few tourists and several vendors and beggars. The Agra stench I mentioned earlier, lets multiply that by five; this road did not have gutters and the sewage water was seeping past the stores on the road. As we reached the end of the road we saw a really huge queue, that wasn’t really an issue considering it was a Sunday. I was looking for the ticket counter but couldn’t locate it. Finally, after asking someone I was asked to walk towards a dark dingy office and I managed to get the tickets. Tickets for us Indians was priced at Rs. 20/- and tickets for foreigners (wait for it) Rs. 750/-!! I don’t get how the price varies that much. After we got into the Taj Mahal, again the sea of mankind brought itself together and it ended up giving me one bad headache. Quite ironic isn’t it, once at the beginning of my trip and once at the end of it! 

After we were done with the Taj Mahal, we were taken to the Government Shopping Center; the prices here were way more expensive than the pricing we saw at the tiny little shops outside the Taj. The reason for the exuberant price – “Sir, original, aatenttic dejign sir!”. Since we had come all the way, it was only practical to take back something which would remind us of a few happy moments spent in Agra.

Our train back to Delhi left at 08:30 P.M. sharp (thankfully), I’m not going to get started on the condition of the railway station. While in the train, I thought to myself about how many people are probably employed in and around India in the name of the Taj Mahal. A minor approximation in my mind gave me the figures of somewhere around 10 million people who are directly or indirectly (travel agents et al) employed gainfully because of the Taj Mahal. It definitely is one among the primary sources of income for the tourism department and the condition of the Taj Mahal is far from being clean, hygienic and well maintained. India sells itself in the name of the Taj Mahal at an international platform and all that Madam Mayawati does is construct elephants of her own size. Cholera, Dengue and other water borne diseases was ubiquitous around Agra while we were touring the place and we talk about meeting international standards. “Athithi Devo Bhava” and all that, Give me a break! The only memories the international tourists went back with in my opinion is the stench, the pathetic lax of infrastructural development around the Taj Mahal and finally, a testimony to the truth and authenticity of how India truly is as shown in the movie, Slumdog Millionaire.

Overall, my trip to Agra was a plain reality check on where India is right now and what lies ahead. Our country is in dire need of some change. We are trying too hard to place ourselves on international platforms and meeting global standards without addressing key issues like public health, hygiene and infrastructural development. By keeping in mind the development of only metropolitan and cosmopolitan cities we are overlooking the presence and importance of smaller cities and towns like Agra. Its time for some rapid change; how and when that will happen, only time can tell.

The Wannabe Files =)

Just like all other exam holidays, I thought this is perhaps the best time to put my ideas together and come up with a blog post or two. 

Off late, I’ve been rather intrigued by the language used by the younger generation in their day-to-day vocabulary. One such word which drew my attention instantly was the word “Wannabe”. Just the other day, after I heard a friend of mine use it on another apparent “Wannabe” friend I came to think of one big wannabe I personally know of – ME! 

Lets go back in time, perhaps back to the year 1997 when I was all of 8 years old. The thing that used to fascinate me the most back then was the limelight cine-stars happily enjoyed. I would often be so fascinated with every single thing they did and how the television in total would give them so much of popularity that I would really hope I made my debut on TV one day. A big ten years later, thanks to Daiji Global Panvision ;-) That dream to a certain extent was realized.

I remember my sister always enjoying the thunder wherever she went. I always looked at her in awe with a lot of admiration and respect hoping someday that I could enjoy the same position. My sister got the popularity because she had the smartness and intelligence to make it big in life. To my dismay, intelligence was something I lacked when I was in school. To me intelligence meant excelling in language or public speaking which my lecturers and parents whole heartedly disagreed with back then. Science and math wouldn’t even dare go above my head considering how horribly convulsed with a lackadaisical attitude my mind was.  I wouldn’t however EVER miss an opportunity to be something or do something which would earn me some credit, even in pittance. My mother still tells me of instances where I would sweep the school on special occasions such as sports day or school day to simply impress my teachers and hear a few words of praise. It was somewhere around this time that I with such earnestness managed to earn the title of being an attention seeker. A few people still think I’m an attention seeker, but in my defense, when a person seeks attention by deeds of goodness or by doing something that is worth it then to hell with the world and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)! :P 

 

I’m 21 now and I’m 6 months short of being 22. I’ve lived forever in a world of fascination and enthrallment with a great spirit of ambition and enthusiasm. I had often wished to accomplish a few things in life, small and big. To a certain extent, with gods grace, I’ve managed to achieve a wee bit so far and I still see the journey isn’t even quarter complete! The matter of the fact now is that I proudly declare myself to be a "pukka" Wannabe and every day, every moment I want to be someone that I am not so that I can be better and do better and achieve something that has not been achievable so far. If having a burning desire to constantly be someone better than who you are is called being a wannabe then I'd take all the pleasure in calling myself one.

So to all the wannabe’s in the world like me – L’Chaim, Salut, Cheers! :-) Together, lets paint the world Red!

Paramahamsa, Really!?

Dearest Adi Shankaracharya,

First and foremost, I would like to offer my most respectful salutations and obeisance to you, the greatest of saints who attained the peak of salvation at quite a young age. You were the very epitome of the Bhakti Movement and through you, Hindus all around the world were made acquainted with the Advaita Vedanta. In your short life of 32 years, you managed to survive temperatures ranging from less than zero degrees, while scaling practically the whole of India with nothing but a staff and your two trusted feet. Your aim was clear, and your vision was true, all you wanted to achieve was a clear understanding of the human soul. You said, “Brahma satyam jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah”, the soul is the only truth, the world is an illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between the soul and individual self. You were very successful in maintaining your prominence which very much differs from the saints of our time and also, you were successful in coming up with wonderful and expert commentaries on all the sacred texts that can be found in Hinduism. Your soul left your body paving way to the revival of the highly gruesome social practices which were followed back then in the name of Hinduism. You brought about a radical change, you lived the life of a saint, and you lived the life of a true swami.

Today a complete thousand years after your very sad demise, the entire concept of a guru, has been absolutely tainted by the so called god men of recent times. Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, has said that if any person wants to live life and grasp its essence it is quintessential for him to accept for himself a guru, but my question to you is, is there any single person who lives the life of a guru in its truest quintessence for us to accept? The world today is in a severe state of confusion where people have no time for themselves and their personal lives; they choose to adopt a course of spirituality in order to de-stress themselves. The authority which holds a supreme position in the Guru-Sishya relationship, The Upanishads, clearly states that a Guru must strictly follow what he preaches. You often stated that life is but an illusion and that, the human body is prone to give away to certain desires and in order to fulfill your desires you were married once, but today, the supposed guru’s very sadly advertise their celibacy while on the other hand constantly involve themselves in under the table businesses quite literally.

I would like to bring to your knowledge the issue of the Kanchi Paramakoti case which today is long forgotten although it involved the brutal murder of an honest temple accountant, Sankararaman in broad day light within the temple premises for pointing out to the concerned authorities the amount of misappropriation of funds that is being shamelessly carried out by the seers of a temple which was initially established by you. What followed was a series of investigations which led to a woman openly claiming to be sexually involved with the head seer besides unearthing over a dozen of compact discs containing pornographic material. The seers who have today inherited your great religious empire have completely forgotten your basic principle of austerity. You would be surprised to know that the High Seer of the Shringeri Mutt sits on a tiger skin which has been neatly pasted over a Mercedes Benz during his public processions, the car seats also, have been furnished using only tiger skins and today, quite ironically we hear people venting tears for the less than 1411 tigers that we have in our country. You on the other hand had no option but to walk across all four corners of this beautiful nation called India. Coming to the killing of tigers, you also preached that the so called Guru’s must practice the theory of Ahimsa and refrain from causing any sort of a pain to another living creature, right? Funny that they don’t seem to understand what you laid down in such simple words.

It will completely sadden you if I told you about the type of atrocities that are present in the Shabari Malai temple of Kerala. I still remember the day when I embraced the sacred necklace and chose to maintain cleanliness of body and mind for forty one days, I expected a Shabari Malai of utmost religious fervor and sacredness. On entering the temple premises and asking if I could render services to the deity by performing any pooja, the temple priests who have been ordained through the lineage of pure blood to maintain the supreme most purity began to act like selfish, greedy individuals bargaining with us the rates of the Pooja we chose to perform. Thanks to the lords presence, we managed to bring the rate down from a whooping Rs. 10,000/- to a quite lump some Rs. 5,000/- when it is in fact worth less than Rs. 500/-. In actuality, such is the spotlessness and purity we find in our temples and holy shrines today.

The most recent episode of “Paramahamsa” Nithyananda is however the icebreaker, the magnum opus of all forms of atrocities that I have mentioned so far. A man who in the eyes of the public has chosen to be a celibate and to refrain himself from any “impure” act choosing the same for himself without an pressure in all his competency, was caught through hidden cameras engaging himself in sexual activities with a woman. What is shocking is that, reportedly, several storage devices containing videos of him engaging in sexual activities with various women was recovered along with copies of contracts, binding a woman or any devotee for that matter to him, with a disclaimer that no alarm shall be raised when any form of a sexual act is performed. The “Paramahamsa” also has an astonishing Rs. Thirty Two Crores to his name while I write this letter to you. When questioned about his acts with the woman on the video he claimed to be in a trance of extreme bliss, and apparently was performing a type of an experiment. An experiment it sure wasn’t, but the extreme bliss was very evident. The word “Paramahamsa” which in Sanskrit refers to the “Supreme form of bliss” that which can be attained only through spiritual enlightenment has been completely ridiculed through this shameless man! Today, he has claimed that he is impotent and that he must go through a potency taste to uphold his innocence, more so, he also claims to be transgender, isn't it rather traumatizing and disturbing that he is ready to stoop to such levels to prove his "supposed" innocence? Ultimately, a person once stained is stained for ever, and this person seems to have left no stone unturned in disgracing himself and the very essence of Hinduism. It was Oscar Wilde who aptly quoted, “Every saint has a past and every sinner, a future.” But in cases where a supposed saint is busy engaging in sinful activities, where is this distant, isolated future that is being spoken about?

This day, my heart goes out to you and to your greatness. In a time when there was no simplified medium through which a subject as vast as Hinduism could be propagated, you did with so much ease in the course of your small life. Today, when there is such a vast technological growth, when the true spirit of yoga and faithfulness can easily be spread all across barriers, these self-styled guru’s have just done every possible thing, to ruin it all. I wouldn’t think twice in saying that the Americans weren’t wrong in taking away the patents for yoga, at least, in all their gullibility and lack of actual knowledge, they are doing their best to preserve something as ancient, as pure as it. My apologies to you for this obnoxious state our religion is in and I really hope you aren’t crying blood tears looking at this ghastly, atrocious impression these foul souls have created of the Guru-shishya (Teacher-student) relationship and most importantly of something that is most dear to you, Hinduism – The way of leading life.

With Lots of Love and Respects,

Your Humble Student.