Dr. Seuss at a Mosque in Delhi

Dear Friends,

I apologize for this late postings. I meant to post this before my reflection on New Delhi...

We have seen ALOT. We have visited ancient ruins form the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Although we have seen many different ruins from different rulers, one thing is clear. Delhi has a deep history with so much that is often not realized at first glance. What is perhaps more interesting than the structures themselves, are the stories they tell and the stories about them that are never told. Along with learning about these structures, we have had the opportunity to gain insight into their connection to the present. After all of this, I really do believe that there is no substitute for standing in the middle of the court of a 14th century ruler.

One of these ancient structures that I had the privilege of seeing is the Taj Mahal. The story and mystery behind this mammoth of a structure is remarkable. To stand in the middle of a structure that was built entirely out of Marble for the sole purpose of a 17th century tomb was incredible. As the subtle color changes of marble sparked through my eyes, I realized why people had spoke so highly of this structure. If the look of it alone is not enough to catch interests, the history behind it is some what of a mystery, but intriguing just the same. It is perhaps the single most symmetrical building in which I have ever had the honor of walking. Now, being at such a structure that has so much detail to it, one has a lot to look at. Logic would follow that the others visiting this structure too would spend their time looking at the remarkable beauty set before them. While I wish this were true, the people that were there would prove other wise. Every room Keletso ( fellow LC Student from Botswana) and I walked into, there was someone wanting to snap a photo of us. More than a few times, people actually asked if they could be in a photo with us. There was no hope of money in return, just the sheer joy of being in the photo with such strange beings, I guess. As we tried to ignore it all, which you could imagine is pretty difficult to do, we walked through these beautiful structures and tried to articulate what attention to detail Shah Jahan (the architect and ruler of the time) must have had. Sadly, our time of amazement had come to a necessary end as we proceeded out of the Taj and towards a bench to put our shoes on. It was here, that I really felt as though some of the people in the group were celebrities, or perhaps attractions depending on the way one views it. As we put on our shoes on in the hot Indian weather, a family came up and asked to take a picture with Keletso. While this had become some what usual, we weren't expecting the family to proceed to move out of the picture and set their infant child on Keletso's lap and take the picture. All I could think was, "oh the Places You'll Go!"

Another story comes at a holy time for Muslims in the city of Delhi. As we gathered on the steps of what is believed to be the oldest and most visited Mosque in Delhi (Jama Masjid), we listened to our Professor and waited for two other students to arrive as the usual crowd of 10 or 15 gathered around to watch and stare at us. After about ten minutes of our professor talking, we took another look around and the crowd had grown to about 60 or 70. I decided to take a picture with one of the students on the trip (Rosie), and my book, Oh the Places You'll Go, by Dr. Seuss. Since we we're already waiting and I had an audience, Ava Wagner (former 3CE employee) asked if I could read it out loud...So i Did!!! I showed the pictures to all the kids and people gathered around us as they stood there the entire time! I'm sure they didn't understand me, but they were grateful and clapped just the same. During the story, you could see some of their faces open up with smiles a mile wide, and it seemed as though parents knew it was a "children's" book. Reflecting back upon it, I would argue that for once, it seemed as though the crowd of Indians actually were smiling and laughing with us, instead of standing at a distance, watching our every move. The barriers that we as human beings have set up for ourselves seemed to have been made into bridges of curiosity and wonder, even if only for a short ten minutes. As for the rest of the group, it seemed to be a point of necessity. We all felt like we were going through something together. The fact that some of the pictures and frases hit spot on with some of our current experiences was uncanny. One that I will not forget is a phrase that talks about going down unmarked streets and not being able to find your way at first. If you ever visit India, you'll know what we're talking about as none of the streets are clearly marked, and if one is, you're in the wrong place :)