January 18, 2011
This morning started with an hour journey to the ancient
Moghul city of Fatehpur Sikri. The city was built by Emperor Akbar in the lake
1500s. It took 15 years to build but then was abandoned after 14 years because
there wasn’t enough water. The emperor believed in syncretism so symbols from
all main religions can be found in its design. In addition to his three wives,
the emperor had hundreds of concubines that he kept in the palace as well. He
would use these ladies as human game pieces for games of Parcheesi, the winner
of which would spend time with the emperor in his giant elevated bed. The lady
(along with the other four or five he would be entertaining) also had the
responsibility of hiding him from any enemy that might enter his room. Another
standout feature of Akbar’s rule was capital punishment by elephant stomping.
Six people received this fate during the years he ruled there, and while it’s
not clear what happened to the bodies of those killed, there is a tower marking
the grave of the emperor’s favorite executioner elephant.
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| Fort |
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| It seemed like a good photo at the time. :) |
The kingdom is also home Jama Masjid, a mosque that is a
replica of Mecca. It has a 54 meter high entrance called the Gate of Victory,
and the mosque is quite impressive in size all the way around. For only 100
rupees ($2), I was able to make three wishes there, each marked by the tying of
a red and yellow string onto a trellis window thing. Once each wish comes true,
I can email my tour guide and he will remove a string representing that wish.
Pretty good deal!
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| Mosque |
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| I'm just covering all my bases! |
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| Sweatered goats outside the mosque. But of course! |
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| The goats' view of the mosque |
From Fatehpur Sikri, we had about a four hour drive into
Karauli in the state of Rajasthan. During the drive, our guide told us about
some of the history of India as well as some interesting facts about the
country today. There are currently 1.2 billion Indians, and it’s predicted that
the population will overtake China’s in 5-6 years. (As a side note, the Indian
census is conducted every ten years by school teachers who go out into the
communities they serve to collect population data.) While the government can’t
legally limit family size, they are doing their best to discourage parents from
having more than two children: parents of more than two little ones cannot hold
government jobs nor run for public office, and their children do not receive
benefits in school. Eighty-two percent of the population is Hindu, 12-13%
Muslim, 5% Christian, 0.5% Sikhs, and 0.5% Jains. Even though Muslims make up
only 12% of the population, by numbers, India has the second largest Muslim
population in the world.
Another thing I found interesting is that even though
education is now free for people, it’s still hard to get kids in rural areas to
attend school. Recently the government has started giving wheat and rice to
families of children who go to school and that has had a positive impact on attendance.
(Quality of rural education is still lacking, however, as an article I read in
the HindiTimes reported that grade 5 students in rural areas are reading at a
grade 2 level, despite additional time spent with tutors after school. Time for
NCLB India? (Just Kidding!))
While the caste system is constitutionally banned, it still
plays a role in Indian society, particularly in smaller cities and villages.
There is some irony, our guide explained, because even though the system is
banned in the constitution, the government acknowledges and in some ways
reinforces it through its affirmative action policies benefiting the lower
castes: reserved parliament seats, 32% quota for all government jobs (There is
also a 20% quota for women.), free education and benefits for school children. Our
guide explained that these policies are increasing class tension, especially
because they are seen as indefinite. When I asked whether they were indeed
indefinite, he said he didn’t know, but that they would be in place for a while
longer at least because politicians make the laws, and the politicians take
care of the poor people because rich people don’t vote here.
Let me say here that I’m always interested in having
conversations with the guides or other people I meet about the lifestyles and
beliefs of the people in the countries I visit, and I like to record what they
tell me. I do always try to keep things in perspective though as I know a
visitor to the US talking to me about the country could leave with a much
different impression of America than someone who talked to a preacher in
Alabama, a factory worker in Michigan, or a lawyer in New York.
Our long drive also went through territory notorious for
bandits due to its intricate ravines that allow members to hide. Evidently,
there was a very famous bandit woman about whose life a movie was made:
BanditQueen. (The movie was so racy at the time that it couldn’t be debuted in
India but rather opened in France.) While I haven’t seen the movie, the summary
of her life is this: she was married off to a very rich fifty-year-old man when
she was just 11. She was shared by her husband with some of his friends and was
then raped by other men in the village. When she went to the police, she was
raped by them. After this trauma, she ended up becoming a bandit and marrying
the head outlaw. Her husband was shot and she became the new head of the gang.
Once in charge she went to the town of her childhood suffering, lined up 20 men
and shot them. She was jailed for these murders, but later the female president
reviewed her case and pardoned her, and the outlaw became a member of
parliament. She was shot in her home a year later. Very sad.
Our journey ended in
a palace where we are staying for the night. The palace was built in 1938, and
is quite beautiful, if a bit run down in spots. It’s quite a contrast to
previous nights’ accommodation.
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| Palace accommodation |
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| Candlelight dinner. Where am I? |
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