the taj

now no trip to india would be complete without a visit to the taj. truth be told, i wasn't too keen to jostle with the throngs of tourists. i mean, it's just a block of white marble. meh. but am i glad i was wrong, and glad for the mister who nudges me out of my crowd-averse comfort zone and gets me to face life head-on. the mister is resourceful and research showed that the taj was most impressive at dusk i.e. to watch the marble glow different colours in the setting sun. there is a certain beauty to the symmetry and i can almost imagine the bereaved maharajah deliriously in love building this mausoleum for his deceased wife.

speaking of marriage, i hadn't realised just how conservative india/indians were. every where we went, people (passport control / shop keepers / guides / museum ticket collectors etc) would ask if we were married and their attitude would visibly change once they learnt we were. it was after this happened a few times that i thought, "maybe they don't approve of unmarried couples traveling together". like when we were getting our visas on arrival, the immigration officer was quite stern until he learnt we were married. then his whole countenance softened and was all, "oh! but you married! stay long time no problem!" uh so if we were just dating, we would have to leave sooner? i also found that the men would bond based on the shared understanding of being married. the string of guides we had really warmed to the mister and would tell him about their wives and families. also, at one of the museums, an artist sketched a portrait on my postcard and asked for my name, adding the mister's name to the drawing only after confirming that we were married. how bizarre!