Agra Visit – Susan

Driving through the streets of Agra was even more shocking than Delhi.  Not only were there people everywhere, but the small crowded streets were lined with people, trash and building ruble. We arrived at 8:30 in the morning at The Oberoi Amarvilas.  The hotel was exquisite and a complete contrast from the streets outside. The hotel was only built ten years ago and sits adjacent to the Taj Mahal.  The building is designed so that all the rooms and public space provide beautiful views of the magnificent domed structure.

The hotel staff treated us like visiting royalty.  We were taken to a lovely sitting area off the lobby and offered tea, with the promise that they would be able to offer us our room shortly, hours before the typical check in. I must admit we loved this royal treatment!

Asif, our new tour guide strutted in the lobby to meet us.  Asif was a cool, hip 30 year old man of Agra.  His viewpoint was very different from the intellectual  one Vineet had provided in Delhi. We deposited our bags in our room and were off with Asif to visit the Taj Mahal.

One thing we have learned from the Indian people, you cover your arms and legs in the very hot weather to stay cool and protect yourself from the sun.  So I wore a long cotton dress and wrapped myself in long scarf I had purchased in Delhi.  The sleeveless t-shirts and shorts we wear at home do seem out of place and actually hotter to the body.

The Taj Mahal is more beautiful than pictures can convey.  It actually shimmers in the sunlight.  Asif found a shady bench for us to begin his instruction of the Mughal (ruling Emperor) history.  The Taj was built by Shad Jahan as a memorial and tomb for his second wife, who died in childbirth of their 14^th child.  The construction began that year, 1631 and took 22 years and 20,000 employees to complete.

We also visited the Red Fort of Agra.  Picture a large open-air, Indian version of  a palace.  There was plenty of room for the Emperor, his family, 500 harlequins, and an army!  Having not studied the history before arriving, I mistakenly assumed that a fort referred to a small military outpost, something like the Alamo.  I didn’t realize we were talking about luxurious living along with your own army in the 16th and 17th century!

The heat continued with highs of 112.  We were dripping just standing still! The good news is there were not as many tourists as there would be in cooler months!  Asif took us back to the hotel for an afternoon rest and the promise to continue later in the day.

I checked my email and was surprised to receive a message from Rajiv, my seat mate from the flight to Delhi.  In response to his request for coaching tips, I had suggested he read about emotional self-awareness and emotional awareness of others, given the situation he had presented.  I assumed he was already digging into his leadership self-study.  I burst out laughing when I read that he was writing to ask if I could send him a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, the book I was reading on the fight! I guess sex is more interesting than leadership!

The late afternoon tour featured another tomb, called the Baby Taj and a park directly across the river from the Taj.  The sun was setting, it was quite something.

That night for dinner we went to restaurant in town that Asif owns.  It is called Taj Babur. Babur was the first Mughal Emperor.  Asif is an incredibly entrepreneurial guy.  He guides in English and Spanish.  He is what we call a connector with friends across the globe from his touring.  He opened the restaurant a few years ago on the suggestion of his tour company connections.  There was a large group of American high school kids having a grand time the night we had dinner there.

Asif tells us he has purchased land to build a hotel in the next two years, also for the tour business.  Asif was very candid and endearing about his challenging romantic life.  He is in love with a local girl, having dated her for years.  Her family is from a caste, one higher than his own, so her father won’t grant permission for marriage.  Asif’s father even asked her father for permission four years ago and the fathers no longer speak to each other.  So they wait, neither dating others, hoping the situation will work out.  His strategy for now is to put his energy into building his business success and enjoying his work life.

One last interesting point about Asif, I asked him how he chose the name for his restaurant, thinking there must have been some significance to naming the place after the first Emperor.  “No”, he replies, “We go to a Magic Guy for such things and he said this was to be the name”.  I thought to myself, my marketing strategist pal, Nancy Shaw would have a fit at this practice!

Of course, I asked him if the guy could help with his romantic life and said unfortunately not, he had already asked him!

Omveer was waiting patiently outside the restaurant to return us to the hotel, which looked glorious with it’s evening lights.  We had learned earlier in the day that these two white elephants were craved from the same white marble used in building the Taj and been especially approved by the Indian government for the hotel’s use.