From Brahma to Buddha, Fall 2008

Ari practicing her Tabla skills

For the past year, the thought of the Taj Mahal has been the carrot dangling in front of my nose. College apps, SAT II’s or whatever stress that came my way, I dealt with by telling myself, “It’s cool, in several months I’ll be standing in front of the Taj, so there.” And then suddenly, I was. It was huge! It was beautiful! It was totally real! I would know, I touched it. Wow. It was strange to finally see the real life view of a sight I’ve seen in pictures and movies for years. In a way, it didn’t even seem real, because it’s such an icon.

At the Taj Mahal

So, the Taj Mahal was definitely breathtaking and awe-inspiring, but what I hadn’t expected to excite me at all was the Agra Fort.

Exploring secret chambers at the Agra Fort

I didn’t even know what it was, really, or rather, I hadn’t made the connection that this was the fort I had been reading about in books about India (City of Djinns by William Dalrymple is FANTASTIC.) But when I saw the fort’s red sandstone stretching up and away in either direction, (this sounds cheesy but) history came alive for me. I could picture Aurangzeb, the evil son of the old emperor, riding up the stone ramp on an elephant, or Princess Jahanara being totally spoiled in her ornately carved marble pavilions. It’s surprising how the fort’s architecture turns cold white marble into cozy libraries or airy palaces. I’ve decided that if I was a princess, the Agra Fort would definitely be my palace of choice.

With our token tourism out of the way, we have one more month left of our trip—pretty hard to believe. One month still seems like a lot, but it’s going to go by so fast. Before I left Dharamsala, I went to an astrologer and had my tarot cards read. I’ve always kind of believed in divination, but the incredibly accurate reading she gave me made my faith skyrocket. I’m not going to repeat it all because it won’t make sense if you don’t know me, but at the end of the reading, the astrologer leaned forward and told me with a sense of urgency, “This trip you’re on, you need this experience. You have to try everything and discover new paths because this exploration will help you find stability. Really appreciate the time you have left here.” And it’s what everyone’s been saying and what I’ve been listening to the entire time, but hearing it from a perfect stranger (and my own tarot cards) gave me a shock and renewed my dedication to this trip- opening myself up time after time and absorbing more than I think I can handle.

She also said that I have an intrinsic urge to seek out new things and understand them. She told me, “This search is your life, you will always be involved in The Search.” I took it as a blessing for all the future travels I intend to make—good luck indeed. So with this prophecy, here I go on the last big part of the trip!