No Rain On My Taj Mahal Parade

by Graciano Petersen (United States of America)

Making a local connection India

Visiting the Taj Mahal is at the top of most itineraries when visiting Northern India. When making my plans to visit the Golden Triangle, the Taj Mahal was, no surprise, a must-see. The first part of my three-week journey to India began in early July during monsoon season. I arrived in New Delhi late in the evening and was immediately overwhelmed by the heat and craving the relief of a downpour. Before joining my tour group the next day, I spent some time shopping in a local market in Karol Bagh looking for an Indian-style outfit for my upcoming trip to the Taj Mahal. It would still be over a week before my group made it to Agra where the mausoleum is located, but I had to prepare! In the two cities, I visited before Agra, I was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of Delhi and the humility and devotional nature of Varanasi. During those eight days of travel, my group and I had been mostly spared any real rain and I began to scoff at all the people who warned me about traveling to India during monsoon season. I was so impressed by our ability to bypass the rain that I did not take notice of the foreshadowing that was the torrential downpour that hit us as we awaited our overnight train from Varanasi to Agra. Our overnight train to Agra was brutal but, we finally made it and I commiserated with my new travel friends about making our plans to shower and immediately change into our "Taj outfits." Each of us had planned and brought with us a specific outfit to wear for our classic, cheesy, incredibly overshared photo in front of the Taj Mahal. I stepped into the unairconditioned lobby of the hotel, donning a bright orange 3/4 length, long-sleeved tunic, and white pants, and I immediately began to sweat. This outfit was going to be too hot for the nearly 100-degree day in the late afternoon sun in Agra, but there was no going back now! I was fully committed to making and having this memory for my visit to the Taj Mahal. I didn't really know what to expect upon entering the compound to the Taj Mahal, but I was shocked by the number of local visitors! There were actually so many visitors in general that I now have a newfound respect for all those cheesy Taj photos. Once my photo was done, I proceeded on my tour of the majestic site. It was more breathtaking in person than I could have imagined. We were lucky to have the chance to visit in the evening and experience the site in fading light, which made for excellent photos. But, before we knew it, it very suddenly began to rain. We sought shelter under the structure itself and decided to wait out what we thought was a passing storm as the setting sun was still clearly visible. But, the rain gradually became a downpour and we were suddenly trapped, huddled under the Taj Mahal as we waited for the storm to subside. Waiting with me was a local Muslim family consisting of a wife, husband, his two sisters, and three children aged about 3, 7, and 11. There was a language barrier, but they managed to communicate with us in the few English words they knew as I knew not a word of their language. I took photos with the family and gestured about how ridiculous it was for us to be trapped like we were. Eventually, the children got restless and asked to go play in the rain and their dad happily joined them, while the women looked on and laughed. After more gesturing to ask for permission, I took photos of the family enjoying themselves in the rain sliding along the precious white marble that makes up the Taj Mahal. It was exciting to make it the Taj Mahal, get my iconic photograph in my specially selected outfit, and witness the majesty of a building dedicated to love. All of it made all the more special by the unexpected find of a family having fun together, no matter the circumstances; monsoon, or no monsoon.