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Capital: New Delhi
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The Victoria Memorial Museum, built at the turn of the 20th century tells the story of the British Empire in India at its peak, just before the beginning of its downward slide.
Its marble splendour exemplifies the astonishing excesses of the imperial elite made possible by the colonial domination of subjects maintained subservient by the brutal force of arms.
The Ramakrisna Temple is an equally impressive display of splendour located in the Ramakrisna Mission Institute of Culture also in Calcutta.
Swami Ramakrisna was a 19th century Hindu philosopher who taught the equal validity of all religions, the potential divinity of man, and service to man as a way of worshipping God. The Ramakrisna Mission founded by his disciple, Swami Vivekananda, succeeded to propagate the master's ideas well enough to build this temple where he is worshipped as a divinity. The Institute's large compound also holds temples where Ramakrisna's wife, the Holy Mother Saradi Devi, Vivekananda and another disciple, Bramanada are also worshipped as gods.
To an atheist, these temples exemplify the astonishing excesses of the religious elite made possible through the domination of the minds of their subjects brainwashed to make them believe in an imaginary supernatural world.
I have witnessed extreme military and religious domination so many times in various places around the world that I have learned that abusing the weak is part of the dark side of man's nature but I still can't stomach it. I also learned that I probably could if I believed in a God that told me it was OK.
I had read about extreme poverty in the overcrowded disease ridden city of Calcutta but seeing and smelling such human misery flooded me with complex emotions dominated by anger at the governments that apparently did nothing about it.
Remembering a novel about the hardships of a rickshaw puller maintained barely above starvation level by the greedy owner of his rickshaw, I paid special attention to these poor people waiting for clients on the left below or sweating for his "superiors" on the right.
Cows and goats routinely roam the streets.
That is an emaciated hunchback covering his deformity with a piece of jute sack cloth.
Just one of many terrible sights on Calcutta's sidewalks.
On the left, a makeshift hut in front of the impressive grandeur of a Hindu temple.
And at a nearby street corner, some of the biggest rats I have ever seen.
This is the entrance to the enclosed compound surrounding the beautiful marble tomb that Shah Jehan built for his wife Mumtaz.
Here is a first glimpse of the Taj Mahal from the entrance to the compound.
This Mosque stands inside the compound to the west of the Taj Mahal. An identical building was erected on the other side to respect symmetry but it was not used as a mosque for it does not face towards Mecca.
Here is another view of the Taj Mahal from an arched doorway.
And finally, here is the classic photo that everybody has seen of Shah Jehan's statement of love for his departed wife. It took 20 000 workers 22 years (1631 to 1653) to build it.
The walls of the monument are of white marble inlaid with semi precious stones.
In the main room below the great dome, false tombs of Emperor Shah Jehan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal lie behind this finely sculpted marble screen.
The real tombs are hidden in a subterranean chamber below the main room..
Finally I leave you with Shah Jehan's statement of love to make my way back home via Rome.
