Beauty is in the Details

The thing I love most about visiting historical buildings is looking closely at the details.

Modern day buildings don’t usually seem to carry the same amount of intricacies that the ancient ones have. Add to that the fact that, due to lack of modern technology, most of the details were added/painted/carved by hand, the end result, which is still impressive (perhaps even more so) and grand, is almost always a product of marvel.

India is a country that is rich in its culture and heritage (I’m always slightly envious of such countries as Singapore’s heritage tends to feel diluted because of our short history and speedy progress). On the Jaipur and Delhi legs of our Grand India Trip, we were able to feast our eyes on a variety of these intricate details on ancient monuments.

Mere arches are not enough.

Beautifully painted onto angled curves on the walls. The protrusions on the otherwise smooth surface makes it all the more interesting.

Tiny mirrors filling every inch of the walls and ceiling.

Carved in stone.

Taj Mahal – made of tiny tiles cut precisely to come together as a pattern.

Cut so finely, it looks like lace.

So as I imagine the men and women of old going about their lives in these places, I also wonder how the builders managed it all, piece by piece, cut by cut, stroke by stroke. I reflect on how we sometimes abandon tasks or ideas because they seem too tedious, always thinking that ‘there must be an easier way to do this’. Sometimes there really is an easier way, but sometimes we stop ourselves because we are lazy or impatient, unwilling to put in the required effort and persevere to get the result.

Our Grand India Trip

I dropped of the face of the digital world for a while there because the hubs and I finally went for our Grand India Trip (yes, that’s what we’re calling it). We figured that we would leap at this opportunity of being stationed in India, to explore the country, based on the assumption that once we get posted out, we would no longer have to chance to return. So far, I’ve tagged along/extended his work trips to Mumbai and Calcutta, and we celebrated our first anniversary in Udaipur (in a palace, no less).

This latest trip, though, was a thing of if-this-was-your-only-trip-to-India and how-to-see-the-different-faces-of-India. So we extended the Public Holidays for Diwali, and set off!

Here’s what we picked:

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Jaipur to see the shimmering Diwali lights along the Bazaars in the ancient Pink City. It’s no wonder Jaipur’s usually included in the typical tourist itinerary of the Golden Triangle of India. It’s on the the few cities in Rajasthan that bore witness of the many kings that ruled. Grand palaces and forts are a facet of India that is a must-see, and Jaipur’s proximity to Delhi makes it an appealing destination. Above is the view from Amber Palace.

We then took a train to Delhi. Booking the train via the website required a bit of random clicking and figuring out at the start, but it was surprising convenient and easy after the initial confusion. Choosing Delhi was a no-brainer. Capital of India and possibly the most accurate glimpse of modern India? Yup, Delhi’s down next.

Of course, then, we couldn’t not include a day trip to Agra to take a peek at the legendary Taj Mahal, could we? We dutifully allocated one day to rub shoulders with the world famous tomb (along the the thousands of other people there).

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Last of all, we wanted to include something special and different. Somehow (I don’t remember how right now. Obviously, we’ve been planning this trip for ages.) we heard about Leh and the Ladakh region. Almost everyone said it was beautiful, and India couples often chose to spend their honeymoon in that part of the Himalayan range. Okay, the fact that it was in the Himalayan range was a major draw and definitely the something special we were looking for. It was also a short one plus hour flight away from Delhi. All the better.

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Here’s a sneak peek at Nubra Valley in the Ladakh region, a part of the ancient Silk Route.

I’m definitely excited to share more, perhaps in the coming weeks, and I’m thankful that we got to see so much of India (despite still having a lot left unseen).