Mystic India

New Delhi

Just three days after the exit of Year 2005, I got a call from the headquarters of my client in India to fly to New Delhi before their SAP system goes live.

It was my first time in Mystic India, home to one of the world's oldest civilizations.

It was not a usual preparatory landing announcement I heard a few minutes before our plane touches down the runway of Indira Gandhi Int’l Airport. One of the flight attendants of Air India announced that the plane must be disinfected, then much earlier than I thought, they came spraying the whole aircraft with air disinfectant. That caused zero visibility inside the plane, which almost triggered my asthma.

My team worked like crazy for over 14 hours daily at my client’s office and in our hotel rooms drowning ourselves with coffee to keep us mentally alert.

A few times we would take a break and see New Delhi at night as it was impossible to explore the city by day with the overwhelming tasks to be done. We explored some good Indian restaurants and ate authentic Indian cuisine rich with spices and flavours. It was a gastronomic feat for me, but to my colleague, it was a nightmare not to mention the discomfort she endures at the toilet every morning. So the rest of the trip she fed herself with Mc Donald’s vegetarian burger and fries.

New Delhi is beautiful with its tree-lined boulevards. Though I felt something creepy inside once our car would pass line of trees full of crows especially when they turned New Delhi’s blue sky to black as they took their flight just like in the horror movies.

My hard work was rewarded when my client announced on my last day that they are taking me to Agra, to see Taj Mahal, one of the 8 wonders of the world.

I enjoyed the long drive from New Delhi to the City of Agra. On our way, it was an interesting sight seeing India’s holy cows in all shapes and sizes roaming around, freely, untouched, and feeding on whatever they find edible in the streets, neighbourhood backyards, and open fields. In this part of the world, cows are considered sacred. Cows are not being turned to burgers here, so forget about that quarter pounder meal you craved for at Mc Donald’s. After all, India’s authentic dishes will never fail your quest for a unique gastronomic experience.

Taj Mahal is considered as the jewel of Muslim art. It’s a picture of perfect symmetry of structures, made of high quality white marble.

Behind the beauty of this UNESCO declared World Heritage Site is a sad love story of an Indian Emperor Shah Jahan and his favourite third wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died after giving birth to their 14th child. Taj Mahal was constructed by the emperor as a final resting place for his wife.

The construction cost was so immense that it caused the emperor’s post after a coup was successfully staged against him by his son. The building of Taj Mahal almost led the empire to bankruptcy.

However, in these days, it placed Agra in the world map, drawing millions of tourists annually.

Before the day tour was over, I took time to queue and have my picture taken at the bench where one can have the full background of this wonder of the world. Celebrities like John Lennon and Yoko Ono posed there, even the royalties of England like Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.