1312

Bengaluru Bangalore

Friday, 30th of NovemberGetting up at 4 am is way too early for a normal man, but there is nothing quite normal here.So we’re getting into a taxi that will take us to the airport, without even having breakfast. Our flight to Bangalore leaves at 6.25. Security measures at the airport are very strict and they get even stricter once they notice Frank’s cameras. Again, all cameras are checked and even double checked. This takes up so much of our time that we hear our names being called: “Last call for Mr. De Kremer and Mr. Matthies!”. An airport agent brings us at a jog to the counter to check in, we get into the shuttle bus and we’re just in time to board the plane. Fortunately for us, an Indian man is running late as well, otherwise we would’ve been those foreigners causing a delay again. After a beautiful flight in a propeller plane, we land in Bangalore. There, the local manager of the Pragati firm, Lokesh, is waiting for us. He will be our guide today. This is certainly not a luxury in such a big city as Bengaluru. The first temple to visit is the BULL TEMPLE, a Hindu temple from the 16th century. It has a huge granite monolith of Nandi the bull. Lokesh does his prayers while we are there. After taking off our shoes we can take a lot of beautiful pictures. Frank says that it’s a pity that we don’t have a helicopter to take some aerial photographs of this temple. Besides these pictures we can also take some pictures of another temple, the DODDA GANESHA TEMPLE.The local guru doesn’t allow us to take photos, no one is allowed. We can persuade him and he allows us to take pictures just some minutes before closing time. So we have to work very fast. He gives us the real reason: he can’t allow tourists

because the locals aren’t allowed as well. That’s understandable.Then we go to the TIPU SULTAN’S PALACE, where we can photograph, but not with the tripod, it is “too dangerous”. Frank tells the local guard that he can’t take pictures without using his tripod and after some hesitation the man allows it. We walk on with the tripod but at the moment that Frank takes his first photo we hear a lot of screaming. We cannot take anymore pictures. We are obliged to leave this place because we can’t do our job here. We go on to the next location.According to Lokesh, this place will be more difficult to get admission to than the previous one. It is JAMA MASHID, a large and beautiful mosque. Moreover it is Friday today, so a lot of people are praying, even on the streets. We try taking some pictures on the sly, while Lokesh is asking permission. Everyone comes outside after saying their prayers. Lokesh exits the building with two other men. These men give us permission to go in and take pictures, but only a few. We go inside and while Frank is busy another man tells us that we didn’t ask his permission. We tell him we have permission but according to him this cannot be, we had to ask him first. He demands that we leave at once, that’s ok, we already have some pictures. On to the next, the STATE CENTER LIBRARY. What will it be here? And again, we don’t get allowed to take pictures outside. “Why?” “Because!” We’re getting used to this. Outside a man is looking at us and accompanies us inside the beautiful library. He wants to help and gets permission. Suddenly we are allowed to take one picture. In the end we can take several photos.In the meantime we are walking through and around CUBBON PARK, a park of 16 hectares.

3332

Agra

Monday, 10th of DecemberAnother early morning today. It’s becoming a habit. I tell Frank, I’m getting really tired. It’s a small sacrifice, Hanze, says Frank. I have to agree with him, it is an incredible experience. India is a beautiful but at the same time confusing country. For instance, if you ask something, they just nod their heads to confirm, for us this seems as if they aren’t agreeing.But, after being here for almost 14 days, we’re starting to adjust. We have a long drive ahead, to Agra, about 350 kilometers away. It is still dark when we leave, it is five to six. We are happy because we already know this driver. He’s a good man who is always willing to help us.It is foggy and after a while we can see the sun rise. After about five minutes I ask our driver to stop so we can take a beautiful photo of the rising sun. After an hour he asks if we would like some breakfast, but we already had some at the hotel. We tell him that he can have breakfast if he wants to. A little further he stops at a kind of restaurant for tourists, where we have a cup of tea and he can have breakfast. We are welcomed by a manwith a monkey who does tricks for us, we just ignore it, because we have monkeys at home as well. This is not the reason for coming to India. Frank buys a silk painting for a very cheap price and we leave. We drive for another two hours and arrive in Agra. It is a madhouse there.We are taken to a hotel in the city but we tell the driver that we first want to see the room before we check in. Maneesh has reserved a room here;it’s an extremely fancy hotel, but a bit too far from the Taj Mahal. I chose Saniya Palace while I was preparing this trip, it is in fact a backpackers hotel, very basic, no hot water, and a little cold water when you open

the tap. But what a sight, from our window we see the Taj Mahal, and our room is on the roof top, where the restaurant is located. We don’t hesitate, and decide to stay here for this night.I see the Taj Mahal for the first time in my lifeand I will never forget the sight of it. The same goes for Frank. This is such a beautiful building. You can’t even call it a building; it is difficult to describe how beautiful it really is.And we’re only seeing it from a distance of 500 meters away.We decide to go to FATEHPUR SIKRI first, about 40 kilometres from here. It is a palace built entirely of one type of red sandstone, but in gigantic size, because the port that we go through is the greatest of India, about 36 meters high. Impressive, as all the buildings that this ruler has built. He had three wives, a Muslim, a Hindu and a Christian, and for each of these women, there was a temple, with outbuildings and the like, simply beautiful. We take our pictures and with a tuktuk rickshaw we go back to the taxi parking. The driver asks if we want to eat first, but we definitely want to go to the TAJ MAHAL today, and definitely around 4 o’clock, when the sun is lower, the light will be perfect. Maneesh hired a guide for us and he takes us past the very long queues to the ticket office. We do not get past the security, which is very strict. They don’t trust the ruler that Frank needs to take 3D-photos. Our guide asks us if we have 1000 rupees and before we even realize we are allowed inside. He advices us to keep low profile otherwise we will have to stop taking pictures. Facing a world wonder leaves an overwhelming impression. World Wonder is the only correct description; there are no words to describe this. Frank takes pictures on the sly, as one would say, and I’m

trying to get the attention of the security by standing next to or in front of them, so they don’t look at him. He’s able to take about four 3D-pictures.We decide to come back tomorrow to enjoy the Taj Mahal on our own. The guide wants us to go to a shop first, where they explain how the marble is used. The main goal is, of course, to sell the very expensive tables and other things. Souvenir for your wife, the guide says. I tell him my wife wouldn’t be pleased with this table that costs 400 euro. Yes sir, but you can surprise her. Frank says that it would be a terrible surprise ...We drive back to our hotel and have dinner on the roof top terrace with in the distance the Taj Mahal, but only the silhouette against the dark sky. Frank wants to copy pictures, I decide to write some more in my diary on the roof top terrace. Waw. This is a day to remember.

3938

Thursday, 13th of DecemberI slept with intervals because of the music that resounds from the ghats. Cremations are done around the clock here. So people have to sleep with noise in the background or in the distance. After a very hearty breakfast at the roof top restaurant we go along the ghats to take pictures, and there are many occasions. A lot of people at the various ghats, a lot of people bathing, and a lot of sadhus. At a certain moment I sit next to a sadhu who spent the last 12 years sitting on the same stone without saying a word. Rather him than me I think, what a way of living. But he does have pen and paper and writes something for me. Yeah, what do you think, he wants cigarettes and apples, and rice. I decide to buy him cigarettes, it’s the only thing for sale here in the neighborhood, and he already doesn’t seem very healthy because there

is a big pot of glue standing next to him, where he regularly sniffs at. Frank takes some pictures of me and the sadhus for ‘the making of’ and then we continue our journey. Regularly we are asked to take a boat trip, visit a shop, take a photo, etc. We find a boat that wants to take us to the river for 300 rupees. It sails very slowly but it is a relief.We sail along the six kilometer long chain of ghats, to the main ghat, where most of the cremations take place. Seeing this makes us speechless. To us, this is a moment that we will never forget. This image will be engraved in our memory for the rest of our lives. We aren’t allowed to take pictures, not even from the river. But we’re enjoying life right now. We sail back to the starting point and pay our debts, with the agreement that we’re going to do another tour tomorrow morning. We decide to go back to the big cremation ghat. When arriving

there we find ourselves amongst wriggling people, all families of the people who are being burned at that moment. There are eight burns in progress. The stench is indescribable, we walk between the pieces of wood, stone, cow dung, covered robes, rotting flowers that were put on the corpses,it is an indescribable experience. For us, death is taboo; here death is a part of the daily life.The river is life, life is India. Here you realize to the fullest that life is in fact nothing at all,or maybe this is just the feeling of the moment. While we’re standing there in complete silence, a boy comes to us. He is part of the people of the lowest castes, a so-called untouchable, who take care of the cremations. He proposes that we should take a picture, but inconspicuous. Frank says, yes, but that’s impossible for me, I can’t take pictures that way. Ok, he says, then it will cost you 500

Varanasi

rupees. This money goes to people who can’t afford a cremation, he says. We have our own ideas about that. We can take another photo if we want to, but it will cost about 1000 rupees. I’m talking to a boy who is standing next to me. He turns out to be a relative of the person who is being cremating in front of us. He says that it’s just the way the system is put together, but we decide not to take any more pictures, out of respect of the family members who are present. We continue our walk down the river and a little girl with big eyes and a dazzling smile asks if I have a wife and children. When I answer affirmatively, she says, you should send a wish on the river. It is a kind of banana leaf bearing flowers and in the middle a small candle.I say, I am not a Hindu, so I can’t. Sir, do not worry, it works for everyone. I let myself be persuaded for 30 rupees, and look at me now, sitting here, on the Ganges with a wishing boat. I send it to the river and it feels really good. We walk on to the last ghat, where our hotel is situated, and now realize that it is actually already late. It’s 5.30 pm and we’ve been away since this morning, without having something to eat or drink.

4544

Kolkata

Sunday, 16th of DecemberToday is our last day in Kolkata, as they say here. Calcutta is the name that in the past the English used for the city. We ask the guide to visit Howrath Bridge again, to see if we can take pictures on it. We hit the mark; it is not allowed to take pictures here. We keep on insisting and the police officer on duty says that he has to forbid it while he is working. But, he says, if you take pictures when I don’t notice, then it’s ok. He doesn’t have to tell us twice. We have the necessary pictures in no time. From the hanging bridge we can see that there is a flower market below us. So we go down. It is a colourful experience, with a lot of people and flowers. We take some pictures and go to TAGORES HOUSE, the famous Indian poet. It is a beautiful colonial house, now used for seminars about theatre and the like. We meet the guru on duty, someone or other Krishna of Hare Krishna movement. Afterwards we visit the museum and the house where Tagore lived and where he died. And then we go to the KALIGHAT TEMPLE, a Hindu temple from which we know we can’t take pictures. But no problem, there is enough material around the temple to spend some time. We drive to the house of MOTHER THERESA, but it is closed when we get there. An on duty nun says we may see the grave, photograph it and that’s it. We even take some extra photos without them noticing. They forbid everything so we’re obliged to work on the sly.The last location on our program today is the MARBLE PALACE, a museum, with some nice spots to photograph. The guard at the gate says we can take pictures discretely if we give him 100 rupees. We take our photos but then almost we get chased by a security agent. Frank asks if there

is a problem, no, no, he says, but you can’t take pictures. Frank shows his 2 cameras and says, these are no cameras, this is something to make 3D. Ah, yes, then it is good, says the man, and we can take our pictures.The guide takes us to a little shady house where the word ‘bar’ is written on. We will eat here, he says. After a detailed explanation by the waiter about what we should have we decide to still order what we wanted in the first place. It is delicious. Every now and then we see a waiter pass with bottles of whisky, cognac, etc. and he disappears behind a kind of curtain, where we see people sitting at a table. Yes, he says, this is what we do here if we want to have a drink at a restaurant; we disappear in a separate room, so that the women and the children do not see that we’re drinking something at the table. Then we go to the hotel,to organize everything for tomorrow, because we’re going to Sunderban Tiger Reserve tomorrow.

5756

Darjeeling

Tuesday, 25th of DecemberIt’s Christmas today and again we heard the dogs barking last night. They sleep during the day but at night they are wide awake. It would be so much better the other way around. Anyway, we go and have breakfast and the American lady is still having breakfast. She asks about our plans for today. Frank says, they are the same as yours, she looks a bit weird, and I say, we’re riding on the TOY TRAIN. She had forgotten about it, imagine! She says, good that I saw you two this morning, otherwise I would’ve missed the trip. First we have a small walk around and at 10 am we go to the station. The diesel train leaves and a moment later it’s our turn. We get in and when everyone is on the train we hear the whistling of the train, it’s a hissing and banging, as we expect of a steam train. Sometimes the train passes the houses at a distance of a few centimeters, you can steal the clothes from the clothesline. We’re enjoying every minute of it. The curves are so sharp that you can see the locomotive driving onto the third carriage and there are only three carriages, each of fifteen travelers. After a kilometer or two, there is a

stop, because the train needs some water. Then it goes to the BATASTIA LOOP, a track where the train takes a turn of 180 degrees. Beautiful, it is a place worth seeing. The terminal for us is Ghum, because the railway is interrupted by landslides. We have half an hour to visit the little station while the train is turning on different tracks so it can drive back. One of the carriages is a flat one, on which a group of dancers perform folk dance with the accompanying music, on the occasion of the Darjeeling tea festival. It’s fun, and I seize the opportunity to film.We arrive at the station of Darjeeling and then go to the DHIRDHAM MANDIR, a Hindu temple, which should be a replica of the famous Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is a beautiful temple, but not as beautiful as the original one. Frank shoots some 3D-pictures and then we go to the hotel. Later on we go on to the streets to buy some gifts to take home and then decide that the chapter Darjeeling is finished. Tonight we’re going to eat something and tomorrow at 9 am we leave to Bagdogra for a ride of four hours. It is going to be an exhausting day.