Since I wrote last, we’ve had an enormous amount of experience packed into just a couple of days. (Consequently, this is a long blog!) On Monday, we got up early and headed for one of the many trains stations scattered around Delhi and caught a 6 am train to Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal, Fatephur Sikri, and the Agra Fort. We figured that we couldn’t very well come to India and not see one of the wonders of the world.

First, though, we drove out with our guide to the site of the “Phantom City” of Fatephur Sikri. This huge city was built of red sandstone about 500 years ago by the great Moghul king Ahkbar the Great, who united India into a single kingdom and established a dynasty that lasted until the British conquered India. The palace complex has been amazingly preserved, and the stone work is incredible. We particularly liked the private audience hall, where the king sat above the floor in a throne perched on top of a lotus flower shaped pedestal (the lotus was the traditional seat of the gods).

Next, we traveled to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is situated. The Taj lived up to its reputation. I kept getting chills up my spine every time I looked at it – never thought I’d be able to stand next to, walk through, or touch this amazing place, and we did all three. We wandered over the grounds slowly, trying to take this enormous tomb’s dimensions and beauty in as best we could. The wonder doesn’t diminish when you get closer: it’s not just the size of the place, it’s also the detail. Made of hard crystallized marble, embedded with hundreds of thousands of tiny shaped pieces of semi-precious stones in the shape of trees, flowers, birds, leaves, vines, and other motifs, and carved profusely with bas relief flora images (not to mention the immense ornate carved screens made of single slabs of the marble), the closer you looked the more wonder there was. I don’t think I will ever forget visiting this place. I should mention that by the time we got to the Taj, the temp was nearing 110 degrees Fahrenheit! But, at least it was a dry heat (Dr. Backus hates it when I say that!).

After lunch and a little shopping for some of that wonderful marble work, which is still done by the descendants of the same family that was in charge of the work at the Taj hundreds of years ago, and done with exactly the same techniques (even the glue is the same, a secret family recipe), we took a brief tour of the Agra Fort, built by Ahkbar again in red sandstone. It is IMMENSE. You can’t go through most of it, since it is still occupied by the Indian military, but the palaces are beautiful. By then, it was time to head back to Delhi by plane, in time to catch another train up to Dehradun. During our layover, we were able to rest a bit at the Solankis’ house again, which was another blessing.

Our train to Dehradun was an overnight special, so both of us enjoyed a first-time experience of sleeping in a sleeping car on a train. Pretty cool, though the berth was a little short for me. We were met at the station by my good friend Anup Hiwale, whom I met back in the US a couple of years ago, and who is now laboring here for the Lord teaching and preaching and seeking to help a faithful Reformed and Presbyterian witness in this area. He is the one who made the initial invitation and who was our liaison with the brethren here in setting up this trip. We checked into our hotel, got a little breakfast and rest, and then set out for a visit of the area. Besides seeing a good bit of the city of Dehradun, which is nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, we made a couple of very interesting stops. First, we visited the site of the oldest Presbyterian church building in the region, which was started by Bible Presbyterian missionaries a long time ago, and is still operating today in conjunction with a children’s home, started about the same time. The children who are there are not orphans: their parents are all lepers, and cannot be part of society (there’s actually a large leper colony right next to the Taj Mahal), so the kids come here to learn and be prepared for society. Out of this sad situation comes joy many times. The pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church is a close colleague of our friends Hiwale and Solanki, and adopted two of the girls years ago –those girls are now teachers at the children’s home school.

After a nice tea with the pastor and his wife, we set out for the Hindu holy city of Rishikesh, further up in the foothills, perched on the bank of the upper Ganges River. High mountains surround the town, and temples march up their flanks. Enormous multi-story buildings lined the river, occupied not by people but by thousands of idols. The locals call it “the city where the gods live.” We crossed the river twice on the suspension bridges that hang high over the water, and once on a boat. At water’s edge, people dipped themselves in the water in the belief that they were washing their sins away for the next year. Higher up the banks, pilgrims wandered through the narrow streets from temple to temple, trying to cover the bases. But with countless gods (I’ve heard estimates of anywhere from 36000 to 3.6 million) to try to appease, it’s a hopeless situation. I was struck with thankfulness that my sins are covered by the sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, once for all, for eternity. He has satisfied the justice of the one true and living God, who is not and cannot be made by human hands.

Anyway, the ride there and back was really beautiful. In this foothill country the roads were winding and shaded under the forest as we drove through. It is much greener up here than down in Delhi and the plains. It is a land with wild elephants, though we didn’t see any, and lots of monkeys, which we did see. They hang out by the roads waiting for people to feed them and are generally a nuisance. On the way back, Anup wanted me to drive. We went by some back roads so there would be less traffic (have I mentioned how BAD the traffic is?), and I drove for a few kms. Haven’t done the left-hand driving for quite awhile, and there’s lot of passing on curves, and dodging pedestrians, cows, motos, and trucks. Car mirrors are folded in most of the time, because they go so close to each other that they would get ripped off if they were extended! It was fun, and I didn’t hit anything. Mission accomplished! We finished up the day with tea at the Hiwales’ apartment, which was a great way to end a most interesting couple of days. Tonight, as I write, a local wedding celebration is loudly going on outside our hotel – and I mean loud! But Dr. Backus is so tired that he’s sleeping through it like nothing was going on. As you can tell, it’s been an eventful couple of days.

Tomorrow, we will speak at Presbyterian Theological Seminary in the afternoon, and meet with faculty and students there. The following day we head back to Delhi, and prepare to part company as Dr. Backus heads back to New York and I continue on alone to Singapore. Won’t be alone for long, though…. Singaporean friends are awesome! Hope you enjoy the pics.