The Golden Age; Agra to Jaipur
On the third day of our Winterim trip the fluidity of time was all around us as we learned about the beauty of ancient traditions, engaged with the enthusiasm of the young, and travelled to a city of ghosts, whose ideals are still very much present in the modern world.
We began the day by visiting the workshop of several master craftsmen in the art of marble inlay. We had seen the intricate inlay work on the Taj Mahal yesterday, but now we were able to watch how much painstaking effort goes into creating a single plate, table top, or sculpture. The students observed the craftsman drafting and carving the marble to set the shape of the pieces before the tiny sculpted slivers of malachite, turquoise, and mother of pearl are set into it.
Many of the the artisans are descendants of those who worked on the Taj Mahal, and they are practicing their craft the same way their ancestors did. Our students were able to try their hands at this art form by grinding fragments of semi-precious stones against a whetstone.
The students were then able to examine finished pieces, some of which will be making their way home with us in our luggage. Considerably lighter in rupees, but with heavier bags, we traveled the short distance from the workshop to a local school. There our group was able to meet with the students of the school and to make some donations of supplies for the children.
We could not have been received more warmly or exuberantly by the school, and the younger children were eager to share their names and practice their English with our students. We all wished that we had been able to extend this part of the day.
In the afternoon we visited Fatehpur Sakri, or the ghost city of the Mughal emperors. In truth, it was never a ghost town, but a palace that was abandoned by later rulers of India. We learned about the emperor Akbar, Shah Jahan’s grandfather, who lived there with his ministers, (many) wives, (even more) concubines, and assorted dignitaries. We even had our picture taken at the center of Akbar’s enormous Parcheesi board, where he would sit and roll the dice, while the ladies of his court, beautifully dressed and bejeweled, would serve as the game pieces.
In many ways, Akbar was a forward thinker, a man who wanted to unite the numerous people of his vast empire and the various faiths they all practiced. He intentionally married a Muslim woman, a Hindu woman, and a Christian woman and worked to incorporate elements of each religion into his faith and practices, hoping to model a peaceful religion for future generations of India. While his newly- created faith did not long outlive him, one could look at the India of today, with its Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs living together and argue that his ideas won out in the long run.
Identifying a particular time as a “golden age” is always reductive, as well as problematic; after all, any age can be a golden age depending upon your point of view. Touring India’s impressive and gorgeous historical sites could possibly give the impression that its golden age was in the past. However, based on the Brimmer student consensus that the best part of the day was meeting the school children of Agra, it seems quite likely that India’s real golden age is yet to come, built by the hands and minds of its youngest citizens.
By the way – if you’re enjoying our blog, you’d probably love the images we’re posting on our Instagram page: indiawinterim 2019.
Brimmer and May School
69 Middlesex Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
As an inclusive private school community, Brimmer welcomes students who will increase the diversity of our school. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or any other characteristic protected from discrimination under state or federal law, in the administration of our educational policies, admissions practices, financial aid decisions, and athletic and other school-administered programs.