Around the World on a Mission: India Part 2

At the end of our first week in India my group traveled back to the city of Nagpur. Today the city of Nagpur tops 2 1/2 million people, but in 1971 it did not seem to be a very large city. We would leave behind the more rural environment of Yavatmal for city life.

As we drove back to Nagpur, we passed a lot of the ox carts that were very common forms of transportation in the rural areas. What was sad to see was how undernourished the poor animals were. When we arrived in Nagpur, we saw less carts and more bicycle modes of transport.

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In Nagpur we stayed at a lovely mission guest house. The accommodations seemed a little more westernized or normal to us. I don’t remember anything about the food so apparently it was more western fare. An American woman hosted us and took good care of us. She also transported us around town as we saw different elements of Indian life.

Our ministry in Nagpur was pretty much the same as what we had done in Yavatmal. Each evening we would participate in a church service. Our role in the service was to share a testimony or perhaps some music. The main music, however, was done by the Indians, and it was always enjoyable. A local pastor would give the message each night. We did observe that there seemed to be more children at the services here than we had seen in Yavatmal. After the service we would have an opportunity to interact more directly with the Indian people, which we enjoyed.

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I don’t remember a lot of the experiences we had there during the day, but there is one experience I won’t forget. We were sitting in the car of our hostess as she had gone to quickly run an errand. I was sitting by the front window. A man approached us carrying a basket with a cobra in it. He was trying to talk to us, but I had no idea what he was trying to say. All I could see was this cobra coming towards me. I quickly rolled up the car window to protect myself from this creature.

Our hostess arrived back and saw the man with the cobra trying to talk to us. She informed us that there was a festival honoring cobras going on at the time. The festival is called Naag Panchami. The man was apparently trying to get us to have him come and demonstrate his ability to charm a cobra. She asked if we wanted to see that. We said yes.

So that afternoon the gentleman and a companion came to the guest house with his cobra. We were all a little nervous with the cobra’s presence. He let the cobra out of his basket, and it began to slither away, but he got it back and began to do his thing, and sure enough he was able to get it to stand up and move to his music. It was certainly an unforgettable demonstration for us.

At the end of our week in Nagpur, we were ready to continue our journey around the world. Our next stop was to be New Delhi in northern India. We were going to spend the night there and then early in the morning catch a train that would take us to the town of Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal.

However, that’s not what happened. On the evening of our departure, the whole team was back together in Nagpur. We arrived at the airport for our flight to New Delhi. As we waited at the airport, someone came out and announced the cancellation of our flight that night. We were offered no explanation. They just weren’t going to fly that night. The next flight available to us would be in the morning.

The problem was that by the time our new flight arrived in New Delhi, the train to Agra would have already left, and that was our planned means of transportation. After much discussion it was decided that those who still wanted to go to the Taj Mahal could do so. We would rent a van that would drive us there. However, this was not a short trip. The distance from New Delhi to Agra was about 135 miles, and the roads weren’t freeways. We would be going and coming back in the same day.

While a few of the team decided to stay in New Delhi for the day, most of us were up for the long trip. After all when would we have another opportunity to see this well known place? One of the things I remember seeing on our long journey was a number of columns with pictures and writing on them. These were all pretty similar. I asked what they were communicating, and the answer was smaller families. The government was trying to promote family planning to reduce or contain the population.

When we arrived in Agra to see the Taj Mahal, it had been raining. Everything was wet, but in some ways the water enhanced the beauty of all the semi-precious stones that were used to create this beautiful edifice.

The Taj Mahal is a Muslim mausoleum built in the mid-1600s by Shah Jahan for his wife. He intended to build another one across the river for himself with the two mausoleums connected by a bridge. Unfortunately his son deposed him before he had a chance to do that. Instead he was buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal.

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When one enters the Taj Mahal grounds there is a long reflecting pool that leads to the mausoleum. The entrance itself (the title photo) is quite a work of art on its own. It was fascinating to see all the details that were put into the building including Quran scriptures written in the walls.

While we were there for only a short period of time, we were also able to check out the tourist shops outside the Taj Mahal. I bought a marble piece with semi-precious stone inlay that I gave to my mom. When she died, my dad gave it back to me, and I keep it as a remembrance of the trip.

It was indeed a long day to go out to Agra and back, but well worth it in the end. However, after a good night’s sleep, it was time to move on to our next ministry destination, Hong Kong. From the rural regions of India, we headed for a big city with tall buildings. More about that next week as we continue the journey around the world.

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