The Beauty of India

  India's architectural heritage must be unparalleled in the world.  From the Taj Mahal, which took 60% of the tax wealth of the entire Indian empire and 20,000 people working for 22 years to complete, to the streets of Jaipur with miles of characteristic terra cotta architecture, India is full of fairy-tale beauty that plays on the imagination in an array of different colors.  No words can describe first entering the Amber fort of Jaipur (the former trading center for spice and fabric) on elephant back, and no picture can show how the four outer pillars of the Taj Mahal were constructed 3 degrees off the perpendicular so that from a distance, parallax did not make them look like they were tilted.  The hand-made intricacies of the buildings and the semiprecious stone inlay of the precursor to the Taj Mahal, the "Baby Taj", are as breathtaking as the abandoned palace of the third Mogul emperor, complete with a room set aside for debate about religion (eventually resulting in the emperor creating his own religion).  India and Indians should be very proud of their heritage and with its spirit so vibrant, the future of India is definitely bright.