Incredible India

India is amazing… in every way. A diamond in the rough, revealing her charms on her own terms… Life at once seems fast paced and leisurely slow and one often has to pause, allow for the culture shock to pass then look past the ever moving sea of humanity and gently brush off the dust that seems to settle on everything, in order to truly see her.

The traffic is an experience onto itself. What at first feels like an absolute mess bordering on madness soon reveals itself to be a delicate process and a perfectly reasonable way of doing things given the circumstances. At times road signs and traffic laws are taken as mere suggestions, at others they are completely ignored and any combination of different motor vehicles – from bikes and rickshaws to automobiles and lorries – that covers the road and keeps the traffic flowing is acceptable, two lanes instantly become four lanes and pedestrians weave in and out of traffic regardless of whether one is in a little alleyway or on an interstate highway.

Being in the developing world really makes one take notice of all the modern conveniences we in the West consider to be basic necessities and often take for granted – readily available safe drinking water directly from the tap, uninterrupted supply of electricity and access to municipal water, sewer and garbage facilities. Insurmountable differences between the haves and the have-nots quickly become apparent as does the night-and-day difference between urban and rural areas. At times the levels of poverty are beyond what one can imagine – it's one thing to read about it or see it on TV and completely another to be come face to face with it. But you quickly realize that poverty is not a synonym for misery as so many in the West tend to assume. Most of India's population is young, in pursuit of high education, and there seems to be a feeling of great promise for the not so distant future -- signs of great change and rapid development are all around.

There is an incredible ethnic and religious diversity and richness of tradition. Muezzin's melodious call to prayer in the distance made for a wonderful wake up call as the days were dawning and the beauty and elegance of Mughal architecture are truly amazing! Indeed, whether built of red sandstone or marble, monumental Mughal buildings would awe us again and again with their perfect symmetry, exalted grandeur and ethereal grace, with seemingly endless and always surprising combinations of pietra dura and intricate geometric designs, decorative jaalis and gilded pillars, cusped arches and charming chaatris, set among sprawling gardens and fountains. Forts, palaces, royal residences and courtyards, beautiful garden tombs and mosques - countless examples of delightful mingling of Hindu and Islamic styles, blending the sensuous beauty of temple sculpture with the austere grandeur of Islamic architecture.

But the photos speak for themselves.