VIN GOES TO SEE THE TAJ MAHAL !! (DAY 4)

We returned very late in the night from Fatehpur-Sikri to Delhi. Next morning we rested and left for Raj Ghat (the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi laid to rest here) and then to Red Fort. Raj Ghat was a Beautiful place and if time was not a constraint, we would have liked to sit there a while in the cool breeze and listen to the famous song-' Vaishnav jan toh...' being played all the while..



RAMP AT THE ENTRANCE TO RAJ GHAT



VIN, HIS GRANDMOTHER AND SISTER AT RAJ GHAT

Thereafter we went to the 'Red Fort' which was nearby and our van was let in right upto the Ticket counter because of Vin! :) There was a good amount of Security there and when we went in, there was a flea market there! As we went in further, we visited a 'Pre-independance' Museum as well as a museum with stuff from the Mughal Ages. It was quite an eye-opener for Vin and his sis. The grounds were very extended and by the time we covered most of it, our legs ached from all the walking. Ramps were built everywhere and needless to say, I was very pleased with Delhi after all this.

So that was the last day of our visits to historical places in and around Delhi. Even though I have not put up pics here, but I must mention that in Delhi there were ramps all around even in public places, all the bus-stands, and I even saw a wheelchair-lift for taking them down to the Metro-station. So I shall conclude here by voting for Delhi as the 'Most Accessible' city in India. And a Very Special Vote of Thanks to the 'Archaeological survey of India' for making Vin and so 'our' trip a very 'accessible' one!

Oh wait! I had said in the 1st part of this Trip series that I would mention about the New Delhi railway Station again. So while we were boarding our return train, we booked two coolies again and as we were alighting from the stairs on to our platform, what do I see? A mini golf-cart on the station with 2-3 aged people on it. I stopped, asked the driver how he came onto the platform and he answered - there are two ways ma'm. but why? ' And I showed him Vin coming down the stairs in his very tired dad's arms and said- these coolies made fools out of us. He said -Please take my number and if you ever come down again, please call me and please know that we are always at your service.' I smiled. So New Delhi lived up to my expectations- Most wheelchair-accessible City :)

VIN GOES TO SEE THE 'TAJ MAHAL' !! (Day 3)

And so finally on Day 3, we were all set to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. Agra is a city located some 200 kilometres from New Delhi and we can go there by train or bus or even hire a taxi. We opted for a Taxi because it would free us from the 'time-fixes' in all other modes of transport. We opted for the new 'National Highway' from Delhi to Agra. Its called the 'Yamuna-ExpressWay". Yamuna is the name of the river beside which the Taj has been built. It was the neatest and best Expressway I have ever experienced until now :)


THE 'YAMUNA EXPRESSWAY'


So we reached Agra after 4 hours, but it could have been earlier- our Taxi had a tyre puncture! We reached at around 12 noon. New rules!- we had to leave our Taxi at the stand and hire a'Battery-operated' rickshaw. This so, because the Taj was getting corroded due to fuel emmissions. Good thing. The bad thing was , that the fellow who's taxi we hired charged us a whooping hundred bucks for a ride of 3 minutes, when it should have been only Rupees 5 per head!(as we realised on our way back from the Taj). There were also available horse-tongas and camel-tongas, and although Vinisha saw them for the first time, she kept snorting her nose at the smell of animal-crap all around. You couldn't see them(the place was neatly maintained), but you got the stink :/

Then we bought tickets for the Entrance and we had to go in queue while Vineet the Great had Direct Access through the Main Gate with his dad as escort!! He really is a 'Maharajah'!! :D

Entrance to the Taj Mahal

A little tragedy happened here and it had to do with Vinisha's favourite 'Snow-white' Princess doll that she carried along till here in her bag- the security people naturally confiscated it- A doll was good enough to put bombs in it. Never mind it it was 'Snow-white' or a Princess doll, or Vinisha Victor's favourite doll- the lady-constable almost laughed at Vinisha!So I had to go all the way down the road to a 'Locker room' and deposit her doll for a small fee. When I returned, Vinisha was almost in tears and only when I consoled her that 'snow-white' was resting safely in a room, that she felt okay! :D Girls!
So we walked in, and my smile came back- there were ramps all around!!

 

FINALLY!! THE TAJ MAHAL!!!

 

AND THEN CAME THE BLOOPER OF THE ENTIRE TRIP- THERE WAS NO RAMP TO GO UP TO THE MAIN MAUSOLEUM OF THE TAJ

WE WATCHED  HELPLESSLY AND THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO DO EXCEPT CARRY VIN UP THE STAIRS.

THE GUARD WAS SO 'UN-HELPFUL', HE EVEN REFUSED TO LOOK AFTER VIN'S WHEELCHAIR HERE, SO VIN'S GRANDMA VOLUNTEERED TO STAY BACK DOWN ('COZ SHE HAD BEEN HERE EARLIER TOO)

 

 

NEEDLESS TO SAY - WE WERE TIRED AND DISAPPOINTED.................

So Vin's dad carried him up the stairs and with much difficulty reached the parapet where people could sit down. After taking a small rest , Vin, his dad and Vinisha went in and walked across through the mausoleum and then we took some pictures. Then we decided to go back down. Uh-Oh! More trouble. The wheelchair was at the Entrance side and the 'Exit' side did not have a Ramp!! Poor dad had to carry Vin some more after climbing down the stairs. He was totally exhausted! Someone Please TAKE NOTE!! Its not as easy as you would like to believe!!

 

 

We left tired and a little disappointed, but took care not to let Vin feel 'our' disappointment..

 

Next me and Vinisha walked to the Locker room again to collect her 'Snow-white' and the man at the counter didn't even check our token! One look at Vinisha and he knew the doll was hers!!LOL!!

:)

NEXT WE WENT TO SEE THE 'AGRA FORT' SITUTATED NEARBY

Here we got ourselves a 'Helper' to wheel Vin around and this was an intelligent thing to do we realised as we went up the slope towards the castle. Here too, we found wheelchair ramps all over the place and my smile came back :))

 

We made a quick survey, watched the Taj again through the castle windows and hurried towards 'Fatehpur-Sikri', a place well-known for being made by Akbar the Great Emperor and the 175 feet tall door called' Buland Darwaza'. It was supposed to be an hour or so ride from Agra and since it was already afternoon, we rushed. We reached just in time for the last bus up the hill to the castle, and Surprise of all surprises- There was a ramp leading up the adjacent door. So we had Vin being able to go up to see a 175 feet tall door called 'Buland Darwaza' made by Akbar the Great!

 

 

THANKYOU INDIA TOURISM DEPARTMENT AND ARCHAELOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA! THANKYOU SO SO MUCH! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR A SMALL BOY ON A WHEELCHAIR!!

 

 YES, THAT WAS AS HIGH AS VIN WAS ABLE TO GO! THANKS TO SOME WOODEN PLANKS AND SOME HUMANE PEOPLE! :)

VIN GOES TO SEE THE 'TAJ MAHAL' (DAY 2)

The next day we went to see the 'Qutab-Minar'. It was evening time and the place was full of tourists. As we neared this very well-known ancient monument, what a surprise! There was a ramp leading upto it!

THE FIRST RAMP LEADING TO THE MONUMENT



I was overjoyed needless to say- all my worries of Vin being able to go upto the monument vanished!!It was a very very high structure and we had to crane our necks to see its end. There were some more ancient structures in the campus and Vin was able to go everywhere- Thanks a ton to 'The Archaeological Survey of India'. Our gratitude is beyond measure :)

RAMPS GOING UP TO THE "RUST-FREE' IRON PILLAR

THE 'RUST-FREE' IRON PILLAR IN THE BACKGROUND




 

It was a beautiful day and inspite of the sun, there was a lovely cool breeze all around. We then left the site to go to another beautiful monument- The Lotus Temple. Its built in the shape of a lotus and somewhat resembles the 'Opera House' of Sydney. But we ran out of luck - All monuments in and around Delhi shut down by 5 p.m. So we could only have a glimpse of it from outside the boundary. Here is how it actually looks like-

THE LOTUS TEMPLE IN NEW DELHI


That was the end of Day 2

 

VINEET GOES TO SEE THE TAJ MAHAL !! DAY 1

It happened so soon, I am still amazed its over - Vineet's trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal!

 



So apparently a year or two back, Vin told his dad he wanted to see the Taj Mahal. I don't exactly recollect why he specifically wanted to see it and not another. So his papa said there will be a school term break in March and we can all go then. Then we forgot all about it. In January this year, Vin was chatting with his grandma who had just returned from her holiday to my younger BIL's home in Abu Dhabi. And he repeated about the Agra trip. That was how we were reminded of it and immediately we did the bookings. Time flew and on 22nd March, we boarded the overnight train to New Delhi (Agra city is just another 200 kms from Delhi).
                    No sooner did we reach New Delhi railway station, when we searched for a ramp, we were told by the coolies there-' The ramp is way off- around one kilometre away. Save time and hire two of us and you'll be out in no time.'Seemed okay to us and we hired two coolies and even then we had Vin being carried by his papa. Papa was very exhausted by the time we climbed a flight of stairs, then walked quite some distance and then another flight of stairs to go down. And all this while I kept thinking to myself- This is my country's capital city and look at its state - ramps have been made miles away!! Our Asansol city railway station is so much easily accessible. Nevertheless...This story is to be carried forward. So please read the end part about New Delhi Railway Station again...

VINEET IN FRONT OF INDIA GATE, NEW DELHI, INDIA

So the first day we planned to around the nearby areas such as 'Rashtrapati Bhawan'(the President's residence) and the 'INDIA GATE". It was a beautiful evening and there was cool breeze all around. Vin took lots of snaps with his camera and saw the R B through locked gates. Many other tourists were also there. Then we took a walk towards India Gate situated nearby. We passed beautiful gardens and the Parliament House as well on the way. But Alas! when we reached India Gate no one was allowed to go up to it, 'coz there had been a haul of bombs by terrorists the day before. So we had to satisfy ourselves by taking snaps from a distance. It was a beautiful place- the parks in front of it- there were families sitting and chatting, small babies in strollers, young couples and plenty of snack-vendors. It was a very homely sight :)

 

MIRACLES Part 4

So these are the 3 most important miracles I experienced with Vineet. And of course there have been hundreds of others which we experience everyday but eludes the memory. For example, the day when he toppled backwards in his wheelchair but didn't get a scratch because his head landed on a pile of thick blankets kept at that very place!! :) Amazing no? Then there was this instance when we were travelling and didn't get any lower berths and were just wondering what to do when we found that one of the lower berths belonged to a student of the school where Vin's dad works. And he not only switched places for us, he even readily went to the other compartment where our other ticket was. So such miracles do take place, which may seem non-existant to a non-believer, but for us who experience these small ones, it makes big differences. Oh , and I must add one more - its interesting. Vineet is super terrified of the noise of crackers which people burst during marriage ceremonies or during festivals. Now here in West Bengal, India, we have a festival wherein people burst crackers throughout the night right upto the wee hours of the morning. And every year when it approaches, we get ready with Vin's MP3 player, ear phones , etc- all charged for the night. :D Now when he was younger and we hadn't yet found out this earphone idea, One particular year during that festival, Vineet cried so much, and prayed so much, it rained throughout the night till morning . So much so that our locality which is famous for Rainy season flooding, it got flooded that night, so no one could burst any crackers!! Can you believe this??!!!

MIRACLES Part 3

Vineet was in Class 1, so he must have been 6 and a 1/2 years old in April 2006. He wasn't being cathed until then, and he suddenly got a UTI ( he hates to drink water and the hot summer was too hot). Like all previous instances , we took him to the Doctor who put him on Antibiotics - Only, this time they wouldn't work. Vineet finished 2 courses, but they did not work. Everyday he had high fever and he was reduced to bones within a month. Finally we had no other option except to take him to Kolkata's CMRI Hospital and there he was diagonised with ' HYDRO-NEPHROSIS"- water in the kidneys. The kidneys had been affected very badly and the Doctors out there painted a very grim and dismal picture of Vin. We thought we were going to lose him. There they started another round of Antibiotics- this time he was being injected, and it was just too painful, not just for him , but for us as well...

 7 days passed and we saw no improvement or response, so we decided to go to some other Nephrologist and show Vineet. We got a good Surgeon who admitted Vineet again and this time it was more needles. It was a dismal place (as are all hospitals) and Vin and me became mentally weak. We would hold onto each other and cry.Sometimes I would pray.... And then after 9 or 10 days the Surgeon announced- Since the pus, etc in the kidneys is not being drained out even after putting in a Foley-catheter, they would have to make an incision in his lower belly and wash it out for good. It sounded okay, only when I consulted my dear brother over this, he said- 'Just pack your bags and leave!!' I really don't know what we thought or did, but we told the Surgeon that Vin was mentally affected and that we needed some more time to come back and do it. So we would come back later.
We really packed our bags and left the hospital the following day.

As we were leaving, I silently prayed to my God- ''Please God, I don't want Vin to come back to this place ever. Please have mercy on him, and on us.....''

The very next morning, Vin's fever of more than two months or so, was GONE!!!! Praise be to God Almighty!!! He simply loves my (His) Vin! :)

 

MIRACLES Part 2

I remember that Vineet must have been 4 or 5 years old (he was in Prep School then), and I returned home from work one day in the evening, and as I checked him all over, I saw a round, small , gaping wound on his SB site - the highest spot  on the backbone deformity. That was the first time he got a bruise there and I was in a fix. I tried various ointments, creams, lotions, medicines to make it heal fast - nothing would work. Then came the most horrifying part - he got tiny rashes all over his body and went beserk scratching them! His stools turned green and watery!! And they wouldn't stop too!!The Doctor gave him medicines, antibiotic, lotions - only they wouldn't work. I was at my wits' end and cried desperately seeing Vin suffer so.... Then there was a 2 day Retreat held in Vin's School by a Paster (forgot his name). I went with my Mother-in-law and took Vin along. On the second day, when the Pastor called out to bless the sick, I went to him with Vin. He blessed us both and I really made a good retreat. We came back home and I found that Vin's sore was bleeding again. I did the dressing as usual, and as I did so, I silently prayed to God and pleaded Him to take away Vin's rashes. I told him- ''From tomorrow morning onwards, I am NOT going to check for his rashes. You will have to take them away, and I won't listen to anything more. I will believe that you have taken them away. And You have to listen to me.''

Dear People, Believe it or not, I didn't look at Vin's rashes the whole of the following day, and on the day after next, Believe me - THE RASHES WERE GONE !!! SO WAS THE GREEN STOOL !!

After a few days, Vin's back sore also healed. I remember that it healed really fast....:)