Sunday, November 11, 2007

Bibi ka Maqbara

The Bibi ka Maqbara has the unfortunate pseudonym of "the poor man's Taj Mahal". In some ways it kind of deserves it - Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughal rulers (their power waned as the influence of European colonial activity increased - mostly from France, Portugal, and eventually the British) had it built as a mausoleum for his wife in 1679. I have wondered who in their right mind would try to copy the Taj Mahal - arguably the most beautiful man-made structure in the world. I assume that before the information age (and photographic technology, for that matter) someone might of thought of pulling it off. What makes it peculiar is that is for the most part an exact copy of the Taj Mahal - except that only some of the materials are actually white marble and it lacks much of the fine detail work found on the Taj.

But it's still an impressive structure.

We finished the day with an afternoon at Aurangabad's general bazaar which included a stop for jelebe - one of the countless delicious Indian sweets.

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Map of India

Map of India

About the Exchange

"The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship program in international educational exchange, was proposed to the U.S. Congress
in 1945 by then freshman
Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. In the aftermath of World War II, Senator Fulbright viewed the proposed program as a much-needed vehicle for promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world." His vision was approved by Congress and the program signed into law by President Truman in 1946.


Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception, approximately 279,500 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and to contribute to finding solutions to shared issues."


http://www.fulbrightexchanges.org.





Newsfeed Salad

a mix of Indian and US national and local news, and of course updates on Team India Cricket and the Boston Red Sox.