The pillar that does not rust and other wonders of the world
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In the 90s I was lucky to travel to New Delhi and other parts of India courtesy of Hewlett-Packard. During my time in New Delhi I was able to visit Agra and the Taj Mahal.
But recently reading an article in CNN about a pillar that does not rust it reminded me of the time that I was standing in front of that same pillar marvelling at the technical skills of the people who had created it. The article is great to read the main point I guess is that as a tourist to New Delhi in the 90s some 30 years ago I was able to live one of the traditions which was to stand with my back to the steel pillar and join my hands together making a wish at the time. There is now a fence around that pillar to protect it and that tradition, part of folklore in India, is now something that can’t be attempted by a person with a wish to be made and the hope that their arms are long enough to clasp together behind the pillar.
To be honest I can’t even remember what I wished for. Given the fortune that I’ve been blessed with over the 30 years that followed, I feel as if that wish has been granted.
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At that time I had a traditional film based camera and very few of my images if any has survived. Amazingly during a recent search through old photographs, I found not one but two photos of me clasping my hands behind my back around that famous pole. The other is at the bottom of this post.
Additionally I found a photograph of me standing in front of the Taj Mahal. This was in 1996 and you can see that there are far less people at the Taj Mahal than you would see today.
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Why was I searching for photographs? While creating a map indicating where we are going on our big adventure next year, I realised that over my years of travel, I have managed to visit 5 of the 7 new wonders of the world and next year will visit a 6th – Petra.
The first wonder I ever visited was the Great Wall of China, a place I first visited in 1988 and this year will repeat that visit.
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The last one – Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is so close to where we are visiting in the Caribbean, it makes sense to tick off the last of the new wonders. It will come after I hopefully get to witness a sloth in the wild in Costa Rica, as I have done with oranghutans in the East Kalimantan jungles.
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In addition to the modern wonders, as we are also making our way through Greece, Turkey and Egypt – we will be in the vicinity of most of the 7 ancient wonders – none of which exist any more except for the oldest – the pyramid of Giza.
To round out the streak of “7 wonders” I looked at the 7 natural wonders and discovered that I have already visited 3 of the 7 and was surprised to find that the Galapagos Islands was not among them. Of the remaining 4, the only one I am actively adding to the bucket list is Victoria Falls. Grand Canyon, Rio de Janeiro harbour and Great Barrier Reef already completed.
Meanwhile back at the iron pillar that does not rust, here is the CNN article about the pillar and the photo of me at half the age I am now completing a feat that now for many people in India cannot be repeated.
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The decorative casting on the top of the pillar is older than the buildings built in the early 13th century that make up the UNESCO-listed Qutb Minar complex