Slip & Fall at the Taj Mahal.

It took me 6 prior trips to India and 7 months this time, but I finally visited the Taj Mahal. I was in Delhi for a microfinance conference (I heard Muhammed Yunnis speak, more on that later), so I came a few days early to sight see. Carolyn, a fellow fellow, joined me and we visited the Taj, Agra Fort, from where the Mughals governed India and the beautiful abandonned red sandstone city, Fatehpur Sikri. I was blown away by the Taj. I had heard from some that the Taj didn’t live up to the hype; I thought the history, the symmetry and the size made it breathtaking.

The Taj (courtesy of Carolyn)

Back in October, a few fellows began “jumping” when taking pictures with attractions in the background. I clearly followed the trend and have been picture jumping since. Believing that the Taj would serve as a beautiful backdrop, I started scoping out spots. It didn’t quite work out as planned. My stream of consciousness at the time:

“…this platform is high enough…tell carolyn to stand below the platform…perfect backdrop…i hope she takes it while i’m in the air, it’ll make a great facebook profile pic…maychul will be jealous…ok, jump!…pick up your knees, it looks better…look down to land…oh shit, not that much room to land…i’m going to end up in the water…be athletic and side step it…side step, idiot, not trip!…i’m going in…put your hands down, brace your fall…don’t dislocate your shoulders…don’t drink the water…i’m drenched…get up…play it cool…dammit, people are laughing…they’re clapping? smart asses…smile it off…i hope carolyn got the picture at least…oh no, my blackberry was in my pocket, i’m ruined…why is security approaching me…i’m screwed…no, mr. security guard, I was not pushed in, no one did this to me, no one assaulted me, I don’t need medical attention…i’m just an idiot.”

ruh-roh.

((un)fortunatley, Carolyn is a concerned friend and rather than continuing to snap pictures as I took a dive, she came to my aid. so there is no proof that I didn’t jump from 20 feet and that the Taj pool wasn’t 50 feet deep)