The
Taj Mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial for his third an
favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal Begum, who died giving birth to their 14th child in
1631. The death of Mumtaz Begum left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair
is said to have turned grey virtually overnight.
Rabindrabath
Tagore described the Taj Mahal as "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity."
It is widely considered the most beautiful building on earth. One of the seven
wonders of the world.
Well,
it's hard to argue with that. The Taj Mahal is so completely dramatic. The
first thing that strikes you is how peaceful it is. The government has managed
to keep all traffic at a reasonable distance, to reduce pollution and the
resulting damage to the monument. As a result, there is no street noise. All
you hear is the song of birds (and not crows like most other places here) and
the grounds are so lush. The Taj is on the banks of the sacred Yamuna River, so
there's plenty of water for irrigation. The flowers and plants are as healthy
as any I've seen in India and there are all variety of trees all around.
The
focus, though, is the Taj Mahal itself.
Architecturally,
the Taj is brilliant. The structure is built upon a large marble plinth,
raising the whole thing several meters, so when you view it, all you see in the
background is sky. Brilliant.
It's
quite amazing seeing something so iconic right in your face. We've all seen so
many images of this place, so there's no surprise about what it looks like. And
yet it manages to take your breath away. My train arrived in Agra early, at
8am, so I was nice and early at the Taj and there were not yet hoards of
tourists. Like everyone I snapped loads of photos and eventually made my way
inside to view the mausoleum. The Pietra Dura (marble inlaid with precious and
semi-precious stones) inside and out were stunning, mostly with flower motifs,
representing the garden of paradise. Surrounding the cenotaphs in the middle is
an amazing filigree screen carved out of giant single pieces of marble, with
such intricate latticework allowing light into the central area. Available next
season at Wa in small, medium, large, and extra large. Prices available upon
request.
I
enjoyed being somewhere where more photos were taken of the thing itself than
of me. Not that I didn't have my share.
There is more to Agra than the Taj Mahal, it turns out. This is the Agra Fort, a nifty piece of Mughal architecture if ever there were one. Puts the Red Fort in Delhi to shame. It seems the British tool all the good stuff from the Red Fort, but never got around to pillaging this one, so there's still Loya to see inside. Nice view of the Taj, too. I guess that was the point.
नमस्ते
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