Taj Mahal – The Monument of Love in Agra

Her smile kept coming back in my memories. She had the angelic look and the charmed beauty of a beautiful swan. I was not able to decide whether it was her beauty that charmed me or was it the beauty of the Taj Mahal. “Sanjukta” she had said her name was and was the newest student in my college. But she wasn’t to be seen today. I just gave up and thought it was more worthwhile thinking about the other beauty I saw last week – The Taj Mahal.

With a big nostalgic sigh, I just went over the events of the week before and settled down at my desk in the college library. If only happy memories last longer than they should. Rewinding back I went back to the week before and recollected how we had taken the flight to New Delhi from Mumbai. My father gets into these travel sprees quite often and now that I have an SLR camera gifted by him, it is not uncommon for us to get into these weekly escapades much to the chagrin of my mother who feels we should not spend so much. I had been to Agra when I was two years old and so the plan to go here now when I am a grown up was a nice surprise for me.

We reached the Delhi airport and went round Delhi and shopped for whatever we could.  We stayed overnight at my aunt’s house. The next morning we reached Agra by the Shatabdi Express. Agra is around 203 km from Delhi so the journey took us around two hours or more. We actually wanted to drive down but then my mother told my dad that it is better we learn to relax during a trip rather than go through a four hour drive. We went by the Shatabdi as the other trains take around five hours to reach.

So at 5.30 in the morning, we found ourselves at the Delhi station, and soon enough inside the air-conditioned train. We were served a good breakfast and nice tit bits, all over the lovely sunrise that we got to see from the windows. As I tried to catch it on my SLR, the sun played hide and seek with me hiding behind the trees as the train sped past.

Very soon Agra Fort station arrived. Agra has two stations Agra Fort and Agra Cantonment. It is at Agra Fort that one has to get down. The timings of Taj Mahal, is from 6 in the morning till 7.30 in the evening. So we had a lot of time. At Agra Fort station, we refreshed, bought some snacks and then took the private taxi to Taj Mahal. My aunt had told us that we should bargain well with the drivers. We did and decided to keep the car for the whole day.

As we approached the impeccable beauty of India, I realized why Dad had insisted that we take the morning train. For as I approached one of the seven wonders of the world, the radiant glow that the monument exuded is seen to be believed. This stands out like a jewel in the necklace called India.

It is not a wonder that the Taj Mahalis considered such a famous monument. On one hand it is the epitome of romance which the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built for his wife Mumtaz and on the other hand, the entire, structure just hypnotized us. Being a civil engineer I was keen to understand the architectural designs and realized that it was the Persian style at the portico. Construction and geometry go hand in hand and at Taj Mahal it is at its peak. The brilliance was evident as we entered. The size of the monument looked huge as we entered, but as we approached it, it just receded to its actual size. This is called geometric illusion.

The Taj Mahal outdid whatever I have read about it. The marble monument exudes light and is a great sight for the eyes.

“Kaay zhaala? “ My mother asked in Marathi (meaning what happened) as she saw my mouth wide open. I was just mesmerized and was getting quite excited. I asked my mom why she didn’t wear those bright saris that other women seemed to wear and it made the atmosphere even more electric. My mom just glared at me.!

Believe it or not, she made me take that classic shot that everyone takes in front of the Taj Mahal. Like she was holding it up with her forefinger. My mom, such a simple soul. I insisted that Mom and Dad strike a romantic pose and made them stand in various lovey dovey poses and clicked away. If the Taj had taken away my breath, my parents seemed to make it look real with love flickering in their togetherness.

We were at the Darwaza or the main gate. This structure of three storeys had a central octagonal shaped chamber. I was struck by the gigantic arch on the gateway. All the walls here were inscribed In Arabic – they were verses from the Qur’an. My dad showed me the pavilions which were predominantly in Hindu style. Earlier it seems this gate was of silver, today it was decorated with copper.

One thing beautiful about the Taj Mahal is its lovely gardens on either side of the path. The lovely fountains and the small intermittent canals ensured its role as the best love monument. The symmetry of the structure was seen even in the flower beds and the small gardens dotting the place.

The geometry seen in the platforms of sandstone and chequerboard marble bases of the Taj Mahal also was evident in the mosque and the jawab which was on the west and other side of the majestic structure. People were seen worshipping in the mosque while the jawab couldn’t be used for that as it was facing away from the holy town of Mecca.

We walked around and saw the lovely motifs the superb inlay on the walls made of marble. There was a local tour guide who was showing a group of people of the way the stones inside the monument changed colour due to some chemical reaction to light.

We didn’t take a tour guide as we felt we just wanted to be family. We saw the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal. It was right in the center of the Taj Mahal with the cenotaph of Shah Jahan, erratically placed to its left, by Shah Jahan’s son.

By then, there was a scurry, and I wondered why. Then I realized that it was to get the best point to take a photograph of the wonderfully constructed beauty. There was this very funny gawky looking fellow who was the one guiding us. He told the angle at which it had to be taken and believe it or not he was no expert but he was rightfully guiding us. What irritated me was his smattering English and the equally frustrating accent! After we finished taking photos, he extended his greasy palm, with a paan stained smile. My mother ruefully gave him the money and my dad and I were in splits.

As we walked around the monument and enjoyed the absolute beauty around, my dad and I were teasing Mom about how she was upset that she had to part money for that imp. We then saw the most amazing sight I could ever have seen in my life – The sunset at the Taj. It is seen to be believed. The reddening of the horizon and the golden colour that the mausoleum took, the exuding brilliance around and the entire area filled with serenity. This is beauty. This is life. This is Taj.

The Taj Mahal – What a beauty I thought. I recalled how I learnt that it started getting constructed in the year 1631 and took around 22 years to complete. I told my mom how there was around 20,000 people to construct this and how 1000 elephants transported it. Ustad Isa designed this and today as I saw it standing on the red base made of sandstone with its four minarets, it looked every bit a complete sacrificial beauty of love.

As I was discussing with my father the reasons for the change in colour in the Taj Mahal, from pink in the morning to white in the noon and golden in the evening, we saw the moon come out and the sight is something I always dream of even today.

“Kaay pan”, my mother mumbled in Marathi meaning whatever, as my father tried to give something to a young kid who was tugging at his arm. These touts and kids are common here and shouldn’t fall prey to them. We came out of the monument and couldn’t believe we had spent around 8 hours there. We got some souvenirs like the trays made of marble, the elephants and the Pietra dura stones. My mother a perfect bargainer ensured we weren’t duped. She should take up a profession guiding tourists how to bargain. We watched as the foreign tourists were being guided by the local touts in the best of their spoken English.

We came back to the main Agra town and checked into the hotel booked by my aunt. After a delicious and simple dinner we unwound for the night dreaming of soaring in the skies above the Taj.

We actually felt that our trip to Agra was over. But we also had to see the Agra Fort which is a must see if one comes to see the Taj. So the next morning, we set out and went to the Lal Quila as it is also called. My dad told us about how this walled city has walls rising upto 70 feet. Apparently all the important Mughal Emperors from Babur to Shah Jahan have lived here. And when we reached the fort by a local taxi after much haggling of fares, and saw the Taj Mahal from a distance, we realized that the Taj looked even more beautiful from a distance.

The Agra Fort, I knew was built by Emperor Akbar. As I saw around, I was struck by the intelligence of the construction. There was a moat, and the beautiful curves of the structure were seen from all sides. This fort had two gates – The Delhi gate and the Amar Singh gate. We entered through the now functional Amar Singh Gate. We saw many more brilliant constructions like the Khas Mahal, the tower of Muhammam Burj, the Shish Mahal, the Diwan –I –Khas and the Diwani-I –am., then the Pearl Mosque. I just went down a nostalgic lane of school text books where I had read about all this. History has it that this is where Emperor Shah Jahan remained imprisoned and till his end he had a view of his love monument Taj Mahal.

Thus completing our visit to Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, we made our way towards the hotel. I was amused to see the battery operated buses and the tongas, and rickshaws here.  I was also surprised to see my friend there at Agra. He had just got down at the Raja Ki Mundi station and come to the city.  He said he was waiting for his sister who was to join him from Agra airport as she had flown down to the city, and his wife who was joining him from Jaipur. She was driving down to Agra.

We were thankful we were at the right time in Agra – in the month of October. This is the time when one can completely enjoy the surroundings.

I for one certainly had a lot to take home and a whole load of things to pen down. As the train chugged back to Mumbai, I typed down my memorable trip to this land of love – Agra and the Taj Mahal.

Parting thought – Love is God, Love is also Taj Mahal.