Last sunday, got the chance of a lifetime to tag along with my cuz to agra.
1. The Taj Mahal still is beautiful. More needs to be done to take care of it and preserve it for future generations.
2. The awe and wonder of looking at that structure, remains as long as as you view it from a distance. The minute you step onto its stone platform foundations... you need to remove your footwear.. and roast the soles of your feet on the HOT stone. The unruly and indisciplined crowds that throng to see the world greatest ode to love, take away from the pleasure of walkin in and around the main structure. Not to mention the claustrophobic inner sanctum where supposedly the coffin is placed. But then again.. its a glorifed mortuary... wat did i expect??!
3. Some1 must collect the vast multidudes of photgraphers that plague the place and give them a course on "creative photography"... they all seem to suffer from wat i call..."hold-taj-tip-nosis"..an example of which i have faithfully reproduced below..
(source:google)
4. The red fort (agra)...( i never knew 1 existed!!!)... is another interestin piece of architecture!
its supposed to be a fusion of different generations of the moghul dynasty... and also where shah jehan was imprisoned for 8 yrs... with a wonderful view of the Taj across the yamuna.
do look up the "chain of justice"...."the shahi bath-tub"... etc etc.
5. Most ppl miss out the next one... but i must admit.. it was the highlight of the whole trip!
Fatehpur Sikhri... now thats what i call breathtaking. beautifully planned... well maintained...( probably becuz it was a ghost town for a long time!)..
legend has it that Salim ( or jehangir as he was later christened after claimin the throne) was concieved and born here to Jodha bai.. the 3rd of Akbar's wives...( did u kno tat he had 3..? a portuguese christian and a turkish muslim in addition to jodha bai).
All in all a very nice trip...(thnx to anand jeej for sponsoring the whole thing! )...
my history is very poor.. and most of the above is sourced from the half baked crap that the self appointed guides at each place served me... so i apologise for inaccurate info..
but nevertheless, such trips always leave me feeling nostalgic.. and wishing i cud somehow travel back in time.. and witness these events and sites.. at the peak of their glory.. as they were designed and concieved to be.
1 comment:
The Agra fort is a lot more complex in terms of layout than the Taj. Infact he built the Taj on th curve of the river so he could see it from his room in the Agra fort.
Astounding places all 3..lucky you! every time i go..i am shocked..
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