Thursday, June 23, 2011

Narrowing the road to Taj Mahal


The Taj Mahal, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the Wonders of the World. Visiting Taj Mahal is the dream of the millions across the globe, known for its visual assault, architectural glory, engineering magnificence (placing integrated structures in a most fascinating way). By history, it is a symbol of love, a sheer dedication of a Mughal emperor Shah Jehan to his beloved third wife Mumtaz, who died giving birth to their 14th child. Careful study portrays the dark edges of Taj Mahal’s history and the declining charisma due to the pollution and other environmental elements. Ironically, the volume of people visiting Taj Mahal has increased tremendously, which clearly indicates the profoundness and cultural influences, a proud product of Mughal dynasty for the Indian subcontinent and humanity.

On to the road track, my families including the visiting Brazilian family and my parents along with my brother (Janks) and his wife (Divz) took a road trip to this historical location on 02/03/2011. We started our journey around 6:30am from Delhi; it was 5 hours on road to Agra, where Taj Mahal is located. The journey was loaded with fabulous entertainments, like riding on the camel, handshake with the Cobra, encounter with monkeys, heavily packed auto rickshaws, vivid colours and the wildest road side attractions of India. The motorist kept honking throughout the trip which gave us no peace. Around noon we reached Agra, which was unbelievably packed and we stepped Taj Mahal entrance around 11:45am. Agra still maintains the touch of Mughal architecture. We got the tickets, 20Rs for Indians and 750Rs for non-Indians and free entry for children under the age of 15.

Finally, we had the first glance of stunning Taj Mahal in its colossal arcade, a connoisseur work of brilliant artisans, magnanimous overflow of creativity, vision of a grief stricken emperor and victory for triumphant artists. The first glimpse had tears walked through my eyes, hair rising experience and breathtaking travel back to the history. At a distance Taj Mahal looked in a vivid prominence and its image sketched clearly in the pool narrowed between the walkways. It is brilliantly engineered and the tomb is surrounded by other architectural wonders like Darwaza-i rauza (the great gate), mosque (masjid), spectacular gardens and fountains. The vast gardens are bustling and buzzing with flowers and bees. The walkways are finely paved with designer tiles. Walking towards the Taj Mahal gave a gigantic white stone kissing the blue sky.

The first thing scratches the human celluloid will be posing for a picture with Taj behind. Off course we ran enthusiastically capturing pictures of the families very well fitting with the frame of Taj. We had postures of standing, sitting, lying, jumping, cross legged and Padmasana (Lotus posture). We even hired a photographer to capture some stunning pictures. The crowd was massive which sometimes tampered our photo shots, some heads and arms flashed in some of the pictures. Sometimes we need to stay in a queue to get Taj behind. My camera produced an approximate 400 pictures of Taj with my family members. The inside of the tomb was dark with the minaret works at its best and the crowd throbbed inside second. Behind the Taj is the famous tributary of river Ganges, Yamuna and its beauty has its own unique significance. Over the centuries it has served the vital needs of Taj and its surroundings. Capturing the Taj from the banks of Yamuna is always my dream, but left it for the next time due to time constraints.

The whole environment is a design of God, a piece which cannot be put on words, something for the naked eyes to snap it. The man is bestowed with a powerful gift of ideas and execution. A five hundred year old monument is standing proud for India and for the whole humanity, a confession of creativity into action. The trip was a blessing, learning and togetherness. Both the families enjoyed and absorbed the historical contents. I recommend a whole day encounter with Taj, keep up the high spirits and enjoy.















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