India's Crowning Glory

I am back from my trip to India. And as always, am still nostalgic and very home sick. The trip itself was good. Lots of good time with my parents and relatives, loads to eat and drink and last but not the least the much awaited trip to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.

Wah Taj !

I could not afford more than a day or two of vacation due to some other pressing business. So I was very happy to actually sneak a day to see the Taj Mahal. Last I went, me and my sister were still in school (I was in the 9th grade) and it was very hot in April. We were on a school trip and the most pleasant memory was that of seeing the Taj. I still remember that one particular side of the monument was in the shadow of the main tomb and hence, there was a very cool and pleasant breeze blowing. I loved just sitting there and enjoying the cool breeze.

One of the minarets at the Taj


This time around I went with my sister's husband, Amit. This time around too it was a bit hot, though not as bad as last time. And this time too, the most pleasant time was spent just sitting in the shadow area and enjoying the pleasant breeze.

The western entrance to the Taj Mahal


A lot of things had changed also. Our car could not drive all the way upto the monument - there is a pollution free zone around the monument now. You park your car a little way off and either take a rickshaw or a "tanga". Plus there were covers we had to wear on our shoes to step onto the white tomb. And the real graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz were not open for viewing.


A view of the Yamuna from the Taj

But from what I could remember, the monument still looked pretty much the same - still standing very tall and grand, still inspiring awe and still leaving the visitors agape with their mouths open. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing this most beautiful and the grandest of gifts of love.

A closer look at the engravings and inlay work


Oh and as an afternote, Amit did tell me that now a Shatabdi runs in the morning from Delhi to Agra and is a very convenient mode of transport to the city. Though the road from Delhi is not bad either.

Comments

Ar Ar Ar Arrrrr said…
Awesome snaps....

I was there in Delhi few months back and took time out to visit Agra....

Do check out TAJ's snaps on ma site too...

http://www.arz000n.com/?p=125#comments

Greetz!!
8:03 AM
Pooja Aggarwal said…
Thanks for visiting Arzoon... Your pictures are good too.
7:58 PM
Mridula said…
Pooja, you know what I did when I visited Taj two years back? I left my camera home by mistake! Have to go there again. You have taken such lovely pictures :)
1:12 AM
Anonymous said…
I hate These Boring Monuments!! There Are So Much Other Things To Do!! Go And See Tajmahal Or Qutub Minar!! I'm Not Crazy!! It's Total Waste Of Time, Neway!!
12:31 PM
Pooja Aggarwal said…
I won't call these monuments boring. Taj Mahal is so huge and so steeped in history, it was actually wonderful and awe-inspiring to see it. It had so much to tell through its architecture.

But yes, that is my preference. And I am sure you have yours. After all these are just my travel memoirs - I am not advocating that you definitely go there.

Thanks for visiting.
5:15 PM
Anonymous said…
Wish I could feel the same feeling at seeing Taj and had my mouth disengaged or whatever.But it was not too be. Humongous sure it , and its costliness and sheer waste of white marble may make a few jaw drop. and yes I forget it has a very 'lovely' beautiful theme - love. And for its being steeped in history that awes a lot of people it would be sobering to think that earth it stand on is 450 billion old and has been witness to rise and fall and hopes and despairs of many ages ,not only of mankind but of species before that. Would help to keep your eyes and ear open to silent whispers of eternity.
1:05 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wild Animal Park

Image
Sunit and I are big fans of the Wild Animal Park at San Diego - we've been there numerous times and everytime we come back filled with wonder at something new. Spread over 1800 acres, the park provides a lot of space for animals to move and they are not enclosed in small cages as in a Zoo. It also allows the animals to mingle and follow the same natural habits as they would in the wild. The train safari provides a quick tour of the place, but if you have the energy to walk around and view some of the interaction areas, the Park can be a lot of fun. On my second trip to the Park, with Vijay ( a friend who is crazy about wild cats), we caught the Cheetahs during their feeding time. A huge moat separates the viewers from the feeding area, some meat is left on the logs and then far-from-sight the Cheetahs are let loose. One can actually see their long strides as they run to the meat and then feed on it. Vijay gets the credit for this picture. We also went upto the tiger observatory dur
Read more

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Image
My latest favorite place in the world is Lauterbrunnen. It is a beautiful valley near Interlaken. For most Indians, Interlaken is synonymous with Yash Chopra movies and classic Swiss scenery. But about 20 miles from Interlaken, is this quaint little town and valley called Lauterbrunnen and this place formed the base of our Swiss travel in the Berner Oberland area. While Interlaken boasts of all the touristy stuff, if you want to live close to the mountains and numerous waterfalls (close to nature as my mom would say), Lauterbrunnen is where you need to be. A small town, that leads to a beautiful valley, with waterfalls falling on either side. When we went out for our first walk on the valley floor, I stood at one point and counted the total number of waterfalls visible - the count was 11. Streams trickle down from anywhere and everywhere. My husband remarked - "This is much like Yosemite, but multiplied by 10'. Days in this place just seemed to vanish - there was so much to do
Read more

Fatehpur Sikri

Image
I was looking through my pictures and came across some of Fatehpur Sikri. And I wondered - how come I never wrote about it ? Was it simply because the touts made it impossible for me to enjoy the place ? Or was it because the weather was so hot ? Don't get me wrong, the place itself is beautiful. And the architecture great and awe inspiring, especially the red sandstone made it look out of the world. Infact I was reminded of quite a few scenes of the movie Pardes. But still.... So I decided to pen down what were the precise reasons that put me off. Reason 1: First impression - We approached the fort through a small bazaar outside the fort. There were touts in the bazaar who insisted that we stop our car and pay them some amount for parking near the fort. They were using a thick rope as a makeshift barrier to stop passerbys like us. Reason 2: As soon as we got out of the car, there were guides pursuing us like crazy. There seemed to be no official place to get any ticket/information
Read more