the taj

"why am I doing this again?" was flashing in big letters above my bed when I got up at 4:30 a.m. saturday morning. since agra lies at least a three-hours drive away from new delhi and given the high summer temperatures, you are well advised to be an early bird here.

when I arrived at the taj's east gate, the sun stood somewhere between dawn and half way up in the sky, administering just the right light to unveil the taj's full beauty. I had seen pictures of the taj mahal before, I knew it appears in some of the "wonders of the world" lists, and I was sure it would be beautiful. but this sight exceeded all my expectations. simply mind-boggling, exhilarating,...but see for yourself:

I surely have not seen much of the world yet. then again, I have visited sights such as the colosseum in rome, the tour eiffel in paris, or the grand canyon in arizona. although the pictures may not convince everybody, the taj mahal represents the most beautiful destination I have travelled to.

ok, let us get back to the educational side of this blog. the mughal emperor shah jahan had the taj built as a mausoleum in honour of his third - and most favourite - wife in the 17th century. I wonder what the first two got. anyway, myths about the taj are abundant. for instance, shah jahan planned to build an exact reproduction of the taj on the opposite side of yamuna river - in black. another one offers the cruel story that all important craftsmen got their hands cut off to prevent them from ever rebuilding anything remotely close to the taj. it seems to be a fact though that one of jahan's sons put him under house arrest in the nearby fort agra soon after the taj's completion until his dead (fort and view from the fort in the second part of the above slide show). jahan was, however, buried next to his wife in the taj.

I hope I was able to convey my admiration at least to some extent.

ti-bob