A Date with Taj Mahal ....

Agra is located approximately 203 kms from Delhi, on the banks of the Yamuna River in the Uttar Pradesh. It was first mentioned in the epic Mahabharata when it was called Agrabana. Tradition and legend ascribe the present city of Raja Badal Singh (around 1475 A.D.), who’s fort, Badalgarh, stood on or near the site of the present day Agra Fort. Agra was ruled by Sultan Sikander Lodi in the year 1506. After the sultan's death the city passed on to his son Sultan Ibrahim Lodi. He ruled his Sultanate from Agra till he fell fighting to Babur in the First battle of Panipat fought in 1526.

Agra came into real limelight with the Mughals. It remained the capital of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan later shifted his capital to Shahjahanabad in the year 1649. Under the Mughals, the city witnessed a lot of building activity and sill is a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

We leave in the morning and stop at a mid-way restaurant for a Tea/Coffee break and then continue to stop at Sikandra to visit the sandstone and marble Mausoleum of Akbar. The structure lies in the centre of a peaceful garden grazed by deer. Akbar himself started its construction blending Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Christian motifs and styles. When Akbar died his son Jehangir altered the original plans. Like Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi it is an interesting place to study the gradual evolution in design that culminated in the Taj Mahal. The southern gateway is the most impressive part with three storey minarets at each corner; built in red sandstone inlaid with abstract patterns in white marble. Not a lot of tourists go into the tomb as the most interesting structure is the Gate.

After visiting Sikandra proceed to Agra to visit Agra Fort.

It was Emperor Akbar who laid the foundation of this majestic citadel in 1565. Fort's colossal double walls rise 69 ft in height and measure 2.5 km in circumference encircled by a moat and contain a maze of buildings which form a small city within a city. The wall has 2 gates, the Delhi Gate and the Amar Singh Gate. The original and grandest entrance was through the Delhi Gate, which leads to the inner portal called the Hathi Pol or Elephant Gate. But now the entrance to the fort is only through the Amar Singh Gate. Public access is limited to the southern part of the fort which includes nearly all the buildings of tourist interest.

Jehangiri Mahal: This is the first notable building as one enters through the Amar Singh Gate was built by Akbar as a residence for his son Jehangir is the largest private residence in the fort. It is a blend of Hindu and Central Asian architectural styles. This is the most important building remaining from Akbar’s period as his successors demolished several of Akbar's red sand structures replacing them with marble one's.

Khas Mahal: Built entirely of marble by Shah Jahan in 1637, the Khas Mahal or the Private Palace demonstrates distinctive Islamic-Persian features. The enclosure has three pavilions overlooking the Yamuna, with a fountain opposite the central pavilion. The central pavilion an airy edifice, used by the emperor as a sleeping chamber has three arches on each side, five in front, and two turrets rising out of the roof.

Musamman Burj: On the left of the Khas Mahal is the Musamman Burj, an octagonal tower with an open pavilion build by Shahjahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is made of delicate marble lattices with ornamental niches for the ladies of the court to gaze out, unseen. The chamber with a marble dome on top is surrounded by a verandah with a beautiful carved fountain in the centre. The tower looks out over the River Yamuna and is traditionally considered to have one of the most poignant views of the Taj. This is where Shah Jahan spent his last few years as a captive of his son Aurangzeb and where he lay on his death bed, gazing at the Taj.

Diwan-i-Khas: Diwan-I-Khas (hall of private audience) built by Shahjahan in 1636–37 was used to receive kings, dignitaries and ambassadors. It is a three sided pavilion with a terrace of fine proportions. Outside the structure is the marble throne terrace, where a pair of thrones was kept. The black throne belonged to Jehangir. Presently, entry is not allowed inside Diwan-i-Khas.

Sheesh Mahal: Opposite to the Mussaman Burj and just below the Diwan-i-Khas hall, at the north-eastern end of the Khas Mahal courtyard is the Sheesh Mahal or the Glass Palace. It is believed to have been the royal dressing room and its walls are inlaid with tiny mirrors, one of the best specimens of glass-mosaic decoration in India. The Sheesh Mahal is composed of two large halls of equal size, each measuring 11.15m x 6.40 m. Both are connected in the centre by a broad arched opening and on the sides by two narrow passages.

Diwan-i-Am: The Hall of Public Audiences, made of red sandstone, was constructed by Shahjahan. It is here the emperor met officials and commoners and listened to the petitioners. The open sided, cusped arched hall (64x23m) built of plaster on red stone, is very impressive. The throne alcove of richly decorated white marble completed after 7 years work in 1634 was used to house the famous Peacock Throne later shifted to Delhi by Aurangzeb and was finally carried away to Iran.

After visiting the fort, proceed for lunch

Later in the afternoon we take you to one of the most beautiful monument ever built for love; Often described by poets as the Tear Drop of Love on the Cheek of Time, the TAJ MAHAL.

Taj Mahal, the breathtakingly elegant monument is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of architecture found in the world. It was built by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in the same year and was completed after 22 years in 1653 at a cost of 32 Million Rupees. Twenty thousand workmen and master craftsmen- from Persia, France, Iran, Italy and Turkey worked on the building. The material red sandstone, silver and gold, carnelian and jasper, moonstone and jade, lapiz lazuli and coral were brought in from all over India and central Asia and white marble from Makrana took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport. Precious stones for the inlay came from Baghdad, Punjab, Egypt, Russia, Golconda, China, Afghanistan, Ceylon, Indian Ocean and Persia. The unique Mughal style architecture combines elements and styles of Persian, Central Asian, and Islamic architecture. The architectural complex of the Taj Mahal (590x300m) mainly consists of the the main gateway, the symmetrically planned garden (300x300m), the mosque, the rest house, and the Taj Mahal mausoleum.

The main entrance is from the west, but there are also two other entrances from the east and from the south. The majestic main gateway is a large three-storey red sandstone structure, 50ft wide and 100ft high with an octagonal central chamber with a vaulted roof and with smaller rooms on each side, completed in 1648. The gateway consists of lofty central arch with doubles storied wings on either side. Above the central portal on the north and south sides, there is a series of 11 attached chattiris (umbrellas) with marble cupolas, flanked by pinnacles. The walls are inscribed with verses from the Quran in Arabic and is done in black calligraphy. A fine feature of the gateway is that the lettering appears to be the same size from top to bottom. This was done by heightening the letters as the distance from the eye increased. The small domed pavilions on top are Hindu in style and signify regality. The gate was originally lined with silver, now replaced with copper and decorated with 1,000 nails whose heads were contemporary silver coins.

The ornamental gardens through which the path leads are planned along classical Mughal 'char bagh' style. The feature to be noted is that the garden is laid out in such a way as to maintain perfect symmetry. Taj Mahal itself is situated about 900 ft away at the north end of the garden and stands on two bases, one of sandstone and above it, is a raised, square platform (186 x 186 feet) worked into a black and white chessboard design and topped by a huge blue-veined white marble terrace. Tall, white minarets four of them (41.6m high) grace each corner of the platform. Each has a deliberate slant outwards- the South west by 20 cm, the others by 5cm.On the East and west sides of the tomb are identical red sandstone buildings. On the west is a mosque. It is common in Islam to build one next to a tomb. It sanctifies the area and provides a place of worship. The replica on the other sides is known as the Jawab (answer). This cannot be used for prayer as it faces away from Mecca.

The main chamber inside is octagonal with a high domed ceiling designed to echo chants from the Quran and melodies of musicians. In the middle of this chamber contains false tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, who actually were laid to rest in precise duplicates in a lower-burial vault. The tombs are surrounded by a marble screen, cut so finely that it seems almost translucent, scatters speckled light around. Both tombs are exquisitely inlaid and decorated with precious stones which are the finest in Agra.

After visiting the fort, drive from Agra to Delhi.