agra – true love!

agra is synonymous with the taj mahal which is the symbol of love. enough said!



it was a foggy cool morning as we drove from delhi to agra. a brief stop at the roadside dhaba for a coffee and we were ready to witness what everyone calls “one of the wonders of the world”





fathepur sikri (city of victory) beckoned us and ain’t i glad we stopped. this town, 40 kms from agra, blew me away. built in the sixteenth century by emperor akbar, it was the capital of the mughal empire for 10 years. it is influenced by islamic, hindu and jain architectural elements. it is now a UNESCO world heritage site.



the palace complex housed the emperor and has a number of palaces exquisitely carved in red sandstone. i had read about the panch mahal (for the queens to gaze at the moon), diwan-i-khas (for private audiences) and the diwan-i-am (for public audiences) in school and here they were, in front of my eyes.







the mosque complex is accessible by the buland darwaza (gate of magnificence) and opens up into a courtyard. The jama masjid (one of the largest mosques in india) and the darga of salim chisti (white marble tomb) are located here.







it’s afternoon by the time we reach agra and head out to the taj. the sight of the taj is overwhelming. this is what i read somewhere…..”refuting the romanticism of the aforementioned, many contemporary historians contend that the taj mahal is a mausoleum far too imposing to commemorate the memory of one woman, even the favorite wife of an emperor”. i beg to differ.













i had spent too much time at the taj and only had the time to glance at the agra fort at sunset before heading back to delhi (in a taxi and not on the elephant!).