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Agra, Mughals and the Taj Mahal

    The moment you see this monument, you fall in love with it all over again. 

Getting to Agra


It was time to keep once a decade date with Taj Mahal . As we speeded on the fabulous Yamuna expressway on a foggy Christmas morning  towards Agra, I had no clue how much we all would enjoy visiting the mughal era buildings and gardens. After all it was my fourth visit to the city.
Many people get off the expressway seeing the signs of Agra city and Taj Mahal. Agra authority has linked the expressway to another toll road and this takes you very near all the hotels and Taj Mahal, bypassing the crowded city so its best to carry on and you will reach the area around Jaypee hotel in no time.

2 days later I was back in my house in Gurgaon and in these two days we had visited Sikandra, Agra fort, Fatehpur Sikri, the famed market of Agra called the Sadar Bazaar for footwear shopping and last but not the least the magnificent Taj Mahal. Besides this we also attended what was the main priority for our visit – the wedding of my childhood friend’s daughter on the outskirts of Agra.

Sikandra- Akbar the Great's Masouleum


Sikandra is the place where Akbar the great is buried.  Earlier Sikandra could be seen as soon as we entered Agra coming from Delhi on Mathura road. We did visit Sikandra as soon as we reached Agra but now the Yamuna Expressway comes from a different direction so one had to drive a fair bit to get here. The empror had started building his burial place while he was alive but it was completed after his death by his son Jahangir. The four mammoth but beautiful gates located in north, South, East and West flank the lovely gardens and the building containing the tomb. The gardens have hundreds of deer  and they roam around freely as public is not allowed inside the gardens. As you admire the architecture and craftsmanship of the gates and buildings, what really fascinates you is the simplicity of the tomb itself and the room in which Akbar was buried. Its said that once the Mughal empire weakened, the enemies of mughals even dug the grave of Akbar.

Sikandra is a good place to start your tour as the gates of mausoleum show you what Mughal architecture was all about. It had influence of Persian, Hindu and christian architecture. The chattris, minarets, the inscription of holy Quran which are present in all mughal buildings are present here as well. You feel richness all around. At one time real jewels, stones, carpets and gold decorated all the buildings. They were looted by the enemies once the mughals became weak. 





Our hotel Radisson Blu was just a couple of km’s from Taj Mahal East gate. My energy level was still high as we reached the hotel through narrow roads and the Mall road after Sikandra visit, so took the family for a walk to the entrance of Taj Mahal soon after checking in. We had lunch somewhere at an ordinary place in between where the food was awful. I then stood in a queue and  bought the tickets to enter but as we reached the entry point of Taj, the queue to enter scared the hell out of me. I could not even see its end ! People were fighting and shouting and the cops were everywhere. I tore the tickets, picked up my car from the hotel and headed to the main market of Agra called the ‘Sadar Bazaar.’ It seemed pretty unfair that we would have to miss out on Taj Mahal during this trip. Frankly speaking I had no guts to stand in that unruly queue for many hours. 

Sadar Bazaar was in its elements. Being a christmas holiday, the market was packed. In some lanes it was difficult to even move. Everyone seemed pretty energised . Agra is known for leather industry and shoes. We picked up a bargain at a shop and bought some shoes. Moving towards the lane which specialises in 'chaat', I had my quota of Agra chaat. The famous place where Mama's frankies are sold was choc a bloc. It seemed that entire Agra city had converged to this market. Sadar bazaar was buzzing and chaotic. You could hear loud music and tuneless singing from an open air musical show interspersed with constant honking by cars. 

Throbbing Sadar Bazaar 

We had wanted to have dinner at the famed Amarvilas (An Oberoi hotels property located next to Taj Mahal) but were told that they were totally booked for that evening. I went up to the rooftop of Radisson Blu and their infinity pool looked quite tempting. But on December 25th, at the peak of winter I had no inclination to swim in ice cold water. From this rooftop you can clearly see the Taj Mahal during the day. But as it wasn't freezing cold, I had a drink on the terrace and then came down to the Indian restaurant for a nice mughlai meal. The food was good and it was a proper meal of fixed menu comprising of snacks, main mughlai course and dessert. Priced at Rs 850++ , I thought it was a good deal.

The 2nd day at Agra was busier than the first, if that is possible ! We got out of the hotel at 9 AM and had breakfast at Bikanerwala. This is at Fatehabad road opposite ITC Mughal. There are several restaurants on this road including KFC and Mc Donald's. At Bikanerwala you could eat South Indian, Poori Aaloo, Ras Malai or whatever.

The Agra Fort


Agra Fort looks tough and strong. It is a city within a city

Not too far from Fatehabad road is the famed Agra Fort. It was a 10 minute drive. The Mughals had shifted here during Akbar's regime from Fatehpur Sikri and stayed here for centuries. The place is huge and most of the fort is under Army now and not accessible. The construction is mammoth and designed to be protected from the enemies. The walls are imposing and the designs and workmanship is super fine.


Fine workmanship and design to have ample natural light. 
Beautiful wokmanship all around

If you have seen films like Mughal e Azam, you can imagine things happening here during mughal empire. You can imagine the elephants, the horses, the harems with hundreds of concubines, the punishments given by getting trampled under elephants or hands being cut for not bowing to the emperor. The Sheesh Mahal where the song 'Pyar kiya to darna kya...' was picturised. They all come alive as the guide narrates some stories which supplement what you have already heard and read.We paid Rs 700 to the guide and it was worth it as he gave us a round for an hour and took some nice snaps of ours at vantage points.

The palace of Jahangir. 

This is how the mughals lived. The rooms with fountains. The expensive stones were looted by the enemies once mughals became weak. 

Shah Jehan was imprisoned here and from his cell he had a great view of Taj Mahal. He was only allowed limited food while in prison. He died in captivity. 
The Diwan e Aam where a commoner could petition to the King. In the background is the royal mosque. 
The Agra fort once housed the famous peacock throne, the Kohinoor, stones and jewels. They were all looted once Mughal Empire became weak after Aurangzeb. Agra fort is a city within the city and has thousands of stories associated with it. Many stories have beeen told over generations but you have no doubts as you leave the fort that there would be too many hidden stories which will never be told.

We quickly came back to hotel and dressed up for the wedding we had to go to. The destination was an hour away and it was a lovely day for the afternoon wedding. The wedding was at a farm and Yamuna river flowed behind it. We spent good couple of hours there and had our lunch and met my friend and his family. The bride and groom looked hapy and looked nice and fresh under the winter sun. The temptation was to go back to the hotel after the wedding but instead I turned my car towards Rajasthan as just before the border is situated Fatehpur Sikri. This was and hour and a half from the wedding venue.


Buland Darwaza and dargah of Salim Chisti


The magnificent Buland Darwaza was built to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. It is an imposing structure standing tall on a hill and inside is the mosque and dargah of Salim Chisti. 

We were about to reach the imposing Buland Darwaza when a motor cyclist came next to my car while I was still in motion and asked for Rs 400 to get my car right near the structure at the top of the hill and get a guide for us. Though sceptical, I agreed as it was getting late, and followed him right from where the steps of  Buland Darwaza started.  This huge gate was built by Akbar to commemorate his victory in a battle over Gujarat in 1601. While Fathehpur which has Buland Darwaza and Salim Chisti dargah is a religious place which has Jama Masjid as well, the Sikri next door was Akbars palace and administrative block.  A guide took us inside and we could see the dargah of Salim Chisti. Apparently Akbar and Jodha were blessed by him and prince Salim, the heir to the throne was born.

Insde the Buland Darwaza. Four gates flank this area and in the white marble is the dargah of Salim Chishti. People tie thread here and it's said that your wish does come true if you do that. 

The guide was more interested in asking us to buy things so he could get commission than actual showing us around. He wanted us to buy an expensive sheet for dargah and then he wanted us to buy mementos. We did visit the dargah and took a full round but as sun was setting I needed to visit the Sikri part, which I consider to be beautiful and elegant. The guide refused to take us there though initial promise by negotiator on bike covered that part also. We quickly got the tickets and hired another guide. We just made it before the ticket windows closed and I was glad for it as I just didn't want to miss this part after driving all the way.

Sikri and Jodha's Palace


Akbar had 3 queens- a hindu, a muslim and a christian. He gave most prominence to the hindu wife Jodha who had given him a son. How partial he was towards Jodha is apparent when you enter the Sikri area as her palace is huge compared to those of other wive's. 

Like Royals, my wife and I sit in front of Diwan e Khaas. We are dressed this way as we were coming straight after attending a wedding. 

There are several buildings in the complex and you can find Birbal's palace, the royal kitchen, the palaces of the queens etc. 

The panch mahal with 176 pillars. For the Royalty it was nice place to sit and get entertained. The cool breeze would flow between the pillars. 


Imagine Tansen singing sitting here while the King, Queens and ministers listened to his magical voice. 

You feel very much part of history when you sit and watch the buildings which once housed names likes Akbar, Jodhabai, Birbal, Raja Todarmal, Faizi, Raja Mansingh, Abdul Fazal, Tansen etc etc.

Akbar left this palace as there was a water shortage here. He moved to Agra which was next to the river Yamuna. Most tourists do a day trip to Agra as their priority is Taj Mahal. They miss out on Fathehpur Sikri which is a good 90 minute drive one way. If you ever plan to visit Agra, make sure that you stay there overnight so this wonderful place can be visited by you.Don't just visit this place but  spend some time here.

A wonder called The TAJ MAHAL



 


'The Taj' by TN Murari is one of the finest books I have read about this era when Taj Mahal was built. It had a graphic description of life of the Mughal emperors and their wives and children. In this particular book the life of Arjumand Bano (Mumtaz Mahal) and Shah Jahan is traced from their childhood.
We had given up the idea to visit Taj Mahal as the long and unruly queues had scared us off. This was our third day in Agra now and the idea was to leave for Delhi. Yet the idea of being so near and yet so far did not appeal to me. There is a specially priced ticket which is sold for Rs 1000 to enter Taj Mahal. This is mainly for the foreigners but Indians can also buy this ticket and get into foreigners queue. You also get a preference to get into the crypt area with this ticket. Otherwise for Indians a meager Rs 40 is charged for tickets. Soon after waking up we decided to give Taj another try before leaving back for Delhi. We went for the special tickets and were inside within 30 minutes. We are frequent travelers abroad and are used to paying heavy amounts for entering museums and monuments which may not be even half as interesting as the monument which we were entering. As you walk in from the main gate which has direct view of Taj, the sight always stuns you. Taj stands there so majestically and shining that you are overawed by its beauty. You can just imagine how beautiful it must be looking on a full moon light.

The gate of Taj Mahal itself is so beautiful that you keep admiring it till you see the white marbled Taj. Then you forget the gate. I will not write about the minarets, the domes, the inscriptions and the architecture as enough has been written about it and any website will give you the details.



The main gate of Taj Mahal
The main gate is also a work of art

Instead of walking straight in following the fountains, I went left and walked through the corridor. From there I walked next to the periphery wall. From each place you could see the Taj in a different light and with different dimensions. The crypt area itself is so beautiful and it has replicas of the grave of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal who actually are buried deep inside the same area. Photography is not allowed in the crypt area and a couple of days after our visit there was a stampede in which several people were injured. The entry into the crypt area was prohibited for a few days but is open now. But soon there will be a lot of rules and restrictions.

The corridor has some interesting art displayed and leads upto the toilet. From there you can go to Taj walking along the  periphery wall. 
It was a foggy morning and Taj looked divine.




The sarai is on right side and similar structure is on the left side which is a mosque. Namaz is still carried out there. 

The Yamuna flows behind the Taj but has dried up considerably. 

This is the right side of Taj Mahal outside the crypt area. The workmanship is really breathtaking. 

  
Whatever had to be done in Agra, we did that including buying a box of over sweet 'petha' and over salty' daal-moth.' Don't really know when the next visit will be but Devicka and I did get a picture clicked in front of the monument of love.





Rohin Arora
Twitter : @arorarohin
EMail: rohinarora@gmail.com


Comments

I have read your full post and I want to say that this is a very nice blog with beautiful images thank you to share this. Thank you so much for sharing fantastic photos and wonderful experience with us keep posting.
Upendra Kumar said…
One of the best luxury business hotels in Agra, India, Ramada Plaza Agra is located near Taj Mahal and Agra Cantt Railway Station. Book online and get 10% discount on the official website.
https://www.ramadaplazaagra.com/
Upendra Kumar said…
One of the best luxury business hotels in Agra , India, Ramada Plaza Agra is located near Taj Mahal and Agra Cantt Railway Station. Book online and get 10% discount on the official website.
Upendra Kumar said…
This hotel offers accommodation in Agra with luxurious facilities and services. Book now and get 10% discount with free Wi-Fi and breakfast.

Specialty Restaurant in agra Cafe Golden Elephant serves International and Indian cuisines at Ramada Plaza Agra. Book a table now and get best deals on official website.
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