During my stay in Noida I got an opportunity to visit Agra. Super excited like my group of friends, we booked a cab for a to-and-fro trip to Agra from Greater Noida on a chilly winter morning. In what earlier used to be a 4-5 hours journey to Agra, the travel time has now reduced to a mere 2 hours, thanks to the brand new six-lane Yamuna Expressway .
Nothing much to see on the highway, except for a short glimpse of the “Buddh International Formula One Circuit” (Yeah, I have been there too 😛 ) on the right, soon after Greater Noida.
Once you enter Agra, the hustle and bustle of narrow roads, traffic and the crowd really gets you exhausted. Agra still has that small town feeling and does not seem like a place which houses one of the Wonders of the World. All the tiredness is driven out when you enter the Taj complex. My first reaction was like “WOW!!” The white marble beauty, standing the test of time simply amazes you and you just can’t take your eyes off it!!
Back then, it took a whopping 18 years to build this marble structure, and the intricate carvings with numerous precious stones embedded tell you why it took so long. As we all know, The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in remembrance of his beloved wife Mumtaz after her death.
But I’ve always wondered, was it really love for his wife that made him build this massive structure?! As I went through different sources it came into light that not only was Mumtaz his third wife (who died while bearing his 14th child!!) but building the Taj was also one of the 4 promises extracted by the queen from her husband while she was alive. So was it really love or just another expensive demand from a wife?? 😉
Nevertheless, this Taj trip was truly an amazing and breathtaking experience for all of us!! Be proud that India houses one, the Best Wonder among the Seven Wonders of the World!!
A MUST visit! 🙂
Do share your views, opinions or even contacts of any descendants of the Mughal Empire in comments below 😉 and send in more articles, photographs and your contributions at [email protected]. Cheers!!
Post by Akshay Badkar.
There are a lot of conspiracy theories surrounding the Taj. The popular one is regarding Tejo Mahalaya, which was supposedly a shiva temple (or the fort of king maan singh i guess, according to some) over which Taj was built. I even read this book The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi whose story explores this arc too. 😉
Whatever, regardless of all these, Taj is a beautiful and breathtaking experience. It looks even better on a full moon. 🙂
The epic structure just somehow transports you back in time…..
Well written !
Hope you get such a demand too then we’ll get the eighth wonder of the world 😉