The Taj

I had been longing to see the Taj again in the last few months. Since I am on this travel spree, I thought what best time than to see it now. The occasion became even more special because of being full moon night, the ideal time to see the magnificence at its epitome.

The last time I saw the Taj was when I was 10yrs old. At that time I used to visit it frequently because my nana lived there. I have very pleasant memories of Agra and especially the Taj. The wonder was uncontaminated by the Mathura Refinery at that time. Watching the sunset over the flowing Yamuna standing on the terrace of the white marvel is an unforgettable feeling.

Things have changed now. Like everything around us some changes are for the better and some for the worst. I just hope and wish that Indians would realize and respect the splendour in their country. We are a country with abundance of history and culture and we take all the symbols of it for granted. India has become a land where magnificent temples and edificies abound to remind people about the rich civilization of a country that is slowly but surely lifting itself into an industrialized society losing its originality in the process.

So the visit started with a cycle rickshaw ride from the parking lot to the entrance of the wonder. This ride has become a rare occurrence in city life. All this while the longing grew stronger to see it and the wait was well worth it. As I reached the main gateway, I saw the architectural marvel stationed there with utter beauty. The proportions and design is mind-boggling. The idea of being able to see the whole structure through an arch shows absolute elegance. It just leaves you in awe and has a magnetic effect. You can’t wait to get to it.

The closer I got, the beauty kept unfolding. We entered the main room where the tombstone of Mumtaz lays. The whole interior of the building is dimly lit by natural light piercing through marble lattices. The copper finish lamps are gorgeous. The Turkish and Persian motifs on the walls enhance the grandness. Everything is very beautiful and you are in a trance when you are jerked into reality with jarring loud voices of the majority mediocrity of our society. There begun the pushing and the pulling in a crowd and made me wonder if it was from these same people (“us”), generations ago, that built this majestic place……We couldn’t have deteriorated to the extent that we are no doubt, far from building anything like it again, but more so have even lost the ability to appreciate it in the spirit of its origin.

With so much artistry surrounding me I was lost in the “symbol of love” and its ethereal beauty. We all sat on the terrace and just gazed at it for a while absorbing the place. As the sun set we were witness to the much spoken about the changing colours of the marble at different times of the day. When the full moon rose, the moonlight lit the tomb and it looked glorious. This was the sight we had come to witness and it surely left us spell bound. The heavens were clear and were bursting with twinkling stars. The setting was perfect.

It was time to go and we were reluctant to leave. We all just wanted to remain in our respective zones we had created. The tone of the vicinity radiated love and made us reflect on our understanding of it and its role in our lives. As we were walking out we all felt that we surely wanted to return and spend more time. For me, the visit was very fulfilling. I sure will never get tired or bored of appreciating it.