Catch train from Jaipur to Agra on Saturday night. Arrive to Agra very very very late after a 3hr delay at Jaipur the night before. Check into a centrally located hotel with Costa Coffee and Pizza Hut right outside- great! And i'm being sarcastic let me clarify, i HATE pizza hut with a passion! Yet i gave it a go, you never know we're in India, it might have not been as bad as I remember. Oh no, it was and still is the worst excuse for Pizza i've ever tasted.
So onto Agra. It is home to three generations of one of the most dynamic dynasties in the medieval world- the Mughals. Their talent and wealth is immortalised here in stone and marble through the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India, namely the Taj Mahal . We spent the first evening, watching the sun set opposite theTaj, from the banks of the Yamuna river along whose side it elegantly stands. From where we were, we could see the hoards of people, that looked like ants crawling in an orderly queue, walking around the majestically huge Taj. The birds could be seen flying across the sky and the golden glow of the sun made the little water that was actually left of the river glisten. In the distance there were burning funeral pyres dotted along the nearby ghats.
The beauty of these buildings is astounding without a doubt but once one knows the history that played itself out on these stages (akin to a Shakespearean tale) one experiences Agra in a totally different, more effectual, manner. I spent the first night reading up on the history so i was prepared for my visit to the Taj, the next morning at sunrise.
Here's a very compact history of the Mughal Empire and Agra, for those of you that actually care and read this "stuff" i write!
- Babur= first Mughal Emperor. Was inspired by Persians' beleif that a cultured leader should recreate the islamic ideal of a "garden of paradise" here on earth and so built 3 gardens on banks of the Yamuna. BUT Agra only took shape as a city under rule of his gradnson, Akbar
- Akbar= 3rd Mughal emperor, son of poet-astronomer-philosopher Humayun. moved capital here in 1566. Was also versatile like his father BUT a better statesman, executed much religious tolerance and lived a modest lifestyle, relatively understated. Took the throne at 13 and ruled for nearly 50 yrs dring which he consolidated mughal empire and wooed hindus by abolishing taxes, banning slaughter of cows, promoting Hindu warriors within his army and taking Rajput princesses as his wives. one of whom bore him his son Jahangir. So proud of the birth of the heir was he that AKbar built a brand new city, Fatehpur Sikri , southwest of Agra, in his honour.
- Jahangir= a disappointment as he had a reputation as a womanizer and aquired deep affection for alcohol, opium, painting and poetry. Jahangir fell in love with Nur Jahan who had been previously married. Akbar,his father, opposed the alliance but when her first husband died Jahangir promised to give up "the pleasures of the world" and so Akbar gave his consent. Nur Jahan, during Jahangir's rule, in fact ruled the empire behing the Jali's (screens) for 16years. She built the mini-Taj for her father
- Shah Jahan = Jahangir's 3rd son came to power- apparenlty after killing his two elder brothers, their 2 children, and 2male cousins. Known as "architect" of the dynasty. The magnificence of his work culminating in the Taja Mahal which he built for his beloved Mumtaz. Bored, he moved Capital back to Delhi and built entirely new city from scratch, designing modern geometric palaces and gardens within new Red Fort. Also built a new royal apartment for his favoured daughter, Jahanara Begum, but paid bitter price for it and the favourtisim he showed his son Dara Shikoh also. His pious 3rd son- Aurangzeb, aided by Roshana Begum (a younger duaghter) seized the throne by betraying and/or murdering most of their siblings.
- Aurangzeb= last of mughal emperors, became most repressive North India had ever seen. destroyed Hindu temples and images throughout region, banned playing of any music or any indulgent pleasure. Allegedly poisoned Roshana and imprisoned his father in Agra Fort. He supposedly sent his father a platter upon which he garnished the head of his favourite Son, Dara.
I told you it was dramatic!!!
The next morning, after literally no shut eye and having grooomed myself the most i have this trip because of the photo shoot i was prepared to undertake the whole day praticisng literally every Princess Diana pose in front the good ol' Taj, we made our way towards the beauty. This morning was off to a good start when the 3 of us Indians in the group banded together, ditched our western counterparts temporarily, and wangled Indian National entry status which meant we paid a piddly 30rupees (less than 50p) to get in, versus the 750 rps (tenner) our firangi friends got hit with. It was a daring risk we'd taken as being caught by the fierce security guards is not nice and we would have been highly embarassed but it worked out in the end! Much to the dismay of our, now poor, friends.
So onto the Taj MAhal...
it was built by Shah Jahan as an eternal symbol of his love for his favourite wife whom he called Mumtaz Mahal ("Jewel of the Palace"). Perfect symmetry, ethereal luminescence, wonderful proportions, and sheer scale aside, one cant help but gawk at the exquisite detailing covering every inch of marble that justifies it as a wonder of the world. An interesting fact for those that dont' know, while it may appear to be symmetrical from a distance, it;s not totally with the 4 pillars that surround it standing a mer 2degrees outwards. This was intentionally put in place so that if ever there was disruption, from natural causes or otherwise, the pillars would fall away from the Mahal and not onto it. What appears to be perfectly propotioned white marble magnificence is in fact a massive bejeweled box, with "pietra dura" adorning the interior and exterior. This intricately carved floral bouquests are inlaid with precious stone: agnate, jasper, malachite, turquoise, tigers eye, lapis lazuli, coral. Beautiful caligraphy, inlaid with black marble, is carefully increased in size as the eye moves higher, creating an optical illusion of perfectly balanced writing with the letters the same size from whichever angle you look. The tomb is embraced by two mosques- one the original and another a dummy built only in the interests of symmetry. At the centre of of it all lies Mumtaz Mahal's cenotaph with the words, HELP US OH LORD TO BEAR WHAT WE CANNOT BEAR.
Work started in 1641 and the structure took 20,000labourers 22 years to complete. Legend has it that `shah Jahan cut off the hands of the Persian architect who designed it so that he could never duplicate it anywhere else. The Taj changed colour throughout that morning. It appears to take on many guises, depending on the time of day, with each one being just as beauitful as the other. We hired a good guide who knew all the best photo spots and we went trigger happy for 3 hours, waiting for the sun to shower its light on the Taj. Sadly we had a misty sunrise and so didnt get any good shots of that but i've still got tonnes and tonnes, posted on facebook, of amazing ones.
Later that morning we headed back to our hotel for a rest and some lunch. We had to check out at noon but spent the rest of the day milling around as we were due to catch a train to Varanasi that evening. In the meantime, I headed to the Agra Fort. This was also built by Akbar on the West bank of the Yamuna, opposite the Taj. Each successive emperor added his imprint on the fort and today the towering red-sandstone ramparts houses a variety o palace apartments, representing the different architectural styles of Akbar and his grandson Shah Jahan. most of the exterior and almost the entire interior were clearly built by Hindu workmen, who used Hindu building styles and decorative motifs- indicative of Akbar's all embracing religous tolerance. The adjacent Grape Garden and Khas Mahal were Shah Jahan's palaces, immediately recognizable by the extensive use of white marble. There was a subtle blend of Hindu and Persian elements which resulted in a totally new style, referred to as the "Mughal Style". it was a treat to walk around. My camera battery died wchih was a blessing in disguise as well as a pain as it meant that for once, instead of being preoccupied with taking pictures, i could just stop and marvel at the beauty around me.
Soon after, we headed back to the hotel, ate some dinner and got our bags ready for the overnight train to Varanasi.
