Day 6: Agra

It was barely morning when we started out to go to Agra; the hectic schedules of the last couple of days had us exhausted. In the late morning we stopped in what I would like to call a typical Indian Dhaba to have breakfast, which had the worlds best lassi, maybe its simply the exhaustion playing havoc with my senses… none of us was ready for the long trip ahead, not in the scorching Indian sun any ways… halfway there it had me wondering if the trouble was worth it…

Mom and dad called on the way, to see if we’d reached Agra yet… dad was once again reminding me of things to look for in the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort… I wished they were coming along with us too… it would’ve been more fun if dad had been there in person to show the places…

We reached the Agra fort around noon… I complained to dad saying I didn’t have the energy to explore and he chuckled saying I was being like an old lady already!

Entrance - Agra Fort

Agra Fort not only contained the palaces within its premises, it also houses the army, in the Mughal times it was the Soldiers of the Mughal emperior who had their quarters there, during the British Raj it was the British army and now the Indian army. so most of the fort is out of bounds to the public...

I was disappointed cause the one place I wanted to see in Agra fort; Jasmine mahal was closed for renovation, that’s where Shah Jahan stood at sundown to see Taj Mahal in the last 7 years of his life while he was being held captive by his own son… they say Aalamgeer didn’t want his father wasting money building another Taj Mahal in black marble for himself and so he was held captive in his own palace… towards the end of his days his eyes were too weak to see Taj Mahal and he had had a mirror put there and he was content with seeing Taj Mahal's reflection...

Shah Jahan stood gazing at Taj Mahal under the golden dome seen in this picture... too bad it was closed, i really wanted to get a view of the Taj Mahal from there...

we left Agra fort to go and have lunch after a good hour of roaming around there... next stop being Taj Mahal... i had decided Agra Fort was not worth the trouble... and was wondering if Taj Mahal was... by the time we reached Taj Mahal, it was past 3 and a cool wind and begun to blow... and the sun rays had lost its strength...

One of the entrances to Taj Mahal - they say the gate depicts separation between mortal life from that of the immortal. Some also believe the gate symbolizes purdha

first glimpse of Taj Mahal

the view as we entered...

Here a guy from our batch laid out his heart at her feet, knowing he wouldn’t get his hearts desire, still he did and he wanted the whole batch there as witness...

With the setting sun we bid our goodbyes…

all of us carried in our hearts a wish to come back…

then it was back to the uncomfortable seats of the bus which would carry us back to Delhi, at least we wont get baked anymore!! and the trip was an experience i wouldn't have missed for the world...