Two years back, one day in the month of the March, finally it was my calling to visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the white marble majestic, the epitome of love, the inspiration for poets and architects – Taj Mahal. Even after staying in Gwalior at a distance of just two hours or 120 km from this marvel for two decades of my life, I never got a chance to visit it. My deep desire to see Taj Mahal came true after a long wait of 25 years when I found the love of my life and we decided to visit this place together. Jayant reminds me about his previous visit to this place and tells me how this trip was the one which completes the cycle of faith in love.
We along with my mom and siblings had planned a day long trip from Gwalior to Agra covering Fatehpur Sikri and Taj Mahal. From Gwalior we took a car and early morning around 6:00 am we left for Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone city also called as ‘City of Victory’ build by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It took us around three hours to reach there. When we were entering inside Fatehpur Sikri to explore the city, many local guides came to us so that we can hire them. Usually we prefer to explore the place by ourselves, so we went ahead to do so. Then suddenly a young boy who was just 12-14 years old came and was asking for a very minimal amount of Rs. 30/- to show us around. It was intriguing and some how we felt to give him a chance.
It was a very pleasant surprise when he started taking us around different monuments and explained the history of the place. He also recited fluent shayaris of the Mughals every now & then in his own peculiar style and even took our photographs from some interesting angles. It was a very charming & amusing experience and it completely made our day. India is one of the most entrepreneurial places in the world and if you have seen slumdog millionaire then you know only half of the story. The daily struggle which most of these people endure in their life time can give people thousands of stories to write about. But, let me tell you that we dint choose him out of pity because only a true player can survive such a competitive market and he was definitely one of them.
This famous city was built by Akbar and it was fascinating to see how the Mughal emperor has made his own world at Fatehpur Sikri which was a fusion of various religions, cultures and style. We visited various places like Buland Darwaza, Jama Masjid, Panch Mahal etc. Just try visualizing the realm of your dreams with all possible comforts and desires which one can have and then let this dream convert into reality. This is exactly what the Mughal Emperor Akbar had done at Fatehpur Sikri which is considered as one of the startling epitome of Mughal Architecture.
As told by our chote miah, the Akabar had three Ranis one was Hindu, other was Muslim and the third one was Christian. The intricate work on the various pillars, roofs and palaces was done keeping in mind the religion of all the three Ranis.
From the stories which we have read during our childhood, we imagined the King Akbar as a pot-bellied father of Salim, but only after the movie Jodha Akbar that image was replaced by the Greek God looking (Hrithik Roshan) figure. The movie covered one of the stories of his three wives, who knows Akbar had two other Ranis and his dream city at Fatehpur Sikri reflects his affection for all his wives in so many ways and in such minute details. Akbar had his capital in Fatehpur Sikri for sometime. However, for some reasons which no one is sure of, one of them being scarcity of water they had to abandon this imperial complex, never to be used again.
Seeing the fate of the lost grandeur which once symbolized the greatness of the Mughal empire we all were awe struck and engrossed in our own thoughts. We boarded our car and headed back towards Agra to devour the beauty which everybody wants to cherish. Yes, you all know it, the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, seen as an embodiment of undying love and marital devotion. Mumtaz was not just a beautiful women with whom Shah Jahan was in love and had deep affection, she was his constant companion in joy & grief, distress & comfort and a trusted confidant.
It was already lunch time and after having our lunch we took our tickets and entered inside through the main entrance gate. When we came inside after going through the process of checking we notice that there were three splendour gates for entering inside Taj Mahal.
We entered through one of the gates and saw Taj Mahal from a distance. After being engrossed in its beauty and the surroundings we made our way inside. All the people who came to see Taj Mahal gathered at few of the prominent spots to take a perfect picture in front of the Taj. We also managed to take one of our own.
During the month of March it was quite hot in the afternoon. After crossing some distance when you want to go inside the mausoleum you have to take out your shoes. As the entire place was built of marble, it became very hot to walk with bare feet. That is when we figured out why a lot of vendors were selling cloth bags for your feet. Anyways we decided to enter inside the mausoleum. After completing our round, we came out with a feeling of gratification. However, it was disheartening to see the entire place outside the Taj main mausoleum covered with cloth shoe bags which people have thrown everywhere after using it. We Indians follow the rule that our houses should be clean, but once outside it then its someone else problem. I feel we are privately well mannered, but as a nation we have lot to learn.
We came out feeling very thirsty, tired and decided to take a break. We had ice creams outside Taj Mahal and explored some local streets and shops. Most of the shops were well maintained and I think government has done enough to generate sustainable tourism for the monument, but somehow you will leave with a feeling that we can do better.
After having a wonderful day full of historical significance, royal stories and architectural brilliance we headed back to our home with great memories and experiences. Such trips are necessary if not mandatory for every person in this country who says that they are travel enthusiasts. One of the seven wonders of world was right here in our own backyard, yet it always seemed so far. Often, at times in life we forget to appreciate the people and things around us, and take them for granted. All it takes is a phone call or a day trip to thank and appreciate the real marvels in our life.
JS Travel Trails 
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