The Holy Shrine,An Emperor's Passion & The Highway!

I am sure there would be hundred's and thousand's of articles on the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri. After all they are World Heritage sites and part of the existing wonders of the world.Well Readers,what I believe I do well as a travel blogger is to tell people the best ways and means to enjoy/seep the place.This blogpost will be such an effort.

The best time to start for a Fatehpur Sikri/Taj Mahal visit is before sunrise.There are two reasons for it.One reason is that you avoid the crowded road from Delhi to Faridabad(Which can be a nightmare after 9 AM).The second one is that post Faridabad,this highway is a real treat for the eyes especially during early mornings and during low traffic.It's less wider than the Delhi-Jaipur highway,but far more greener.

I had the good luck of the rain god's being benevolent,due to which the drive became twice more enjoyable.It's a great feeling when the rain furiously hits the windscreen,while you are driving at 80 Kph and you see the wet road pass by - just like the moments of your life gone by.

Fatehpur Sikri at 7 Am in the morning :

The rain has passed,and the clear sky greets you as you enter awestruck this great Mughal creation.Fatehpur Sikri,a city and Municipal board created by Akbar(The greatest Mughal emperor) served as the empires capital from 1571 to 1585.

Akbar had inherited the Mughal Empire from his father Humayun and grandfather Babar. During the 1560s he rebuilt the Agra Fort and established it as his capital. With his Hindu wife Mariam-uz-Zamani he had a son and then twins, but the twins died. After this heartbreak,they consulted the Sufi Saint Salim Chishti who lived as a recluse in the small town Sikri near Agra. Salim predicted that Akbar would have another son, and indeed one was born in 1569 in Sikri. He was named Salim to honor the saint.Salim would later rule the empire as Emperor Jahangir. The following year, Akbar, then 28 years old, determined to build a palace and royal city in Sikri, to honor his pir Salim Chishti. The tomb of Salim Chishti, "Salim Chisti Ka Mazar" was built there within the grounds of the Jama mosque.

P.S :One thing that I really want to point out through my blogging is the pathetic money making that goes on in these holy and pristine monuments.There are touts roaming all round,always trying to pull that fast one on you.If you lay 100 bucks(2$) on the Chisti shrine,they say the almighty would be angry.Please!if any senior Bearuacrat ever reads this...do something about it.BAN these friggin touts.They give our country a bad name and spoil the fun of seeing something truly historic.

The Taj in all it's glory:

There's an interesting analogy that I want to give here.We Indian's are so close to one of the eight wonders,that we feel that it's just another monument.Ask any Indian - so,you've seen the Taj mahal??? and he will say -"Of Course,yeah!".You wont hear about the mind boggling calligraphy or the artistic carvings.It's once you land up at the Taj Mahal and see the hordes and hordes and hordes of foreigners queing up to buy a ticket...then you realize...man,I am visiting a marvel.Think about guys-The Taj is a national Heritage,let's give it more respect.I plead all my readers to write about the Taj mahal,or talk about it.Every year 200,000 foreign tourist visit the Taj Mahal.If we all try hard enough,then we can increase the inflow.

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.

Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj Mahal in these very words :

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.

A view of the Taj from the Banks of the Yamuna(Made famous now by Danny Boyle of Slumdog Millionaire Fame) is a Mental Orgasm in itself.Also if you are there when the sun sets down on the Yamuna waters,it will linger in your mind forever.

Accomodation near these famous monuments :

Unless and until you have got deep pockets(150$ - 200 $ per night),it's better that you come back after seeing these two moments.The reason is very simple.Agra and Sikri as a place are quite crowded and it makes no sense to shell up big bucks unless and until you can see the Taj from your hotel window.There is one hotel that gives that privilege though - The Taj View Hotel.For more information please visit : http://www.tajhotels.com/.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it:-).Come hell or high water - will keep writing.So keep reading this space!

Data Source and Photos : from Wikipedia