Alluring Agra

The city of the Taj is also a window to the architectural splendours of an age gone

A was on  one day Agra Tour from Delhi , the city of the Taj Mahal is a pilgrimage , as much for its architectural beauty, as the celebration of an emperor’s love and the wondrous monument he built to perpetuate it. Verbal efforts generally fail to convey the incredible beauty, the sheer poetry, the romance and the legend that should the Taj Mahal.  Rabindranath Tagore called it ‘ a teardrop glistening on the cheek of time. Edwin Arnold came equally close  when he remarked that it was Snot a piece of architecture, pilgrimage architectural as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an  emperor’s love wrought in living stone. Sha Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, built in 1631 as a loving tribute to the memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

I stand inside the main gate of the Taj  and my eyes take in the massive, arched gateway that frames the marble edifice. The dazzling white marble tomb stands out bold relief against the backdrop of the sky.  This back- ground employs the colours of the sky to its own advantage. It gives the Taj a gentle, pink hue in the morning, a dazzling bluish white at midday and the patina of old gold at sunset.

Here, within these portals, lies the quintessence of loveliness, created to exalt the memory of a beautiful woman and an emperor’s passion for his love. Early the next morning I head for the Taj Mahal’s nearest neighbour, the Red Fort. I recall that many historians have claimed that it was originally a brick fort built by the Chauhan Rajputs. With the Lodhi power destroyed, and the Mughal star in ascendancy, Akbar realised the strategic importance of Agra’s central locat ion, and made it his capital. He redesigned and rebuilt the Rajput fort in 1565, using red sandstone. He surrounded it by a 70-ft-high wall, with a radius of three kilometers. 

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The fort’s outer wall is 2.5 km long, 20 ft high, and surrounded by a deep, 20-m-wide moat. The citadel has four gates and double ramparts, with formidable, circular bastions at regular intervals. Though Akbar began the construction of the fort, it was Shah Jahan who completed the fort, after introducing many changes to its original plans.

The Diwan-i-Aam, dating back to 1628, was Shah Jahan’s hail of public audience, where he heard the petit ions of his subjects. The throne room, with inlaid carvings and panels of marble with floral motifs, display Shah Jahan’s distinct style. Moti Masjid, or Pearl Mosque, constructed in white marble, is one of the most stunningly beautiful mosques in India. The Diwan-i-Khas was Shah Jahan’s hail of private audience where he received heads of state and other important dignitaries. The famous Peacock throne was kept in this hall, before Aurangzeb had it moved to Delhi. Jahangir’s Palace was built by Akbar for his son Jehangir. This is the largest priv ate residence in the fort. The palace has a remarkable blend of Hindu and Central Asian architecture.

Trans-Yamuna and not too far from the Taj Mahal, stands the small, but incredibly beautiful, Itmad-udD aula mausoleum, built by the Empress Noor Jahan in memory of her father Mirza Giaz-ud-din Beg, Emperor Jahangir’s prime minister. This marble structure is similar to the tomb of Jahangir, which his wife built near Lahore.  Approximately one kilometer north of the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula is the square tomb called Chini Ka Land of wonder: (clockwise from below) Jail work at Agra fort; The imposing exteriors of the red-sandstone fort; Itmadu d-Daula’s tomb; Sikandra, Akbar’s final resting place Rauza. 

It is the mausoleum of Afzal Khan, a poet and a high-ranking officer in the court of Shah Jahan. The exterior of the tomb is covered with brightly-coloured     enameled tiles, which has contributed to its name. It has seen considerable renovation in recent times. Situated on the banks of the Yamuna, it is surrounded by an ambience of quietude and serenity.

Emperor Shah Jahan built the Jama Masjid in 1648. An inscription over the main gate of the mosque indicates that Shah Jahan built it as a gift to the people of Agra, from Jahanara, his favourite daughter. Sikandra, the final resting place of Akbar, the greatest ruler of the Mughal dynasty, is located 10km from Agra. The mausoleum is an exquisite amalgam of Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Jam motifs. The tomb sports a row of beautiful arches and doorways, which often sends photographers into transports of creative frenzy. Akbar started the construction of the tomb and his son Jahangir completed it. Regrettably, Jahangir was ill-advised into modifying the structure, and this contributed to the distortion of the original design. 

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