taj mahal

I had not planned to see the Taj Mahal. It was the hastiest of decisions; I could not get a flight back from New Delhi till the following day, and had but a morning and afternoon to spare. The city was becoming increasingly intolerable due to the heat, and I longed for a certain quietness of mind. No thanks to the Lonely Planet, from which a quick browsing through had led me to fashion a plan for the quickest of sojourns up to Agra and back by cab.

A White Ambassador pulled up in the hotel driveway at 3 in the morning. These cars had once ferried the who's who in India, but in modern times their roles are now superceded by fleets of Mercedes. Nonetheless they serve its purpose well - built like a Russian tank, they give its passenger added security as the drivers weave their way though the chaotic city roads laden with cars oblivious to the road directions.

I had hoped to reach the Taj before sunrise for a few photographic opportunities, but alas there was a huge jam on the highway into Agra. Then again I'm thankful I made it there in one piece.

It is difficult to place The Taj Mahal in a historical setting within a city. It appeared, travelling through Agra's narrow busy roads, that apart from the Taj and its compound there were little other buildings of architectural siginificance. It was as if the building had been plonked into the heart of the city, with disregard to its surrounding fabric.

But plonked it did, and in spectacular fashion. I was greeted, on entering through the compound's archways, with a dome propotionately perfect to the eye. That amazement was enhanced as you moved closer; the dome was grand, imposing, but didn't feel heavy. The marble that clad the whole building glowed pink at moments due to its translucency.

It is a beautiful building. And perhaps, if not the, then at least one of the world's most beautiful structures that was built for reasons of love and not power.

I'm glad to have seen it.