Taj and the holy abandoned city

The day was 30th of March 2015, I woke up at 5 in the morning got dressed up and started my journey to see the seventh wonder of the world " The Taj Mahal". I had with me my elder sister as company and it was because of her enthusiasm and planning that I was making this voyage to see  " The tear drop in the cheek of time".

While our Swift Dezire was expressing down the Yamuna expressway the excitement was there to see in both of us, I was going to see the Taj. The monument which defines love, which awestruck everyone and anyone who stands in its vicinity. It was like a dream come true for me, a day which I have been waiting for a long long time. We just stopped once in our 3 hour journey to refresh ourselves and to have our breakfast which was 'paneer kulcha' and 'masala chai' near Vrindavan before finally reaching Agra around 9a.m. The weather was there to compliment our mood as the cool breeze and the sun being hidden behind clouds gave us enough signs that this would be one memorable day to remember.

The Taj being one of UNESCO's World heritage sites has a very strict rules against pollution and hence we had to park our car about 500m's from the main entrance, There were various options by which we could travel to reach the main gate. there was horse driven carts, camel driven carts , cycle rickshaws and battery operated tuk tuks. I really wanted to travel by the camel cart but the look of my sister refrained me from taking one. finally we took the battery operated tuk tuks to reach the main entrance.

The picture on right is that of the structure which serve as the ticket counter for all the visitors.

After going through the security check we finally reached the western gate of the Taj.

The western Gate of The Taj Mahal was made of red sandstone and decorated with marble and on the marble designs were the inscriptions of "The Holy Quran" written in Persian dialect which was a wonder on its own.

While we were admiring the gate to enter the Taj complex we got a glimpse of "The wonder" through its archway and I was speechless and numb.  Behind the blue backdrop of the clear sky with white clouds I witnessed the timeless ageless beauty called " The Taj".

The Taj Mahal also known as the Mumtaz Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Sahjahan in memory of his most beloved wife Mumtaz and is surely a masterpiece from both architectural and artistic point of view. On viewing the The Taj I definitely understood why people utter the words " Hamin Asto !!! Hamin Asto!!! Hamin Asto!!!!" ( which means " if there is heaven on earth then its here!! its here !! its here!!!"). The perfect symmetry, the garden layouts and the structure itself is to be praised and admired with whatever words humanely possible. I was awestruck with its exuberance and beauty. My sister uttered the words " finally I am at The Taj" and I could feel her amazement and wonder just standing in front of this jewel.

Marble designs on the walls of the main structure

One of the minarets of The Taj. The design of these minarets is such that they stands at an angle of 88degree to the surface leaning utwards so that in case of an earthquake r natural disaster the minarets would break outward and nt inward to the main structure. Design and Architectural wonder i must say .

Me and my sister was so mesmerised by the beauty of this grand structure that we did not understood how 3 hours have passed by and we were ready for our next destination. This next destination of ours was probably the reason for which the Taj Mahal exists. 80 kms south west of The Taj lies a holy abandoned ( why abandoned I will explain it subsequently ) city built in honour of a sufi saint who predicted the lineage of the mughals would continue to exist.  

For the Mughal dynasty to continue and flourish Akbar the great wanted a son as an heir to his throne but after numerous attempts in trying to fulfil his wish he did not had the success which made him to visit this sufi saint amidst dense forest. salim Chisti predicted that Akbar is going to have a son and he within a period of a year Akbar's eldest of his three sons was born. To honour the sufi saint who has predicted this for the king, Akbar named his Eldest son Salim who latter was known by the name Jahangir. Akbar was so much moved by this sufi saint's prediction that he dicided to relocate his capital to this place where Salim Chisti resided and he built a whole new city around Salim Chisti's residing place which came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri. Fatehpur Sikri translates into " The Fort of Victory " and boy it lives up to its name. An entire city made up of sandstone with intricate decorations reflecting Persian architecture is a treat to watch on its own. The locals here give this place way more significance than the Taj Mahal because if it was not for Salim chishti who foretold Jahangirs birth there would have been no Jahangir and subsequently no Sahjahan who built the Taj Mahal. Akbar later was forced to shift his capital again from fatehpur sikri to delhi because of shortage in water in that area and hence the name Holy abandoned city. Abandoned or not this city has a charm of its own and have attracted numerous tourists from all over the world not only to see its grandure but also to make one wish to come true. After the demise of the sufi sait Salim Chisti, Akbar built his tomb inside the city with red sandstone which was later replaced with marble by jahangir. It is believed that if you tie a string in Salim Chistis tomb with your wishes in mind your wishes will come true eventually. My sister and I visited Chisti's tomb and followed the tradition of tying strings and presented our wish to the holy man, whether our wises would come true or not is a different question all together but i felt inner peace and tranquillity in doing so.

The other aspect of this place that moved me to my core was the sufi artists who perform just in front of Salim Chisti's tomb. I could not make out the words of the songs but the passion with which they sang moved me a lot. Truly these men could create a link with The almighty just with their songs.

The other aspect of this city which actually made my jaw drop was the main entrance which the king's subjects used for entering the city. The entrance is called the Bulandh darwaza or the gate of Victory. A 54 m high entrance to the city is a shining gem on the throne of this holy city. To reach the platform of this humongous entrance once has to cove 52 steps from the bottom and is very steep indeed. The Kings and other dignitaries used a different entrance called the Kings gate which had lesser steps to enter the city. Fatehpur sikri is actually divided into two seperate sections one called the Diwan e aam which was used by the common people at the time while the section used by the royal family is called the Diwan e Khass which is now closed for the general public.

Bulandh Darwaza ( 54m high entrance to Fatehpur Sikri )

The Kings Gate used by the Royal Family to enter the city 

Hallway where people use to recite their daily Namaz

Buland Darwaza as viewd from inside the city

Tombs of the Royal family placed inside the city where Akbar used to hold his court with his ministers

Salim Chisti's tomb, initially it was built with red sandstone but was later redesigned with white marble by Jahangir

Bulandh Darwaza viewed from Salim Chisti's tomb silhouette 

Silhouettes decoration inside Salims Chisti's tomb 

The Canopy of Salim Chisti's Tomb made up of sandalwood and decorated with numerous Pearls. The structure is called the " Mother of Pearl" and was worth 7lacs during the time.

The inricate dcorations of the canopy made with numerous pearls.

The place where people tie these holy strings saying their wishes to the holy saint hoping that their wishes would come true and if you believe the locals then all of their wishes came true through the saint's divine intervention.

Entrance Door to Salim Chisti's tomb made of Ebony wood imported from Sri Lanka ( then Ceylon)

Sufi Artists performing and praising the holy saint in front of his tomb

Jahangir, Akbars eldest of his three sons was in love with a courtesan called Anarkali. Their Love story is quite famous and is well known to all Indians as it was immortalised on the silver screen by the legendary actor Dilip Kumar in the movie Mugh-le-Azam. Anarkali was made captive by Akbar but she manage to flee from the captivity only later to be caught and get cremated live in the walls of the Agra fort.The Place from which Anarkali fled from Fatehpur Sikri is called " Anarkali Darwaza" and is still there to be seen for the public.

" Anarkali Darwaza" ( Reminds me of the movie ' Bhool Bhulaiya' doesn't it ? )

It was already 5p.m. and I knew it was time for us to head home back to delhi but i could nt turn my eyes back to this holy and immense city of Fatehpur Sikri. The Taj Mahal is something everyone who visits agra sees but Fatehpur Sikri has something in it which is beyond explanation, beyond definitin yet it attracts you. I knew in my heart this is not the last time i would be visiting the place.

With our car's speed touching 130km/hr and light drizzle surrounding us, our journey back to delhi was filled with how touched we both were by visiting places out of this world.