Footloose in India: The famous Taj Mahal of India

It was time to make a visit to this famous structure of India. I spent almost 25 years in Delhi before I made the effort to finally visit this beautiful place. Once decided we set off from Delhi one early morning (we started around 6.30am) to reach this destination by about 11.30 am. The roads were really bad and congested to get there at that time but now I've heard there is a highway that's built to make it possible to reach Agra in just about 2 hours from Delhi.

It was about 10-15 mins walk from the place where the bus dropped us. There were options of carts being driven by camels or to stretch our legs after the long hours spent in the car. We definitely chose the second.

Well, getting inside the place was a struggle with long queues and endless wait at the south gate. There were however, multiple things on that little gully which kept us quite intrigued and fascinated. craftsmen working on the roadside and small shops selling those craft items that we spent most of the time window shopping.

Once inside, the place was huge and marvellous. The expanse of green gardens was well maintained.

This was just the outer court. We were still not able to see the Taj Mahal from this entrance. There was another gate we had to cross before we could behold the structure we had come to see from so far.

The walls were quite impressive. They had chambers built in the walls with domes at each corner. we spent sometime reading the inscriptions and information given by the tourism department. The history behind the Taj Mahal and the construction was elaborate.

By this time, we were dying to get into the inner courts to actually behold the structure with our very own eyes. There is an excitement in seeing something and feeling something in real rather than pictures and images. It was the same feeling and exhilaration that was sweeping us. I guess whoever planned this structure had simply that in mind.. to create an intrigue in the minds of the people coming to visit and there was just that gradual and most beautiful reveal awaiting us.

Once inside, the complete picture was before us to view for as long as we could afford. It was truly magnificent, the white marbles glistening in the bright sunshine and standing tall and majestic before the world. It was truly worth the wait.

Walking around the structure, we went back couple of decades back. There was exquisite work done on each of these marbles and the views from each side of the structure was breathtaking.