The Taj Mahal

Among some of my desires is to see the Taj Mahal, visit the Manasarovar and Brindavan. Revisit Hardwar and Rishikesh. Go around Jaipur to soak in the colors and beauty of the city of ancient palaces.

Had the opportunity to attend my nephew's wedding at Faridabad 5 years back.
Since there was a whole day for us to see places, our family planned to travel down to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and on our way back to see the Brindavan before joining in the baaraat, late the same day.

It was Friday and our Scorpio speeded towards Agra which was just a few hours away from Faridabad. We reached Agra and I was waiting to feast my eyes on the marble inlay work which have enamel motifs and floral designs. These are shown on TV documentaries sometimes but they would be 2 seconds shot and not enough to soak in the artwork.

Alas, it was closed as it was Friday. I was very disappointed. But a guide told us to take a rickshaw through the narrow lanes to reach the rear portion. We were taken to the banks of the river Yamuna behind the monument.
We could see the imposing Taj from an angle though separated by its imposing compound wall. I had to be content with this sparse view. I promised to come back another time on another trip and spend a whole day drinking in the beauty of the architecture and artwork of this beautiful monument.

On our way back we had enough time in going around the famed Agra Fort. We saw sturdy centuries' old grape bushes, fish ponds and the royal entertainment inner courtyards, the big durbar hall with hundreds of pillars which was an engineering cum architectural marvel, etc.

It was getting late for the evening function so we had to skip Brindavan but we stopped the car to buy some Agre ka peda and some pethaa on the highway near the place.

After the wedding, we proceeded to Delhi to stay at my sister-in-law's house for a couple of days. She recommended that we don't miss Hardwar and Rishikesh. So we booked for a single day to cover both places.
I was overwhelmed at the sight of huge mountains on the way up and the gush of the holy Ganges flowing down at great speeds to somewhere southwards.

It was a humbling moment to stand like a puny dwarf before the mighty mother nature.

God willing want to go visiting the Taj, the Brindavan, but when is the big question with so much happening in our lives at the moment.

Mahalakshmi.