135) WEDNESDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 1977 : 200KMS. - AGRA
From NEW DELHI we headed southward through
MATHURA , the city which is considered
as the birth place of Lord Krishna in Hindu religion
until we arrived in AGRA. We passed
rice fields with a flock
of crows and other birds, well known
as well as those unknown to me. I saw
big gray storks walking while searching for feeds in the fields.
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In the sky on certain part of the
road, vultures were flying in a circle above.
They should have spotted a dying
or dead animal on the ground and would soon swoop down to devour it.
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We arrived AGRA about 4.00 pm. According to information
from a guide book, AGRA is
the oldest city that has been mentioned in the epic Mahabharata (3rd
century BC), which is called AGRABANA ,
meaning “heaven” in Sanskrit. In the 2nd century, Ptolemy the geographer in the reign of the Emperor
Alexander had shown the location of the city in his map as AGARA.
The name AGRA became into focus of
importance in the Mughal era,
during which it was held as a capital.
Once in AGRA, it is a must that we visit
the Taj Mahal, a monument of love of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his Queen Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan had promised before
his wife's death to build a
mausoleum for her body to be well known of his love for his
wife everywhere. The construction of Taj Mahal took 22
years (1636-1658) to complete.
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| Tombs-in-crypt, Taj Mahal - Photo : wikipedia.org / Google images search |
Taj Mahal , built
with white marble, is located on the bank of Yamuna river. It looks like a mosque with a
big dome and floral moldings, which is made of stone embedded in the texture of marble (inlaid) with
beautiful different
colors and patterns.
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| Stone Inlaid, Taj Mahal - Photo : wikipedia.org / Google images search |
The most beautiful
part for me seems to be the partition in
the area around the tomb with very beautiful craftsmanship
(although it is said to be an imitation, newly made to replace the original one of precious
gemstones, that has been moved to
be preserved for fear of being stolen).
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| Cenotaphs, Taj Mahal - Photo : wikipedia.org / Google images search |
Taj Mahal is not
the only tourist attraction for
foreigners, but even Indians people are also interested to come to see it with their
own eyes. So I saw Indian visitors in different dresses, especially the women. Some were wearing long pleated skirts,
or wrapped around
by bright colored saris.
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Some women put anklets, earrings, pendant, bracelet, and nose jewelry and even toe rings included,
in particular on the index finger and middle finger. Moreover,
some people paint their soles
with red color. Married Hindu women,
in addition to anointing the forehead with a red
dot, they also paint the parted hair line on their head with
red rouge, looking like a crack
wound on the head from afar.
We took time to appreciate the beauty of Taj Mahal
in the evening until very late that I could
see the reflection of Taj Mahal
in the pool with fountains.
It is a very beautiful building,
a wonderful masterpiece that is known throughout the world , in response to
the whim of Shah Jahan.
You Tube video of
