A teardrop on the cheek of time  
Visitors taking photographs with the Taj Mahal in the background
Visitors taking photographs with the Taj Mahal in the background

A visit to the Taj Mahal
IT is a story rooted in undying love, carved in a white marble structure, so grand in scale and glorious in architecture, that many years after it was built, it became one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction in India and is visited by at least 20,000 tourists every day, the majority of whom are local Indians, who journey from the near and far corners of India to see the magnificent superstructure.
Considered to be the greatest architectural achievement in Indo-Islamic architecture, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631).

The gate to the Taj Mahal complex, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Mumtaz died while giving birth to their fourteenth child.
As the legend goes, in great sorrow, Lady Mumtaz in her final moments, looked to the emperor who was enveloped in grief, and in great economy of words, made three wishes.
Her first wish was for the great emperor to never remarry, the second was for him to take care of their children, and the third was for a monument or symbol be built in honour of their love; all of which he unequivocally agreed.
At the time of her death, Shah Jahan was in the midst of a military campaign in the Deccan Plateau and her body was temporarily interred at Burhanpur, on the bank of the Tapti River.

A year after, work on the magnificent marble mausoleum began and it was finally completed after 22 years of labour of some 22, 000 workers and all told, 1,000 elephants.
Thereupon, the body of the empress was relocated to its final resting place.
A team of Latin American and Caribbean journalists recently journeyed to the site in Agra from the world-class ITC Mourya Hotel, nestled in the garden city of Delhi, the capital of India.

The journey to the Taj Mahal by bus was a four-hour drive, crossing a network of neatly constructed highways. Even though it was quite a long journey, it was hardly a boring one.
The Latin American journalists began to sing and everyone formally introduced themselves, saying their names, the country they are from and a little about their country, the media house they work with and their observations of India.

It was a very lively exercise followed by many friendly exchanges. Those who were not locked in conversation gazed through the windows of the 40-seater bus, absorbing the beautiful countryside of Utter Pradesh, Vrindavan and Agra.

One of the many buildings inside the Taj Mahal complex

COUNTRYSIDE SIMILAR
There, villagers cultivate thousands upon thousands of acres of wheat and other crops; the view is not far different from the rural rice- growing areas on the Essequibo Coast and in Regions Five and Six.
Next to the cultivated lands, jopries (Indian thatched roof house) are erected. These small houses are similar to logies – houses built by the Indian indentured who came to Guyana to work on the sugar plantation.

Rural Indians, apart from language and variation in cultural practices, are very much the same like their Guyanese counterparts.
Driving through the countryside, rural residents were seen busy tending to their fields, children playing in the streets, pockets of men and boys chillaxing on the roadside and shopping areas were abuzz with activities.
After a long drive, roadside shops appear in great numbers with vendors hawking from food to hardware, and rickshaw drivers in the hundreds skillfully maneuvering their way in busy traffic.

A huge crowd carefully watched as scores of security officers were in sight and within minutes, the team of journalists was in front the gate of the Taj Mahal.
Many were awestruck by the sight of the huge, beautifully designed red brick gate before them that was built more than 350 years ago. The imposing structure was guarded by armed military officers at several checkpoints.

On gaining approval of entry from the guards, the team of journalists entered the gate to the view of a beautiful garden laid out before them with well-paved roads connecting different parts of the 17-hectare complex.
Along the way are several other mausoleums built in honour of the emperor’s other wives, as well as, one dedicated to one of Mumtaz’s favourite servants.
A five-minute walk and a right turn led the team of journalists to the Darwaza-i-rauza, (the Great Gate), which is the main entrance of the majestic Taj Mahal.
Entering that gate, another beautiful and well-laid-out and maintained garden dazzled the visitors and on looking up, the grand, elegant, white marble structure was visible in all its glory in the brilliant sunny afternoon.

A section of the garden inside the area that houses the Taj Mahal

The building is an architectural wonder. The Taj Mahal has a rhythmic combination of solids and voids, concave and convex and light shadow; such as arches and domes which increases its aesthetic aspect, as was very early noted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The colour combination of the lush green scape reddish pathway and blue sky over it showcases the monument in ever-changing tints and moods. The relief work in marble and inlay with precious and semi-precious stones makes it a monument apart.

AWESTRUCK
The thousands of visitors inside the square took family pictures and selfies while others lined up patiently in the hot sun to get a tour of the building.
The tour was supervised by a guide and inside the Taj Mahal, soldiers kept a careful watch on the tourists. Tourists are banned from taking photographs or filming inside the beautiful mausoleum. The tour party was led to the chamber of the emperor and his beloved wife who were entombed next to each other.
Many gazed at the sight; others tried to take pictures of the intricately decorated marble tombs but a burly Sikh guard who seemed to appear from nowhere, yelled at the visitors to stop.

A mausoleum built next to the Taj Mahal

FAMILY HISTORY
At 15, the young prince, son of Emperor Jahangir and grandson of Akbar the Great, met the beautiful Arjumand Banu Begum, the granddaughter of a Persian noble, who was 14 at the time.
Since then, they were inseparable until death. The emperor’s love and admiration for his wife were so great that he conferred upon on her the title Mumtaz Mahal (Jewel of the Palace).
Outside and aback the burial chamber, the holy Yamuna River flows with great life and the Agra Fort, the main residence of emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, was also noticeable.

In his latter days, karma was taking its course. Shah Jahan in his younger days had rebelled again his father and in old age, his third son Aurangzeb rebelled and overthrew him, ascending to the Peacock Throne.
In 1658, the great emperor was imprisoned in the Agra Fort reportedly in a white marble room which gave him full view of the splendid white Taj Mahal.
There, he remained for eight years until his death; his body was interred in the Taj Mahal, next to his beloved Mumtaz — where they were united again — this time in death.

The Taj Mahal is a celebration of love, and from a distance, it appears to be rising above the Yamuna River. Renowned Indian poet Rabindranauth Tagore describes it as “… a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time.”
It was late in the afternoon when the tour was completed. The sky was beginning to darken and the sun was ready to retire on the horizon and say goodbye to us.
We said goodbye to the Taj Mahal and thank you to the Indian Government for making the journey possible and a memorable one.

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