The Taj Mahal is everything everyone has ever told you. It’s stunning, it’s the most beautiful piece of architecture created, it’s timeless, flawless, serene, unforgettable, and yet at the same time it’s beauty perhaps is exaggerated, over-stated, it’s crowded, expensive, and not worth the extra train ride. At first my expectations were let down as I waited in line anticipating my sunrise Taj Mahal experience, but instead I watched the sky lighten to a misty morning blue from outside the main gates (despite catching a rickshaw at 5:30am after only arriving in Agra at 1:00 am on a bumpy evening bus right from Dehli). When at last my friends and I were granted entrance, this is after we got to the security check point and they told us we were not allowed two bags and we had to carry everything with us since we were heading back to Jodhpur that night, and so we had to walk back a quarter mile to the locker rooms, maybe the Indian tourist bureau should consider a sign or two about that policy, any ways… I slowly realized why this palace is world renown.
When I first saw the Taj from a distance, I noticed the clear water pool lined by immaculately kept green grass, just as the pictures always portray it. But I guess because of all the hype around the building I was picturing some immense structure and overpowering body of water, with streams of light emanating from the building bursting into the sky. Of course it’s nothing like this, and if it was anything this dramatic or ‘Disneyesque’ I would have no desire to return.
Walking down the promenade towards the building’s entrance, I began to come under its spell. The large, mystical dome cuts into the pale blue sky, its perfect curves are an indescribable site, only made more beautiful the closer you get and the longer you wander around the palace grounds. The building is much smaller than I imagined, its salient feature being the large dome on top but otherwise the details are kept to a minimum. When you get close enough there are dark blue Arabic inscriptions latticed around the door-way, leading to the very dark and small interior of the building, with nothing more than a room commemorating the famous Mumtaz’s tomb.
It was hard to believe that a few Indian tourists actually wanted to take pictures with my friend and I (a common occurrence in Jodhpur – and usually they don’t ask, they just stuff their cell phone camera in your face) I would have thought the Taj Mahal would have been a bigger attraction than tired white girls but I guess for a few visitors the white people are just as picture worthy as this beautiful white building. I think the Taj Mahal deserves the attention it receives, it might not be memorable for the reasons you expected! While you have to put yourself in the mood and ignore the other tourists, if you allow yourself to slip into the past and imagine you are there when only servants and princes glided around the grounds, I think you will find it a magical experience, but don’t let me tell you, I suggest you make the trip to Agra to judge for yourself.