Agra - memories galore

My chat with a friend about visiting Agra, took me down memory lane once more. We went there for a 10 day tour, my parents, and us, kids, during our winter vacation. We explored the city right down to every nook and cranny. It's all still so clear in my minds eye...I can, and have relived the experience many a time. Our visit to the Fatehpur Sikri, in particular, occupies a coveted corner of my memory lane. It was at the fort here, that some foreign tourist clicked a picture of two little girls dancing in the middle of Akbar's Divan-e-khas--they shied away, when they saw the flash go. Yes, that was my elder sister and I! How kids take delight in such simple pleasures! One of the finest chambers in the Fort, the magnificent Divan-e-Khas, is dominated by a massive carved pillar that supports a capital, which in turn is support to a balcony. Panch Mahal, the five-storied palace, is another favorite at the Fatehpur Sikri fort.

Some years ago I came to know that the Agra fort is now under the army siege - most parts of it. Oh! what a pitty! I remember how much I'd loved being there...it transported me into the world of Mughal regalia, what with those elaborate structures, built with great attention to detail - Sheesh Mahal et al.

This can go on, there's no end to the tales of the city's splendor and my rendezvous with it. You'd wonder why I didn't mention the Taj Mahal at all. Well, I liked the Taj a lot too, in spite of that overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia, that first time, when I went down into the tomb chamber there. I have seen the Taj three more times since then - my fifth one's on on the cards, in the near future, for I have yet to see it at its glorious best - on a full moon night.

But, I'd rather talk here, of these other places - abounding in magnificence, and endless tales - yet so less talked about, and my memories of them. The umpteen climbs up the minarets of Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb, to see the Taj and the rest of Agra from the top, marveling at the pietra dura inlaid, and exquisitely carved marble work of the Dayal Bagh Temple, (where, it is believed construction work should never end, to make it a living monument), being amazed by the architectural illusion of the darwaza (doorway) to Akbar's Mausoleum at Sikandra...