The Magnificent Taj…

It was a bright, clear, warm day of December when Papa asked me if I wanted to see Taj Mahal along with Anshoo and Bittoo bhaiya। I was elated। The idea of seeing Taj after so many years seemed quite exhilarating. To add to my excitement I also asked Divya about it. I was quite apprehensive about her reply because her dad doesn’t allow her to spend so much of time with friends, but to my surprise he and aunty both agreed!!

We left Chandigarh at 9 am and reached Agra at 8 pm. Oh! It was such a tiresome journey but somehow I couldn’t feel that in the company of Divya, Anshoo and Bittoo Bhaiya. All four of us were doing puckish things on our way. Then we refreshed ourselves in the room and went to the dining hall. My my! The dinner was so heavy that I could eat only one chapatti. The next day, we set out to see the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. Papa had to go to Agra University to take a viva. Uf..Agra is a very dirty city. There are uncountable open sewage drains whose foul smell was constantly flooding our noses. Chhi! As soon as we reached Taj, I was baffled to see such a long queue; waiting for our turn in an enormously long queue could take hours. But we were very lucky. Someone in the security squad knew the uncle who was with us. So he helped us out, we did not have to stand in that queue.
When I saw the Taj, I was lost in the thought that how could one fall in love with a person so deeply that one could build such a living marvel on earth! I could not even imagine how beautiful and enigmatic Mumtaz Mahal would have been! The whole view was so reposing and calming. We took many photos in different locations. Then Divya and I sat beside a pillar. We could see the Yamuna River flowing nearby. It was very filthy. A pleasant breeze was blowing and I felt like sleeping there. Then we went to the mosque and played hide and seek and Kikali. It was one of the best moments of my life. But soon we were tired and decided to leave. We took a Tonga ride! Oh! It was amazing.

Then we went to the Agra Fort. As I was quite tired, all my interest for visiting this place had gone. Bittoo bhaiya also hired a guide to provide us with ample information about the fort. I was feeling very bored. Divya and I kept on exploring mysterious pathways rather than listening to his monotonous tales. The Agra fort is larger than the Red fort at Delhi. I liked it a lot. The queens and maharajas of 17 century lived their life lavishly. This fact fascinated us all. There used to be 300 dasis for Shahjahan’s daughters and they used to be eunuchs. Hahahahaaaa.. This is very funny. Then we rushed back to the hotel and had lunch. It was 4 pm by the time we had lunch and after that we left for Chandigarh. On our way, Anshoo taught us three very naughty sort of words[can’t mention them here]. Papa told us about the mischievous tricks which he used to play on others. How naughty my Papa was!! Heheehee.. We burst out laughing. It was really the most memorable trip for me.