Teardrop On The Cheek Of Eternity

A sedate piece of road on the
way to Agra - a rare moment

We tore ourselves away from our wonderful palatial sanctuary in Jaipur for the drive to Agra and India’s most famous landmark - the Taj Mahal.  The roads were good although the four toll booths along the way were frustrating.  Lines were long and in true Indian fashion all and sundry positioned themselves to jump the queue, forcing their way in wherever they could.  It would have been difficult to slide a credit card between hood and bumper of the lined up vehicles.  Flocks of small birds waited at the toll booths to pick off a feast of dead insects plastered to the grills and bumpers of the idling vehicles.

Intricate sandstone carvings
at Fatehpur Sikri

An hour from Agra we visited Fatehpur Sikri, the sprawling red sandstone compound of Akbar and his three wives constructed in the 1500s.  Yet another impressive monument with alluring stories of its former residents.  


Resuming the trip into Agra the two-laned toll highway ended and continued as a single lane in each direction.  It was chaotic as tuk tuks, cars, trucks, camels, cows, motorbikes and tractors fought for position accompanied by a symphony of horns.  In some cases vehicles came towards us in the wrong direction and it only got worse as we entered Agra city.
  

Sunrise at the Taj Mahal on the bench
made famous by Princess Diana

Finally we reached our hotel with its sprawling pool area, colourful gardens and heart stopping view of the Taj Mahal.  We enjoyed the pool area in the late afternoon sun with a couple of Kingfishers (the liquid kind) as company. As the sun faded the sound of birds singing was replaced by the chanting from nearby minarets calling the faithful to prayer.

The next morning before sunrise we returned to the gates of the Taj Mahal to take in the atmosphere created by one of the world’s most famous love stories - a final tear shed as Mumtaz Mahal passed away and her husband, Shah Jahan’s promise to build a beautiful mausoleum that symbolized their love to the world and to future generations.

400 year old marble screen decorated
with semi precious stones

As the sun rose in the sky the domes and minarets of this semi-translucent white marble wonder positively glowed.  Semi precious stones set in gorgeous floral patterns sparkled like diamonds. It was impossible not to be touched by such an iconic memorial inspired by "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity".