A Historical Visit in the Land of Victory and Love!

My first visit to New Delhi was a fantastic experience. I had never been to the National capital before in my lifetime. When the official study tour was over, the last day was given for students to decide on their own where they would like to go. Finally, eight students decided to see the places nearby Delhi, i.e. Fatepur Sikri and Agra’s Taj Mahal which are located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Leaving early morning at 6am, a group of 8 people along with the car driver left Delhi, to cherish the sightseeing of Uttar Pradesh. The first place we visited was Fatehpur Sikri. Akbar named the city, Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning "victorious" it was later called Fatehpur Sikri. Here we saw, Buland Darwaza, Jama Masjid and Tomb of Salim Chisti. This was my first time inside the tomb inside which, there was a ‘Dargah’ (a Muslim place of worship). Cladding my head with a scarf and washing my feet and hand before entering it gave me a sense of holiness of the pious place. Indeed, we had fun clicking the photographs and selfies at Buland Darwaza and Fatehpur fort. The clock struck 1:00pm and Agra was 45 kilometres far from Fatehpur Sikri. We asked the driver to take us to Agra, as we all were waiting to see Taj Mahal- symbol of love and one of the wonders of India. At the same time a local had informed us that there’s a huge queue as on Friday Taj Mahal remains closed and hence crowd’s rush increase on the weekend. Till now I had just heard people talking about the beauty of this marble monument but never had a thought that, one day even I shall watch it! The thrill of seeing Taj Mahal had already craved on all the 8 members of the group and in the eagerness we even forgot to have our lunch! The car driver rode at the jet speed of 140km/hour and we reached Agra in the next 2 hours (considering the traffic congestion). On reaching Agra- a city full of yellow rickshaw’s and jumbled traffic, we rushed to a nearby ‘Bhojanalay’ (restaurant) to contain our hungry stomachs. Soon it was 3:30 pm and we made way to visit the Taj Mahal. ”Wah Taj” was my expression on seeing this truly fantastic and incredible monument. It was built by Shah Jahan, in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal is also regarded as the finest example of Mughal architecture in terms of its peculiar architectural style. All 8 of us couldn’t stop clicking pictures and video shooting on almost every step of Taj Mahal. Photography was prohibited inside Taj. Thousands of tourist and their guides were busy watching and explaining them the history behind this marvellous symbol of love! The state government has made a beautiful facility of introducing 8 seated toy cars as well as camel rides for the tired tourists to reach inside the location of Taj Mahal. One couldn’t return from Agra without buying the famous Petha, a local sweet. As we shopped for some Taj Mahal shaped key-chains and souvenirs of Taj Mahal to gift our beloved ones, some also were taking a stroll in the Meena Bazar another famous place near Taj Mahal. It was 7:30 pm in the watch and the evening Namaz began with the Azaan, sung inside the mosque located in the same area. A good bye to Taj Mahal was hard on everyone’s part. But with a wish to come back here next time with our love of life was almost everyone’s wish that day!