We visited 3 historical places: Sikandra, Agra Fort, and the Taj Mahal. Friday was Independence Day in India, so the crowds were a little higher than usual. Above photos are a mix of the 3 locations.
In Agra, we visited Sikandra, wherein lies the Tomb for Akbar the Great (b 1542, d 1605) (Mughal Emperor) who is highly regarded by people in Delhi, Agra, throughout India, and beyond. Those who refer to him today, speak of him as being “ahead of his time”, as he was a proponent of politicial, as well as religious diversity, and unity. He was tolerant in a way that is rarely seen by leaders today. “Akbar the Great showed the rulers of all nations everywhere that tolerance is not weakness, and open-mindedness is not the same thing as indecisiveness”. Being from Northern India (what is now Pakistan today) and raised in Afgahanistan (by a nurse, with his parents in exile), he took the throne at the age of 13, and through to the end of his reign, was amazingly successful in his ability to gain following of Muslim and non-Muslim followers alike. He adopted policies that preserved peace, was culturally diverse, and built a strong economy. He is considered one of the Top 25 leaders of all time. The guide we had gave such interesting info on this individual, I wanted to know more. Just as your life and mine exists, you will simply fail to capture it in one paragraph! There are PAGES....volumes of history and information surrounding him of which you can read on your own if this has piqued your interest. Google it out.
The last site, after Sikandra and Agra Fort (both rich with Akbar Emperor history) we visited was the TAJ MAHAL, of course! Built of marble in the early 1600s, and took 20+ years to “complete”, there is still continuous preservation going on today (there were workers there the day our group visited). The beauty, is of course, viewing the outside from afar. People say “Go visit on a full moon”, or obviously at sun-rise or sun-set, so you can get an amazing backdrop for your photos. I went with a fun group that shepherded me through the throngs of people moving towards the center of the building, where there is a cenotaph (empty tomb) of Shah Jahan, who had the Taj Mahal built in the name of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. They had 14 children and she died shortly after the 14th child was born, at age 38. I am positive you already know the history of the Taj Mahal. So, the visit…..Delhi, and Agra are much hotter than Bangalore in August. It was 90 +/- the day we visited, and our guide confirmed the fact that it gets much hotter during other months. The heat, not so bad….but when you are “heading into the tomb area”, there are so many people heading into one small hallway with little air and space. It was one of the most crushing experiences in which I have ever been involved. Worth it, but a little scary at the time. “Trampling” crossed my mind, but our guide was amazing. He was a “take charge” kind of guy, from an Indian military background. He would yell (in a respectful way) at the Taj workers to “maintain the foot traffic pattern!” and “Hey, you need to stop that group!”, the only guy in 100 yards that seemed to be aware of the potential dangers of lack of crowd crontrol. haha. He was always on the lookout for all members of our party. I came to love the sight of his plaid shirt as a symbol of safety by the end of the trip! (Not to mention the girls I was with always looked out for me especially, too.) Great day at Taj Mahal. Lived up to my every expectation. I would love to return on a moonlit night.
We left Delhi at 6:30 AM and returned to Delhi by 9 something that Saturday evening. On the way there and back, of course we were on a highway. Our driver did not fail to deliver with liberal use of the gas pedal. We actually passed an ambulance with lights flashing. This has never happened in my life, and I had to turn to my friends, and quietly mouth… “Did we just pass an ambulance?”
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