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We spent the night of the 28th in Delhi at Ramakrishna peripa’s house. The next day we left for Agra by train (Shatabdi). We reached Agra mid-morning and were picked up at the station and dropped off at a hotel (Hotel Amar). After spending some time lounging around, drinking tea etc we ventured out to see the sights. A taxi was arranged by our local contact to take us around. |
| Several “authorized” tourist guides offered to show us around the place. I was not really interested in an organized tour for two primary reasons - (a) the purpose of my visit was a few cool snaps and (b) I am not sure about the authenticity of many of the “facts” touted by these guides. The “official” guide business seems to be a racket. Several of them dropped the asking fee from Rs. 200 down to Rs. 50 (I just kept ignoring them and they kept dropping their price). One of the guides tried a different approach - he claimed to be a volunteer at the mosque and not a guide. He would show me all of the interesting spots in the complex for no fee!! He also mentioned that if I went in by myself I would be “hassled” by beggars and other undesirables but if I went with him they would keep away. After we repeatedly turned him down he walked away muttering curses. In any case I got a few good pics. |
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| Fatehpur Sikri (the city of victory), built by Akbar, was the capital
of the mughal empire for only about a decade. It is 40 Kms away from
Agra. The main tourist attractions are the Jama Masjid and the complex that encloses the palace. Both these structures are built out of red sandstone. The Jama masjid complex houses a mosque and the dargah
of a sufi saint - Salim Chisti. The architecture on the doorway and
inside of the roof of the masjid has some intricate marble work. Besides the gate and some
cool workmanship in the mosque there is nothing more of interest in
this area (unless you are into the religion). |
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| Windows overlooking Diwan-E-Aam | Panch Mahal | Diwan-Khana-E-Khaas |
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The Taj clearly needs no introduction. As most people know it is a marble tomb/mosque built by Shah Jahan in memory of his queen Mumtaz. However, this structure is not quite the pearly white edifice we are used to seeing in various TV ads. It more grey than white these days thanks to pollution from local industry. |  |
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Camera fees are collected once you get inside the security cordon. There is a nominal charge for still cameras and a whopping (by Indian standards) Rs. 250 for a video camera. The board near the kiosk selling passes informed us that the camera pass will allow us to video-graph but only upto a certain distance from the monument. Since we had a video camera we got a camera pass. Less than 10 meters from the kiosk we were stopped by a guy wielding a stick who pointed to a small sign that said "No video cameras beyond this point". What the...!!! The kiosk sells you tickets so that you can get 10 meters closer - the zoom lens on the camera will probably be good enough to cover that distance. What a ripoff. Here is what we got from a distance. |
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The Lal Quila at Agra is yet another sandstone structure. The construction of the fort was started by Akbar and then completed (some pieces replaced) by Shah Jahan. We entered the fort via the Amar Singh gate. By the time we got there it was pretty late in the evening and the light was fading. We barely spent 30 minutes inside the fort before the place closed down for the day. We visited the two major sites inside the fort - Jehangir Mahal and Jodha Bai's palace. |
| Inside the fort is another area - the Musamman Burj - where Shah Jahan
was incarcerated by his son Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan supposedly spent his
final years gazing at the Taj Mahal through a small slit in the wall.
Today looking through the slit one can barely make out the silhouette
of the Taj. I overheard a guide escorting a small crowd mention that in
"olden days" there was a lens fit into the slit to give an enlarged
view of the Taj - a medieval telescope. I think the guide was just
BSing. One of the few reasons I did not want a one during this trip. After completing a whirlwind tour of the fort we headed back to the hotel. We spent the night at Agra and left for Jaipur in the morning by rail. |
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