A lot earlier than you get to the Taj Mahal, you realise the town has appropriated it in additional methods than one. Distributors are promoting mini replicas of the Taj; motels are boasting of the “greatest view”; cease to talk with an old-timer and you’ll probably hear how their forefathers labored on the tomb; and outlets, no matter what they promote—from mithai to bathware—are proudly branded Taj. After which while you stroll via the ornate purple sandstone gates, into the Mughal gardens, you really realise what it means. Nearly like a rising moon, the Taj grows larger and greater until you’re craning your neck to soak up the enormity of its central dome and towering minarets. Amita Baig, govt director, World Monument Fund, has labored on the restoration of the Taj Mahal together with different monuments within the metropolis. “Unquestionably, Taj is the top of Mughal structure in India,” she says. “However regardless of its magnificence, it’s tragic to make Agra a one-point vacation spot.”

A metropolis of monuments

Not removed from the Taj Mahal, inside its purple sandstone partitions, the Agra Fort homes the palaces of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The fort seems over the enduring marble mausoleum, the very best view provided by the Musamman Burj, the place Shah Jahan was locked up for eight years by son Aurangzeb. A well-known miniature portray by Abanindranath Tagore known as The Passing of Shah Jahan depicts a frail Shah Jahan at this very spot, trying wistfully on the Taj Mahal. Whenever you see the identical view virtually 300 years later, you may really feel the pathos that should have weighed upon a as soon as highly effective ruler, imprisoned by his personal son. His solely solace was a view of the Taj Mahal, an everlasting image of his love for Mumtaz Mahal. In distinction to the stark and purposeful Agra Fort is Itmad-ud-Daulah, the jewel box-like tomb of Noor Jahan’s father Mirza Ghiyas Baig, built-in 1628. Each inch of it’s adorned with dazzling pietra dura, a primary for India on the time. Positioned within the centre of a Mughal-style backyard, this tomb supposedly served because the inspiration for the Taj.

On this metropolis of grand tombs, one other one manages to face out for its magnificence and import. Akbar’s tomb in Sikandara lies inside 121 acres of sunken gardens, the place blackbucks roam free and birdsong echoes within the lush environment. One more tomb rests within the shadow of the Taj. Within the small, serene Roman Catholic Cemetery, is the mausoleum of Dutch dealer John William Hessing, commissioned by his spouse. Constructed from purple sandstone, it’s sometimes called the Crimson Taj.