Agra, India

Julie-Anne Justus
Oct 7
7 min read

Updated: Oct 8

We're now in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in the city of Agra. It's a little more than 200 km from Delhi and we travelled here by coach. It's a relatively small city, by Indian standards, with only 1.5 million people.

In this part of the trip, we're travelling India's Golden Triangle, a tourist circuit that connects New Delhi with Agra and Jaipur.

Driving through small villages along the highway, there's lots of human activity taking place. It's muddy from recent rains, there's litter everywhere, outdoor eating spots jostle with motor repair shops and fruit stalls, and there are people living their lives next to the street. People are busy, friendly, social, industrious and are often out with family. The environment is basic but there's human energy everywhere.

I find all the street animals confronting. Because cows are sacred to Hindus, it's considered very bad luck to have a cow die under your roof. Hence the expulsion of cows, once they no longer produce milk, into the street. I feel sad that cows are wandering around on or next to the road and in the rubbish piles, but I recognise sentimentality and privilege. Street cows generally look quite well fed and reasonably healthy. We saw lots of people buying grass for cows (their good deed first thing every morning).

One of our tour group is a NZ cattle farmer, so I asked him what he thought of the street cows. Oh it's terrible, he said (or in Kiwi, tirrible). Hmmm, I thought, but a cow's natural life is around 20 years, and Western cattle farmers send their cattle to slaughter at 2 years old. In Hindu culture, that probably seems barbaric, as does eating beef. Indian street cows make me a bit uncomfortable, but they make me think.

We arrive in Agra, the most important city in India during the time of the Mughal Empire. Under Mughal rule in the 1500s, Agra became the centre for learning, arts, commerce, and religion.

And ... we're back in the tourist bubble! It's obvious why we (and literally 6 million other tourists every year) are here: to see the Taj Mahal. We have been promised views of the Taj Mahal at both sunset and sunrise. A bit like going to see Uluru.

The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1631 by (the Muslim) Shah Jahan in remembrance of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal, who was 'learned and powerful'. They had been childhood sweethearts and she accompanied him on his travels, most unusual for a female consort at that time. She died giving birth to their 14th child in 20 years. (Gosh.) It took about 20,000 craftsmen 22 years to build her mausoleum, and it's estimated to have cost, in today's terms, around US$800 million. The Shah is also buried there, so let's just say (call me a cynic) that it had a dual purpose from his perspective.

So off we go, from our hotel adjacent to the Taj, on golf carts. No vehicles are allowed in to the precinct, other than these conveyances below, and most local people walk there, anyway.

The security precautions are stringent. Everywhere we've been in India we have been frisked (in gender-specific 'frisking booths') because India is on high alert for terrorism. (That Devil Pakistan. Although as KK says, why would Pakistan blow up an Islamic site?)

And there it is, the most beautiful building in the world and the symbol of eternal love. Is it just those of us of a certain age who conjure up Diana posing wistfully and photogenically — alone — on a stone bench in front of the building? There definitely won't be any opportunity for being alone while we're here. The Taj has an average of about 20,000 visitors per day, and today's a glorious sunny day.

The Taj Mahal is spread over an area of more than 40 acres, includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in gardens surrounded by a river and a wall on three sides. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being 'the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage'. In the gardens we see a street dog, who undoubtedly enjoys a luxurious environment if not a luxurious life. Perhaps she should look happier? (She has the same expression as Diana had.) She was watching the monkeys.

At some ungodly hour of the morning, we're back to see the sunrise. The best thing? No crowds. Oh, and the colour is now silver in the early morning mist. As the sun rises, the Taj becomes more cream in colour.

Many people dress up to visit the Taj, and there must be a million photos taken every day. I like this photo of the young woman, the monkeys and the breeze.

The thing about the Taj, though, is that it gets better as you get closer. Firstly, it's made of Indian marble. Indian marble is the hardest, most durable and least porous marble in the world. It also has silvery highlights. Secondly, every tiny feature is perfectly symmetrical. Thirdly, the attention to detail and the inlay work in the marble is incredible. The Arabic calligraphy you can see is not painted. It's onyx inlay. The gorgeous colourful flower panels? All inlays. The entire Taj Mahal is covered in inlaid semi-precious stones: lapis lazuli (blue), onyx (black), carnelian (yellow), bloodstone (red), tiger's eye (brown), green (malachite) and more. This technique is called pietra dura (Italian), locally called pachchikari, and comes from Persia aka Iran. Interesting to note that the architect also came from Persia, as well as many of the engineering techniques of (for example) the water channels in the gardens.

The small door in the first photo below is the entrance to the tombs of the shah and his queen. No photos are permitted inside. Oddly enough, this is the only unsymmetrical aspect of the Taj: the queen was buried in the centre of the room; the king's tomb is next to hers, and it's squeezed into one side as an afterthought. (It wasn't his fault, said KK. It was his son who wanted to bury the old man quickly.)

Like the Egyptian tombs, the Taj has been the target of grave-robbers for centuries. You can see in the last photo below where thieves chipped out the jewels a few decades ago when security was more lax. Now, every Friday, the Taj is closed to the public and maintenance is done on the complex.

I don't need to tell you that the Taj is a hugely popular destination for photographers (cue Diana). Our guide took the first two pics below on our afternoon visit; the second two on our sunrise visit. The last two pics are hilarious. I was approached by an older man who wanted to show me the best spot to take a photo. This turned into him giving me directions about what to do and his very ingenious arrangement of two phones to get my reflection. He also took a photo of the Taj reflected in my eye but it's too bizarre to share. I was so tickled by his enthusiasm (I am probably the least likely model ever) that he earned his small tip.

I also like this sunrise photo of the Yamuna River next to the Taj. If you look carefully, you can see a whole troop of monkeys frolicking next to the water and the tiny ancient Hindu temple down there. Must be a challenge being a tiny Hindu temple in the (literal) shadow of the Muslim Taj.

But all of this splendour had to be made by someone, or actually, by many someones.

Here we are looking from the Taj back towards the main gate. The entrance gate to the Taj Mahal has 22 cupolas on top of the gate, two rows of 11. This is the only angle (second pic) from which you can see all 22. Colonnades run off the gate in a square. The small 'rooms' in the colonnades were where the workmen lived and worked. Bear in mind that the craftsmen (and yes, they were all men) would come from all over India and they had to be accommodated for 20+ years. These small rooms are empty now but imagine them being filled with marble masons, gem cutters and builders.

Have you wondered how those huge slabs of heavy marble were raised into the walls of the Taj? And the dome? Like the builders of the Egyptian pyramids, these builders built an enormous ramp from 2 km away, gradually rising in height. Elephants and bulls pulled the huge marble blocks up the ramp to the building.

The art of marble inlay continues in India, but it's on life support. It's labour intensive, highly skilled, and handed down only to sons in the craft families. If you want to practise this art, you have to learn from your father. Many families trace their lineage (KK: leenage) to the Taj workers. Artisans continue to make marble tables, trays, statues and decorative items, but they're heavy and expensive. A few years ago this craft was recognised as a heritage craft, one that is dying out.

We visited a marble inlay workshop where we had a demonstration of the craft. Each of the tiny pieces of gemstone are shaped by hand, then the marble is chiselled by hand (with a tiny tool) and the gemstone pieces are cemented in with a secret formula. The orange colour is used to trace the design; it washes off. We succumbed to persuasion (those salesmen!) and bought a small tea candle holder.

Each of our hotels has been excellent but a special shout-out to the Oberoi Amarvilas, about 600 m from the Taj Mahal. Every room in this hotel has a view of the Taj Mahal. Definitely peak tourist bubble.