Woolly says – We had arrived late into the sleeping city of Agra, following a very crowded seven hour train trip, it was cold and all any of us wanted was a warm bed and some sleep. Agra is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and is a major tourist destination because of its many Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal. Jo had decided that we needed to see the Taj at sunrise, strangely Zoe was in agreement even once I had pointed out that it would mean her getting up a silly o’clock in the morning. Having been outvoted it appeared that it would be a very early start.
The cold enveloped us as we took to the dark streets of the city, a short walk from our accommodation it might be but that didn’t stop us arriving feeling frozen.
Woolly says – The Taj Mahal (meaning Crown of the Palace) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the Yamuna river which was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, who reigned from 1628 to 1658, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was completed in 1643, sadly Shah Jahan didn’t get to see his wonderous building expect from a prison cell that gave him a distant view of the marble epitaph to his beloved wife. Having been deposed by his son, Aurangzeb, and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort he didn’t go there until his own death when he was buried next to his princess. A true love story and given we were there for valentine’s day it seemed fitting. Having purchased our tickets we stood in a long line to have the usual body and bag checks, I bounced up and down on the spot to keep warm as the sun started rising behind us, it didn’t look as though we would make it inside in time which meant that we could have had a normal get up time and wandered down at any point during the day!
Not only were we missing the sunrise but worse was to come.
Woolly says – I was just starting on my second snack of the day when we finally reached the front of the queue and the security guards starting to empty both of the women’s bags, not just the bigger items like the purses and maps but right down to the smallest items including half a paracetamol and a broken key, lord knows why Jo keeps so much junk in there. The pile of items not allowed into the complex was growing and as the guard added my Christmas hat (obviously that must be a threat to national security), our pack of playing cards (possibly because it featured jokers!) and our small torch (no I have no idea either) to the pile I wondered where all of this stuff was going to go, suddenly my paws were aloft and I was unceremoniously thrown onto the pile as well! I screeched as I landed onto a safety pin which had been uncovered (you can never find one when you need one!) and looked at Jo. She looked at me, held my paw and smiled at the man, ‘Hmmmm, why can’t I take him in?’ she asked, his response was a resounding ‘NO’ as he gestured towards a large bin behind him, I gulped, would my wonderful human forgo the Taj to keep me, would she stand her ground and fight for my right of entry or would she leave me to be thrown away, I started to shake in fear. The grip on my paw got tighter which was reassuring but didn’t solve our problem, another guard pointed to the exit and we found ourselves being ushered towards another window, maybe I needed a permit to enter? Maybe I would get a special pass…. Or maybe I would be put into the bag and left there, which is what appeared to be happening.
It nearly broke my heart to have to leave him but having already paid a large amount of rupees and unable to get a refund I didn’t have much of a choice.
Woolly says – As the bag closed over my head, I cried out, I could hear Jo’s voice saying sorry but sorry just didn’t wash with me at that moment!
It wasn’t a great start to our visit and having walked through the huge ornately painted gate that led to the first view of the iconic building I felt terrible. The view is one that just about everyone in the world has seen, a long waterway with the domed marble mausoleum at the end of it, incredible and just as splendid as every picture leads you to believe. We followed the masses nearer taking shot after shot, including selfies, well if your going to take one you might as well do it here! Although the sun had risen the structure continued to change in colour from an almost pink to a glowing white. We wandered towards the plinth on which the Taj stands and having clad our shoes in the free foot coverings went for a closer look. The beautiful flower patterns which cover the building appear completely white from a distance whereas up close they are patterned with amber colours, beautiful to look at. Each side of the building looked similar and as we stood at the rear looking across the river we decided it had to be the cleanest building we had ever seen. Inside was gloomy with the sun attempting to peek through the tiny holes in the window design, under a small silver lamp we could just make out the two tomb like structures for the Shah and his wife although their actual coffins were far below us. The flower theme continued around the walls each piece of marble delicately carved, a credit to the workmanship.
Back outside we sat looking at the magical building whilst waiting for the museum to open, watching the green parakeets flying close by and the small chipmunks running up and down trees. Although the sun was higher it was still cold and having shivered several times we were thankful that the doors to the exhibit part had opened. There wasn’t a great deal to see and certainly nothing to take photographs of even if we had been allowed, some paintings of the former ruler and of the Taj when it had been completed, five minutes and we were back outside and taking our last look at the white marvel.
Woolly says – Weeks passed in the dark, my snacks had dwindled to a few crumbs and I was starting to get concerned for my weight loss, how can humans be so cruel to me?! Another year had passed when I thought I heard a familiar voice, I shouted out in the hope that rescue had arrived. As suddenly as I had been plunged into darkness the light reappeared and Jo attempted to give me a hug, well that wasn’t going to happen given her despicable behaviour in leaving me! I gave her a good kick and marched up the road, it was pay back time and I was hungry. Having found a place to sit down and ordered everything that I fancied, ignoring the looks form the women I sat and ate slowly as they babbled on about the place I hadn’t seen. Wiping away the last of the ketchup and trying to make sure the jam was firmly off my paws, even if it was now sticking to Jo’s jacket I finally asked what they were going to do to make it up to me.
The only thing for it was the Baby Taj, just across the river.
Woolly says – The Tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah is a Mughal mausoleum, often described as a “jewel box”, sometimes called the “Bachcha Taj“, the tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah is often regarded as a draft of the Taj Mahal or the Baby Taj.
Along with the main building, the structure consists of numerous outbuildings and gardens. The tomb, built between 1622 and 1628, represents a transition between the first phase of monumental Mughal architecture, primarily built from red sandstone with marble decorations, it wasn’t the real thing but it looked as though it would have to do.