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The
World’s Greatest Monument to Love
A visit to India
will never be complete without experiencing the TAJ MAHAL in Agra,
some 4 hours drive by bus south-east of Delhi. We left Delhi early
morning before the peak traffic rush – understandably! Our bus
driver used all his Delhi driving skills to navigate us through back
short cut streets, before reaching the main road to Agra.
Needless to say,
the trip through many a small rural village tested our nerves: by
hooting, one vehicle indicates to the obstructing vehicle in front,
it is in the process of passing, regardless the space or lane width
available.
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On route, we
had the opportunity to experience some very typical Indian
traditions: a snake dancer, displaying the king cobra on the
sound of awkward flute music, street side restaurants
specializing in parantbas, roadside tea stalls serving
the locals, and the traditional elephant, much smaller than the
African counterpart, being utilised for transportation.
When
reaching Agra, nothing can adequately prepare the visitor for
the first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. A few other man made
structures fall within the same “must see” category: perhaps
Machu Pichu in Peru, the Acropolis in Athens, or the Great Wall
of China.
Built by the
great Moghul emperor Shah Jahan to honour his beloved queen, who
died while giving birth to their 14th child, it is the
embodiment of grace and romance, of balance and symmetry, an
architectural icon revered for three and a half centuries as the
most beautiful building in the world. |
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The English
novelist and poet, Rudyard Kipling, said of the Taj after his first
visit:
“As the
mists shifted, and the sun shone upon the mists, the Taj took a
hundred new shapes, each perfect and each beyond description.
And over and above concrete comparisons, it seemed the
embodiment of all things pure, all things holy and all things
unhappy.”
The white
marble of the Taj is extraordinary luminescent and even on dull
days seems bright; the whole building appears to change its hue
according to the light in the sky. In the unique beauty,
subtlety is blended with grandeur and a massive overall design
is matched with immaculately intricate execution and attention
to detail.
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The camera
might record but only an aspect of its outward truth, its
totality, the real spirit remaining beyond its focus: a
prayer, a vision, a dream, a poem, a wonder magical memory to
take home and nurse forever…
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All
contribute to the breathtaking first impression as you pass
through the arch of the entrance gateway. You will already have
seen the dome of the tomb in a distance, looking almost like a
miniature, but as you go into the open square before the main
entrance, the Taj itself is so well hidden that you almost
wonder where it can be. The glorious surprise is kept until the
last moment, for concealing it is the massive red sandstone
gateway of the entrance, guarding the wealth and beauty inside
and symbolising the divide between the secular world and
paradise.
We forced
ourselves to leave, and looked at it from every side, unable to
make up our mind which was more beautiful. |
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- Johann
Beukes
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