The sunrise over industrial Faridabad was beautiful, but I'm not enough of a morning person to have taken a picture. Being more of an animals-later-in-the-day person, this was the first pic I took on our trip:
Our driver pulled over at a seemingly random spot along the highway, and this macaque leapt out of nowhere at our car, startling everyone. Of course we fell headlong into the tourist trap, taking pictures :)
When we gave the monkey's owner Rs 20, he demanded Rs 100 each from the three of us. He got Rs 30 and that was that.
Below: Sikandra. This is the "buland darwaaza" (great gate) leading to the gardens of the tomb of Akbar, the greatest, ablest, and probably the most enlightene d of the Mughal emperors. Early 17th century, local red sandstone with ornate marble inlay (including Koranic calligraph y in letters at least a foot high). I can't imagine how anyone can plan and execute a facade as ornate and detailed as this.
Below: A closer look at the main arch of the gate. It's the south gate of the complex. This is not painting or glazed tiles - it's stone inlay, set in stone.
Below: Because iconograph y is strictly forbidden, Islamic art relies heavily on geometric and floral motifs, and calligraphy. Chevrons, eight-poin ted stars, and octagonal designs are common, but I find the incorporat ion of this swastika to be an interestin g Hindu / Indic touch:
The gate is equally ornate on the other side. I took this picture after walking through the gate, into the gardens. Garden tombs, by the way, seem to be an innovation from around the 15th-16th century. Not really sure about this, though. The gardens at Sikandra are laid in the typical Mughal "chaar baagh" design, which divides the layout into four equal quadrants and is aligned precisely to the four cardinal points.
One of the smaller residents of the gardens. He was excessivel
Other denizens of the gardens included spotted deer and black buck. On a previous visit, I've seen monkeys, but there weren't any this time. Looking out on the gardens feels like stepping into an 18th century miniature painting (which, incidental
Below: The tomb itself looks like a mishmash of architectu
Below: Vaulted foyer through which you enter the tomb, with floral designs and calligraph y embossed with gold leaf.
Below: Damaged panel under main arch.
Below: Door leading to Akbar's burial chamber.
Below: Recess in the foyer wall. I suppose this is a recent addition - the wall looks like plaster and the design is too stark.
Below: Carved stone screen off the main foyer of the tomb structure. I am not sure what the symbolic significan
Below: Akbar's cenotaph in the foreground
Below: The single skylight that lights the chamber.
Sorry this picture lacks drama and romance:
My little camera couldn't capture the ornate lamp that hung over the cenotaph in that dark chamber, so I had to use a flash to show the detail. Must ... get ... DSLR ...
Below: Gold-plate
Below: Lamp in the foyer. My guess is bronze.
Below: Pottery "store" on the highway from Sikandra to Agra. I took this from the car window - it's on the edge of the road.
Got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on the edge of Agra. This chai shop was right outside our car:
Back on the road in our tasseled Toyota Innova, with Sekhar at the wheel and Venkateswa
Below: Cut paper delivery guy stuck in the traffic jam along with us. Maybe he's headed for a bindery?
Below: Paper recycling guy was also stuck in the same traffic.
Below: Another "buland darwaaza", also of red sandstone. This is the gateway to the Taj Mahal. Again, chaar baagh gardens on the other side. The forecourt has entrances from three cardinal directions
Below: Walking through the gate - view of the Taj from under the arch. It was very sunny, around 1:30 or 2 pm.
Below: On the other side of the gate. The Taj is mindboggli
Below: I turned around and took this picture of the sandstone gate again. It's equally ornate on the outside and inside. Again, not painting or glazed tile but stone inlay.
Below: The gardens are perfect at many levels. First, each quadrant mirrors the other quadrants. Second, the motifs tiled into the quadrants are horizontal
Below: Satellite view of the perfection. This is how the Taj complex looks in Google Earth - perfectly aligned to the four cardinal points. Mid-17th century!
In the above image, going from south to north, you can see the forecourt with its three entrances to the east, west and south. Tourists enter from the east. On the northern side of the forecourt are the sandstone steps and the big sandstone gate. Further up, the gardens in front of the Taj, and then the monument itself with its four minarets, flanked by the mosque and its replica.
Below: The main cupola with its crescent finial.
It's very difficult to convey scale. I took the picture below from maybe 20 meters away.
Below: The sides of the Taj Mahal are about as ornate as the front, and the arches built on a similar scale - perhaps the exact same height as the front arch. This calligraph
Although many people were taking pictures, photograph
Below: Wall of one of the narrow passageway
Below: The Yamuna river runs by just north of the Taj Mahal. This is the minaret in the northeast corner of the structure. We sat for a couple of hours, I think, in the marble-cov
Below: This red sandstone building is to the east of the Taj Mahal, and a replica of the mosque on the other side. It was possibly used as a rest house - can't find confirmati
Below: East-facin
Below: Southeaste
Below: We stopped for coffee at a not-very-c
And then the long drive back home. A tiring but fabulous day!
8 comments:
Utterly awe-some!
Absolutely fabulous! Ann
such wonderful photos, and informative captions! Thanks for sharing!
Really great photos AND commentary. That makes so much difference! Delightful! Thanks so much for sharing, Laurel.
"Despite the hundreds of tourists gaping, jabbering and taking pictures, it was relaxing to sit there." When there are that many people they just become background noise, added to the cool breeze and any river/water noise and it sounds just heavenly! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful pictures - even though it has taken me many months to get a chance to see them all!
All the best,
Astarid/Astrid
Thank you, Astrid and everyone. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.
very beautifully written... embedded with gorgeous photographs....
Such beautiful pictures, and an even awesome description! I really wish to visit soon. India has so much history and stories behind it, too shameful people never even bother to protect it, forget taking pride in it. I really hate the graffiti at such heritage structure.
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