Wah Taj!

I begin this post by stating that i'm not a romantic at heart. I think from the head most times and rarely have one of those goosebumpy moments where my heart begins to flutter and I have this background music playing in my head!

Which is why it always surprised me why the Taj Mahal, a man's love poem in marble to his wife fascinated me.

It was one monument in India that I always wished to visit.

When I was at Gurgaon for a week..I was pretty sure that it doesn't matter where I shop or don't at Dilli..I am definitely going to Agra. Now, the question was I know nobody to come along with me! That is when, this chota Nepalese boy I work with came to rescue. I convinced 'shaabji' ( thats what I address him as) to come along even if summer is probably the worst time to roam around in Agra. Now, a little something about shaabji..he annoys me almost 90% of the time but those rare occasions when I can have a conversation with him, he does manage to be a good friend. Shaabji got along 5 really sweet friends of his, and suddenly before I knew it I had a bunch of people as excited as me!!

The journey in itself is something I'll remember for long. Travelling from Gurgaon to Delhi at 4 in the morning to reach a friend's place. Waiting for her to get up from slumber and stand staring at old people jogging in the adjacent park meanwhile. We finally met up with the rest of the gang and started our little road trip. Our lovely gaddi we figured on the way came with no AC, no horn ( imagine the horror of driving on a highway!!), no brakes ( driver says'' brake hain lekin theek se kaam nahi karte!!"), a driver who forgets to carry his papers and bribed the UP cops and the fool didn't even know directions!! Now, when I think of it, it was all rather hilarious..but when we stuck then in the merciless sun..it was annoying to no limit!

Finally some how, he managed to drive us till Agra alive with all our backsides in pain. There 'shaabji' pulls a stunt. He put his egghead outside the window and starts screaming at a junction to whoever cared to listen ''Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal''!! We drove along the main road another 15 minutes and suddenly on the left hidden behind some shady trees..I caught my first glimpse of the Taj from a distance. That feeling is something I can't describe. There's this song from a lousy movie. The song is by one of my favs- Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, 'Bol na halke halke'. Theres a beautiful backdrop of the Taj in it. As we drove closer, that song was playing in my head.

When you lay your eyes on the Taj for the first time standing majestically behind the gateway..it takes your breath away!! At that time, nothing mattered. The heat, the lack of AC, the crowd.. everything moved like in slow motion. I was listening to the earnest guide, but was lost in my own world. Just how painful it would have been to carve out every single slab of marble? Just how amazing would it have been to see a beautiful structure come up in front of your eyes? I walked around the whole time in a daze. The Taj grew larger the closer we got to it. All the stories associated with it, the myths, the facts echoing in my head. While I smiled for the snaps, I remembered the black and white pictures of my dad and his friends taken a long time ago besides the Yamuna. It is a pity that river is almost non existent now.

On a full moon night, the Taj does not shut for visitors all night. The moonlight bouncing off the white marble, a sight I will come back to see one day. Perhaps, eternal love does exist. It did not awaken the romantic in me, but it make for one memorable day. One place off the list of the places I wish to visit once in my lifetime. The poet had the last word when he described it as '' a teardrop that sparkled spotlessly bright on the face of eternity''.