India is an ancient country. Its history is full of the rise and fall of many kingdoms and empires. Monuments built by the kings and emperors of ancient India throw a flood of light on the past history of India. Thousands of tourists from all parts of the world visit India every year to have a glimpse of its important historical places like Agra, Varanasi, Jaipur, Delhi, Jhansi, etc.
Last week, the Principal of our school decided to take the students of our class to Agra. Agra is in U.P it is a place of historical interest. We had heard a lot about the beauty and splendour of the Taj Mahal in Agra from our history teacher. We reached Agra at 10.30 A.M. by the Taj Express. After taking tea at the railway station, we boarded a bus for sightseeing. We wanted to see places of historical interest in and around Agra.
First of all, we had a look at the Taj Mahal and were enchanted by its beauty. It stands on the right bank of the river Yamuna. The building has been made of pure white marble. It stands on a raised platform. There are four tall minarets on each corner of this platform. The white dome rises in the centre. It took twenty-two years to build the Taj Mahal. Several crores of rupees were spent on it. Its workmanship is superb. It holds the visitors spell-bound.
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The main gate of the Taj is tall and strong. It is made of red sandstone. Verses from the Holy Quran are inscribed on it. A two-fold stone pathway leads to the main mausoleum. On either side of this pathway stands a row of cypress trees. In the middle, there is a row of fountains. The Taj is surrounded by beautiful gardens on three sides.
The Taj Mahal has a large central hall under the dome. There are fake graves of the Emperor Shahjahan and his Queen in the hall. But the real graves are preserved in the underground chambers.
The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in the memory of his beloved Queen Mumtaz Mahal. It is a symbol of immortal love. It is so beautiful that it is called “a poem in marble” or a “dream in marble”. It is one of the greatest wonders of the world. According to Rabindranath Tagore, the Taj is a beautiful tear on the face of eternity.
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A tourist from U.S.A. confided to us that he has been to a number of countries but had not come across such a magnificent monument anywhere. The Taj Mahal is a fine example of Mughal architecture.
Taj, the shrine of immortal love, touches the heart of every young lover who finds in it an echo of his own love. We took a few snaps of this beautiful monument to serve as a sweet remembrance of this visit. The guide told us that the beauty of the Taj increased manifold if it is seen on a full-moon night. We vowed that when we visit the Taj next, we would come on a full-moon night.
After our visit to the Taj was over, the bus took us to other places of tourist interest near Agra. We saw the Agra Fort built by Emperor Akbar. From there, we went to Sikandra, the mausoleum of Akbar.
Thereafter, we went to Fatehpur Sikri, which is about 40 kms, from Agra. Fatehpur means the ‘City of Victory’. It was built by Akbar after his triumph in Gujarat. We also visited the Jama Masjid. It is a massive building of red stone. It was built by Shahjahan for his daughter Jahanara. We also paid a visit to Dayal Bagh, a magnificient monument being built by the followers of the Radhaswami sect.
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We returned to Delhi by the Taj Express at night. Our visit to Agra was very rewarding. We saw this historical city of Agra about which we had read only in our history books. Seeing believes. We enjoyed this trip very much. It will always remain fresh in our minds.