Advertisement
Bulan darwaza
Buland darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri Drive to Agra from Delhi is delightful. Good road for most part, and just the right distance of 200 km, even to be attempted for a day long getaway. Toughest part is definitely beating the traffic up to Faridabad. After that it is pleasant till one enters Agra.We however, came from Bharatpur on our Delhi- Sariska - Bharatpur - Agra trip.
Distance to Agra from Bharatpur is hardly 50 km. On the way one passes by Fatehpur Sikri. The imposing silouhette of Bulan Darwaza and the fort of sikri was quite a charmer from a distance. In fact the picture looked almost forlorn. However, from the main road one needs to take a sharp right for going to sikri, or else one can drive on straight to Agra. Our scorpio was immediately swamped by a lot of young men sayin ometing to the effect that we should engage them if we plan to proceed any further. The body language of these fellows is almost as if they have the force of legal authority behind them. Their statements confuse you, as to whether one needs to leave one's vehicle here or would there be any parking space available up at the
sikri
Landscape from Sikri fort. Answers are difficult to come, and for every thing a bargain is offered - engage me and forget your worries! So we decided to forget our worries and decided to take one of them into our service. We were to learn that we were still a good 3 km away from the sikri fort, and the ASI approved guides were available at the fort itself. Each one of these smart guys who had hard sold their services to us had some kind of an identity card hanging around their neck. Being the typical villain that I am, I did enquire the details on it and the particulars of the authority having issued them. It wa nothing more than a self issued identity card, and of course it had no mention of ASI.
As expected we were taken to the sikri, and the details of the architecture and the story behind construction of this magnificent structure was laden with paens in the praise of mighty Allah, and emperor Akbar's faith in Him. Anything about the nuances of architecture or even the dates was not really known to this thug. We felt pity for him, as he took us to
Sikri Criling
Excellent craftsmanship displayed in the ceilings the magnificent dargah, and after that informed us that we had to necessarily go around the place only to be made to pass through the small meena bazar selling momentos. The place cries out for the insult that is heaped upon it by the poverty of the populace depenednt on the tourist traffic. Any sembelance of maintenance is hard to come by. Magnificent ceiling frescos and the imposing structures have very littel annotations provided to them in support. So one has to either visit this place with a history book, or with a history professor. Any well informed guides are hard to find. We learnt that the foreign troupes who are escorted by guides right from Delhi are better informed.
However, this apart. Place is scenic, peaceul and very humbling. It is a graveyard afterall. Be careful not to make the mistakes we made. Parking is available right up at the Buland Darwaza, and there is an ASI office as well which provides literature and even guides !
We continued on to Agra, another 45 minutes away, and because it was getting close to noon and Tajmahal is closed in the noon for a few hours, we decided
dargah
Dargah of Sheikh Salim Chishti to head straight for Agra fort. This is a magnificent structure, and one that really lives upto its name of a fort. Just like the red fort in new delhi, this fort is also partly in control of the army. Diwan e khas and Diwan e aam are not to be missed. A walk along the long corridoor overlooking the Yamuna, and the Taj beyond must not be missed. I went crazy with my camera. It is amazing to note that just when heat and exertion makes you aware of your waning energy level you chance upon a cozy corner, providing almost air conditioned enclosures to sit and relax. Its a royal treat to be sitting there with cool winds coming over the river flowing through one's hair and aj tucked away in the mist at a distance. The Taj looks as magnificent from any angle. This is what perfection is all about, and no wonder Shahjehan found it a reason enough to live for.
We left the fort duly satisfied with our endeavors of having graciously paid a tribute to hardwork and labor of all those workers, by having seen every available corner, only to be disgusted sometimes
Diwan e khas
One of the many magnificent structures within the fort by the crude reminder of the kind of attention that dogs and Indian men pay to walls and crners !!! Yes nothing on this earth can survive, when nature comes calling on an Indian male. We reached the parking lot at the Taj a good half an hour before the opening time. From the parking lot to the Taj, government provided complimentary battery operated transport is available. However, your driver is more likely to be interested in taking you to a shop than to the Taj itself. They also choose not inform the unwitting travellers regarding the complimentary nature of the service. One can of course a horse pulled tonga, or a camel pulled buggy. However, a word of caution !! Some one in their great enthusiasm has prescribed for nappies for all animals, horses and camels alike. This having been made in to a law, and non compliance being punishable, all ofthm adorn on, and use it with gay abandon. So what have you!! The cart puller lives and dies in that stench, and doesn't thik he was born to change it each time it has been used by the animal. So the booty is collected, and is emptied
Diwan e aam
Fort has areas for the commons and the elite. (not changed), and the riders at the back experience some hard facts first hand. It is only the enthusiasm of the children that earns these operators their clientele, and such is the deep rooted apathy to general cleanliness i public places of these individuals that even at the cost of dwindling business they do not think good hygiene is something to vote for.
By the way another handy service available in the prking lot is a car wash for as low as you can bargain. Try it out, with due precaution of course !
But once through this rigmarole, you pass through the routine security checks and then on to the sight unparelled in the world There can be no words to describe what one sees. I will try with some pictures. I am glad I was born a human being !!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0684s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb