About Taj Mahal:
Taj has inspired poets and has form a lasting impression on many intellectuals. However, it has found some critics too. Here, we have brought some beautiful lines on Taj from the records:
Shah Jahan in Badshah Nama:
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs And makes sun and moon shed tears from their eyes In this world this edifice has been made To display thereby the Creator’s glory.
The British painter Hodges in 1783:
It appears like a perfect pearl on an azure ground. The effect is such I have never experienced from any work of art.
English often used Taj as a pleasure resort and its gardens as a romantic getaway. Dances were arranged on its terrace and the mosque and the jawab were rented out to newly-wed couples.
The American novelist and journalist Bayard Taylor wrote:
So pure, so gloriously perfect did it appear that I almost feared to approach it lest the charm should be broken.
The poet Rabindranath Tagore said:
You knew Shah Jahan, life and youth, wealth and glory, they all drift away in the current of time. You strove therefore, to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart…Let the splendour of diamond, pearl and ruby vanish…Only let this one teardrop, this Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever.
E. B. Havell wrote:
Taj is India’s noble tribute to the grace of Indian Womanhood.
W. H. Russell:
Taj is a dream in marble … a thought, an idea, a conception of tenderness, a sign of eternal devotion and heroic love.
The Nobel prizewinner English author Rudyard kipling wrote:
It seemed the embodiment of all things pure; all things holy and all things unhappy. That was the mystery of the building. It may be that the mist wrought the witchery.
General Information about Taj Mahal:
Location: Agra
State: Uttar Pradesh
Capital: Lucknow
Language: Hindi, English
Temperature: Max 42˚C, Min 27˚C (summer), Max 26˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to February
How to Reach Taj Mahal:
By Air:
Agra airport is 7 km from the city centre and 3 km from Idgah bus stand and is connected by domestic flights from major Indian cities. There are daily round trip flights from Delhi to Agra, Khajuraho, and Varanasi, with a return to Delhi. It takes only about 40 minutes from Delhi to Agra.
By Road:
Agra is about 204 km from Delhi, the capital of India. There is an excellent national highway connecting Delhi and Agra and it is only a 4 hours drive from Delhi. There are many luxury taxis and buses that drive to Agra everyday. Idgah and Agra Fort are the main bus stands of Agra from where anybody can catch buses to and from or Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura and Fatehpur-Sikri.
By Rail:
Agra is well connected by rail to Delhi, Varanasi and cities of Rajasthan. The main railway station is the Agra Cantonment station. There are many trains connecting Delhi and Agra like Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Taj Express and luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels.