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one of the country’s most palatial hotels,
has sent a driver, as well as a wreath of
fragrant fresh flowers for you to wear.
A er you check in at the hotel, you head
to the window in your room. And that’s
when you see it for the first time, in the
distance: the
Taj Mahal (
3
)
. Even fromhere,
it’s breathtaking.
Refreshedby a quickdip in the pool, you
leave your digs and embarkona tour of the
great monuments of Agra, former capital
of the Mughal empire. Your first destina-
tion is the shrine known as the
Baby Taj (
4
)
(its official name, I’Timad-Ud-Daulah, is a
bit of a mouthful). To get there, you navi-
gate the teeming sprawl that is modern
Agra, a city of more than a million people
along the Yamuna River. Your ride comes
to a standstill as a herd of water buffalo
crosses the road. And thenyouarrive, lucky
enough to have the Baby Taj almost all to
yourself (it’s not on the standard tour bus
circuit). Like its more famous sibling, this
white marble mausoleum is a memorial
to love, but this time it’s filial—built by an
empress in her father’s memory.
Heading back into town, you stop for
lunch at
Dasaprakash (
5
)
, a bright and
cheerful southern Indian restaurant
serving all-you-can-eat vegetarian fare.
For virtually nothing, you eat your way
through a massive
thali
laden with
idlis
,
dosas
,
poori
and eggplant, and wash it all
down with fresh watermelon juice.
The Taj Mahal is packed at midday, so
you kill a few hours touring the
Red Fort
of Agra (
6
)
. Its strong red sandstone walls
held off countless invaders until the Brits
broke through in the 19th century. You get
in and out easily enough. It’s an immense
complex, with 94 acres of sculpted gardens
and marble shrines with gems embedded
in the walls.
You hop into an oversize golf cart and
make for the Taj Mahal. Gas-powered cars
aren’t permi ed near the site, so electric
rental vehicles are lined up on the road
going in. A mile and a half later you reach
the gates, and at last, there it is in all its
glory, sparkling at sunset: Shah Jahan’s
white marble love le er to his third and
most beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who
died in childbirth in 1631. This is the best
time to be here, when the temperature
has dropped and the crowds have thinned
out, and the twilight reflecting off the
river reads purple, pink, orange and gold.
Like everyone else—including many new
Indian brides—you pose for pictures in
front and then followthe line inside under
the twinklingdome, which is quitepossibly
the most stunning piece of architecture
you’ve ever seen.
That night at Esphanan, the hotel’s
restaurant, you can still make out the Taj
in silhoue e through a window. You dine
on tandoori cauliflower and quail curry,
old-fashioned regal recipes served in a
21st-century palace (the Oberoi opened in
2001). The food is rich and delicious—some
of the best of the trip, in fact. A er dinner
you retreat upstairs, spent, and dri off to
sleepwithCNNon the flatscreen, enjoying
the new India, but dreaming of the old.
Hemispheres
contributor
JAY CHESHES
would be more than happy to show you
his Bollywood dance moves.
SPLASHY VIEW
The pool at the
opulent hotel Oberoi Amarvilas in
Agra, with the legendary Taj Mahal
gleaming in the distance
D E L H I
104
MARCH 2012
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