Agra and Fatehpur-Sikri

While the epic Mahabharata makes mention of the city, Ptolemy the geographer-traveler of A.D. 2nd century refers to it as Agara . Agra became politically important with the Mughals building their palaces there and ruling their domains from there for many years.

In Agra, the Taj stands on the river Yamuna—as a memorial on the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, wife of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. When Queen Mumtaz Mahal died at 35, the emperor, it is said, was so grief-stricken that his raven-black hair grew grey in a month!

The chief architect of the Taj was a Persian, Ustad Isa. The 20, 000-strong troupes of craftsmen who worked on the monument included the majority of Indians apart, Persians, Turks, the French and Italians. Twenty-two years of work completed it in 1652.

The 57-metre-high central dome is guarded by a slender white minaret standing at each corner. Directly under the dome is the tomb of the queen. Beside her tomb is Shah Jahan's. Both the tombs were originally inside be-jeweled gold enclosures. They have been removed.

If the Taj Mahal has a unique charm in daylight, it exudes a fairytale atmosphere in the moonlit night.

There are several other monuments in Agra that deserve close attention. Let's take a look at them.

Agra Fort

The gigantic fort as the creation of four successive Mughal emperors, beginning 4iith Akbar, and had become the hub of their empire.

According to Abul Fazl , Akbar's court-historian and minister, the fort had 500 buildings. Only a few survive the invasion of Nadir Shah, and battles with the Marathas, the Jats, and the attack by the British during 1857 Mutiny.

The architecture of many of the buildings inside combines Hindu and Muslim styles. The Moti Masjid is the largest pure marble mosque in the world. It was in a building called the Jasmine Palace inside this fort, overlooking the Taj Mahal, that Shah Jahan passed his last days as Aurangzeb's prisoner, often gazing at Mumtaz Mahal's mausoleum.

Itmad-ud-Daulah

This mausoleum of exquisite grandeur stands on the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah, the prime minister and the father-in-law of Emperor Jahangir.

Nur Jahan ("Light of the World") herself planned the monument that was executed by craftsmen who have done a marvelous job in chikan-work , translucent marble screens. Here they have perfected the technique of pietra dura inlay later used in the Taj Mahal.
Sikandra

10 km away, this is the mausoleum of Akhar, begun by Akbar himself. It was, of course, completed by his son Jahangir.

Sikandra owes its name to Sikander Lodi, an Afghan ruler who had a fort here. Akbar's tomb is in red sandstone and white marble. What appears to be the tomb at first is only a replica of the tomb lying in the catacomb below.

Dayal Bagh

8 km away, this is the headquarters of the Radha Soami sect. It is a self-sufficient colony of believers in the principles of the sect. The tomb of their master is a highly impressive monument.

Ram Bagh

10 km away, this is a Mughal garden—the earliest example of it—laid out by Emperor Babur in 1528.

Fatehpur Sikri

40 km away is Fatehpur Sikri, a fort on an elevated rocky place. Here lived a Muslim saint, Shaikh Salim Chisti. Akbar yearned for a son and he believed that his Hindu wife gave birth to one (Jahangir) by the blessing of the saint. He named the son Salim in honor of the saint and began building a fort near the saint's dwelling.

Akbar launched his martial expedition into Gujarat (1573) from here and returned victorious. Hence he named it Fatehpur (the Victory Town) and it is since called Fatehpur Sikri.

Akbar lived here for fifteen years during which many buildings were added to the fort. When he left it, it grew desolate and soon became a totally abandoned citadel, almost a phantom town, to be raised to a new status in our time, a place of great tourist attraction.

•The Diwan-i-Aam or the Hall of Public Audience,

•The Diwani-Khaas with a curiously and brilliantly carved octagonal column,

•Khaas Mahal , Akbar's private apartment,

•Panch Mahal , a five-storied building, the upper storeys diminishing in dimension,

•Mariam's Palace , an edifice once profusely decorated with gold ornaments, being the residence of Akbar's Rajput queen,

•Hawa Mahal , a breezy building of terraces meant for the ladies,

•Birbal's Palace , built by Akbar's friend and minister Raja Birbal,

•Jama Masjid, Shaikh Salim Chisti's Tomb built in pure white marble

•Buland Darwaja , the largest gateway in India (176 feet high from the ground and 134 feet from its platform), built of marble and sandstone in remarkable harmony and a number of other objects are to be studied in this fort.