I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW???

To say that getting to Agra was a challenge, with Rakesh hardly able to see the road, would be an understatement. To say that we could see much more than the outline of the Taj Mahal, upon entering through the west gate of the outer wall, would be gross exaggeration. Fog has been a huge problem in India during the past several weeks, due primarily to the devastating cold which has enveloped the northern half of the country. Actually, school has been cancelled for several days in many different cities, due to the freezing temperatures. As you know from previous postings, we truly suffered from the extraordinary cold during the wedding celebrations, since two of the three primary events were held outside.
When we entered through the West Gate, Sameer, Heather, J.T. and I all had to go through scanning devices and if any one of us had been carrying any items which could be termed a weapon, or even a water bottle (other than those provided to us when we purchased our tickets) we would have been forced to dispose of them right then and there. From the entrance area, we then proceeded to the area just in front of the entrance to the garden, where a professional photographer sold us on the idea of taking some forty different poses of us. We agreed primarily due to the fact we felt he might be able to enhance the photos, so the end result would actually SHOW the Taj. As you can see from the previous posting, you really have to squint and use your imagination to see the Taj. I can testify, we were actually there, although it does not appear to be so.
Sameer took us through a walking tour of the various formal gardens and then over to the right side of the Taj, where we sat for a while, and looked up at the magnificent tribute Shah Jahan had built in memory of his second wife, Mum Taz. She was really his true love, and after having given birth to fourteen children, she died. He was devastated by this loss and in response to a dying wish and request from Mum Taz, he hired architects and builders and stone masons and painters and those who worked in mosaic, and after twenty-two years, this jewel in the crown of Wonders of the World, was completed.
Many people feel the Taj Mahal is a palace, but in fact, it is a Muslim tomb, both for Mum Taz, as well as Shah Jahan. On the left side of the major building, there is a mosque constructed. On the opposite side, in order to maintain symmetry, an identical building was constructed, but only served as a "guest house" when the military dignitaries of the Britishers came to visit. On the outside of the Taj Mahal, there are four identical minars - or towers, which stand at each corner of the raised platform. Symbolically, these would be used as the place where imams would call the devout to prayer. Each of them is in perfect symmetrical proportion, and furthermore, they are constructed to be just barely tilted away from the main structure. This is so that in the event of an earthquake or other disaster that would cause them to fall, they would not damage the main structure, but fall away from it. The thought and the precision of this magnificent monument is really almost beyond comprehension. It is further believed that Shah Jahan mourned his beloved Mum Taz to such a degree, that while sitting on the opposite side of the Yamuna River from the Taj, he saw the reflection of the Taj in the water and it appeared black, and he considered building an identical "negative" of the Taj, using black marble. This was never to be, due to his being imprisoned by his own children for the remainder of his life.
When we left the Taj, J.T. backed out through the gate, in order to keep the image of this place foremost in his memory.