If you are an Indian or you have been to India and haven’t been to Agra, you have committed a cardinal sin. Agra is home to Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

A 5 hour bus ride away from the capital city of India, Agra is a city on the bank of Yamuna in the state of Uttar Pradesh and has been the seat for Mughal emperors for ages.

My first college excursion at Agra was my first taste of freedom. We reached Agra around 10 in the morning after a 5 hour bus ride from Delhi. We stayed at a lovely homestay in Agra. A history student and a hopeless romantic at heart, I was awesomely delighted to see the Taj Mahal. It has stood as a testament to one of the greatest love stories ever told. Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz. It took twenty two years and twenty thousand laborers to build this perfectly symmetrical monument. It is also a common belief that Shah Jahan chopped off the workers’ fingers so that they couldn’t build anything as beautiful as the Palace of Crown, it is however a myth. Taj Mahal expresses the Mughal architectural magnificence in the truest sense. The monument is stunning but the story behind the same makes it more beautiful.

The brilliance of the Mughal architectural brilliance doesn’t end here. Agra Fort was commissioned by the great Mughal Emperor Akbar and is a mixture of Hindu and Islamic styles of architecture. My next stop was Akbar’s Tomb followed by I’timād-Ud-Daulah’s Tomb. Akbar’s Tomb located in Sikandra is a symbolic representation of his personality. Akbar planned the tomb and selected the site himself. The vast, beautifully carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb has 99 names of Alla inscribed in it. I’timād-Ud-Daulah’s Tomb was built by Mughal Empress Noor Jahan in the memory of her beloved father. Built with white marble in the classic Islamic style, this monument is yet another testament of love.

Listed as one of the World Heritage Sites along with Taj Mahal and Agra Fort from Agra, Fatehpur Sikri was built by Mughal Emperor Akbar. He moved his capital here from Agra and his goal was to make it the most beautiful city in the world. However, due to shortage of water, Akbar abandoned the city and with time, it has stood out to be a perfectly preserved 16^th century town. It is also said to be one of the ghost towns of India even though the site displays building and monuments of immense historical importance.

Agra doesn’t offer you the beauty of forested mountains or sun-kissed beach. Instead, it offers you to take a dive into the history of India. It lets you take a journey through the architectural brilliance. It makes you realize how well endowed India is, how brilliant the countrymen were even ages ago. When you visit the place, you will be in awe with how artsy India is just like I did.

Every time I think about Taj Mahal, Bryan Adams croons in my head, ‘I thought I’d seen everything till I saw you…’

For a homestay in Agra, visit Agra Homestay.