Taj and Fatehpur Sikri

"No wonder it’s a wonder of the world".... that’s what comes to your mind when you see the first glimpse of Taj.

We (Jhanvi, Mohit and me) drove to Agra last weekend (26-27 Dec) and the visit was definitely worth it. It is astounding to see what rulers/ architects could create back in 17th century when there were no high-end equipments or highly precise instruments to compute angles/ measure distances, etc. Despite this, Taj is simply PERFECT. Everything from Taj itself to its pillars, arches and various monuments surrounding Taj, are perfectly symmetrical. And the details to which creators of Taj went into is revealed by the fact that the four minarets that surround Taj are not at 90 degrees but are slightly tilted outwards in an event of calamity, minarets will fall outside and not on Taj!

We set off from Delhi at about 8-30 am, the drive to Agra via NH-2 is quite comfortable. The stopover at food joint opp. Mathura refinery is quite hygienic and is recommended for a quick bite on the way. We reached Agra by around 2-30 PM and then headed for Taj.

Some trivia about the place: Located in Agra, Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It took over 20 years to complete and the cost of construction was around Rs. 4 crores at that time. (the banker in me has to comment on the costs.…)

We reached Taj at around 3:30 in afternoon and after standing in queue (parking and then entry) for around 2 hours (it was a maddening crowd owing to holiday season), we finally were at Taj at around 5:30.... and what a sight it was! Simply breathtaking! No doubt, beauty of Taj made us forget the initial hiccups of entering the place. We were shown around the place by the guide we had engaged, which turned out to be quite useful as he told us many interesting facts about Taj and its history. The large structure of Taj seemed to swallow the crowd and one felt as if time stood still for Taj, with the river flowing by its side for years and the fort of Agra overlooking the place. One can only wonder how grand the place would have been before being plundered by the various invaders. It was dark in next 30 minutes. So in order to do justice to the majestic place, we decided to come back the next morning [someone was not very keen though :) ]. In evening, we headed for the local market, Sadar bazaar. It has decent offerings of stone/ marble artifacts and leather goods. Mohit bought a pair of shoes and was very happy with the deal. We stayed at Mama ji’s place and enjoyed the north Indian hospitality at its best :)

As planned, we were back to see Taj next day morning....it was 7-40 AM and still we had to stand in queue for around 30 minutes! We felt we had seen the beauty of Taj the previous evening and the excitement was over, but we were wrong. The beauty of Taj and its grandeur floored us yet again. The morning mist made it impossible even to see the river Yamuna flowing alongside. And not to mention, walking on cold marble bare footed was some experience :).

We entered the tomb and saw the tombstones of Mumtaz and Shan Jahan. Its was touching to see them together inside this wonder created by one for the other, a symbol of their love that people from all across the world come to see. Having clicked tonnes of pictures, we checked out of the place at about 9-30. We went back to Mama ji's place, got ready and left for Fatehpur Sikri.

Sadly, UP Govt, ASI (and whosoever else is responsible for management/ maintenance of the monument today) have done little… entering Taj is chaotic - be it at the Parking or the road that leads to Taj (completely littered with camel/ horse dung) or abundance of touts (promising entry without standing in queue for a hefty convenience charge!) or lack of lighting within Taj. I hope authorities realize their responsibility towards Taj - something which brings so much tourism for the city.

Fatehpur Sikri is around 30 kms from Agra and the road is fairly okay. It gets its name from Fateh, meaning victory after Babur defeated Rana Sanga and Sikri, a small village next to the palace. It is said that after the blessing of Sufi Saint Salim Chisti (who lived in Sikri village) Akbar was blessed with a son (Salim, later renamed Jahangir). So, Akbar, thinking that the place is lucky for him, decided to make Fatehpur Sikri his capital. So he built this majestic fort and tomb "Salim Chisti Ka Mazar". But due to shortage of water he had to move his headquarters to Agra Fort.

Sikri Fort is really grand - Though it is perhaps smaller in size as compared to other forts built by Mughals but it is very finely designed. We saw the place with the help of guide, which was a must given that each building had some tale associated with it. The fort has the usual Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-Khas, residence areas for Akbar and the Queens, the Meena Bazar and the five storied building Panch Mahal. One special spot was the place where the competition between Tansen and Baiju Bawra is said to have taken place. We also saw the Mahal of Birbal, one of 9 Jewels in the Akbar’s court. The place is maintained quite well and most buildings are surrounded by lawns and gardens. There is a giant Chaupar (ludo like game played in past) in the centre courtyard and it is said that the king along with his queens used to play there with dasis acting as pawns, isn’t that interesting!!

Akbar was religiously tolerant (as compared to other Mughal rulers) and the architecture of the fort (having blend of Hindu and Islamic architecture) proves this. Akbar also started a new faith "Dīn-i Ilāhī" i.e. Divine Faith which intended to merge the best elements of all religions. However, various Muslim clerics were not happy with this and this faith did not last for a long time. The other main attraction of the place was the Dargah of Sufi Saint Salim Chisti, which is built in white marble unlike other monuments in Fatehpur Sikri, which are made of red stone.

By around 2:30, we decided to head back home. Return journey was via Bharatpur (we have made up our mind to visit this place soon). Thanks to Mohit, he drove all the way – however not to mention I also woke up in between to ask if he wanted any help! We stopped at a dhaba to have some paranthas - Finally reached home by around 8:30 PM. Thankfully, there was no fog that day and driving was not difficult.

All in all, we were quite impressed by Taj. Perhaps, we will come back to this place to get floored once again :)

Things to keep in mind before you visit this place:
1. Taj gets fairly crowded on weekends, holiday season - So try reaching the place as early as possible. It opens at around 7 AM (when the day breaks) and closes at sunset.
2. Beware of touts (they are in abundance around that area)
3. Guide is desirable at Taj and Fatehpur Sikri - you can always negotiate with them on the rate.
4. And dont forget to charge up the camera batteries, every glimpse of Taj is picturesque :-)

Cheers, Nitin and Jhanvi

Trip to Lansdowne

Statutory Advisory: Fairly long post, read at leisure :-)
It was a sudden plan. S reached home by 3, we booked the tickets at around 5 and by 10 in the evening we were in the train - on the way to Lansdowne (actually to Kotdwar, last train junction before Lansdowne).

Lansdowne is perhaps one of the quietest hill stations in India. Some background on Lansdowne: Lansdowne was founded and named after then Viceroy of India, Lord Lansdowne in 1887. It was developed by British for training of recruits of Garhwal Rifles. Nowadays, Garhwal Rifles of Indian Army has its command office here and they maintain this place. Not to mention, the place is pollution-free and absolutely spick and span.
Day 1:
We reached Kotdwar (Uttaranchal) at around 7 in the morning, took a cab to Lansdowne (it is around 41 km from Kotdwar, 1.5 hours hilly drive). The drive up is eye catching as one moves through hills covered with pine and deodar trees, with sightings of the River Khoh from between branches and at sudden bends in the road. We started feling that maybe it will turn out out to be a good place for the vacation.

By around 9, we reached Gandhi Park, the main market area at Lansdowne. The place was pleasantly quiet. Some of our friends who had been to Lansdowne before mentioned that we should try staying at GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) Tourist House at Tip in Top (around 3 km uphill from Gandhi Park) as it had a fantastic view. I was slightly apprehensive on how comfortable a place maintained by GMVN would be. However, we decided to check it out, although we had zeroed on an alternate place to stay. Climb to Tip in Top was strenuous, especially since we were carrying the luggage (all stuffed with warm clothes!) and were always wondering if we were taking the right route or have missed the road somewhere (could hardly find anybody around to guide us – it felt as if suddenly everybody has left the town!). As we trekked upwards, we became fairly sure that it was a good move to come to Lancedown.... guess what even the mobiles wouldn't work .. so it was going to be a real break !!!

Finally we reached Tip in Top and were pleasantly surprised. The view was simply breathtaking and the rooms (porter cabins), to our utmost surprise, were neat, clean and very comfortable. We could see the deep valley, thickly forested slopes and snow capped Himalayas from just outside our room.

We had a hearty breakfast and then decided to explore the place. The place does not have many tourist spots, the ones that are there can be covered in one day .... so the beautiful thing is that there is not really a need for you to have an agenda for sight seeing …. you just have to enjoy the place. There is absolutely nothing to plan but to keep walking and enjoying the scenes that will come your way irrespective of the route you take. Something which is very unique about the place is the neatness (all clean and well painted) and the sense of security. You will not find anybody around but still a sense of security is there. All the trees are numbered and named (both in Hindi and English !!!).

On our way down from Tip in Top to Lansdowne main market (Gandhi Park), we passed two churches. The first, St. Mary’s Church is not in use currently. Garhwal Rifles took over the church and restored it about 5 years ago. The church is set in middle of a pretty little well maintained garden. The church serves as a place where Lansdowne history is showcased. There is a provision of an Audio Video show and some books/ literature on Lansdowne which one can refer to (we could not see the AV as there was not electricity at that time!). St. John’s church is a short way from St. Mary’s church. This church is still in use and if you want to go in, you need to ring the bell and wait for the caretaker to open the doors to you.

The next stop was Bulla Lake. It is an artificial lake built by Garhwal Rifles few years back. The place was well maintained and, as usual, very quiet. We did paddle boating and it was great. Amazing weather, a small lake surrounded by hills and tall trees, and no crazy crowd.

After that we further walked to Gandhi Park - local market at Lansdowne. Had lunch at Mayur Restaurant - A fairly good and hygienic restaurant. I will not comment on the quality of food but it was a good option as compared to other places at Gandhi Park. We did some shopping (started searching for souvenirs but there are actually no souvenirs around. Nor were there any shopkeepers trying to hassle you sell their wares). The most important item on our shopping list was a torch, we bought one (after N had inspected almost a dozen of them) which was really helpful. Then we spent some time around the Gandhi Park and nearby area.

It was 5:30 by now and was getting dark and a little cold as well. We decided to move back to hotel (which was fairly up the hill, remember around 3 km up). In next ten minutes, it was pitch dark and we had to climb up the hill, with very little possibility of actually finding any people on the way to guide us. The torch was helpful, though there were occasional streetlights as well. BUT as we were hoping (or rather fearing) there was simply nobody on the roads. Pitch dark, it was like walking through the forest. Just that here we were not that scared (to be honest, we {here we symbolizes N; S was just thrilled at the adventure} were bit scared of leopards, if any would come by). Slowly steadily, thanks to S's amazing geographical sense, we did not lose the way and reached the rest house after a good trek of over forty minutes.

We had dinner and then strolled outside the room for a while. The sky was amazingly clear..can’t remember the last time we have seen so many stars. It was so serene and beautiful… But as it was getting chilly, we decided to call it a day - I switched on the TV and started watching some AB movie. S was trying to engage me in a game of cards, but she soon dozed off :)
Day 2:
The next day morning we woke up to the sound of very strong wind blowing. We opened the curtains - it was light but seemed awfully chilly so we stayed indoors, simply taking in the view and the magic of the place. Later we went to Tip in Top (very close to our place of stay). Tip in Top is like the end of the cliff. You can see the complete valley, snow covered peaks and trees all around. You can distinctly identify the Panchmari, and a few other peaks.

Then we walked up to the Santoshi Mata Temple (supposed to be on the highest hill in Lansdowne) with A & A (who were staying in the room next to us, the only guests at GMVN other than us). A pretty nice temple it was and again, it was only us there. After breakfast we were ready to set off again. We took lift from A & A and went to the War Memorial at the Parade Ground of the Garhwal Rifles Center. Well maintained memorial houses a museum which talks about the history, travels and achievements of Garhwal Rifles regiment.

Just next to the War Memorial is Lovers Lane. A narrow lane in the hills, deserted and very aptly named! No sign of humanity. We stayed there for a while and then moved back to the tourist house….the same 3 km trek, but this time we tried new route which took us by the Army Mess, a beautiful garden and many bungalows belonging to Army. Another interesting sight at Lansdowne are the bungalows which were built by British and were bought by Garhwal Rifles sometime before independence. Now senior army officials stay here. Outside each bungalow are boards narrating history of the bungalow along with the price at which these were purchased by Garhwal Rifles (eg. Check out the pictures for an interesting board outside Bungalow No. 18). Again along the whole trek, we bumped into very few people and it felt as if the entire place is only yours to see… a very magical feeling after the hustle bustle of our lives in a city.

We gathered our stuff, checked out and started our journey back at about 3 pm, to catch the last cab out from Lansdowne to Kotdwar, which leaves by 5 pm. Journey back was not as tiring – Again thanks to S. She knew a much shorter way by now. We walked slowly enjoying our last trek surrounded by thick forests, fresh air and serene atmosphere.

We reached Gandhi Park by around 4:30 and waited in main market for cab to start the return journey to Kotdwar. We came down the hills sighting panoramic views with some Garhwali music providing the background score. It progressively grew darker and we covered most of the flatter terrain in dark.

We reached Kotdwar by 6:30, and now had nothing to do but to wait for our train scheduled for 10 pm. So we decided to go for a quick visit to a nearby temple (Sidhbali Temple) and then settled into a nice little eating joint (Eats) for a dinner. After a leisurely meal (which we tried our best to elongate given that the place would be much comfortable than the waiting room at the station) we headed to the station already making a plans to return to Lansdowne soon. We simply loved this tiny place with abundance of nature and peace. It’s a must visit for people who enjoy nature and not the crowds that most popular hill stations attract these days.
Visual tour of Lansdowne (rollover the picture for description):

Teeing off

The 'first' post, after a lot of dilly-dallying...
I may loaf around, doze off or simply do nothing, but whenever it comes to doing something which implies that I am free, I get work!
Anyways, this Sunday we went for our first golf session. Me, Seema and Mohit - As the luck would have it, it started pouring as soon as we reached the course. Fortunately, it stopped soon, so the plan was on. We teeed off around 60-70 balls on the driving range. Swinging the club is not as easy as it appears, quite strenous on the shoulders - Bucket of 50 balls was good enough for a Sunday morning start. The first day at Golf ended on an exciting note, learned bits and pieces of sport, some rules, some ettiquetes and most important - Nobody is born as a 'pro', you can be one by hitting zillions of balls on the driving range.

I am all set for the next round of teeing off coming week.