A VISIT TO A PLACE OF HISTORICAL INTEREST
India has a colourful history. Obviously there are many places of historical interest in this country. Of all these historic places, I wanted to see Agra, the most. It is famous for incomparable beauty of the Taj Mahal. The chance came during the last Puja vacation. I, along with my parents and sister went to Agra.
When the train reached Agra, I felt greatly excited. We quickly ate our breakfast and when to see the Taj Mahal. I had heard a lot about the matchless beauty of the Tajmahal. But all description paled into insignificance when I actually saw it. In the mild rays of the morning sun where glittering the minarets. The Taj Mahal is built of snow-white transparent marble. Though built centuries ago, it retains its dignity and freshness till date. It is a mausoleum built by Shahjahan on the grave of his beloved to wife Mumtaz Begam. The walls and the ceilings are inlaid with precious stones. The Taj Mahal on the bank of the river Yamuna is surrounded on three sides by a garden with tall cypress trees, grassy lawns and beds of colourful flowers. When we visited the Taj Mahal again on moonlit night, we could hardly believe our eyes. It was a thing to dream of not to tell.
The next day we visited the Agra Fort, the residence of the Emperors. It is built of huge blocks of sandstone. The Diwan-i-Am, where the Emperors met the public and the Diwan-i-Khas, where they held private meeting were very impressive. The Pearl Mosque where the royal family said their prayers and the Sish Mahal, in which the walls are inlaid with mirror-glass on all sides are two other attractive things in the Fort. We also saw Sikandra, Akbar’s tomb. The loftiness and the spaciousness of the tomb impressed me much. We paid a visit to Fatehpur Sikri. Here we saw the ruins of a new capital city built by Akbar in honour of a Muslim Saint, Salim Chishti. The most splendid thing here was the gateway of victory with a long flight of steps. We stayed in Agra for four days. Whenever I may be, I shall never forget the Taj. ‘A thing of beauty' thus become a ‘joy for ever’.
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