Friday, 16 September 2011

The Taj Mahal-Temple of Love

It was during the mid-term school holidays of 1989 (October), when I visited my aunt at Delhi that I first got a chance to see the Taj Mahal and as I was just a kid then, I knew Taj Mahal as a mere monument of historical importance since I had seen it in pictures in some of the books as well as on television.I distinctly remember that there was this video song telecasted, “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, Toh Sur Bane Humara” (When roughly translated it means, “When my and your voice meet, it becomes our voice”…depicting the importance of Unity in Diversity) sung by Pandit BhimSen Joshi that would come up on Doordarshan every morning and evening (even at noon I guess!) at a scheduled time and that video did show the Tajmahal in the background of one of the shots!
But then, there was a kind of excitement when I got to see it right in front of my eyes. And since I was young at that time, I now have very few and bleak memories of how I would have reacted seeing the magnificient monument! May be I would have run across the gorgeous gardens and fiddled with the sprinking water of the fabulous fountains…May be..I am just lost in thoughts!And as advertising in Televisions boomed, Taj Mahal was being overwritten in my mind on a daily basis. With me then being an avid fan of the idiot box, every now and then Mr. Zakir Hussain appeared in this advertisement of Brooke Bond’s brand of TajMahal tea bags with his customary tagline of, “Wah Taj!”.
“Wah Taj!” it was for me too! Taj Mahal India Tours
And even Yanni, a Greek Composer and Pianist of world repute didn’t miss to capitalise on an opportunity to perform live at a concert with the Taj at the background as India was getting ready to celebrate its 50th Independence Day in 1997.
And there were sad moments too.
Taj Mahal was criticized for its surroundings being not maintained clean as the Yamuna river flowing behind it was used as a dump yard for the chemical and other waste products.
Also it was very much in news for being a soft target for terrorists who wanted to make an impact of their presence in India by attacking at a place where it would hurt the most!
Yet amidst all these controversies and happenings, Taj Mahal has managed to stand tall, thereby etching India on the world map as well as making an impact on the tourism front.
Fortunately I had an opportunity to visit the Taj again in 2009 along with my colleagues and this time I had the Taj in my mind as a monument of love (Ya…I had come of age! ;) ) but was very much amazed looking at the architectural content both inside and outside of the monument. It was breath-taking!
TajMahal is now among the 7 wonders of modern world and for the marvellous wonder that it is, it deserves its place rightfully.If you want to visit this historical site Golden triangle tours is the best option

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