Those feelings you go through when you

• Walk across the gardens looking at one of the wonders of the world, the gift of Shah Jahan to his beloved wife 

• Admire the detailed inlay work of the enormous mausoleum, which took shape over several years, with the involvement of thousands of people 

• Get amazed at the perfection and symmetry of every tiny thing and the amount of details taken into consideration 

• Hear about the failed plans to construct a Black Taj and a silver bridge connecting the White Taj and Black Taj

Are simply indescribable.

We added a visit to Agra on our recent Amritsar–Delhi trip and it just felt like going back into another era. After experiencing the beauty of Taj Mahal, we had the opportunity to look around the Agra fort. That experience, listening to the tales from our guide, watching those places in live and correlating that with all that I had read in Indu Sundaresan’s Taj Trilogy, was something I loved totally. 
The feeling of walking through 

• The library of Shah Jahan
  
• The bedrooms of Jashanara and Roshanara
• The Angoor garden that was built to quench the alcohol thirst of Jahangir which was completely replaced later with flowering plants by Shah Jahan 
• The place where Akbar sat to meet his audience everyday 
  
• The place where the ladies sat and watched unseen by others 
• The place which served as piggy bank of Jahanara
  
• The place where Aurangzeb had imprisoned Shah Jahan and where Shah Jahan had spent his last days watching the reflection of Taj Mahal in Kohinoor diamond 

Is something that’s going to stay with me for long.
A lot more in and around Agra and Fatehpuri Sikri is on our list to be covered. Owing to time constraints, we have pushed them onto our next trip, which I wish would present us with many more wonderful experiences.

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Delhi

This place to visit was on our to-do list for quite sometime, for varied reasons, because of the huge history associated with the place, because of the number of places to be seen, because of the things to be tried out. Finally, we made it happen on our recent visit to Amritsar and Wagah border. 
We took a bus to reach Delhi from Amritsar that traveled through the night, and thereby saved the travel time. At first, we had a tough time trying to fit in all the places that we wanted to visit in the two days that we had allotted for Delhi. And then reality dawned on us and we agreed that we would cover only so much as possible and would reserve the rest for another trip, sometime later in the future.
So here is a glimpse of what we could take in from our short stay :

Jantar Mantar

Not so crowded place, with detailed boards everywhere describing how each instrument is designed and how each one functions, makes you feel proud of how advanced we were in terms of maths and science in those times.

Ugrasen ki Baoli

That deep step well constructed by Maharaj Ugrasen, makes you recollect all those movies where you must have seen the place.

India Gate

A symbol of the bravery and patriotism exhibited by our soldiers 

Lotus temple 

Comprising 27 petals, with a huge manicured garden, this place of worship of Bahai faith, welcomes people of all religions 

Akshardham Temple 

We couldn’t take any pictures because it is fully restricted. Though the huge crowd and the big lines are a big pain , the sound and the light show that happens every day in the evening is really good 

Qutub Minar

This tall minar, and the one opposite to it, Alai Minar, which was started by the grandson of the one who constructed Qutub Minar, have to be definitively paid a visit. Alai Minar was started with the ambition of doubling the height of Qutub Minar, but ended up only in half its height.

Chandini Chowk 

I do not have pictures of this, but it’s a sheer joy, walking on those roads and filling your shopping bags without causing a big dent on your wallet 

Paranthe wali galli 

No trip to Delhi could be complete without devouring the variety of food that’s available over there. On this trip, we could just sample the paranthas of paranthe wali galli and we were blown away by the huge variety of paranthas. You have got to try them all !

We still have got a big list that’s yet to be covered in Delhi, saving it for next trip 😊

Current love – Ron Roy

Of not me, but of A !

Ron Roy is a children’s book author and has authored A-Z mysteries. Each book in the series is named after an alphabet like Absent Author, Bald Bandit, Canary Caper etc. Each book is centred around three kids solving a mystery.

I came across these books and tried one for A. She liked it and I went for other ones in the series. Now she is practically hooked to the book once she starts and is loving the series.

Perfect read for our summer vacation 😊