Entering the Taj Mahal grounds at dawn is like opening a birthday present and every step closer is like removing another layer of wrapping paper. The palpable sense of excitement exudes from almost everyone entering with you - for the vast majority of visitors the experience usually has once-in-a-lifetime billing.
One of the characteristics that makes the Taj so magical is that the light dances off the marble in so many different ways as the day matures that it is always changing. Dawn is a celebrated time to visit it as it catches the early morning sunrise light so beautifully. We were slightly too late to catch any crimson hues, but as we arrived the structure was almost translucent. Many of our early photos look as if we are standing in front of a faus movie set rather than an actual three dimensional reality. The marble is so pure and clean, and it's designs, carvings and embellishments so perfect, that it is a feast of movement and dynamism as the sun travels through the sky rather than a static vista.
While many complain about the touts and hawkers in Agra, and the hassle tourists undergo; I must say that from my own experience, in comparison to what we had just endured in Varanasi - it's a walk in the park. Certainly do not let Agra's reputation it this area dissuade you.
I understand now so clearly why the picture of Princess Diana looking glum alone on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal came to symbolise the way things weren't all rosey in Buckingham Palace. If you don't have an stupid smile on your face throughout your visit to this wonderful place, something is seriously wrong.
But that said, there is something very sad about the story of the Taj, and while this doesn't detract from the happiness the builds and it's grounds brings you, it does bring a certain pathos to the experience that gives this visit depth and humanity. It took 20 years to build and some of the marble work - to his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who bore him a staggering 14 children - still remains to this day the finest workmanship you will see. Sadly, his own son, Aurangzeb overthrew him and imprisoned him in a marble palace-prison within the Agra Fort across the river where he sat and gazed at the romantic tribute he had built for his dead, beloved wife for 8 long years before he died in 1666.But just as some believe he was able to join his wife in heaven after he died, his body was entombed next to her's deep inside this physical and atmospheric representation of the after-life below where you can see replicas of their tombs side-by-side and ponder the infinity of true love. For me, I don't think there's a more profound manifestation of a man's love for a woman anywhere on earth. I think it is the spirit of this gesture that leaves you with such a warm glow as you leave, as much as it is the more temporal experience.
In short if you ever get the chance to visit, do so. It most certainly is bucket-list calibre - something you must do before you die.