I was the first person at the ticket window when it opened at 6am. Once inside the gate I lingered briefly along the pathway to the portal that frames the Taj Mahal itself. I wanted a little more light before I encountered the view.
5:50am- waiting for the Taj Mahal to open
Birds in the trees that lined the tiled path were warbling musically to each other. The air was calm. The heat of the day had not yet intruded. A fountain splashed water on the flowers at its base.
As I passed through the portal, I saw a couple who had preceded me by a few minutes. They were on the raised marble platform that is halfway between the portal and the still higher platform of the Taj itself.
There was not one person between them and the monument.
For that moment, and forever thereafter too, they owned the Taj Mahal. Click on the photo below to see what I saw.
The Embrace
The sun was still ten minutes below the horizon of trees to the right. But there was enough light to capture the scene. Click on it to see the full-sized view from which it is cropped.
After the crowds behind us had pressed forward to the monument, after the intimacy of the moment was gone, I spoke with them. They are from Chicago’s North Shore. They were celebrating a wedding anniversary that I might have been marking with someone had things gone differently.
Yes, I envied them. They have seen a Taj Mahal I will never see.
Related Posts -
The Taj Mahal - Late Afternoon Album #1 After a nap, a great hot shower, fresh clothes and an excellent sandwich in the garden of the amzingly cheap and cheerfully green garden of the Guest House, I climbed into the back of a three-wheeler and roared off to see the Taj Mahal before it closed at 6pm. ...... -
Overnight Train Delhi to Varanasi This was not the deluxe train I'd expected. The carriage was probably 40 or 50 years old. Everything was the same shade of pale green one sees in the below-ground corridors of hospitals and governmental buildings around the world. I suspect that somewhere on this planet, perhaps here in India...... -
Overnight Train Mathura (Agra) to Mumbai By now, my fantasy of "Overnight Train to x x x " has been exposed as poor romance, frustrating adventure and less than ideal transportation. Guess what? The overnight train from Mathura Junction to Mumbai reset the template. From the moment of arrival on the platform at the Mathura Station,......
- TCJ Research 10/23-10/24 Poll: Tom Corbett Widens Lead on Dan Onorato in Pennsylvania Governor Race To view other TCJ Research Polls released today, click HERE. To read our full analysis of how and why Republicans will take the Senate, click HERE. Each poll uses a random sampling of 1000 Likely Voters (unless otherwise stated) and has a +/- 4% margin of error (M.o.E). Poll that don’t add......
- TCJ Research 10/19-10/20 Poll: Mark Kirk Holds Slight Lead Over Alexi Giannoulias To view other TCJ Research Polls released today, click HERE. To read our full analysis of how and why Republicans will take the Senate, click HERE. Each poll uses a random sampling of 1000 Likely Voters (unless otherwise stated) and has a +/- 4% margin of error (M.o.E). Poll that don’t add......
- Bushnell Tour V2 Series Pinseeker Rangefinder User Reviews Send this to a friend Bushnell Tour V2 Series Pinseeker Rangefinder Manufacturer: Bushnell Customer Rating: List Price: Varies based on product options Sale Price: View Sale Price Availibility: View Product Availability Buy Now Product Description The ultimate laser rangefinder for tournament play and avid golfers, the Bushnell......