I have always wanted to visit the Taj Mahal so I was thrilled when Nick and I decided to visit India, because I knew I would finally get to see it and on my birthday (bonus)!
You know when you seen something in the pictures, and on the tv so much that you think it will be a disappointment when you see it in person? We did feel this way when we went to Angkor Wot. It was a great experience but we weren’t blown away. Well, the Taj Mahal is not like that.
Agra is home of the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world and we can confirm it’s absolutely beautiful in real life!
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum of white marble decorated with calligraphy, semi-precious stones (sadly many have been stolen), and inlay work. It took around 20 years to build, starting in 1632, by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mah. The Taj Mahal suffers from deterioration from the air pollution and it has undergone conservation work in order to preserve its integrity.
The pollution levels were high and whilst we were glad we skipped Delhi at the height of its pollution levels after Diwali. We weren’t expecting the pollution levels in Agra to be as bad but we were wrong as it’s the 4th most polluted city in India.
What’s even sadder is because of the pollution the Indian government have banned Agra from investing in other industries until the pollution levels are under control. This means the City is totally reliant on the Taj Mahal for its source of income.
When you walk around in Agra you expect the town to have a better infrastructure in terms of roads, access to water, after all it’s the home of the Taj Mahal but you would be surprised. It’s a town that’s in desperate need of help, more so than anywhere else we saw in India. Whilst the story behind the Taj Mahal is beautiful it does make you think if it wasn’t there how the community would survive. So far, Taj Mahal was our favourite wonder of the world and we hope pollution measures are put in place so that the town can benefit from other industries and more opportunities outside the Taj.