August 15 is a special date for every Indian. It bring immense joy and fills you up with the undying spirit which even defeated the world's most powerful imperial power. This time it was even more delightful for IIM Lucknow students as it marked the beginning of a rare 4-day long holidays, which is a luxury in any B-school. At 0030 hrs , the idea of going on a solitary trip crossed my mind . A trip where there will not be any companion, not much of pre-planning and no acquaintances in the city. Quickly, I zeroed-in on Jaipur, the pink city . The next step was to figure out the ticket availability. A little search on Internet and I booked the ticket in rsrtc Volvo starting at 1820 hrs. Before going to bed, I browsed a little regarding the popular tourist attractions in Jaipur.I packed up the required things in a backpack and was at the Alambaug bus terminal well before time. The bus left at the scheduled time. Though one cannot expect the luxury of a train in bus, but I would say it was a pretty comfortable journey.
On the way to Jaipur
Date : August 16, 2014
I reached Jaipur Sindhi Camp bus terminal at 0730 hrs and checked-into a nearby hotel.The next decision was to decide upon the means of communication for site-seeing . There were two available options : sight seeing bus or auto. Sight seeing bus was available for Rs. 250, but they would show only those monuments which were within the city limits. This excludes the Nahargarh and Jaigarh forts. So I decided to hire an auto for Rs. 700. The auto driver also served as a amateur guide. We first reached the Shiv temple (situated on the hill) and the Birla Mandir. The Shiv temple opens only once a year i.e. on the Mahashivaratri day. Since I had shortage of time, decided to witness the Birla Mandir from outside only. Next we reached Albert Hall museum. I bought a combined ticket for several monuments which I had planned to visit. I was elated to get the student discount on producing the IIML Id card. The museum had a rich collection of artifacts like paintings, carpets, ivory, stone, metal sculptures, colorful crystal works etc. The one thing which attracted my attention was the Norton's patented turnstile.
Norton's patented turnstile at Albert Hall Museum
Next we headed towards Jantar Mantar, which is a solar observatory consisting of various geometrical devices and structures. En-route we crossed the Pink City. Though the Pink City looked more of orange color rather the pink color.
The Pink City
Jantar Mantar looked magnificent . There were several huge structures for the purpose of measuring time, predicting eclipses and calculating shoeshines. It was build by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh.
It was already 1300 hrs and I as feeling very hungry. So , before moving to next destinations, we decided to have lunch. After filling up stomach, we moved towards Hawa Mahal and Jal Mahal, respectively. Hawa Mahal needs no introduction . Jal mahal is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake . But the public is not allowed the access to Jal Mahal. So I had to be content by witnessing it from a distance.
Our next destination was Nahargarh fort, which is situated atop hill and one has to climb 10-12 km. up the hill. Nevertheless, it took us 30 mins from Jal Mahal .Nahargarh Fort has gained prominence recently, after Bollywood movies like Rang De Basanti and Shuddh Desi Romance were filmed here. The boundaries of the fort were visible from quite a distance. The fort itself was mostly in ruins. But the view of the Jaipur city from the fort was mesmerizing. It was a feast for the eyes. The scenic beauty coupled with pleasant weather, was making the environment magical. I couldn't resist myself from spending close to 2 hrs at the monument .
Our next destination was Nahargarh fort, which is situated atop hill and one has to climb 10-12 km. up the hill. Nevertheless, it took us 30 mins from Jal Mahal .Nahargarh Fort has gained prominence recently, after Bollywood movies like Rang De Basanti and Shuddh Desi Romance were filmed here. The boundaries of the fort were visible from quite a distance. The fort itself was mostly in ruins. But the view of the Jaipur city from the fort was mesmerizing. It was a feast for the eyes. The scenic beauty coupled with pleasant weather, was making the environment magical. I couldn't resist myself from spending close to 2 hrs at the monument .
Nahargarh Fort
Jaigarh fort was not very far from Nahargarh fort. Jaigarh fort hosted the world's largest cannon on wheels : Jaivana, which was the center of attraction there. Jaigarh fort also had the remains of cannon foundry. The structures and the instruments used for the purpose were preserved and gave an insight of the process. Fort also housed a small war museum.
Jaivana Cannon : World's largest cannon on wheels
View from Jaigarh Fort
It was already 1600 hrs by the time we left the jaigarh Fort. We headed towards Amber (Aamer) Fort. which was probably the grandest of all. The fort overlooks the Maota lake. I had to climb up hundreds of steps to reach the monument. The palace was spectacular. Two cannons were placed at the entry gate. The entry gate led to a parade ground, called as Jaleb chowk , derived from a Arabic word which meant gathering place for soldiers. Architectural design and the wall paintings had the features of both the Rajput and the Mughal styles. Probably this was the effect of the matrimonial alliances between them.
Amber (Aamer) Fort
I closed the day with Amber fort and returned to the hotel room. It had been an eventful day. Now was the time to chalk out the plan for the next day. I had two options : i) Return to Lucknow, ii) Extend the trip to cover the the historical towns of Fatehpur-Sikri and Agra. I was excited at the idea of visiting the Taj, one of the new seven wonders of the world. So, decided in favor of the second alternative.
Date : August 17, 2014
I got up at 0530 hrs and checked out from hotel by 0615 hrs. I went straight to the Sindhi Camp bus stand looking for a bus to Fatehpur-Sikri. Soon I was inside a bus . But , somehow I had the feeling that something is wrong. I asked the bus operator to confirm that the bus is headed towards Fatehpur-Sikri which lies near Agra. I was taken aback to find out that the bus was destined to some other place in Rajasthan, called Sikar Fatehpur. Without wasting anymore time I got down from the bus and took a rickshaw for the bus stand. This time I ensured that I boarded the right bus. However, 45 minutes got wasted in the process. The bus left at 0715 hrs.
After crossing several towns and villages , I reached the historic town of Fatehpur-Sikri at 1215 hrs. Once upon a time it was the capital of the greatest Mughal emperor : Akbar and the epicenter of political activities. I took an auto reach the fort. The monument can be broadly divided into two parts. The first part consisted of Jama Masjid and the Mazar(tomb) of sufi saint Salim Chisti. Emperor Akbar was a adherent disciple of the sufi saint, who blessed him with his heir. The structure which housed the Jama Masjid and the Mazar was characterized by two massive gates : Buland Darwaza and Badshahi Darwaza . Bulnad Darwaza, in particular, was a grand structure and depicted the architectural splendor of the Mughals. The Salim Chisti tomb was constructed in beautiful white marbles.
Buland Darwaza
The second part of the monument consisted of several buildings: deewan-e-aam, deewan-e-khas, Panch Mahal , Birbal house etc. The buildings were spread over a large area and echoed the royal glory.
Panch Mahal
Deewan-e-Khas
I left for Agra at 1415 hrs. It took almost an hour to reach the city which boasts of one of the seven wonders of the world, a symbol of eternal love. From bus stand, I took an auto to reach the west gate end of the Taj complex. I had not eaten anything since morning, but was hardly feeling hungry. This could be attributed to the excitement of witnessing the everlasting beauty of Taj. After depositing my bag at the cloak room, I proceeded towards the ticket counter and bought an ordinary ticket which cost Rs. 20. Soon after I realized that I should have bought a high value ticket as there was a lot of rush, probably because of the extended weekend. Nevertheless, this didn't deter my spirit.
As expected, the exquisite first look of Taj was magical. I remained frozen at the gate for few minutes to feel the moment.
After waiting in queue for a long time, I could step onto the grand mausoleum. Next , I entered in chamber which housed the tombs of emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaj Mehal, side-by-side.
In the whole process, I clicked several photographs of Taj mahal, from various angles.
I left the Taj complex at 1830 hrs and immediately rushed into a nearby restaurant. By the time I finished my meal, it was 1900 hrs and the darkness had started to envelop the surrounding. My bus for Lucknow was scheduled to depart at 2200 hrs, so I still had some time in hand. Therefore, I thought of making good use of this available time. I reached another grand monument , The Arga Fort or the Red Fort of Agra. Constructed with red stones, it was another spectacular building telling the story glorious past. But it was dark by the time I reached there, so couldn't explore the monument much.
The Agra Fort
A "Sound and Light show" was scheduled to begin at 1930 hrs. I decided to attend it. The show gave an insight of Agra's history ( or rather Mughals'). I suppose most of the visitors would be missing this show. But I would recommend people to attend it. The show ended at 2020 hrs . With the show, two days' of exhilarating and memorable trip came to an end. A trip which took me through realms of time and gave a chance to relive the glorious past of India.
