Taj Mahal: a weekend of wonder

Taj Mahal: a weekend of wonder
India for a short break? Simon Horsford heads for the Taj Mahal.
A short break to India seemed a great idea after a good dinner; less so in the cold light of day. But I calculated that by leaving on a Thursday morning, we could get three full days in Delhi and Agra and be back for the start of the following week, when the four-hour time difference would work in our favour.
Which is how we found ourselves driving into the Indian capital just after 10pm local time. The heat was intense even at this late hour, but it was still a welcome change from endless English rain. It's true that India consumes you the moment you arrive. The sights, the smells, the noise and the feeling that nothing ever seems to stand still.
If we needed any more convincing, the road trip to Agra proved the point. After a hearty breakfast of mango, fresh yogurt and scrambled eggs, we set off early for the four-hour journey; the train might have been quicker and more traditional but could hardly have been more entertaining or manic.
After only a few miles nothing surprised us any more, as a motley array of cars, lorries, bicycles, auto-rickshaws, people and animals jostled for position on the road. It was like a sub-continental version of Wacky Races. Families of four, five and more clung to rickety rickshaws, brightly coloured lorries took no prisoners while water buffalo, oxen and even an elephant vied for the limited space on the uneven two- and occasionally three-lane roads. The honking was incessant but oddly, the craziness was remarkably good-natured.
After three hours or so, and keen to make the most of our limited time, we made straight for the "ghost city" of Fatehpur Sikri, the stunning, short-lived imperial capital of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This walled city, built in 1571 in honour of Sufi saint Salim Christi, stands as a fabulous example of Mughal architecture and the emperor's admirably inclusive approach to religion. Hindus, Muslims and Jesuits all lived at court and Christi even developed a cult called Deen Ilahi, a blend of the main religions.
His vision also extended to Fatehpur Sikri's architecture, which blends Muslim, Hindu and Jain designs among the arches and domes of this red sandstone city. His creation, which lasted as a seat of power for only 14 years, can be seen best by wandering into the magnificent open mosque of Jami Masjid (make a wish by tying a cotton thread around Christi's exquisite tomb) and at the five-storey open pavilion of Panch Mahal.
If Fatephur Sikri had taken the breath away, it was still put in the shade by the next sight - our reason for being there. Off a dusty road in the unremarkable town of Agra we wandered into our hotel, the palatial Oberoi Amarvillas, and caught a first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, just 650 yards away.
There is always a nagging doubt that reputation might not match the reality. No such worries here. The Taj Mahal is strikingly, heart-tuggingly beautiful. Earlier this year, it was voted one of the seven wonders of the modern world after an eight-year, worldwide online poll which apparently attracted 100 million votes.
Rudyard Kipling likened it to an ivory gate through which all dreams pass, and it's this fantasy-like aura that we noticed first the following day at dawn while we wandered around emperor Shah Jahan's memorial to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Our guide, clearly smitten, explained how everything about the Taj has a meaning, from the Islamic inscriptions and the calligraphic panels to the height of the dome and the location of the tomb chamber. Soon we were similarly affected. From our hotel room we saw first-hand how the monument changes colour as the light plays on the marble: from a misty reddish glow in the early morning to a dazzling white in the heat of the sun.
Dodging street hawkers proffering everything from postcards to copies of the Kama Sutra, we ducked into Agra's other gem, its magnificent fort. Again built of red sandstone by the open-minded Akbar, it also betrays other influences, such as the rigorously Islamic taste of Shah Johan (the Pearl Mosque being the best example) - there's even a touch of Britishness, in the shape of the barracks, added in the 19th century. It was on a marble balcony in the fort's Meena bazaar that our guide claimed Mumtaz Mahal had first met Shah Jahan.
Back in Delhi, we realised, inevitably, the shortcomings of such a short break, and wished we had more time to explore. The contrast between New and Old Delhi still astonishes: one British-built, ordered and modern, the other vibrant, daunting and with poverty disturbingly apparent.
With a copy of that week's Time Out: Delhi we contemplated everything from a Bollywood movie and a classical concert to a visit to the mango festival, ruling out the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets. In the end we sat in the beautifully landscaped Mughal gardens looking towards the Lutyens-designed Rashtrapati Bhavan, the former viceroy's house, and spent the last hours of a bright, Sunday afternoon snacking on super-sugary Indian cakes.
Back at my desk soon after lunch the following day, I reflected that, perhaps, there was too much to see in a long weekend. But it had been worth it to witness the hypnotic beauty of the Taj Mahal and to experience, however briefly, the intensity of India. And I didn't have jet lag.
Essentials
Elegant Resorts Worldwide Reservations (01244 897518; www.elegantresorts.co.uk) offers two nights at The Oberoi New Delhi and two nights at The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, in a Premier Room, from £1,415 per person (based on two sharing) on a room-only basis.
The price includes return economy class flight from Heathrow with British Airways, private car transfers and a return train from Delhi to Agra with Designer Holidays, Elegant Resorts' India-based ground handler.