Jodha Akbar..30th March 2015..Montage Changed again+DT NT Pg8 - Page 8

Originally posted by: Charu.S

Radhika, I would love to read your experiences in detail on visiting Sikandra, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra. It calls for a separate thread. Please, please write one.

Did you get an opportunity to see the tomb of MUZ? When I visited in 2010, her tomb was in the process of getting a facelift and was closed to the public. I recall my hubby and me standing outside the entrance with a sense of dejavu because we were standing on the very same grounds that Mughal royalty walked upon several hundreds of years back.

I vividly remember my kids being extremely upset on seeing the way the premises of the Taj Mahal was being trashed by the public, in spite of security personnel constantly warning them not to litter the shoe covers all over the gardens. That negative memory lingers, even to this day. I was completely in awe on the sight of the Agra fort.tall, stately, majestic, it stretches for miles at end. What a masterpiece of architecture.

My daughter wants to go back and see these magnificent structures again, leisurely.

The sight of the magnificent Amer Fort in Jaipur, is also an experience that leaves the viewer speechless and spellbound.

I wish the govt can take better measures in controlling the crowds visiting these beautiful heritage structures.

Originally posted by: RadhikaS0

Charu,

I agree with your experience of how we dirty the place :(

Not to speak of pollution. At many places, the walls of the Taj look brownish yellow clearly. :(

We saw MUZ tomb. I don't know if it got a facelift, as you say. It still looks dismal. Esp when compared to the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, which was built around same time and looks grand even now.

I don't know about a new thread and we can't discuss here also and get Abhay's thread in trouble. I will PM you about our trip soon. :)

Originally posted by: RadhikaS0

Friends,

Let's discuss the historical aspect on the blog update and limit ourselves to episode discussion here. 😊

Btw, I visited Agra, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri recently and it was awesome - everything Abhay described about the real JA and all the discussions we had here in the past came alive vividly.

Just one thing disturbed me. Tourists are showing so much disrespect to these precious monuments that the ASI is closing off sections using barricades. For example, the rooms in the Burj tower in Agra Fort where Shah Jahan spent the last years of his life have been barricaded since the last 2 years because people were stealing the precious stones set in the walls.!!! We had to be content from looking at the place from outside just because of the insensitivity of some people. I seriously wish we Indians learn to respect our heritage.

Those who plan to visit these places, take what the guides tell you with a huge pinch of salt. One guide told us that Akbar got Salim married to Nur Jahan so that he would forget Anarkali and their son was Shah Jahan!!! Another told us that the Taj Mahal has 16 gardens and 53 fountains because it was completed in 1653. 😆