Imaginary, culinary, sensory or cultural journeys… We portray the landscape, the character, the context… it’s up to you to dream and imagine what happens next…

In my memories as a child dreaming of travelling, it was undoubtedly the Taj Mahal that came to mind when I heard about India, the country I wanted so much.

And then, one day finally, on a December morning, arrive in Agra, in this world-renowned city of Uttar Pradesh. The two of us will go together to discover this sumptuous monument, situated in a meander of the Yamuna, this sacred river, imagining that in adulthood we will no longer attach the same importance to it – at least that is what we imagine.

Advancing together, among the colourful crowd trying to cross the Darwaza-i-rauza, the main gate, and suddenly being caught by an immaculate whiteness emanating from the other side.

Take a few steps among women dressed in colourful « saree » and men from all walks of life.

To be suddenly invaded, at the same time, by a great breath of joy, of happiness, until tears appear in your eyes and you are completely dazzled by it. Together, to walk through the door and feel in your flesh the transition between the world outside and the world inside. To have the sensation of entering a new universe, another dimension, another temporality. All around, everything suddenly stops, freezes for a few precious moments. To have the feeling of being in an unknown space-time.

Let yourself be won over by the aesthetic emotion, very pleasant, which makes you deeply joyful and fills your heart with gratitude.

Suddenly realising that after having imagined it so many times, seen in photo through the pages 1000 times leafed through so many books, it is there majestic, imposing and fragile at the same time.

Take the time to take « the picture ». The heart is overflowing with joy at finally having the chance to be there just a few steps away from Him. To be surprised to be so moved, one and the other, when one wasn’t expecting it.

Begin to wander through the four gardens, between the four bodies of water on which He is reflected.

Be fascinated by its reflections on the bodies of water revealing a perfect and total harmony.

Be overwhelmed by the proportions, by the balance that emanates from the prestigious mausoleum also called « Light of the Palace » in memory of the beloved wife of the Moghul Emperor Shan Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth on 17 June 1631.

Turning around towards the main door and suddenly having your breath taken away in front of the perspective and in front of so much splendour and grace.

Climb onto the forecourt and be more and more dazzled by the white marble of Rajasthan. To rave in one voice at the finely chiselled Arabic characters on the marble and at the inlays of fine stones such as lapis lazuli, jasper, turquoise, agate, from all the surrounding countries and regions, arrived here from Persia or from the confines of the Himalayas. Imagine then the caravans of camels and elephants loaded with all these jewels.

Contemplating the crowd, and feeling that we all belong to the same humanity since we all share the same vibration and the same emotion.

Discover the mosque by turning your head to the left and the guest room to the right, both built in perfect symmetry.

Have fun for a moment and realise the immensity of the crowd that takes its time at the foot of the monument.

To think that one would have fallen into ecstasy just by discovering the delicacy and the work of goldsmiths represented by the monuments that frame the Taj Mahal.

Take a few steps away in the heat and realise the imposing lightness of the building and its architecture; a mixture of Persian, Indian, Iranian and Ottoman culture. Imagine the lives of the 22,000 workers who participated in the construction of this magnificent building of unparalleled beauty, whose construction secret is jealously guarded.

Be conquered by the Mughal architecture, by the four minarets facing outwards so as not to damage the mausoleum in the event of an earthquake. To be amazed by the beauty of the iwans and by the immense bulb in Ottoman roundness.

Go a little further away through the gardens, which bring a few snippets of freshness. Contemplate it from another angle, because the eye can’t get away from it.

Take your time to come back to the main door and admire all the little bells, symbols of the 22 years of construction and in honour of the 22,000 craftsmen who worked on the masterpiece.

From the door, rave again and again before all this grace.

Then go through the surrounding galleries and play hide-and-seek until you return to the world.

Leaving the Taj Mahal, convinced that they were lucky enough to have discovered it together.

Still contemplating it in the distance.

And again from the banks of the Yamuna…

Until He disappears little by little in the mist like in a dream.

Realising some time later that it wasn’t a dream, since in the future there will be photos yellowed by time but inhabited by the moving memory of this discovery!

Par Nathalie

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)