LET ME COME CLEAN: AT FIRST, I failed to find myself positively charmed by the prospect of visiting the Taj Mahal for the first time. Packed-like-sardines would be an understatement to what our vengeful travel selves had done to the marble mausoleum— which suffices for India on most calendars and brochures—with the pandemic still at large. That coupled with the last surviving shreds of pioneerism and an elitist aversion for crowd favourites almost made me go, ‘Gah—Taj?’ But then I woke up one morning and left for Agra on a fogless December morning. And that was it.
Akbarabad, as it went by a few hundred years ago, was the city of the shayar Mir Taqi Mir (some bad students of history are hellbent on having it renamed Agarwala). First referred to as Agra by the Greek polymath Ptolemy, this city was a Mughal capital for close to a century. It was here that Akbar desired to erect palaces of copper and it was here that the marble mausoleums of Itimadud-Daulah and Taj Mahal were later raised. It’s one of three vertices of the hallowed Golden Triangle. Every year, thousands of foreign tourists pack their bags and set off for a trip to India for Agra alone, bravely ignoring every stereotype that you have sold and bought about travelling in this country.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2021-Ausgabe von Outlook Traveller.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2021-Ausgabe von Outlook Traveller.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Chutneys For Every Season
GROWING UP IN JHARKHAND, I've always been enchanted by the state's culinary landscape. Here, the local cuisine never fails to surprise with its depth and variety.
BADGE OF HONOUR
IN THE DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE of tourism, where greenwashing often taints sustainability, certifications can help distinguish between genuine efforts and marketing gimmicks. Green certification systems encourage businesses to enhance their environmental credentials.
WHEELS OF TIME
IN 1947, TRAINS CARRYING REFUGEES ACROSS THE BORDER WERE SYMBOLIC OF THE TUMULT OF THE PARTITION.
RAILS OF THE Raj
FROM ITS CONCEPTION TO ITS ROLE IN THE NATION'S HISTORY, THE BRITISH INDIAN RAILWAYS IS A PHENOMENON MARKED AS MUCH BY MARVEL AS AVARICE
THE RHYTHM OF BOLLYWOOD
FROM THE RAILROAD THRILLER MISS FRONTIER MAIL 1936) TO SHAH RUKH KHAN DANCING ON A TRAIN IN DIL SE' 1998), TRAINS HAVE GIVEN UNFORGETTABLE SONG SEQUENCES TO MANY HINDI FILMS
MEMORY'S OASIS
REMEMBRANCES OF GROWING UP IN SEALDAH RAILWAY OFFICERS COLONY IN KOLKATA
A FAREWELL × TO FLAVOURS
FROM CUTLETS AND RAILWAY MUTTON CURRY IN DINING CARS TO THE UNREMARKABLE FARE AVAILABLE TODAY, THE JOURNEY OF FOOD ON THE INDIAN RAILWAY IS FASCINATING
HERITAGE ON THE TRACKS
THE ICONIC DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY, FONDLY CALLED THE TOY TRAIN,' HAS HELD ITS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS SINCE 1999
HIDDEN LIVES
SPANNING 65,000 KILOMETRES THROUGH DENSELY POPULATED INDIA, THE RAILWAYS ARE A BACKDROP TO COUNTLESS STORIES. 'THE UNRESERVED' BY FILMMAKER SAMARTH MAHAJAN CAPTURES A FEW
JOURNEYS WITHIN AND WITHOUT
FOR IMTIAZ ALI, TRAIN JOURNEYS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE, OFFERING GLIMPSES OF INDIA'S DIVERSE SOCIETY AND ITS MANY CULTURES AND RELIGIONS