What hasn’t been said about the Taj. Standing all alone on the banks of the Yamuna, its flawlessness has inspired poets, writers and artists alike as an enduring symbol of love. But not too far from the Taj are several monuments still fighting for their rightful place in the history of the city.

Agra’s red fort

Agra is mentioned in several ancient texts but is now known as the City of the Taj. The Agra Fort, or the original Red Fort, stands majestic in red sandstone and reflects the collective brilliance of three Mughal emperors — Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Renovated by Akbar in the mid-16th century, the fort was meant to be used for military purposes. It was a century later, during the rule of his grandson Shah Jahan, that many opulent structures which made extensive use of marble, were built inside the fort’s forbidding exteriors.

While Shah Jahan’s signature (the Taj Mahal) was an ornament par excellence, it was the Agra fort and its Diwan-i-Khas under whose decorated columns and arches kings and dignitaries decided the course of history.

An emperor’s dream

About 40km away from Agra is another World Heritage Site, Fatehpur Sikri. Any Bollywood movie lover would remember a distressed Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) in Mughal-E-Azam (1960), walking barefoot all the way to the village Sikri, to seek blessings from the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti for an heir. It was around the saint’s abode that he built a new city in 1571, after the birth of Prince Salim, who later went on to take the title of Jahangir when he came to the throne.

The fort’s Buland Darwaza was built after Akbar’s successful conquest of Gujarat. It might put countless similar structures across the world to shame with its sheer size and artwork and the five-storey palace for royal women. But the city and its palaces were abandoned by 1585 as Akbar moved back to Agra. The shift has been attributed to various reasons, prime among them being the shortage of water and Akbar’s fondness for Agra.

Somewhat equally forgotten and silent is Sikandara, which is the last resting place of Akbar. The emperor selected an over 100-acre site for his tomb and planned the design. He started its construction at the beginning of the 17th century and it was completed by Jahangir, his son and successor, in 1613. The splendid gateway with inlaid marble work and white minarets are believed to have inspired the ones at the Taj.

Taj: precursor and successor

The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, hailed as the first tomb in the country made out of marble and a precursor of the Taj Mahal, has an interesting story. A Persian nobleman, Mirza Ghiyas-ud-din or Ghiyas Beg, who fell on hard times, travelled to India with his family and won a place at the court of Akbar. His daughter Mehr-un-Nissa was an unmatched beauty and the young Prince Salim fell in love with her, but she was married to a commander of Akbar. A few years after the death of her husband, she married Salim, now Emperor Jahangir, and came to be known as Noor Jahan. She commissioned the mausoleum for her father Ghiyas Beg, who was given the title of Itimad-ud-Daulah (pillar of the state) and made chief minister by Jahangir.

The architectural style of the Taj Mahal is said to have been inspired by this tomb.

If the Taj was born out of a husband’s love for his wife, another Taj in Agra came out of a woman’s love for her husband. Wandering through the streets of Agra, if you are near the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Civil Lines, don’t forget to take a look inside. For here stands the Red Taj Mahal, commissioned by Ann Hessing after the death of her husband John Hessing in 1803. A Dutchman, he was commander of Agra Fort. The tomb bears an uncanny resemblance to the Taj Mahal.

A foodie’s paradise

What Taj has done to other monuments, petha has done to Agra’s food. Apart from the bedai-aloo ki sabzi and jalebi, the city boasts of many dishes you might have never heard of or tasted before. Made during winters, makkhan ka samosa is a melt-in-your-mouth delicacy made of butter as an outer covering and filled with a subtly sweet mix of mawa, cottage cheese and nuts.

Even tinda (round gourd) and parwal (pointed gourd) become delectable here when turned into certain sweets. And then there are non-veg delicacies with Persian influences. If in Tajganj or Nai ki Mandi, gorge on Mughlai food. For an uncorrupted version of aloo tikki called bhalla in Agra, head to Seth Gali or Sadar Bazaar.

Devoid of any pretentious toppings ranging from chickpeas to overpowering onion, these crispy potato balls shallow fried in ghee are only topped with sweet and green chutneys and a few slivers of ginger.

FACT FILE

• Every year, Agra holds one-of-its-kind recreation of Lord Ram and his brothers’ weddings with the princesses of Janak Puri. A tradition that goes back more than 125 years, Ram Barat is a three-day carnival. The procession starts from Mankameshwar Temple, reaches the kingdom of King Janaka (Sita’s father) the next day, and the wedding takes place on the third day.
• It is a city full of Mandis and Namak Ki Mandi stands out for being a wholesale market of gold, jewellery, stones and more.
• Apart from the popular marble inlay workpieces, Agra is also famous for leather shoes and jackets, which are a great buy in Sadar Bazaar or Hing Ki Mandi. If you are looking for beautifully-woven Mughal and Persian style carpets and rugs, check out Fatehabad Road or roam in the lanes of Kinari Bazaar.

This is all but a mere sketch, for Agra, the City of the Taj, holds more unknown stories in its lanes than the known ‘one’.