GIAN Maris Emendetori, an Italian hunk of a man, stood looking at the two visions of beauty before him in awed silence. Both were in white. One was his wife, India�s first super model Madhu Sapre, looking fabulous in a thin white top with spaghetti straps and white cotton trousers that showed off her amazing legs. And the other was the Taj Mahal, a timeless beauty and extraordinary memorial of love whose romance has survived 350 years to still remain the story of our times. Discovering the secrets of the Taj

Mahal, it is said, is like discovering the different moods of a woman, for it not only changes colour according to the time of the day but also with every change in the season. On a trip to India, Madhu had decided to take Gian to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. And it was plain the Italian businessman who manufactures ice-cream making machinery was non-plussed by what he was seeing. For nothing in his wife�s exotic blood and drop dead gorgeous Indian looks could have prepared him for Shah Jahan�s monument of love. But that is the way it is with first time visitors to the Taj Mahal. It simply takes the breath away. You have to stop and stare at it in silence. And that is what Gian was doing, perhaps racking his brain to remember who was it that said of the Taj Mahal: �Did you ever build a castle in the air? Here is one, brought down to earth, and fixed for the wonder of ages.� Agra, because flights to the city are few and far between, is better to approach by road or rail from New Delhi. It is 203 kilometres south-east of Delhi by road and a good, fast car in the hands of a safe driver can get you from there to here in little less than five hours.

You will be driving down National Highway No. 2, which historically is the famous 16th century Grand Trunk Road, now an excellent six-lane expressway. The train is more comfortable, but perhaps less convenient, because though there are two excellent trains (the Shatabdi and Taj Express) between the New Delhi and Agra, they both leave early in the morning. And the distance between the airport and New Delhi�s railway station is not to be taken lightly at all. Go by road, stopping by at Fatehpur Sikri if you have the time, and maybe the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, Vrindavan and Mathura on the way if you have more time.

But once inside the city, you have to make sure you stop by to see the Agra Fort. Three Mughal emperors, Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan, all contributed to its construction. And so a visit to the massive complex is recommended for its magnificent architectural styles which reflect the rare combination of the aesthetic sensibilities of the three different Mughal kings. It is a red sandstone building on the banks of the Jamuna River. The fort was built primarily as a military structure, upgraded to a palace, and finally became a prison where Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the last seven years of his life by his son Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan drew strength from simply gazing out of the grillwork of his opulent prison at the Taj Mahal. This is perhaps the most poignant image of the emperor�s relationship with the building forever associated with him. He ended his life emotionally chained to the monument that made his marriage and death immortal.

The other monument you must visit is the Jama Masjid, built in 1571, and commemorated by Princess Jahanara Begum (Shah Jahan�s daughter) to Sheikh Salim Chisthi. The masjid has an elegant architecture and the tomb of the royal ladies within its courtyard. The Jama Masjid is without minarets. Its sandstone domes have superb marble patterning. It is accessed by monumental gates and steps from the bazar below. Outside the Jama Masjid, the bustling bazar is known for its several distinct areas whose names are relics of the Mughal period although they don�t always bear relation to what is sold there today. The Loha Mandi and Sabzi Mandi are still operational for iron and vegetables, respectively, but the Nai-ki-Mandi (barber�s market) is now famous for textiles.