Great Indian Road Journeys - Kipling Tour

As I explained in my previous post, this series on Great Indian Road journeys will be a drive through the forests of central India. It was a three week trip in December 2016, starting in Delhi with Agra as our first stop; then on to Gwalior; Panna; Bandhavgarh; Kanha; Bhopal; Maheshwar; Chittorgarh; Jaipur and finally back home. Basically the drive from Delhi to Gwalior is via Agra and can actually be done in a day. But we prefer shorter drives unless there are other compulsions. Also, we decided to leave home on a Sunday late morning - Saturday was packing day when we loaded the car with travel essentials. Long road trips require a bit of planning with things to carry such as bottled water, coffee and plunger, snacks for the drive, car accessories such as a tire pump; insect sprays; hand-sanitisers; a car refrigerator with soft drinks and beers; alcoholic spirits; a car blanket etc. I have a ready list of things to ensure something important is not missed out. Whilst you can actually buy most stuff that you might need, it is still better to go prepared.

We left Delhi at about 10 am on a hazy winter morning and the drive to Agra is on a fine expressway and takes about 4 hours. There are decent places to stop on the motorway for lunch and we would have reached Agra at 2.30 pm. After checking in at the Trident Hotel, we left for a visit to the Agra fort. Archana and I had visited the monument a few times previously, but it is always nice to see it again.

The Agra Fort was the main residence of the Great Mughal until 1638 AD, when the capital was shifted to Delhi. Before capture by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas. In 1983, the fort was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is about 2.5 km northwest of the Taj Mahal. Frankly the fort is actually a walled city. After the first battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526) the Mughals captured the fort and in 1530 AD, the Emperor Humayun was crowned in it. The Fort got its present structure, during the reign of the Emperor Akbar (A.D. 1556–1605). Realising the importance of its central location, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. Previously, it was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh' and Akbar had it rebuilt, with red sandstone from Dhaulpur. Some 4,000 builders worked on it for eight years, completing it in 1573. It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, the Emperor Shan Jahan that the site took on its current state. It takes a couple of hours to see the monument and we were back at the hotel before dinner.

The next morning we visited the Taj at about 6 am, to see it in the glory of the rising sun. We decided to walk there - a couple of kilometres - rather than fuss about with parking. Fortunately, the crowds are lesser early on although there were queues at the entrance. The Taj is a stunning structure and an architectural wonder.

Set along the banks of the Yamuna it is perhaps the finest manmade monument on earth. The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The dome is nearly 35 metres high which is close in measurement to the length of the base and accentuated by the cylindrical "drum" it sits on, which is approximately 7 metres high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome. The top is decorated with a lotus design which also serves to accentuate its height. The shape of the dome is emphasised by four smaller domes - chattris - placed at its corners. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial which mixes traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.

We were done by 8 am and hopped into a horse cart for the journey back to the Trident and headed directly for breakfast. By 10 am we were packed and set to leave Agra for Gwalior. When you undertake long road trips, it is always a good idea to pack conveniently in a way that you carry to your hotel only what you might need for a day (on the one night stops). That way, its a lot simpler than taking in a large bag which takes up space in the room and makes the repacking so much harder. Most of the luggage is best left in the car if your stops are short. The next post will be the journey to Gwalior and contain descriptions of its beautiful palace and fort, including some stunning Jain monuments.