Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

Strolling through the Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna river and opposite the Taj Mahal, my friends and I had a chance to look at a Wonder of the World in a way that the majority of visitors forget to consider. Wandering amidst carefully planted groves and herb plantings, red sandstone foundations, and geometric forms, we learned all about the legend of the Black Taj and theories about what really was planned for the half-built site. As I walked along the central axis of the garden next to meters and meters of wildflowers, I imagined the young Shah Jahan in mourning and how he approached the tomb from the river -- not the series of gates and manicured gardens all the tourists maneuver through; it was here across the Yamuna, with the reflection of the Taj swaying in the river that I found greater depth in a dedication to Love.