Taj Mahal - A monument of beauty and love.

It took me more than sixty trips to Delhi before I could visit the nearby Taj Mahal at Agra. I started visiting Delhi on official work from 1984 and as we began to supply more and more CNC Machines to different customers around Delhi in Faridabad, Ballabgarh, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Mohan Nagar and Moradabad, the frequency of my trips increased. I was also there at all the IMTEX – Indian Machine Tool Exhibitions held at Pragati Maidan. The trips used to vary from a single day to couple of days if it was breakdown calls. And if it was for the erection and commissioning of machines the trips used to be of two to three weeks. I used to stay at Delhi and attend to all these customers. In the process, during weekends and spare time I have seen all the tourist sites and much of Delhi and knew the city very well. While my colleagues and subordinates who were visiting Delhi for the first time always managed to visit the Taj Mahal I never did so. I always felt and decided that I should see the Taj Mahal along with my wife.

My two nephews Dr. Sudheer and Dr. Udhay Bhaskar were at the AIIMS, New Delhi pursuing post graduation studies one after the other from 2000 to 2006. During this time; both my sons visited Delhi a number of times, stayed with their cousins and saw the Taj Mahal before I could. Somehow my trip to Agra along with my wife became evasive though we were able to easily plan and go to many other places in the country.

Finally after I sought voluntary retirement and started my own consultancy I went to Delhi along with my wife in September 2004 and visited the Taj Mahal on 6^th September. My nephew Dr. Udhay Bhaskar accompanied us. In this strange manner, though I have been travelling to Delhi from 1984 it took me twenty years to see the Taj Mahal along with my wife.

The above photographs are of that memorable visit. Everyone knows about the Taj Mahal, so I would only like to add and emphasize that it truly is a “Monument of Beauty and Love”.