If there is one icon that represents India's rich history and legacy, it is the marble splendour – the Taj. The city in which this beautiful monument is located, Agra, also called Akbarabad, is located on the Yamuna's banks.
Agra was the erstwhile capital of the Lodhi dynasty. The Mughals also made Agra their capital, first by Babur. The king, Sher Shah Suri, also retained Agra as the capital after he took control of the city (post the death of King Humayun). He is said to have built the mosque called Alawal Bilawal in Agra.
It was during the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar in the mid-16th century that Agra gained in prominence. It was considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Emperor built many grand monuments, including the Agra Fort. The Emperor built as many as 500 structures inside the fort. You can see some of these structures even today, including the Akbari Mahal.
Another great achievement of Akbar still stands, the Fatehpur Sikri. It took over a decade for the Emperor to build this grand capital. There's also the Buland Darwaza, which was constructed in sandstone and marble – talk about poetry in architecture.
Agra is the home of the religion – Din-e-Elahi – which was a religion founded on Akbar's tenets of equality.
Other monuments in the city of Agra, and those scattered outside the city, are all testaments to the Mughal era and the dynasty's legacy. It was in the 16th century that Agra became a prominent centre for culture and the arts. It continues to be a key tourism hub, alongside Fatehpur Sikri and Delhi.
Everyone knows that the Taj was constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that over 20,000 artisans have worked on this splendour in marble. The Taj is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
However, it is not as if the history of Agra started with the Mughals. Agra has found a place even in the Mahabharatha, where it was referred to as Agrevana. It is also said that the city was founded by a Rajput ruler, Raja Badal Singh.
After the Mughal era, the city of the Agra became a Presidency of the British (in the early part of the 19th century). The gardens laid out in the complex of the Taj Mahal initially had the Mughal influence, but when the British took over, the gardens were designed to look like British gardens.
Thanks to the rich cultural legacy of the Mughals, Agra is a centre for art and culture. The Taj Mahotsav is a celebration of Agra's rich traditions. If you visit the city around February, you can enjoy many traditional art pieces. Hundreds of artistes display their works of art. Several folk performers put their talents on show during the festival.