Taj Mahal- A Trip to Heavenly Love

Okay! We all have been seeing men getting awestruck by the beauty of women for an eternity now. Expressing their feelings through music, art, writing, poetry is a conventional yet celebrated way in love. Literature and history are full of such examples where lovers could be seen crossing all the boundaries. But above all, the most astounding deed so far was done by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his loving wife Mumtaz Mahal in the form of white marble mausoleum Taj Mahal.

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal is the most iconic image of India and is mainly famous for its legend of eternal love. In a recent online survey by a website named TripAdvisor, travellers from across the globe ranked India's Taj Mahal among the top three landmarks in the world. Taj’s magical allure attracts around 3-4 million tourists with a huge number of International tourists every year. Such is its miraculous appeal that anyone can easily fall for Taj. And ever since I saw this gigantic marble beauty, I too fell in love with this epitome of love and architecture of exquisite beauty.

Friends, few days back, I got a chance to visit Agra to see the Taj Mahal with my friends. We planned a day-trip and chose to go by road. We decided to reach Agra via Yamuna expressway. As always I was super excited for this trip. It wasn't like that I was going to Agra for the first time; I had been there many times before. I don’t exactly remember when was the first time I visited Agra but yes I was quite young, a kid in fact and went to Agra with my parents for a relative’s wedding. And the day after wedding, we went to see the Taj Mahal. That was my first stint with my dear Taj. Guys, I still remember I was being told by somebody that once you would see the Taj Mahal, it definitely would change your parameters to judge a beauty. I don’t know when would I get the opportunity to witness all the striking architectures of the world, but even after watching all of them, Taj would always be on peak, special and close to my heart. Although this magnetic marble masterpiece looks more arresting at a full moon night but its other shades at different time of the day are no less interesting. From a rosy tinge in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden at night, the changing colours resemble the changing moods of women. Strange!

Well it was a one chilly day of winters. Since morning it was drizzling very slowly making the weather lovelier. Appearing..disappearing in the dark depths of the sky, clouds were seemed to be busy in playing hide and seek like kids. I could feel the softness of fresh raindrops when they were almost kissing my face and lips. This early morning splashing breeze was making my body sing like strings of violin. Yes something mysterious was there in the air which was incessantly raising my heartbeats with happiness. Wow.. What a day it was! Without interrupting our plan, we started our journey. The Yamuna expressway route was good and in accordance to international standards. I even did driving for few kilometers. Though I love chauffeur driven car but driving altogether is a different delight. Sitting next to driver’s seat, I was thinking about the products which used the Taj branding. Starting from one of the best group of hotels in India to a premium tea brand, all have used the name Taj as their brand name. The moment we need to define something magnificent, we start comparing it with Taj. As rich in history as in opulent marble, Taj defines class, richness, majesty, royalty, grandeur, luxury, splendor and what not! The car slowly stopped and we got down for a small tea break.

Precisely after 20 minutes, we’re again on the wheels. Now the Taj Mahal was not so far. From Delhi to Agra via express highway, it takes 2.30 to 3 hours to reach Agra. For those who live in Delhi and wish to see only the Taj Mahal, it is a single day up down if you start early. Now we had entered in to the vicinity of the city and took the help of Google maps to reach our destination. I, most of the time, take the help of Google maps to search a place. But at times, these maps force me to cross the most narrowed streets, busy routes and even a lake. After crossing the expressway, it was a stretch of 20-30 minutes to reach Taj. We also met traffic on our way. The car was crawling till that time providing us an ample time to scan everything that came in the way. Situated on the banks of river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the city of Agra has a glorious history. Apart from the Taj Mahal, it has several other splendid Mughal-era buildings including Red Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. Agra is very well preserved city keeping its rich culture, traditions, values, authenticity still intact. Till today Agra gives that pleasant urbane village feel. Overall it felt great to see the city again.

The cluttered parking zone of the Taj Mahal stranded us with no place left for our car. Somehow after parking the car, we took the battery rickshaw ride to reach the ticket counter.  Whenever I went to see the Taj Mahal, I always found long queues at the ticket counters. This crowd supported the fact that there is no specific season to see this beauty. The security checking process came to an end with a lady guard taking all the chocolates and candies out of my bag. :(

Whoaa!! Finally I was there with lot of joy, thrill and enthusiasm inside. As it rained in the morning, the pleasant fragrance of wet mud from surrounding gardens was everywhere. I felt like a sweet music in the air was inviting me to get closer to Taj. The place, the people, the sights, the weather, everything seemed to be so pleasing, so perfect, almost like a utopia. Yes there was something magical about seeing thousands of people energized at the same time, in seeing happiness being shared so freely, in seeing people finally finding time to do the things they love; in short, seeing people happily live. It felt like the place that I have always imagined in my mind– a place of contented, elated, and free souls. Since this place was not just about nurturing bodies but the minds and souls too. And Taj nurtured all the three for me.

Standing in a queue to have an inside look of Taj, we started discussing the popular myths about this monument. According to a legend, it is believed that Shah Jahan was planning to construct a black marble Taj Mahal across the river Yamuna. As I am bit fearful of twins or identical people, I am happy that it is not true. Here it reminds me of Bibi Ka Maqbara and Taj Mahal Bangladesh that are widely known as replicas of the Taj Mahal. Located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Bibi Ka Maqbara was commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the memory of his first wife. And a scaled copy of the original Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal Bangladesh was made by a wealthy Bangladeshi film-maker in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, in Sonargaon. But, these two replicas or any other monument can never take over the charisma, grandeur and majesty of our Indian Taj Mahal.

Moving further, I witnessed few dazzling views to die for. The weather kept on changing after every ten minutes as it was drizzling in-between. Here I could see the white clouds playing with the dome of the Taj Mahal. It was too ecstatic to see the sky in all shades of blue. I never saw a river making out with the rain as beautifully as river Yamuna was seen doing so. Flocks of birds were flying together in aesthetic patterns leaving everyone mesmerized, sometimes almost kissing the finial of Taj. I had never in my life imagined the Taj Mahal the way I saw it in that damp. It made my time stand still. The white marble minarets, the red sandstone walls, the pavements, the gardens, the clouds, the sky, the river, the raindrops, the flocks of birds, the sounds, everything there were so bright and unparalleled even better than the finest shots of a professional photographer. This scenic beauty made me happy, excited, fascinated, enthralled, numbed, stunned, relaxed, blessed, loved and what not- all at once! I was charmed by the union of emotions happening inside my heart. I was chuckling like a child who was seeing something for the first time in life. Well I was in love with this weather, this exquisite beauty and this experience of lifetime. I feel the real happiness and inner peace can best be found at a place like this.

Apart from jumping with joy, my heart was constantly asking that if this white marble monument would prove out to be a temple-“Tejo Mahalaya”, would it make any difference in the way millions of people now feel for it! I believed, no, it would not, it would never. Shakespeare very well said that “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

World's most beautiful monument, the Taj Mahal is everything for me, almost like a dream come true feeling. Sometimes I think if God were seeing the Taj Mahal from heaven, he too would get smitten over its infinite beauty and would want to create one for himself. Mughal Emperor Jahangir is reported to have said soulfully about Kashmir- “If there is paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” Enamoured by the beauty of Taj, I believe that “If someday God would choose any place as his abode on Earth, it would be the Taj Mahal, it would be the Taj Mahal, it would be the Taj Mahal.”

Cantabil to Set Feet in E-Commerce Space

From domestic goods to gadgets, personal care products to jewelry, groceries to apparels, today’s Indian customers prefer almost everything branded.

The brand conscious attitude for gadgets of the aspiring Indian consumers was always evident due to their heavy cost and complex mechanism, but surprisingly the clothing industry also saw an unbelievable boom for brand love. The entire fashion fraternity experienced the customers’ fetish for branded clothes. Since the urban high income class could easily afford the International brands, the middle class was still reeling under the pressure and the need of a premium domestic brand to match up with their expectations. Then to cater to the needs of this segment of Indian market, Delhi based fashion brand Cantabil came into rescue and started its garments manufacturing and retailing business in 2000. The brand opened its first Cantabil store and started in September 2000 from New Delhi. And now after seeing its growing demand in the domestic market, Cantabil’s next agenda is stepping up its online retail presence.

Targeting the service professionals of middle income group, the brand has evolved over the years. One of the few major domestic apparel brands, Cantabil, has now expanded well in small as well as in big cities. After understanding the psyche of its customers, Cantabil is soon coming up with its three more clothing lines: Bonetti in the premium category; Crozo in women’s wear category; and Kaneston- an innerwear & accessories brand. Not just this, the brand has also a big plan to launch its own e-commerce website for its valued clientele.

Cantabil is well aware with the fact that with the opening up of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), a lot of global brands are coming into India. Therefore, the brand is all set for this expansion and competition. This apparel brand will push these three upcoming brands aggressively on its upcoming website. The brand operates 150 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) in 17 states and 71 cities. Of these, 70 percent stores are in North India covering all major cities of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. The bright future of e-commerce has forced this Indian brand to come up with its own e-commerce site. Since the domestic market has responded positively, the brand is confident that their online venture will also be received well by their loyal customers.