The Largest Teardrop on Earth









































































In my iPod: Yellow - Scala & Kolacny Brothers
[download]
State of mind: Twitching
Location: Agra, India









I am feverish; I am sore in the throat; and I am having the most peculiar muscle twitching all over my body; Despite it all, I decided to take a fucking leap of faith; so I pull my ass together, got up and fucking headed to The Taj Mahal of Agra. Apart from being Malaysia's well known brand for rice grain (Beras Taj Mahal Faiza Herbal Ponni) and a famous Mamak Stall in Kuantan (hic ass town where I was born), the Taj Mahal is also one of the wonders of the world; This motherfucker is a huge ass white marble mausoleum built by a Mongol Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (wasn't her real name but just a title given to her after their marriage) which fucking means “Jewel of the Palace”. She died giving birth to their fourteenth child, which made me come to the conclusion that he must have really really loved her (you fucking know what I mean right?). After her death, It took that fucker 22 years and a workforce of 22,000 fucking workers and 1,000 fucking elephants to complete this colossal project and making it the single largest teardrop on the face of this earth. A lament crystallized in white marble, erected for the whole world to see.

Even though I was still feeling weak, but moving around the Taj Mahal wasn't demanding at all. Why? Because apart from walking into a large chamber and then walking down some stairs to a place where apparently Mumtaz Mahal was buried, there aren't many places you can fucking go. Guards and restrictions are posted everywhere else, to make sure you don't go for a little archeological excavation on your own. There isn't much you can do here except marvel at this man-made wonder and be mesmerize by the love story behind it; since no pictures are allowed inside, throngs of fucking tourist would snapshot this monument from afar; usually from its fucking garden which makes every damn pictures taken by these fucking tourist so stereotype and boring.

Yawnnnnn…

Anyway, I was told by an Aussie backpacker to read up on a book by P. N. Oak, entitled - The True Story of the Taj Mahal. Apparent the fucking author claims that even though this Taj Mahal appears to be an Islamic mausoleum but it is actually a Hindu temple built for Lord Shiva. The fucking Emperor who claimed he erected this behemoth structure actually took over the Taj Mahal after he raided it and later covered up by amending the history. If what the author claims are true, that means Shah Jahan was actually a half-assed poser who only wanted to look good because he used a second hand Hindu temple to bury his beloved wife who was a Persian Muslim Princess and then claim he fucking built it out of love for her. In the book, there are more arguments to support his claim which just seems to be too heavy for me to read right now because I am not in a 100% healthy state.

But for now, I don't give a rat's ass if the Taj Mahal is an epitome of love set by a Mogul Emperor or there could be a conspiracy to cover up the Taj Mahal as a Hindu temple for the lord of destruction. My fucking head is in a state of vertigo and it feels like it's gonna blow anytime; it must be the lack of beef or pork in my fucking diet. So I guess it's time to rest up and then move on to my next destination: The Jerusalem of India – Vanarasi.


xniquet's journey across India