Walking through those old streets
was already giving me a feeling that I was in the history. Anxious and excited
to meet her for the first time, made me only go weak on my knees. The twists
and turns in those narrow streets only grew my curiosity to extents where I
could feel my brain and heart ceasing to work. A quick check with one of the
residents just to confirm if I were on the right path. As my pace got faster
with each thought that I'm nearing to see the unthinkable and unimaginable
beauty of excellence, my heart skipped a beat every now and then.
Trying to capture a few snaps for my
memory and walking forward took me near the West gate. For a second I thought
people have gathered to witness some strange incident. Little had I known that
it was the queue to the entry gate. Cold feet, cold hands and now a long
unending queue only made it look so tough. As I stood there for longer than I
thought I would, listening to the bunch of girls ranting for taking the wrong
route and cursing everyone possible, and there he came rushing towards me out
of nowhere. The beast, that's what I call him. He held my hand, pulled me out
from the busy ladies queue and kept walking. No questions asked, I kept
following and every time he turned around to see me, I pretended as if I were
mad and didn't really care. But that was the best thing he did after our previous
night’s fight. He found our spot in the queue and I stood there waiting for a
miracle, "What if God sent a flood and washed away all those humans except
us", that's something which kept my mind occupied for the next one and
half hour. Waiting was a pain but standing next to him talking nothing only
eased down the pain. Sadly God had different plans, the moment I was trying to
get comfortable with the thought of being with the beast, Jallad came screaming
and separated us. "Different queues for men and women", saying so he
tore us apart pushing me to the unknown, literally. Silently beast stood there
looking at me, while I ignored. He kept moving ahead leaving me behind and
still I seemed to ignore.
Sun
was now shining bright but God was not too kind on the females today, the queue
seemed to go nowhere and I think I even lost where my beast was
standing. At times I could see him from the corner of my eyes that he was
checking me out, now that seemed like a tiny accomplishment. Lost in my
thoughts and with the frozen queue I had given up on the idea that I would be
able to witness her. Taking those tiny baby steps, security checked twice, I
could finally see the beast standing next to a pillar looking at me. That was
quite a relief to see a known face in that unknown crowd. However, a cold
acknowledgement given by me though I was screaming from within with joy but I
chose to pretend I didn't know him. We walked together for a while seeing and
capturing the reality inside that place. A few clicks and selfies after,
I saw her peeping from that gigantic dark door. She was more than what I had
imagined, Taj Mahal.
White, peaceful, extraordinary
architecture and the perfect way to set an example for the one the emperor
loved even after she passed away. An exceptional piece of work and love. While
I was gazing at the mesmerizing beauty of the white love, I felt something
missing. I was so engulfed in the beauty of the serene Taj that I had almost
forgotten that I was standing there all alone amongst the crowd. I felt
something sinking in me and I was wondering what it was. I turned around and
started looking for the beast but couldn't see him anywhere. Hurriedly I pushed
my way through the crowd, first down the stairs in front of me and then on the
left. Finally I spotted him. It was such a relief to see the beast standing at
the end of the stair rail. I rushed towards him and without any second thoughts
clasped his hand tight. We exchanged our looks and settled down with the
thought that we are not alone in that busy world. Dipped in the beauty of Taj,
together in love we witnessed the power of love even from the ones who were not
around. It was a place which was oozing love and peace. We walked and we looked
at each other saying nothing at all. He held my hand and rubbed my shoulder,
took me near the bench and we sat there for a long time. We said nothing, heard
complete silence and enjoyed the presence of each other and the white princess.
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