The chief attraction of Agra is the Taj Mahal, the greatest tomb ever erected to the memory of a woman, and this in a country where women are looked upon as merely servants of men. The monument was erected by Shah Jahan, Emperor of Delhi, to one of his wives, Mumtaz Mahal, "the pride of the palace," as she was termed. Work began on the monument in 1630, which was completed in 1652, 22 years being required to finish the grand pile of marble. The sum of money expended on its erection was $10,000,000.
The grounds in which the tomb stands are entered by an imposing gate that would be a creditable monument in itself to any great personage. When inside, the visitor is confronted with a beautiful garden. A marble walk, in black and white, leads to the noted monument at the other end, on the bank of the Jumna River, where it rises in striking beauty, its stately marble dome, marble walls, and marble minarets demonstrating the grandeur in architecture for which the Taj Mahal is famed. The marble platform on which the tomb stands is 313 feet square, and the top of the dome rises to a height of 213 feet. At each corner of the tomb is a minaret of white marble, 137 feet high, delineated by black lines. Some parts of the tomb are inlaid with precious stones. Trellis work also plays a conspicuous part in this magnificent monument.
The fort of Agra, built of red sandstone and nearly 70 feet high, with a circumference of a mile, contains some magnificent buildings of the Moguls, although portions have been demolished. It was behind these walls 6,000 Britishers took refuge during the Mutiny of 1857. The walls of the fort and the buildings were erected between 1550 and 1640. Shah Jahan, the Emperor of Delhi, who built the Taj Mahal, also erected the greater number of fine buildings here within the great sandstone walls. Among the material used in the erection of the palaces is white marble with blue and gray veins worked in with black marble, and white marble inlaid with mosaic and valuable stones, rich reliefs enhancing the design. As in Nero's day, there was an enclosure built, in which wild beasts tore each other to pieces for the amusement of the Mogul. Artificial flowers, made of valuable red gems, inlaid in white marble; marble lattice work, treble marble domes, marble fountains, walls embossed with gold—practically all marble—beautified with red sandstone pillars and splendid vistas, with green parrakeets flitting about the surroundings all the day, may also be seen in this grand scheme of architecture. Such elegance, and the vast amount of money spent in erecting these handsome buildings, contrasted strongly with the dirty, squalid living quarters of the poor, low-caste Indian, certainly indicates a striking disregard of their interests.
Here one finds a creditable park, good driveways, shade trees and large lawns in front of Europeans' homes. These dwellings are bungalows, one storied, high roofed, with wide verandas, and often covered with grass or reeds. The kitchen is not inside, but a building in the rear is used for that purpose. Nearly every one owns a horse and trap of some sort, and there is a stable included in the buildings. A fence generally surrounds the grounds, and the inclosure is called a "compound."
Agra has a population of 200,000, and the articles manufactured are gold and silver embroidery, carving in soapstone and imitation of old inlay work on white marble.
The Mohammedan place of worship is a mosque, and the Hindu place of worship is a temple.
A Mohammedan may have four wives, besides concubine slaves. The celebration of a Mohammedan marriage costs the father of the bridegroom about $150, which is used to buy presents for the bride and to furnish a feast for friends. Any prospective father-in-law attempting to shave that sum would be thought little of by the bridegroom's acquaintances. Mohammedans bury their dead, but use no coffin. They place the corpse on the bottom of the grave, build over a frame, which is covered with timber, cloth or stone, and then fill in earth. Prayers are offered five times a day—at sunset, nightfall, daybreak, noon, and afternoon. All work is abandoned at time for prayers. Mohammedan priests use their voices to summon worshipers to prayers, because Jews and Christians use bells and trumpets for the same purpose. Mohammedans believe in a resurrection, heaven, and hell, but also believe there is a separate heaven for women. The Koran forbids the drinking of wine or eating of pork. This sect wash their hands, mouth, and nose before eating or praying. Mohammed, the prophet of Allah, was born in Mecca, Arabia, 570 A. D., his father being a poor merchant. Sixty-three million of the population of India are Mohammedans, and the Mogul dynasties prevailed from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries.
Unlike Mohammed and the mountain, if one does not go to the Indian bazaar the bazaar is brought to him. On a visitor leaving his room, there will be spread before his door on the wide veranda silk shawls, silk dress goods, and souvenirs of the place; also waiting are snake charmers, jugglers, photographers, "dobeys," tailors, shoemakers, barbers, guides, hackmen, fellows offering themselves as servants—all making salaams—speaking in a low voice, but persistently following their business instincts. One never finds himself at a loss for some one to do whatever he wants done. An Indian may not be within sight or sound, yet if one should make his wants known, the man he requires will immediately appear as if having come out of the ground. It is said that no secret can be kept from the native—he seems to have the power of extracting any treasured thought from the mind of a European.
Since leaving Bombay we had not seen a sidewalk.
We now head northward for Delhi, the country continuing flat, with the same scenes, save for a deer appearing from grain fields on several occasions as the train rolled along. Every time the train stopped a native approached a coach that contained high-class Indians or Europeans. He was a "boy" servant, waiting to learn if his master needed his services. Nearly every one traveling in India takes a "boy" with him, as it gives a person a better standing with both natives and Europeans. The wages for these servants range from $5 to $7 a month. If one rides first-class, the servant rides free in the third-class cars. His duties are to wait incessantly on his employer, look after the baggage, and act as interpreter for a European who cannot speak the native language. When in a city the "boy" is no expense to his master, as he provides himself with both food and lodging.