Happy Birthday Taj Mahal

Today, the Taj Mahal celebrates 350 years of it's creation.

The first time I saw the Taj Mahal I was too young. I hardly got to appreciate it! The next time I saw it was a few years ago during my India bike trip.

This time it was an experience which I will never forget.

The thing that hits you when you see the Taj Mahal is the absolute, perfect purity of it. The symmetry gets to me. It's amazing, every notch, every pillar, every etch seems to be the same on both sides of the axis. And then there's the whiteness of it. It's ethereal. As if it appeared there fully formed. It's beyond my comprehension how human hands could have created something so, so, so... flawless.

In these days of bugs, viruses, trojans, terror attacks and airport security checks, that there is something on this earth which shows what humans are capable of, is what in itself makes a visit to the Taj Mahal worthwhile. But what I enjoyed the most was just sitting on that wonderful green grass, in that bright sunshine, facing this creation and letting it sweep me over with calm, peace and tranquility. It could only have been built for love.

Happy Birthday.

(The Guardian has this wonderful article on the Taj Mahal. Don't miss it.)