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Tourists flock to Taj Mahal on New Year
by Brajesh Kr. Singh

     Agra: As people in different parts of the world welcomed the New Year, bidding farewell to 2006, in special ways, hundreds of tourists from abroad made a beeline to watch Taj Mahal. Built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in 17th century as a symbol of his enduring love for his wife Mumtaz, the white marbled monument, was the place these tourists felt completely drawn towards to enter the New Year 2007. The visitors included people from different parts of the country enjoyed the thrill to watch the seventh wonder of the world.

      "I didn't know that this place had three entries. I just landed up here at this place. One of the guides took me to the eastern gate. He charged some 50 bucks from me. I got inside well within time," said Satyaprakash, a tourist. Anticipating a rush of visitors, the security was beefed up to avoid any untoward incident. "There is a heavy rush of tourists and so we have increased the security. We have deployed plain cloth policemen. We have arrested dupes and today also we have arrested some people. We will take action against them," said Rakesh Dwivedi, a police official. Tourists' arrival in India has risen by 11.4 per cent compared to the corresponding month of November last year. Known for such attractions as the Taj Mahal, India has been running a campaign to woo fascinate to its grand palaces, attractive beaches ancient templesand wildlife sanctuaries. The Taj Mahal stands on a marble platform surrounded by ornamental gardens. White minarets grace each corner and two smaller red sandstone buildings balance the postcard-perfect image on the banks of the River Yamuna. A masterwork produced at the peak of the Mughal dynasty that ruled India for more than three centuries, the edifice took 22 years to construct and needed a workforce of 20,000 workers drawn from as far as Europe and Central Asia. The monument has a rich lore, including the story that the bereaved emperor who commissioned it was deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort and spent his final days gazing wistfully at his creation.
-Jan 1,  2007

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