The Emperor's Seat

How many of you have watched the movie Jodha Akbar? Or maybe caught a glimpse of the grandeur of  Mughal dynasty in the movie for a few minutes? (Unbearably long movie)

If you have visited the Mughal monuments in and around Delhi and Agra, you will know that the Mughals were as grand as it gets in India. At least, that's what I believe. Being great lovers of art themselves, they constructed beautiful forts and tombs within their kingdom. For most of the tourists visiting our country, these monuments are a must-go locations. One of them being the fort in Agra. 

Constructed in red sandstone, the Agra fort is awe-inspiring and beautiful. Once you enter, there are chambers, buildings, mosques and perfectly maintained and manicured gardens. It takes a couple of hours to see every permissible inch of the fort. The photograph above is the Emperor's seat in Diwan-i-am or the Hall of Audience. This is where the emperor received the general population of his kingdom and listened to their complaints.

Any Hindi movie buff would claim that the greatest Mughal Emperor Akbar sat on this very seat. But if you are more inclined towards knowing the actual history of a place, you'll find out that it was Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, who had built the Diwan-i-am inside the Agra fort between 1628-35 AD. This click brought back all the amazing memories of my trip to Agra last year. History is one of my area of interest, so this trip was an absolute delight. The best parts were the visit to the monuments and getting to know the history behind each and every street of this city. 

As I went through my phone camera album, I came across a few very good photographs from this trip and others and I will definitely share them in my future posts here.

Stay indoors, stay healthy.

Through my Lens (Phone Camera)

If you have read my bio on this blog, I have mentioned travelling as one of my interests. I love to visit new places. Travelling gives me a high. Right from the deciding, planning, booking to actually getting there, visiting the wonderful place and finally reminiscing happily.

For most people, travelling goes hand-in-hand with photography. I know a few myself. I am not a photographer though. I travel to live in the moment. The experience and its memory is all that I need to be happy. But when I see the touristy people and the photographers around me clicking away, I do take a few clicks myself and I am glad that I do. 

So, although I have not traveled extensively like many and I don't have a collection of awesome professional photographs, there are some better-than-average photographs in my phone album that are good enough for some posts. I won't call these posts a travelogue but these are some memories from some amazing trips that I have been to in the last few years. 

Hope you like them.

Hope

Umeed pe duniya kayam hai!

Such a common saying. Cannot be more true than it is now. Hope is the only thing that is getting us through in these testing times. Locked up in our homes, we hope that this will soon come to an end and we will step out, without fear. Probably visit our favourite coffee place, pub or just simply a hang-out. We even look forward to go to work, meet our colleagues and friends, exchange some workplace banter and work together. 

Whatever the situation, we always hope for the best and that keeps us going. In the words of the American poet, Emily Dickinson,

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

Let's keep that hope in us alive. Till then,

Stay indoors, stay healthy.

Art inspired from https://pin.it/4PuyFKT