(not so) average agra.

If you go to India, the must-see is the Taj Mahal... or so they say.

What many visitors overlook is Agra's Red Fort, the grandiose fortress of red sandstone that once imprisonned Shah Jehan, the man who commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal, in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The story goes that Mumtaz died during childbirth in 1631, leaving Shah Jehan so heart-broken his hair turned grey virtually overnight. Completely grief-striken, he wanted to preserve her memory in what can be only worthy of the love of his life. Made with materials from all over Asia, it took more than 20 years to complete.

There is a myth that Shah Jehan wanted to create a black replica, across the river for his own tomb. But a little after the Taj Mahal was completed, his son, Aurangzeb, overthrew his father and put him under house arrest in the Agra Fort. The Shah Burj ironically had the most magnificent view of his loving wife's final resting spot. For years he sat, but only through a window, gazing at his immaculate creation.

Talk about a bittersweet ending, no?

The Muthamman Burj or Shah Burj.

Chillin' like villains,
on the Taj Mahal.

Spotted: an Indian-born Chinese
shutterbug.