Taj Mahal, Agra, India 泰姬陵 （1983）

I’ve seen many stunning pictures of Taj Mahal before, but no one has ever been able to capture the moment, when I stood in a distance and saw it emerge from the arched gate in the warm light at sunrise. I felt like a pilgrim, heart and mind dissolved and eyes filled with tears. In front of me but far and unreachable lies the heaven - tender, holy, beautiful and perfect.

I stayed in Agra overnight so that I had a chance to be at Taj Mahal at sunset and sunrise. Weather was fine. Hotel Sheela is a lovely guest house that provides basic but quiet, clean and inexpensive accommodation. For sunset shots of Taj Mahal, I hired an auto rickshaw to take me to the other side of River Yamuna. A fence has been set up along the river to prevent foreigners from getting close to it, but there are holes and the Indian policemen guarding the fence are not too stringent. There is also a lively and friendly rural community outside the wall of Taj Mahal, beyond shops that line the main streets leading to the monument.

Sunset scene is intense, but I prefer the sunrise one. Standing under the arched gate from where I watched Taj Mahal, I felt, for one transient moment, that I was reduced to non-existence by a tender yet forceful touch. But at that same moment, I became a purer being looking up to eternity and moving a step closer to it.