'Lucky to have visited the Taj'

By Anita Joshua

AGRA, JULY 15. He seemed pleased, and was willing to please when he broke away from his summit talks this afternoon to visit the eternal lyric in stone that is the Taj Mahal. Not only did the visiting Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, oblige photographers, he was also fairly forthcoming when asked pointed questions about his talks earlier in the day with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Evidently savouring the vision before him and the attention he was drawing, Gen. Musharraf said to persistent questioning that the talks were proceeding ``all right'' and had been ``fruitful''. Practically ruling out the possibility of extending his stay in the city of the Taj, he quipped to a question: ``When the talks are going all right, why extend the visit?''

With these few words, the President earned himself some points with the Fourth Estate despite his visit to the Taj being delayed by 50 minutes. Coming to the Taj in casual attire,the General and his wife, Ms. Sehba Musharraf, seemed taken in by their first view of the majestic monument as they walked through the three- storey gateway.

Then after the brief interaction with the media, the First Couple of Pakistan were escorted down the 250-metre-long pathway from the gateway to the ``poetry in stone''. Midway, they stopped to sit on the legendary ``Lover's Bench'' for another photo before moving towards the monument of love. Inside, they were taken round the cenotaph on the elevated level. And, as is invariably the case during such VVIP visits, the lower portion - wherein lie the crypts of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz - was also thrown open to the visitors from across the border. Taking their time to appreciate the inlay work, the couple then walked around the monument unmindful of the sweltering heat. On their way back, the couple made a slight detour to once again go to the ``Lover's Bench'' and take another close look together at the architectural wonder that has put India on the world tourist map.

That he had been bowled over by the Taj - particularly, its symmetry - was something Gen. Musharraf did not try to hide. Not only did he say as much when he called it one of the most ``beautiful wonders of the world I have seen'', the General also sealed this opinion with his signature in the Visitors' Book.

``Visit to one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, was a most unique experience. The beauty in its symmetry was most exhilarating. The monument proves the genius and aesthetics of the builder, Emperor Shah Jahan. We indeed are lucky to have visited it,'' he wrote.

And for once his better half - who has confined herself to monosyllables right through the visit so far - was generous with words when she endorsed her husband's views with a line of appreciation of her own: ``This unique structure endorses the unique talents and industry of all mankind.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : 'We are not sheltering Dawood'
Next     : Wish I stayed here longer: Musharraf