1. Celebrate India – Taj Mahotsav with Yatra.com
I approached my hotel room window and opened the curtains & windows and the early
morning rays of the sun blasted into the dark room and filled it with light and warmth.
However, the warmth was accompanied by the chilly breeze of a February morning. But hey! I
was definitely not complaining because the chill carried with it the fragrance of India, the entire
India. I have travelled so much and so deep into the very heart of this magnificent country that
to even think that the entire Indian experience could be summed up in a single destination was
a notion as unbelievably alien to me as aliens themselves, but not anymore. Well, that
destination is Agra but only during the annual 10 day Taj Mahotsav held there can you have this
experience. And in case you don’t believe me, I encourage you not to because this is not
something that you can understand by just reading about it. THIS………this is something that has
to be seen to be believed.
This festival is a cultural extravaganza like no other.
Just like the Taj Mahal this festival is unequalled in
its grandeur and the best part is it just keeps getting
bigger and better with every passing year. This
festival showcases arts, crafts, music, dance, cuisine
and entertainment of all kinds from all the corners of
the country. On top of all this, since it takes place in
Agra, you can never run out of options. If you start
to get a cultural overdose, you can always step out
and go sight-seeing. Of course you should always
start and end with the Taj Mahal, in between you
can visit places likeAgra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Jama
Masjid and several other popular gardens & temples. And, trust me 10 days is plenty of time to
see them all. However, this time I will talk only about the festival. My first suggestion: hire a
bike for the duration of the festival. It’s an excellent experience!
So, as I was saying the entire Indian experience is packed into these 10 days and it has so much
variety to offer on all platforms that no one is likely to leave disappointed at the end of it all. I
saw and heard and ate and did so much during those 10 days that looking in retrospect it seems
no more than a fantastic dream. I was surprised to learn that over 400 expert artisans from
around the country participate in this festival. From Kashmir’s shawls to Tamil
Nadu’s wood/stone carvings; from Arunachal’s bamboo/cane crafts to Gujrat’scarpets and
everything else in between was showcased at this festival. However, it’s the dance and musical

2. performances, both classical and popular that stole the show. Being a lover of classical music I
was really happy to attend performances by the likes of Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. On the other
side, Bollywood singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Richa Sharma along with the comedian Raju
Shrivastav added a little Bollywood flavor to the proceedings.
As far as the food is concerned, the variety is inexhaustible and delectable beyond belief. For a
foodie like me, I can say that it was heaven on earth for me. And trust me no fancy stuff, it was
all pure traditional stuff that is seriously finger-licking good.
Now that I have started to think about food, it will become increasingly difficult for me to
continue writing this blog. Therefore, I will now take your leave and go indulge my taste buds. I
have just barely managed to give you the highlights but I hope it gets you curious enough to
pack your bags and head straight for Agra during the Taj Mahotsav. Trust me you won’t regret
it.
This is Joy taking your leave,
Travel Safe and Travel Happy
until next time,
Ciao