Agra

 

A historical city on the bank of river Jamuna in north India is amazed with number of incidents recalling historical occurrences especially of Mogul regime. The historical city Agra has got its mention in the Hindu epic The Mahabharata as the forest of “Agraban” which is closed to Mathura. It was, in 1475, founded by Badal Singh. The beautiful   city Agra came into light for public interest especially by the time when Sikandar Lodhi contemplated to shift, in 1501, the capital city to Agra from Delhi. Ironically, the city was clutched and fell into Mughal hands in 1526, when Emperor Babur defeated the last Lodi sultan in famous Panipat Battle at Panipat – just 80km north of Delhi. Virtually, it was the capital city for some of the great Mughal emperors like Shahjahan, Akbar ,Jehangir, and Aurangzeb.

 

During the Mughal period, Agra acquired number of  splendid as well as dazzling monuments like  Agra Fort , Buland Darwaza – a few among many. Later Babur – the Mughal emperor conquered the Lodhi’s to capture the city and thereafter, Agra and the Mughals tied up with a long association making a great history of India. Agra acclaimed its peak magnificence between the period from mid-16th to mid-17th centuries during the sovereign of Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan. During this period, the fort and all major mausoleums were engineered and constructed. Akbar – the great made the city the center of art, Commerce, culture, and learning and later Shah Jahan saw it with full bloom. Eventually, it is believed to say that Akbar was the pioneer to lay the foundation of the modern city that we enjoy now. Most of the buildings of this period were of high architectural value and quality. All these monuments were in the contemporary Mughal style. The skilled craftsmen and Mughlai cuisine can still be seen in the narrow lanes of the city as an awakening memories of the bygone times. The Mughal’s passion towards architecture transformed the city into beautiful monuments such as Agra fort, Taj Mahal etc. Emperor Akbar was the main planner to build the Agra fort and Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Jahangir beautified the capital city Agra with wonderful gardens and palaces though his major time was in Kashmir with which he had deep attachment.

In 1761, Agra fell to the hands of Jats – a warrior class who looted its monuments including the great Taj Mahal. In 1770, The Marathas took over, but were in 1803, replaced by the British.  Due to the Uprising of 1857, the British had shifted their administrational activities to rule the province to Allahabad. This deprival made Agra to think a new avenue of development especially concentrated on to be a centre for heavy industry, Atmospheric pollution, and become famous for its chemicals industry. With the Taj, tourism stood as a major source of revenue and livelihood.

 

Agra stretches across 77° 26′ E to 78° 32′ E and 26° 44′ N to 27° 25′ N and its borders are state of Rajasthan on its  western-south end, on its East, the district of Firozabad and on its North ,the districts of Mathura and Etah It has trivial forest area consisted of trees of Babul, Neem, Ber, and Peepal. Agra topographically suffers from extremities of climate with extreme hot summers and chilly winters. Though monsoons offer some relief but the city becomes very dirty .Eventually, the main road leads to tourist area is maintained good enough in any season.