Taj Mahal is mostly known as a symbol of love that Shah Jahan had for Mumtaz Mahal. Yes indeed, but there are so many other unsaid stories of the power struggle and an endeavor to establish Agra as a center of power similar to present-day Samarkand in Uzbekistan.

While we focus entirely on the emperor’s love for his queen, we often overlook the stories of the artisans who were behind the making of the Taj Mahal. The artisans were called from as far as Persia (present-day Iran) who worked with expert Hindu architects from India over a period of 16 years. Back in the early 17th century, Taj had actually become the sole bread earner for hundreds of families.

This tour is a storytelling walk of the monument itself, and the communities behind it many of which traveled to Agra and eventually settled here.