‘OMG! This is tour visiting or military service!’
The cheekily phrased message popped up on our group chat late in the evening, sent by one of the journalists, Basim Laleh. His lighthearted outburst came immediately after our primary point of contact at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Ujjwal, posted the next day’s strict itinerary: ‘Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra by bus. All of you are requested to assemble in the hotel lobby area by 06:15 AM. Make sure to collect your pre-packed breakfast from the reception area before boarding the bus, which you can eat on the bus.’
To a room full of jet-lagged international scribes, an early morning reveille sounded almost like a military drill. My Ugandan colleagues and I had already endured a grueling journey of over 10 hours from Kampala to New Delhi via Ethiopia. Upon arrival, we were checked into The Park Hotel in New Delhi to participate in a high-profile familiarization tour organized by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
The September 10, 2026 trip to the Taj Mahal served as the second major item on our itinerary. The tour had commenced the previous evening, September 9, with an official welcome dinner hosted by Mr. Randhir Jaiswal, the Additional Secretary for External Publicity and Public Diplomacy and Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. The diplomatic reception, attended by foreign diplomats, Indian bureaucrats, and representatives from global media houses, served as a precursor to the 18th BRICS Summit.
Held under India’s chairship at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam complex in New Delhi from September 12-13, 2026, the summit drew delegates from across the world-including Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Alupo, who attended as part of Uganda’s official engagement as a partner country. In fact, Ms Alupo would also take time to visit the magnificent Taj Mahal after the official summit concluded, before departing India.
Our journey from central New Delhi to Agra required navigating over 200 kilometers along the modern Yamuna Expressway. Traveling in a convoy of three buses, the round trip took nearly eight hours in total, supplemented by brief pitstops to stretch, refresh, and grab quick bites. Yet, whatever fatigue we carried vanished the moment we neared our destination.
Because motor vehicles are restricted near the monument to preserve its delicate white stone from exhaust fumes, our buses parked approximately one kilometer away. We transferred into battery-operated golf carts that zipped us quietly toward the complex. Approaching the site, the entrance was an absolute beehive of activity, filled with thousands of visitors, local vendors, and guide chatter.
It was here that we met Amit Datta, a veteran local tour guide in Agra whose passion for the site was immediately contagious. As he gathered our international delegation around the entrance, Datta offered a bold welcome statement: ‘If you’re a guest in India and you leave without visiting the Taj Mahal, then you have not been to India.’
Standing before the soaring white dome, it was impossible to disagree. Datta immediately launched into a rich historical narrative, bringing the centuries-old monument to life.
‘So, this beautiful building, the Taj Mahal, which I hope is the main highlight of your tour of Agra, was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan,’ Datta explained. He provided context on the origins of the Mughal dynasty, noting that they were contemporaries of the Tudors of England, the Safavids of Persia, the Ottomans of Turkey, and the Ming Dynasty of China.
‘The first Mughal emperor, Babur, arrived in India in 1526 from the northern part of Transoxiana, in present-day Uzbekistan. On his father’s side, he was descended from Timur, and on his mother’s side, from Genghis Khan. Because of their Mongol heritage, the dynasty was known as the Mongol dynasty. However, native Indians struggled to pronounce the word ‘Mongol,’ which gave rise to the term ‘Mughal,” Datta shared.
He went on to detail the poignant love story that inspired the grand mausoleum: ‘The fifth emperor, Shah Jahan, built this beautiful mausoleum in memory of his favorite wife. While he had four wives, his third wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, was renowned as the most captivating woman of her era. She was given the title Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian term where ‘Mumtaz’ means beautiful or esteemed, and ‘Mahal’ means palace-literally, the most beautiful crowned lady of the palace.’
Datta explained that Mumtaz Mahal accompanied Shah Jahan everywhere, bearing 14 children over a 19-year marriage. Tragically, in 1631, at the age of 39, she suffered fatal complications during her 14th childbirth.
‘Before she passed away, she placed three final wishes before Emperor Shah Jahan,’ Datta narrated. ‘First, to raise and care for all her children; second, never to marry another woman; and third, to build a mausoleum of unmatched beauty in her memory. The Taj Mahal is the direct fulfillment of that last request.’
The grief suffered by the emperor was transformative. ‘When she died, Shah Jahan was just 41 years old,’ Datta recounted. ‘Until then, his hair was black and he wore vibrant clothes. But after her death, he locked himself in a dark room for 40 days. When he emerged, his hair had turned entirely grey, and he wore only plain white attire for the remainder of his life.’
Shah Jahan originally intended to construct a mirrored ‘Black Taj Mahal’ in black marble across the Yamuna River for his own tomb. However, political betrayal intervened. His son, Aurangzeb, seized power, executed his older brothers, and placed his aging father under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan’s death, he was buried alongside his wife inside the Taj Mahal. While the real graves lie safely in a quiet lower crypt closed to the general public to protect structural integrity, visitors view two exquisite replica cenotaphs situated on the main floor directly above.
The craftsmanship of the Taj Mahal remains one of humanity’s greatest artistic feats. Built between 1631 and 1648, with additional gates and courtyards completed in 1653 under lead architect Ustad-Ahmad Lahori, the complex incorporates non-porous Makrana marble transported over 340 kilometers from Rajasthan using thousands of bullocks, horses, and elephants.
Mr Datta pointed out the intricate floral patterns etched into the white walls. ‘What looks like painting from a distance is actually intricate inlay art known as pietra dura,’ he explained. ‘Colored semi-precious stones are painstakingly engraved directly into the hard marble-red coral, brown jasper, yellow agate, blue lapis lazuli, green malachite, and white mother-of-pearl. This art has been handed down strictly through specific artisan families from father to son for over 370 years using traditional chisels, hammers, and emery wheels.’
Leaving the monument and heading back toward New Delhi, our delegation made stops along the highway for lunch and relaxation. It was during these brief stops that my Ugandan media colleague, Paul Waniala, and I enjoyed our first spontaneous interactions with everyday Indian citizens. One hawker tried with impressive tenacity to sell us miniature marble replicas of the monument, while a friendly tuk-tuk (tricycle) driver eagerly struck up a conversation, trading contact details with us on the hopeful promise that we would return one day to let him drive us around Agra.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007, the Taj Mahal draws over five million global tourists annually. Its perfect bilateral symmetry, raised octagonal tomb structure, four freestanding minarets, and sprawling 17-hectare Persian charbagh gardens represent the absolute pinnacle of Indo-Islamic architectural harmony. Today, stringent environmental regulations-including the creation of the 10,400-square-kilometer Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)-protect its delicate marble from industrial pollution.
As our bus quietly rolled back into the bustling streets of New Delhi that evening, exhausted silence replaced the morning’s nervous energy. We returned to our hotel carrying more than just photos; we carried a deep appreciation for India’s rich history and architectural heritage. Even journalist Basim Laleh, who had joked about military service earlier that morning, sat back quietly in total satisfaction-knowing that waking up at dawn had been worth every single second.