Agra

The throngs

From the Red Fort, trrough the everpresent haze

The people were equally dazzling

Agra is tout hell, which in India is saying something. But it's worth fighting your way through the competing camel-cart jockeys and braying doo-dad hucksters to lay eyes on the Taj Mahal. No photo does it justice. I saw it in 1966 and amazed myself by being moved nearly to tears. It was the same this time. You approach it through a maze of outbuildings with heavy security. Then it just floats into view. It looks small, almost like a model, until you realize those many specks at its base are people. The Taj may be the most perfectly conceived structure ever built. I was interested to read that Shah Jahan himself supervised the design and construction, as a memorial to his favorite wife.

How can mere form be so thrilling? Joe has said being an artist is futile in the end because you can't compete with nature. Shah Jahan proved otherwise, setting a wonderful example for Joe and other artists who help make the rest of us want to wake up in the morning and open our eyes.