The Kaleidoscope that is India comes to evocative life in its capital, Delhi, where a succession of cities have influenced the country’s fortunes over centuries. Here, powerful empires have left behind their impress in a celebration of ritual festivities, art, music and dance, in food, and in that touchstone of great civilizations–monuments which have stood the test of time. If Delhi provides a tantalizing glimpse of India’s history, caught in a time-wrap of the past and the present, then Agra–once also the capital of the country–is a shrine for worshippers of beauty. It leitmotif is the Taj Mahal, humankind’s purest, most beautiful requiem to love, a tomb that is a memorial palace to an empress and her emperor, Shah Jahan. Yet there is so much more to discover here, from abandoned cities to smaller garden tombs, making Agra one of the those cities where great empires once challenged time. At the third end of this golden triangle is Jaipur, the provincial capital of Rajasthan. Established by the solar-descended Kachwaha dynasty, here is medieval India preserved with all its splendour of palaces and forts, of temples and crafts, of colour, pageantry and celebration. This book captures the ambience of these three cities, in words and pictures, blending them together to offer a fascinating glimpse of enduring India.
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