....The Heart of "Hindoustan ....."

.....the 1973 fmly trip  to  Agra , Fatehpur Sikri , Delhi , Srinagar , had an indelible impression  on  the  formative mind....the Howrah Delhi : 7 UP Toofan Express : First Class  four berth compartment  , and  the  adjoining coupe' of two berths  holding all seven of  us  , five siblings  and  parents, the  Canadian  WP Steam  Locomotive, with  its tender  of  coal fully  sufficient  nd water being refilled at the stop for  generating  incredible  amt  of  steam  to  haul  us  frm distant  Madhupur  Jn  to  Agra Cantt.....and  the  very  very  first  glimpse  of  the  Taj Mahal  frm  the  Compartment  windows  the  very  nxt  morning  with the  Jamuna  River.....nd  the  bridge.....  remember  vividly  the  Majestic  Taj , as  it rose  majestically nd  our trip  was  made ......with  all  of us  jostling  to  hv  a  glimpse , thr cudn't  be  a  better   start  to  the  three week  long  vacation .....as  it unfolded.....my first  brush  with  the National capital  &  red  sandstone nd  not  to speak  of  the  White  marble  of  the Taj .....as  we retraced  the path upto  Srinagar  ......the very newly  laid  Jammu Tawi  Rly Stn ahead  of  Pathankot ....nd  the  Mughal  Gardens   of  Srinagar ......this , was my first visit  to  the  heart  of  "Hindoustan", the  Red  forts  of  Agra  nd  Delhi , Fatehpur  Sikri, Dayal bag  under  construction , the  Qutub  complex , Sikandra ,  Chandni  Chwk , Jama Masjid ,  Old  fort , adjoining museums & of course  Taj Mahal.....further enriched  by  Lutyen's  Delhi .....the  Parliament  House nd  Rashtrapati  Bhavan .....a trip deeply  satisfying  tnx  to  the  indefatiguable  energy  of  parents .....seldom , did  I  think  tht  at  some  point  of  time  NCR  will  be  my  abode.....as  decks were  cleared  to  relocate  at  the  turn  of  the  millenium ......stumbling  upon  "The Great Mughals" by  Bamber Gascoigne at  the  National  Library  here nd  its  conclusion  today  leaves  me  immensely  satisfied.....a better  understanding  now  of  India &  its  heart  "Hindoustan "......as slated is the December  year end  annual  trip  to  Gurugram our  home  town.....plans  r  afoot  for  all  of  us  on  the  "hop  on   hop  off"  bus services  of   tourism  nd  definitely  a  trip  to  the  Rashtrapati  Bhavan .....this  time  it  will be  only Delhi/Agra/Ajmer circuit,  for  a  better  understanding of the  heart  of  "Hindoustan "......as , sometimes  u  take  the  most  accessible things , around you  for  granted  ,  ignoring  the   mine  of  wealth  of   information  buried in  your  region....&  as  I  hv  told  earlier "....the  Eyes only  see  those  things  which  the  Mind  has seen  already  .....!!!!!"