I see that #TajMahal is trending for reasons no better than the frivolous controversies that have engulfed it in the past but since I look at it as a personal attack let me offer some trivia.

Remember in '07 there was Seven Wonder of the World campaign & we had taken it upon ourselves to send SMSes to ensure Taj Mahal wins,then it did & we sent Bipasha Basu & Agra's then mayor to collect the trophy?
Its now kept in a nondescript museum on the first floor of a library.

The library itself has a chequered history.The colonial era building was built by industrial patrons but like all public libraries has fallen into disarray. It is gorgeous once you convince the librarian to let you in &the books of politics & history are gems if he finds the keys

The more interesting story is of the statues behind the library, once part of the main entrance, were shifted to the back (& I had to hide from the guards to take this picture) because they symbolised bowing down to the Queen & some such rhetoric that kept political flames alive

There is a essay (or a photo essay?) waiting to be written on my visit to this library (for a year now) but for now I'd just like to link to this long piece written by @sabharwalatul that really pumped up my imagination & made me visit it. https://www.dailyo.in/arts/john-public-library-agra-colonial-heritage-dara-shikoh-intolerance-bajrang-dal-history-mughals/story/1/14275.html

Also h/t to @UnamPillai & @AanchalMalhotra - I embarked on the adventure of tracking down Agra's public libraries (which I didn't know existed at all) & exploring the city's history a day after I met them & they both pointed me to the direction of the rich material available here

I met them, came back home to find this headline in a local newspaper that made the starting point of my research really easy & my resolve strong. Couldn't get much out of this endeavor though except some interesting stories that I hope I live to tell some day :)