History is tricky. We live through it, making our little
impressions upon it, eroding it and yet preserving it in some ways. At the same
time, we wish to consume it by observing it, recording it and
experiencing it. The two are not mutually exclusive and yet are not completely
in congruence. Nevertheless, some people manage to bring the two aspects
together in a wonderful synchronisation.
This past Sunday, in the early hours of the morning, a few aficionados
of photography, some connoisseurs of art and culture and a few of those who are
interested in history assembled in one of the by-lanes of the old Agra city
(built and developed during the medieval period, Mughal period to be more
precise) for a unique experience of a heritage walk. Led by Tahir Ahmed
Qureshi, a filmmaker based in Agra, who also happens to live in this part of the
city, the walk was a guided tour of the old Agra city, walled amidst such
iconic monuments as the Agra fort and the Jama Masjid.
With little bits of hi…
