The gardens of the Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India

The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra. Photograph by Barbara Athanassiadis

From the gardens of The Oberoi Amarvilas, I often found myself lingering longer than intended, drawn into their quiet geometry as it unfolded towards the distant silhouette of the Taj Mahal. There is a particular kind of order in the way the pathways, water channels and clipped greenery have been composed — not as ornament, but as a language of perspective, gently guiding the eye outward while asking for stillness in return.

 In those early hours and again as the light began to soften, I would stand among them with a sense of suspended time. The gardens did not demand attention; rather, they held it lightly, allowing thought itself to slow and settle into a quieter rhythm.

The Taj Mahal mirrored in the waters of the Yamuna River.

At sunset, I would watch the Taj Mahal shift almost imperceptibly, as though responding not only to the fading sky but to something more elemental. Its marble would gather tones of rose, blush and gold, while the surrounding air seemed to thicken into a hush that felt almost ritual in its stillness.

 From within the Mughal-inspired gardens — with their symmetry, water reflections and restrained elegance — the monument appeared less as a distant object and more as part of an extended composition. It was here that I began to understand the landscape not as a frame, but as continuity, where architecture and nature quietly dissolve into one another.

From my room at The Oberoi Amarvilas, the gardens lead towards the distant silhouette of the Taj Mahal. Photograph by Barbara Athanassiadis

And in that continuity, my own act of looking changed. It was no longer simply observation, but a form of attention that moved inward as much as outward. The gardens, the light and the presence of the Taj Mahal seemed to converge into a single, unfolding perception — one in which beauty was not fixed in place, but experienced as something passing through time, air and memory.

I believe the most memorable journeys are the ones lived slowly, allowing time for beauty, reflection and genuine connection.

 My book: INDIA and my Persian Garden

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