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closerlook at the Taj Mahal

It’s called “the reveal.” Petra in Jordan has it, Graham Greene did with his novels, and it describes the experience at Charlie Trotter’s restaurant. I should have expected it to be the same at the Taj Mahal.

Good storytelling spins out the tale slowly, giving hints, creating characters, and revealing motives until you as a reader enter the plot yourself. Good marketing is similar in its attempt to create awareness and interest, curiosity and desire. It doesn’t crassly blurt out the brand promise, it teases you until you take the bait. The perceived value of a product or service always increases when you’re buying, not being sold.

Architecture can create the same experience of personal engagement. Unlike, say, the Capital Building in Washington, D.C., you don’t see the Taj from several miles away. As we approached the grounds, we glimpsed the top of a minaret and the curve of the dome. But it was just a tease to enhance our interest and desire.

Cars aren’t allowed close to the area, so we walked the final 100 yards. Even then it’s not until we entered the grounds and walked through the main gate that we finally saw this breathtaking wonder of the world. At this point, we were hooked. Engaged. Seduced by “the reveal.”

There is another layer to the experience of the Taj Mahal. Call it a meta reveal. It’s the four hour drive on the Road to Agra where the Taj is located. This was the slow reveal of northern India itself, as we passed through tiny market towns, sharing the road with overburdened Tata trucks, 3-wheelers tucked with people, camels, cows (of course), rickshaws, bicycles, and street merchants. Even on the hottest day of the year, the drive revealed an energy and dynamism that did more to create my understanding of India in four hours than years of reading the Economist or the New York Times.

At this point, I’m hooked. Engaged. Seduced by “the reveal.”