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How to get a permission to take a photo from Taj Mahal's back side? I would like to be able to get to the other side of the river and take a snap from the beach there. I asked an officer there how I can go to the beach and he told me to get a permission. He didn't speak English that well so he couldn't explain what exactly I needed.

I know that I can take photos from Mehtab Bagh and from beyond the fence there (I can only get a photo at an angle) but I need one from a place on the beach that is exactly perpendicular to Taj's back walls.

Here's what the paper says (the one on which the officer wrote down who I need permission from): DM - DISTRICT MAJHHAL or maybe MAJTHAL or something. If you want, I can upload a photo of the paper. :D

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Saying that you "need permission" is a common thing for Indian officials to say even though technically may or may not need it. It's public monument after all, although I don't quite understand where you're trying to take the picture from. Is it from the bank across the Yamuna? I don't remember whether it's fenced off. If it is, then yes you'll need to ask whoever is the owner of that (probably the Archaelogical Survey of India) and it's not going to be easy if you aren't a professional journalist (there's a different visa procedure for journalists to get a visa too). There's no defined procedure as such to apply for permission to take photography anywhere.

As an alternative, I would suggest paying a boatsman to take you down the Yamuna and take a picture from the boat. You will be able to get a similar angle.

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  • The officer said some abbreviation but he didn't know how to pronounce the letters in English so I couldn't understand him and asked him to write it down but the letters he wrote were incomprehensible and I also lost that piece of paper. I've heard of going down the river but where exactly am I suppose to find a boatsman upriver who I could ask? Where do they usually hang out?
    – rlab
    Commented Mar 10, 2012 at 17:26
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    Try to see if there's any at Dussehra Ghat (hoo boy, you're going to have a tough time pronouncing this and making anyone understand you). Just ask for a ghat (pronounced gh-aaaat) - that's the Hindi word for 'dock' (roughly) and you'd then need to negotiate with a boatsman from there.
    – Ankur Banerjee
    Commented Mar 10, 2012 at 17:33
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It has been a few years but when I visited the Taj Mahal I can remember that I just walked on a path to the right of the taj mahal complex to the river. From there I took a picture. I didn't ask for permission, so I don't know it is legal...

If I remember correctly there is also a a boat there that can take you to the other bank for a small amount. I didn't try it.

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  • I know, I've been there and it's allowed as guards pointed out that I can get behind the Taj by going that way but I need a river in the photo as well. But it's worth a visit a couple of times so maybe I'll find a fisherman at least once. Thanks for the suggestion. BTW, I updated the question since I found the missing paper.
    – rlab
    Commented Mar 12, 2012 at 11:56

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