Taj Mahal Forever (As Told To The Visitors by
A.S.I.)
Taj Mahal, the seventh
wonder of the world, symbolizes India. Taj Mahal means “Crown Palace” and is in
fact the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb. It is best
described by an English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold, as “Not a piece of
architecture, as other buildings are, but a proud passion of an emperors love
wrought in living stones.” In is a celebration of woman’s love, exquisitely
portrayed in marble. And that’s the way to appreciate it !
The Taj was built over a
period of 22 years from 1632, as a tribute to a beautiful woman and as a
monument for enduring love by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Plunged into grief
by the death of his beloved wife, the Empress Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan had the
Taj constructed to enshrine her mortal remains and be a center of pilgrimage.
It was designed by the Iranian architect Ustad Isa. The workmanship on the Taj
is said to be purely Indian. Shah Jahan was known to have patronized Indian
artisans irrespective of religion and caste.
The Taj is the biggest and
most rewarding attraction in India to tourists from everywhere. No visit to India
is complete without an expedition to this shrine of mystique and love.
The story behind the Taj is
a poignant one, In 1612 Shah Jahan the fifth Mughal emperor was betrothed to
Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Begum). Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) had been married
twice before he met and married Mumtaz Mahal. The marriage was a true love
match, and Mumtaz became her husband’s inseparable companion for 19 years on
all his journeys and military expeditions. She was his trusted political
adviser and counsel. On June 17, 1631 Mumtaz Mahal breathed her last after
delivering her 14th child, at the age of 39. She and the Emperor
were on a military campaign at Burhanpur in the Deccan region. The Emperor had
to be summoned from the battlefield to be with his dying wife. Saddened by her
sudden demise, Shah Jahan resolved to immortalize their love. It said that
Mumtaz Mahal on her death he construction of Taj Mahal began, Mumtaz Mahal was
given a temporary burial in the Zainabadi garden in Burhanpur for a period of
six months, then the body was exhumed and brought to Agra, for the final
burial.
Shah Jahan purchased a plot
of land from Raja Jai Singh on the banks of Yamuna River for building the Taj
Mahal. Raja Jai Singh was also instructed by Shah Jahan to provide a regular supply
of special, hard and non-porous marble from the quarries of Makrana. A
21/2-mile (4.02 km) road ramp was built to haul huge pieces of marble to the
site of the construction. Strangely the scaffolding of this magnificent
building was made, not of wood or bamboo, but with bricks.
Taj Mahal is placed on a
high plinth (platform). The plinth is 6.7 m (21.98 ft) high and covers an area
of 95 sq. m (1,022.57 square feet). There are four elegant tapering minarets,
one on each corner of the plinth. Each of the minarets is 41.6 m (136.48 ft)
high and is capped by a small cupola. The minarets, not only balance the main
structure of the mausoleum, but are also placed in such a way that in case of a
mishap, they do not fall over the main edifice. Each pillar has a letter
written on it, which put together spell the word ar-rahman (all merciful) – one
of the many names of Allah.
The main structure of the
Taj Mahal is square and is beveled at its corners. Each side of the Taj Mahal
is 56.6 m (185.69 ft) long. On each façade, arched recessed arranged in two
stories flank a high iwan in the center. The top border of the iwan on each
side rises higher than the rest of façade, thus concealing the neck of the dome
behind it.A central bulbous dome crowns the magnificent structure. This dome is
further surrounded by four chhatris (domed canopy, supported by
pillars/cupola). Each of which is topped by a small finial. The dome is an
important component of the Islamic style of architecture, as it is believed to
be a link between heaven and earth. While the square structure of the edifice
represents the material world, the dome symbolizes the vault of heaven. The
octagonal part symbolizes the transitional phase between heaven and earth. The
dome is topped by a brass finial, whose tip rises to a height of 73 m above the
ground. The entire structure of the dome is designed as a replica of God’s
throne in paradise, where a gigantic pearl dome stands supported by four
pillars. According to Islam the rivers of grace flow through this dome. The
outer walls of the Taj Mahal are decorated in a number of places with shallow
marble carving apart from the elegant pieta durraa work, which can be seen near
arched recesses and borders.
The entrance
to be tomb leads you to the central hall, which houses the false tombs and has
four small octagonal halls, grouped around it. The original graves are located
in a crypt, which is directly below the central hall. The four smaller rooms
were original created for housing the graves of other members fo the royal
family. The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, in whose honour the Taj Mahal was built, lies
directly below the dome. The tomb is placed in such a manner that it is a
direct alignment with the main entrance. The tomb of Shah Jahan is much larger
and is placed next to that of his beloved queen.
The
cenotaphs are decorated with exquisite pietra dura (stone inlay) work. Apart
from unexcelled inlay work the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is inscribed by 99
different names of Allah.It is said that as many as 35 different types of
precious and semi-precious stones were used in the inlay work done on the Taj.
Turquoise, jade, agate, coral, lapis lazuli, onyx, bloodstone, carnelian,
jasper, garnet and malachite were used to decorate flowers like lily and
honeysuckle. Carnelian and lapis lazuli were preferred for their colour and
luminosity. Precious and semi-precious gems were imported from all over the
world. White marble came from makrana mines of Rajasthan, Crystal was imported
from china and Lapis Lazuli from Ceylon. Jasper came from Punjab, Carnelian
form Baghdad, agate form Yemen, and the finest Coral from Arabia, Bundel Khand
jewelers provided garnets and diamonds from merchants from 114,000 cartloads of
sandstone was provided by the former Mughal capital.
The beauty
of the Taj Mahal is accentuated by the garden laid out in the Persian Charbagh
(four garden plan) style. The entire area of the Taj complex is 580 m (1,902
ft) by 300 m (984 ft), while the garden alone makes up an area of 300 m (984
ft) by 300 m (984 ft). each garden within the Charbagh was divided in 16
flowerbeds, making a total of 64. It is said that each flowerbed was planted
with 400 plants. Trees were planted carefully in accordance with the symmetry
of the overall plan. The trees, which were generals preferred, were either
cypress (Cuprussus) (signifying death) or different fruit bearing trees
(signifying life). These trees housed once of the most exotic birds, all of
which added to the breathtaking environs of the Taj.
The money
labour and devotion involved in building of Taj cannot be calculated. The River
Yamuna was diverted of flow right and enhance the beauty of Taj Mahal. The most
outstanding feature of Taj is its proportion and compositions, the construction
was systematic. The only asymmetrical object in the Taj is the casket of the
emperor, which was built beside the queens, as an afterthought.
One can see
two identical building on either side of the Taj. These monuments are entirely
made of red sandstone. While both these buildings are mosques, the one towards
the west (left side of the Taj) is important and used for offering prayers, as
it not only sanctifies the Taj but also faces Mecca. The replica on the other
side is known as the Jawab (answer).
The true
tragedy of Taj Mahal lies in the final years of Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan had a
desire to build a replica of Taj Mahal in black marble as his own mausoleum but
fate intervened. When he was 65, his son Aurangzeb imprisoned him in Red Fort
at Agra and become the successor of the throne. In the last years of his
imprisonment and until his death in 1666, he somehow managed to have a gaze at
Taj Mahal through the grillwork of the prison, the building, he had dedicated
to his beautiful wife.
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