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About Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal Information
Rabindranath Tagore said of the Taj "one solitary tear… on the cheek
of time."
Taj Mahal, the epitome of love is the major attraction of people far and near.
Whether one is Indian or non-Indian, seeing Taj Mahal is every traveler's dream.
But what is this Taj Mahal ? Why was it picked as the seventh wonder of the
world? What is special about Taj? Where is Taj located? How to reach it? Who
should be credited for its existence? These are few questions which arise before
and after you visit this all time marvel of the world.
Shahjanhan, the fifth Mughal emperor of the Mughal Era built this marble glory
in the memory of his mistress, Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal died in the year 1630,
after giving birth to Shahjehan's !4th child. The construction of the monuments
started in the years 1631 AD and took almost 22 years to be complete. The largest
and one of the most spectacular structures of the world was complete in the
1653 AD.
Taj Mahal means "Crown Palace" and is in fact the most beautiful
tomb in the world. The marble wonder is the largest and the most extravagant
mausoleum built for the sake of love by a person. The grandeur & glory of
Taj has reached every corner of the world. This timeless piece of art has been
the inspiration for many artists and architects, ever since its creation. It's
very difficult to adequately convey the legend in a picture or write in a piece
of paper.
Taj, the forgotten wonder of the world was the result of hard efforts of twenty
thousand people, who worked day and night, to create this marble beauty. The
material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet
of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. Ustad Ahmad Lahori was the chief
architect of the project.
The dome in white marble is set against the plain across the river and it is
this background that changes the view of the marble structure. The background
of water works its magic of colors through their reflection. The colors change
at different time of the day and during different seasons. The Taj sparkles
like a jewel in moonlight when the semi-precious stones infixed into the white
marble structure on the main mausoleum catch the glow of the moon. The Taj is
pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon
shines.
The "symbol of eternal love", Taj Mahal has a life of its own that
leaps out of the marble glory.
Taj Mahal Story
The history of Taj Mahal dates back to the Mughal Era in India between 16th
& 19th. The construction of this masterpiece is credited to the Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan, who erected this mausoleum in the memory of his beloved
mistress, Arjumand Bano Begum, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in
1630 AD.
Mumtaz Mahal's last wish to her husband was "to build a tomb in her memory
such as the world had never seen before". Thus Emperor Shah Jahan set about
building this fairytale like marvel. Mumtaz Mahal died, after delivering her
fourteenth child "Gauharar". While Mumtaz was on her deathbed Shahjahan
had promised her, never to remarry and to build the richest mausoleum over her
grave. The body was temporarily buried in the Zainabadi Garden in Burhanpur
and in six months time removed to Agra. He decided to build the mausoleum in
a plot on the riverside. The work on the tomb started with thousands of artisans
and labourers.
Shahjahan requested Raja Jai Singh to immediately and constantly supply the
Makrana marble for the tomb. To carry huge marble slabs to the top, an inclined
two and a half mile long road ramp was built. The construction materials were
brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000
elephants to transport it to the construction site. The central dome of the
tomb is 187 feet high at the centre. Red sandstone was brought from Fatehpur
Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, Turquoise from Tibet,
Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka, Coal and Cornelian from Arabia and
diamonds from Panna. In all 28 kind of semi precious and precious stones were
used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal. The main building material, the white
marble was brought from the quarries of Makrana, in distt. Nagaur, Rajasthan.
In almost six years the main edifice of the tomb was complete.
Ustad Ahmad Lahori was the chief architect of the project. For twenty two years,
twenty thousand workmen were employed on the construction of the Taj daily.
A small town called Mumtazabad, now known as Taj Ganj, was settled for the accommodation
of the workers on the site. Amanat Khan Shirazi was the calligrapher of Taj
Mahal. Poet Ghyasuddin had designed the verses on the tombstone and Ismail Khan
Afridi of Turkey was the dome maker. Muhammad Hanif was the superintendent of
Masons.
Humayun's Tomb and the tomb of Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana in Delhi, Akbar's tomb
at Sikandara and the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula at Agra, built by Nurjahan for her
father had served as model for the Taj Mahal. The dome-topped structure rose
on a high platform and the grand pietra dura decoration and exquisitely colored
hard precious stones infixed into the white marble were an inspiration for Shahjahan.
The lyrical rhythm of the floral motifs had an awesome beauty, which the Taj
greatly copied from the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula. The expenses in the construction
of Taj were worked out to be 50 lakhs on those days.
Father Manrique in 1641 advanced the claim of the Italian jeweler Geronimo Veroneo
as the architect of the Taj, not willing to allow the native artisans all the
credit for this excellent work. But the claim made by him was never be proved,
hence remained a legend only.
Even after more than three centuries have passed, the Taj is seen by millions
of tourists every year. Taj Mahal is best described by the English poet, Sir
Edwin Arnold, as "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are,
but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones."
Inside The Taj
The Taj Mahal is situated more than 900 ft. (275 m.) away from the entrance
at the opposite end of the garden. Towering almost 200 ft. (76m.) in height,
the tomb stands on its own marble plinth, which rests on a red sandstone platform
that serves to level the land as it slopes to the river. Four tall minarets
rise up from the corners of the white marble plinth. They taper to a majestic
height of 138 ft and are crowned with eight windowed cupolas.
The marble mausoleum is square in plan with chamfered corners. Each facade
of the tomb is composed of a grand iwan framed by bands of calligraphy. The
doorways inside these iwans are also adorned with calligraphy. The iwan is
flanked on both sides by small double arches one over the other. They are
rectangular while the arched alcoves of equal size at the angles of the tomb
are semi-octagonal. Each section in the facade is well demarked on both sides
by attached pilasters which rising from the plinth level of the tomb rise
above the frieze and are crowned by beautiful pinnacles with lotus buds and
finials. The pinnacles ornament the superstructure and help along with the
other features to break the skyline gracefully.
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