It is also widely believed that emperor Shah Jahan invited artisans from Italy and Persia to work on this marble monument, and that Ustad Ahmad Lahori was the chief of the project, while Ustad Isa made the site plan.
The calligraphic work has been credited to Amanat Ali Khan Shirazi and Ran Mahal, from Kashmir, designed the gardens.
The towering Great Gate, or Darwaza-e-rauza, of the Taj Mahal is a preview to the splendour of the monument, which can be seen framed by its arched entrance. Made of red sandstone, with inlays of white marble and Koranic text in black marble, the two-toned gate is a sight to behold.
The Taj Museum boasts of arts and artefacts used in the construction of the iconic monument. The walls are adorned with paintings that depict architectural plans of the Taj.
An interesting display is of celadon plates that are said to break or change colour if poisonous food was served on them. Don't miss the display of gold and silver coins minted at the time.
The Taj Mahal preserves its grandeur in its almost perfect symmetry, a fact reiterated by its series of windows, which are a fine example of Islamic art and architecture. The windows make up an intricate screen of marble-cut lattice work and add to the glory of the monument.
Grief-stricken, the emperor went into mourning and threw himself into creating a monument to their love. In 1631, construction on the Taj Mahal began. Materials from various regions of India, Central Asia, and the Middle East were brought to Agra, and thousands of workers labored more than 20 years until the structure was completed.
My first fleeting experience with the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra took place at the Red Fort when, visiting Summan Burj, my guide Danish explained to me that right there the king Shah Jahan spent his last years torturing himself with the sight of the awe-inspiring tomb he had built in loving memory of his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal.
For visiting the main mausoleum of the Tajmahal You would have to buy an additional ticket of Rs.200/- along with your regular ticket. Foreigners also get free electric bus and golf cart services with their entry ticket to the Taj Mahal.
i love the story of the Taj Mahal and it def overwhelmed me when I was there. I heard the story when I was a little kid, so it was little bit of a fairytale going there. The views at sunset are unbelievable!
Emperor Shah Jahan, the fifth of the Great Mughals, was devoted to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal (the Jewel of the Palace). In 1631, she gave birth to their fourteenth child and died in the process. Legend has it that on her deathbed she made him promise that he would build a monument their unique love.
It took Shah Jahan 22 years to construct the Taj Mahal and 20,000 men toiled ceaselessly to fulfill his dream. Built of the finest white marble and inlaid with precious stones, the Taj Mahal is flanked by two mosques on either side. Since Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth, the Taj Mahal is today an Urs or place of pilgrimage.
It is believed that the Taj Mahal was constructed in such a way that the white marble reflects the sky. So, the monument changes its colours during the day. Early morning the Taj appears pinkish, milky white at noon, a sparkling golden at sunset and shimmering silver in the moonlight.
Abdul Hamid Lahori, in his book from 1636 Padshahnama, refers to the Taj Mahal as rauza-i munawwara (Perso-Arabic: روضه منواره, rawdah-i munawwarah), meaning the illumined or illustrious tomb.[9]The current name for the Taj Mahal is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian, with the words tāj mahall meaning "crown" (tāj) "palace" (mahall).[10][11][4] The name "Taj" came from the corruption of the second syllable of "Mumtaz".[12][13]
The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on 17 June that year, while giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.[14][15] Construction started in 1632,[16] and the mausoleum was completed in 1648, while the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.[17] The imperial court documenting Shah Jahan's grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrates the love story held as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.[18] According to contemporary historians Muhammad Amin Qazvini, Abdul Hamid Lahori and Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, he did not show the same level of affection to others as he had shown her while she was alive. He avoided royal affairs for a week due to his grief, along with giving up listening to music and dressing lavishly for two years. Shah Jahan was enamored by the beauty of the land at the south side of Agra on which a mansion belonging to Raja Jai Singh I stood. This place was chosen for the construction of Mumtaz's tomb by Shah Jahan and Jai Singh agreed to donate it to the emperor.[19]
The main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble, and reminiscent of the Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. Its archways mirror the shape of the tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate the calligraphy that decorates the tomb. It uses bas-relief and pietra dura inlaid decorations with floral motifs. The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs like those found in the other sandstone buildings in the complex.[citation needed]
More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of the Yamuna River including acid rain[68] due to the Mathura Oil Refinery,[69] which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives.[70] The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow-brown.[71][72] To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the "Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)", a 10,400-square-kilometre (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.[73]
Concerns for the tomb's structural integrity have recently been raised because of a decline in the groundwater level in the Yamuna river basin which is falling at a rate of around 1.5 m (5 ft) per year. In 2010, cracks appeared in parts of the tomb, and the minarets which surround the monument were showing signs of tilting, as the wooden foundation of the tomb may be rotting due to lack of water. It has been pointed out by politicians, however, that the minarets are designed to tilt slightly outwards to prevent them from crashing on top of the tomb in the event of an earthquake. In 2011, it was reported that some predictions indicated that the tomb could collapse within five years.[74]
Ever since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument.[90] A longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble as a Black Taj Mahal across the Yamuna river.[14] The idea originates from fanciful writings of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a European traveller who visited Agra in 1665. It was suggested that his son Aurangzeb overthrew Shah Jahan before it could be built. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in the Mehtab Bagh, seemed to support this legend. However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discoloured white stones that had turned black.[91] A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archaeologists who reconstructed part of the pool in the Mehtab Bagh. A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself.[92]
As of 2017, several court cases about Taj Mahal being a Hindu temple have been inspired by P. N. Oak's theory.[102][103] In August 2017, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stated there was no evidence to suggest the monument ever housed a temple.[104] Bharatiya Janata Party's Vinay Katiyar in 2017 claimed that the 17th century monument was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan after destroying a Hindu temple called "Tejo Mahalaya" and it housed a Shiva linga. This claim had also been made by another BJP member Laxmikant Bajpai in 2014. The BJP government's Union Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma stated in November 2015 during a session of the parliament, that there was no evidence that it was a temple. The theories about Taj Mahal being a Shiva temple started circulating when Oak released his 1989 book Taj Mahal: The True Story. He claimed it was built in 1155 AD and not in the 17th century, as stated by the ASI.[105]
While the Taj Mahal is one of the most recognizable structures in the world, often its purpose goes unrecognized. Behind the creation of the marble mausoleum is a royal love story about an emperor whose unending love for his wife inspired him to create one of the world's most beautiful structures.
The love story begins when Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan was betrothed to Mumtaz Mahal, born Arjumand Banu Begum, in 1607 AD when he was just 15 years old and Mumtaz was 14. They wed five years later, and the couple was inseparable ever since.
Despite eventually having four other wives, Shah Jahan was only ever truly affectionate with Mumtaz. He felt she was one of the most beautiful women of their time, both in appearance and character, and as a result gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal, or "Chosen One of the Palace". She accompanied him wherever he traveled in the Mughal Empire, acting as a trusted companion. He was a dutiful husband to his first two wives, bearing one child with each. However, his deep love and attraction for Mumtaz was evident, as they had thirteen children together.
After coming out of mourning, Shah Jahan began the construction of the Taj Mahal at Agra in 1632 as a proper burial site for the love of his life, a process that would take 22 years. When it was completed in 1648, the Emperor described the Taj Mahal as follows:
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