The Taj Mahal Love Story

[Lauro Pericles]

TajMahal: An Eternal Love Story is a 2005 Indian historical drama film directed by Akbar Khan. The film starred Kabir Bedi, Sonya Jehan, Manisha Koirala, Arbaaz Khan, Vaquar Shaikh, Rahil Azam and Pooja Batra in the title roles. The film was released on 18 November in India.[5]

The story begins with Shah Jahan, known as Prince Khurram when he is about nineteen years old. Khurram was Emperor Jahangir's favourite son, whom Jahangir wanted to be the future Emperor of India, along with his wife Nur Jahan, who was well aware of this fact. Noor Jahan was married once previously, but when her first husband died, Jahangir married her. Ladli Begum is Noor Jahan's daughter from her first marriage. Noor Jahan is a shrewd lady, who wants the best for herself and her daughter and she aspires for Ladli Begum to marry Prince Khurram so she that she will become the Empress of the Mughal Dynasty.

Khurram's passion for hunting leads him into a jungle, and one day while hunting he meets Arjumand Bano. Their meeting was love at first sight, with Khurram attracted to Arjumand Bano's innocence and beauty while Arjumand was impressed by Khurram's great personality. Arjumand Bano is the daughter Asaf Khan (Aly Khan), Noor Jahan's brother. Khurram and Bano again meet at the Meena Bazaar, where finally both of them declare their love for each other. Ladli Begum learns of their love, but she keeps on wooing Prince Khurram. Noor Jahan sees this love as a hindrance to her plans of making her daughter the future Empress of India and she succeeds in turning Emperor Jahangir against his own son, Khurram.

Noor Jahan sends her secret lover and the warrior Mahabat Khan to fight Khurram and to kill Arjumand Bano. As a result, a war takes place in which forces are also sent by Emperor Jahangir against Khurram. When Khurram meets Jahangir, he declares that Arjumand Bano was more superior to him than the Mughal Dynasty. As a result, relations become even more bitter between the father and the son. However, Arjumand Bano, who was a peace-loving person, agreed to forget Khurram and asked him to marry Kandahari Begum, an Iranian princess, who was chosen by Emperor Jahangir for Khurram. Khurram, due to Arjumand's insistence, marries Kandahari Begum while on the other hand, Ladli Begum marries to Khurram's brother. After Emperor Jahangir dies, Khurram becomes Prince Shah Jahan and ruler of the Mughal dynasty. He finally marries the love of his life, Arjumand Bano, who becomes Mumtaz Mahal. The couple lives happily for a while until misfortune occurs.

Khurram must leave for war, but a pregnant Aarjumand chooses to also go with him, as she used to accompany Shah Jahan in all his battles. Khurram tries to return to the camp from the battle but takes a long time to return as he forgets his way. While he is lost, Mumtaz Mahal dies while giving birth to her nineteenth child. During her last breath, Mumtaz Mahal asks Shah Jahan to construct her tomb in a beautiful mausoleum, describing one which would be so beautiful it would express their love for each other to all who visit the mausoleum. Mumtaz's death is the greatest tragedy for Shah Jahan, and as a result, he becomes a completely reformed person. Shah Jahan then starts off to fulfill his wife's last wish, to build Taj Mahal, a beautiful mausoleum to honour the also beautiful Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal goes on to become the Seventh Wonder of the World.

Time passes, and in future, Shah Jahan's sons and daughter grow up. The sons are greedy and eager to inherit their father powers, and as a result, they imprison him in a room from where he can easily see Taj Mahal. He watches his sons fighting against each other to become the Emperor of India and the Mughal Dynasty. Everywhere around him there is violence and warfare, with the beheading of slaves and even brothers are no longer uncommon. In the end, Khurram dies while looking at Taj Mahal, the Taj Mahal that took an astonishing twenty-two years to be made, a tribute showing Shah Jahan as the greatest lover of all time. At his death, his body is laid down next to his love, hence resulting in the culmination of their love after death.[9]

Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story was the last work of renowned musician Naushad Ali, who died on 5 May 2006. The audio was formally released at a gala event in Mumbai at ITC Grand Central Sheraton & Towers, Parel on 16 March 2005 by Times Music in tandem with the home label Mashreq Music. The soundtrack album consists 8 songs, featuring vocals by Hariharan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Preeti Uttam and Ajoy Chakraborty, and an instrumental theme. A special edition Double CD, consisting of the soundtrack album and 9 instrumental pieces used as the background score, was also released. This was the first time in India that the background score of a film was released simultaneously with the music release. The lyrics were penned by Naqsh Lyallpuri and Syed Gulrez Rashid.

My film's music needed either a Tansen, a Beethoven or a Naushad... I was only left with the last choice! With the power of his spell bounding music, Naushad has managed to recreate the magic of the bygone era, perfectly complementing the mood of the film. The music does not touch the eardrum & bounce back, but penetrates and lives in the soul of people.[citation needed]

I visited the Taj Mahal on the Golden Triangle Trip last year. How majestic and beautiful it was! I would like to go back one day to see those places again! Great post on that and good to read a little bit about history.

This is a beautiful post. It reminds me of my visit to Taj. Rightly said, photography from every angle brings out amazing picture of Taj. I noted the time constraint added now to explore it. Would be helpful for next visit sometime. ?

Wow! What a lovely post! Taj Mahal is indeed an engineering marvel and a symbol of love. The grandeur of this iconic building has always left me in awe. No matter how many times I visit the place, its magnetism keeps calling me back to its magnificence. Thanks for sharing the interesting facts about Taj Mahal as well as beautiful pictures.

Your pictures certainly reminded me of my first visit to the Taj Mahal. I also traveled on the new highway from Delhi to Agra (so comfortable and convenient!). I could easily visit it again although I would like to visit it at a different time in the day.

After exploring the buildings and battling the constant stream of tourists (most of whom were locals), my co-fellows and I sat down in a shaded area on the cooling marble floors, unable to comprehend just how beautiful and magnificent a structure can be manifested out of romantic love.

I was sad to leave the Taj Mahal that day and if time permitted, I could have sat there for hours more, merely gazing in awe at its appearance. The story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz spurred ruminations - was it love or selfishness that gave rise to the Taj Mahal? Did Shah Jahan want the Taj to be an ode to his love for Mumtaz or a symbol of his reign and prowess forever etched in history? Were he and Mumtaz reunited in paradise? Will I ever find someone who loves me enough to build such a grand structure in my honour? I put my questions to rest and left the Taj Mahal to explore the other delights Agra had to offer.

This was one of the best weeks in my life. We were in Agra, India, where we watched the sunrise at the Taj Mahal and enjoyed a special full moon night viewing. The photographer in Theo led the way around town to find views of this Wonder of the World from different angles. It really does appear to change color at different times of the day. Romantic! It made me research a bit into the Taj Mahal love story.

Each version of their marriage history says the couple was inseparable. Mumtaz traveled with the emperor on military excursions throughout India even though she was frequently pregnant. Jahan gave her extra allowance and authority.

Religious righteousness, love stories, economic strife. Simultaneously, these human themes played with my thoughts as much as the Taj Mahal held my heart in awe. The energy I sensed inside the mausoleum was intense.

The story or rather the love story of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan became the talk of the world and is been recognised by people from all across the world. Let us take a straight sweep to know what all happened and how the two people became inseparable.

The Powerful king made this in memory of his favourite and most beloved wife named Begum Mumtaz Mahal. However, we all are unaware of the truth behind the complete and everlasting love story of the beautiful queen Begum Mumtaz Mahal and the powerful Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

Prince Khurram was the dearly loved son of Jahangir as he was born to his most loved wife Nur Jahan. He was the grandson of Akbar the great who also kept his grandson free of all the worries and gave him all the royalties of this world.

14 year-old Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) was once taking a sweet walk by the lanes of Mena Bazaar in the year 1607. He then saw a beautiful girl who was selling and assembling some silk items and even some glass beads.

The beauty of the girl enchanted him and he started to stalk the girl a bit, it then came to his knowing that the girl he had seen is the market, her name was Arjumand Bano Begum and she was the relative of his mother queen Nur Jahan.

Love towards the son of Emperor Jahangir made him allow to marry the girl. However, they were too young hence, their wedding was postponed for few years and they enjoyed the period of their love affair.

As per Shah Jahan, the wife was like a lucky charm for him, as after a few years from his marriage Shah Jahan captivated the throne of Mughal Empire winning over his four brothers and became a rebel emperor of the great throne in the year 1628.

Courtiers of his court did not like this at all but the two were so much in love with each other that they did not had the time to take care of such thoughts of the people. The emperor was falling in love with his wife more and more with each passing second and day.

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