Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal in Agra is indisputably the Crown Palace of Mughal architecture. The beauty of white marbleLocated on the bank of a picturesque river, the structure is a sheer magic. Perhaps no other symbol epitomizes India as Taj Mahal. As Fergusson remarked, "it is the combination of so many beauties, and the perfect manner in which each is subordinated to the other that makes up a whole, which the word can not match and which never fails to impress even those who are most indifferent to the effects produced by architectural objects in general".

Taj Mahal, the epitome of love, is the ethereal symbol of an emperor's passion for the queen of his heart. A legendary monument, must to be seen in a lifetime.

The white-splendored tomb was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal.The term Taj Mahal itself never occurs in any mogul court paper or chronicle even in Aurangzeb's time, which is weird, because a Monument like the Taj cant go unnoticed for 150 Years.
The unusual explanation of the term Tajmahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal, who is buried in it, is illogical in at least two respects viz., firstly her name was never Mumtaj Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani and secondly one cannot omit the first three letters "Mum" from a woman's name to derive the remainder as the name of the building. Since the lady's name was Mumtaz (ending with 'Z') the name of the building derived from her should have been Taz Mahal, if at all, and not Taj (spelled with a 'J').Sha Jahan had three wives and out of them Mumtaz was his real love. She had been the mother of 14 of his 16 children. Mumtaz Mahal possessed great reasoning power and self-respect in her manners. She was Sha Jahan's inseparable companion and counselor until her death. While breathing her last, Mumtaz Mahal took a promise from her beloved to build an edifice in memory of their love. And thus began the work of a monument that continues to attract millions of lovers even today.

Tragically those monument surroundings ultimately became Sha Jahan's prison. His son, Aurangzeb, seized the throne and imprisoned his father for the last eight years of his life. Legend maintains that Shah Jahan spent his final years locked in the Agra Fort, gazing from the Jasmine Tower of his marble palace, down the Yamuna River to the Taj Mahal, the tomb of his beloved wife. Tended by Jahanara, his eldest daughter, Shah Jahan was confined to the fort for eight years. According to legend, when Shah Jahan was on his deathbed, he kept his eyes fixed on the Taj Mahal where his beloved lies. After his death, Shah Jahan was buried there beside his dead queen, Mumtaz Mahal. Their love never separated them in life, miseries and finally in death. Taj Mahal synonymous with Mumtaz Mahal remains the eternal monument for their everlasting love.

Arguably, Taj is still India's most popular tourist attraction. Infact, for many outsiders visiting India, it is the most irresistible spot. This perfectly symmetrical edifice is set amidst landscaped gardens on the banks of Yamuna river. Built under the supervision of persian architect Ustad Isa, the building in white marble has the verses of the holy Quran inscribed on it, with the gate being crowned by 22 small doves. Constructed between 1631 (when Mumtaz Mahal died) and 1653, Shah Jahan had called experts from Europe, too namely Austin of Bordeaux and Veroneo of Venice. The two had a hand in the Taj Mahal's decoration.

The Taj Mahal has been constructed on a 313 square feet marble platform, enclosed within a high boundary wall with broad octagonal pavilions at the corners the most elegant dome has a diameter of 60 feet and a height of 80 feet. Pietra dura, semi precious stones inlaid into the marble in beautiful patterns, is perhaps at its best here. The jewel inlaid cenotaph of the queen lies within the dome. Set against the plain across the river Yamuna, that works its magic of colours that, through their reflection, change the view of the Taj Mahal, the tomb especially appreciated for its perfect proportions and exquisite workmanship. As they say about the Mughals in general, it has been "designed like giants and finished like jewellers".
The Makrana white marble of the Taj Mahal assumes subtle variations of light, tint and tone at different times of the day. At dawn it assumes a soft dreamy aspect; at noon, it appears to be a dazzling white, and in the moonlight the dome looks like a huge iridescent pearl. Not surprisingly, then, the Taj is today regarded all over the world as a supreme labour of love.
The most majestic monument of white marble narrating the tale of everlasting love. remains the supreme icon of India to the rest of the world, along with the over-population, notorious poverty, and "mysticism" of this ancient land. It is one of India's largest tourist-revenue earners, and no tourist image predominates as that of the visitor snapped in front of the Taj. The image of the Taj appears in countless advertisements, and the Taj has taken on another life of its own. Thus a history of the representations of the Taj is still wanting.