Lovers die, but love shall not and death shall
have no dominion...
In the year 1607 when a prince of
the royal Mughal household strolled down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied
by a string of fawning courtiers, he caught a glimpse of a girl
hawking silk and glass beads. Five years and a wife later (in those
days princes did not marry for love alone) the regal 20-yr-old went to
wed his 19-yr-old bride. It was a fairytale union from the start, one
that withstood court intrigues, battles for succession and finally,
the grand coronation. And when she died on the 19th year of their
marriage, he etched her story in stone. The Taj Mahal is the living
symbol of the monumental passion of Shah Jahan and Arjumand Banu.
Which other love story has so grand a memorial?
Agra, The Chosen City for Taj Mahal
Agra was the chosen city of the Mughal emperors during the early
years. It was here that the founder of the dynasty, Babur, laid out
the first formal Persian garden on the banks of the River Yamuna.
Here, Akbar, his grandson, raised the towering ramparts of the great
Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts
and gardens. Shahjahan embellished it with marbled mosques, palaces
and pavillions of gem-inlaid white marble. Agra is globally renown as
the city of the Taj Mahal, a monument of love and imagination, that
represents India to the world.
History of Taj Mahal India
The origin of the name the "Taj Mahal" is not clear. Court histories
from Shah Jehan's reign only call it the rauza (tomb) of Mumtaz Mahal.
It is generally believed that "Taj Mahal" (usually translated as
either "Crown Palace" or "Crown of the Palace") is an abbreviated
version of her name, Mumtaz Mahal (Exalted One of the Palace).
The Taj Mahal is a deserving resting palace for an Emperor's Empress.
It stands on the banks of the river Yamuna, which otherwise serves as
a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the
Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It
was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of
his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died
while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a
rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child.
MUMTAZ MAHAL - "Build me a Taj"
As Mumtaz Mahal lay dying, she asked four promises from the emperor:
first, that he build the Taj; second, that he should marry again;
third, that he be kind to their children; and fourth, that he visit
the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second
promises. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years.
Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The principal
architect was the Iranian architect Istad Usa; it is possible that the
pietra dura work was coordinated by an Italian artist.
TAJ MAHAL - Wonder of the World
To people the world over, the Taj Mahal, mausoleum of Mughal Emperor
shah Jana's chief wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is synonymous with India. Its
curving, gently swelling dome and the square base upon which its rests
so lightly is a familiar image from hundreds of brochures and travel
books. The Taj is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular buildings of
the world. Renowned for its architectural magnificence and aesthetic
beauty, it counts among man's proudest creations and is invariably
included in the list of the world's foremost wonders. As a tomb, it
has no match upon earth, for mortal remains have never been housed in
greater grandeur.
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India
will sideswipe you with its size, clamour and diversity but if you
enjoy delving in to convoluted cosmologies and thrive on sensual
overload, then it is one of the most intricate and rewarding dramas
unfolding on earth, and you'll quickly develop an abiding passion
for it.
"If
there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of
living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man
began the dream of existence,