The Taj Mahal -- An Emperor's Tribute to His Beloved

by Gautam Chatterjea
Agra, 200 kilometres from Delhi, was the seat of the Mughal dynasty since the 15th century.

Shah Jahan the erstwhile emperor, in 1612 married a nubile beauty Arjuman, and lovingly called her Mumtaj Mahal literally meaning 'ornate crown of the place'. Mumtaj Mahal was two years younger to Shah Jahan and in their married life of 18 years she bore him 14 children. During her last childbirth Mumtaj Mahal passed away in 1631. On her demise the bereaved emperor was shattered and withdrew himself from active governance of his kingdom.

Mumtaj Mahal had died at Berhampur in the India state of Kalinga, now known as Orissa and was buried at the banks of river Tapti. Sometime later after the emperor could gather himself, he asked his son Suja to exhume his mother's body and lay her to rest at Agra the seat of his kingdom.

Not to be contented with an ordinary tomb on the grave of his wife, Shah Jahan decided to create a magnificent memorial in remembrance of Mumtaj Mahal that the world will ever marvel at. He invited the most renowned architects, artisans and construction experts from many countries of the world and expressed his desire for the creation of a unique mausoleum in memory of his wife at the banks of river Yamuna at Agra where the empress was finally laid to rest. Finally, after years of creating hundreds of designs for this memorial edifice, an artist from Persia named Isfan Diya Rumi produced the design that Shah Jahan was eventually satisfied with.

And the construction of a marvellous memoriam began which took 22 years to complete with a labour force of 20,000 workers and skilled artisans. It was originally named 'Rouza-e-Mumtaj Mahal' [the Mausoleum of Mamtaj Mahal], but eventually came to be short named as the Taj Mahal.

On the border panels of the four entrances to the central tomb are inscriptions from the holy Quran. The perspective design employs a gradual enlargement of calligraphy towards the top, so that any one reading it standing on the platform 100 feet below will still read the letters in optical proportions at the top. This uniquely arranged calligraphy was etched by Amanat Khan Miraji of Kandahar.

The cost of the edifice when completed in 1653 stood at Indian Rupees 30 million.

At the entrance of the edifice, the visitor will read on the plaque these details on the memorial:

"The Taj Mahal was built between 1631 and 1653 by Emperor Shah Jahan (1627 - 1658) as the tomb for his wife Arjuman better known as Mumtaj Mahal, born in 1592, the daughter of Asaf Khan, she married Shah Jahan in 1612 and died in 1631. After his death the Emperor was buried by her side."

The architectural marvel was built over a 20 metre deep foundation of wells, wooden logs, sandstone and mortar fillings that has stood through 350 years. The Taj has three gates and four Minarets each 140 feet high placed at the four ends of the main platform. The minarets also employ a unique design in that it will always fall outwards should it encounter collapse in a disaster. The main gate displays on its top 22 small domes in two rows that account for the number of years it took Taj to be built. The main platform is approached through a wonderfully laid out garden and water channels with fountains. Garden planners from Kashmir, the place famous for its beautiful gardens, created the garden complex. The mausoleum also has a prayer mosque and a guesthouse for royal visitors on either side of the main structure set at equal distance and built symmetrically.

The emperor in his old age during house detention by his son Aurangzeb, with failing vision would take the help of the reflection from the crystals embedded in the pillars of the fort's balcony facing the edifice, to look at his beloved wife's memorial - The Taj, two kilometres away.

The Taj Mahal is indeed the epitome of the greatest tribute of an emperor to his beloved. Shah Jahan's passions in building the memorial of Mumtaj Mahal was expressed in his own words as:

"The felon who seeks shelter in this mausoleum will find his misdeed annulled ... the sinner will be forgiven for his sin. Sighs will have no bounds at this tomb, that's the eventual embodiment of HIS creation."

Millions of people from round the world have seen the beautiful edifice that is regarded to be the most wonderful thing on the planet created 350 years ago. A traveller has recorded "if it is assumed that there is nothing else worth seeing in India, even then a visit to the magnificent Taj would always compensate for the effort of coming here."

And finally the memorial now basks in the pride of being recognised among the seven new wonders of the world. More on Taj Mahal at: www.indiadreamtours.com

The curious would find it interesting to know that the ancient Indian civilization and its culture has many wonders hidden in every fold of this great land that has remained the centre of attention for the world for many many centuries.

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