The Taj Mahal Story
Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders for more than just its beauty.
Taj Mahal's future gives it a soul of love, grief, remorse, and love again.
Because without love, the world would have lost a great relationship model.
A man so loved his wife that he made sure her memories would never fade.
Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor, was madly in love with his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
He was the son of Mughal Emperor Jehangir and the grandson of Akbar the Great, and she was a Muslim Persian princess known as Arjumand Banu Begum before their marriage.
He loved Mumtaz at the age of 14. They married in 1612, five years later.
The Taj Mahal is a complex of mausoleums in Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The Mughal emperor Shah Jahn (1628–1588) built the Taj Mahal to honour his wife Mumtaz Mahal (also known as the "Chosen One of the Palace").
She had passed away while giving birth to her 14th child since their marriage in 1612.
The most famous structure in India is located on the southern (right) bank of the Yamuna (Jumna) River in the eastern part of the city.
The Taj Mahal located 1.6 km west of Agra Fort (Red Fort) on the right side of the Yamuna.
The Taj Mahal is recognised as the best illustration of Mughal architecture, a synthesis of Indian, Persian, and Islamic traditions, in its harmonious proportions and seamless incorporation of decorative elements.
In addition to the mausoleum, there are beautiful grounds, a museum, and two identical mosques on either side of the mausoleum.
The Taj Mahal, one of the most exquisite architectural designs in the world and one of the most famous landmarks, attracts millions of people every year.
In 1983, the complex received UNESCO World Heritage status.
Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome builders, and other artisans from around the empire, as well as Central Asia and Iran, were requested to help construct it.
The principal architect of the Taj Mahal was Ustad-Ahmad Lahori.
In the history of Indo-Islamic architecture, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the pinnacle of excellence.
It has a rhythmic combination of solids and cavities, concave and convex surfaces, and a light shadow; the addition of arches and domes further enhances its aesthetic quality.
A green landscape, a reddish path, and a blue sky above it show how the colours and tones of the landmark are always changing.
The relief work in marble and the incorporation of precious and semiprecious stones distinguish it as a unique monument.
Shah Jahan's horticultural planners and architects were responsible for some genuinely remarkable innovations that give the Taj Mahal its uniqueness.
The placement of the tomb at one end of the quadruple garden, as opposed to the exact centre of the garden, added rich dimension and perspective to the distant view of the monument.
It is also a prime example of the raised tomb variant.
The tomb is elevated on a square platform, with the extremities of the square extending beyond the four sides of the octagonal base of the minarets.
The platform's summit is accessible via a lateral flight of stairs located in the centre of the southern side.
The composition of the Taj Mahal's ground plan is perfectly balanced, with the octagonal tomb chamber in the centre surrounded by portal corridors and four corner rooms.
The design is repeated on the second level. The tomb's exterior is square in plan and has chamfered corners.
The large double-story dome chamber that contains Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan's tombs is perfectly octagonal in plan.
The exquisite octagonal marble lattice screen that surrounds both cenotaphs is a work of art.
It is highly polished and adorned with intricate inlay work. The borders of the frames are inlaid with precious stones that represent blossoms with exquisite precision.
The hues and tones of the stones used to render the leaves and blossoms nearly lifelike.
The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is positioned in the exact centre of the tomb chamber on a rectangular platform adorned with inlaid floral plant designs.
The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is larger than Mumtaz Mahal and was constructed more than thirty years after Mumtaz Mahal, to the west of the latter.
In Mughal imperial monuments, the upper cenotaphs are merely illusions, and the actual graves are in the lower tomb chamber
The four freestanding minarets at the extremities of the platform added a previously undiscovered element to Mughal architecture.
In addition to providing a spatial reference for the monument, the four minarets give the structure a three-dimensional appearance.
Next to the tomb, the most impressive structure in the Taj Mahal complex is the main gate, which towers imposingly in the centre of the southern wall of the forecourt.
Double arcade galleries flank the north front of the portal.
On the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled garden, the garden in front of the galleries is divided into four quarters by two main walkways, and each quarter is further subdivided by narrower cross-axial walkways.
In the centre of the enclosure walls on the east and west sides is a pavilion.
The Taj Mahal is a correctly symmetrical structure, with a focus on bilateral symmetry along a central axis where the most prominent features are placed.
Brick-in-lime-mortar veneered with red sandstone, marble, and precious/semi-precious stones is used as the building material.
The mosque and guesthouse in the Taj Mahal complex are constructed from red sandstone, in contrast to the tomb's construction from white marble.
Both structures have a large platform over their respective front terraces. The mosque and the guesthouse are equivalent structures.
They have a massive, oblong prayer hall with three vaulted aisles arranged in a row and a dominant central portal.
The portal arch frames and spandrels are veneered with white marble.
The frameworks have flower arabesques made of stone intarsia, and the arches have rope moulding around them.
History of Construction of Taj Mahal
Various architects of that time have been credited with designing the complex, but the primary architect was likely Ustad Amad Lahawri, an Indian of Persian origin.
According to the principles of Mughal building practice, the complex's five main structures are:
- the main gateway,
- garden,
- mosque,
- jawab (literally, "answer"; a building that mirrors the mosque), and
- tomb (including its four minarets)
They were designed and built as a single, cohesive unit which forbade any subsequent additions or alterations.
Construction began in about 1632. More than 20,000 workers from India, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe were employed to construct the mausoleum in 1638–39.
The adjunct buildings were completed in 1643, and decoration work continued until 1647. 22 years were spent constructing the 42-acre (17-hectare) complex.
According to tradition, Shah Jahan originally intended to construct a second mausoleum across the river to house his remains.
This structure was to have been constructed from black marble and connected to the Taj Mahal via a bridge.
He was overthrown in 1658 by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned in Agra Fort for the rest of his life.
Design and structure
The mausoleum appropriate, which lies in the centre of a 23-foot-tall (7-metre-tall) broad plinth, is constructed of white marble that reflects a variety of colours depending on the intensity of sunlight or moonlight.
It has four faces that are nearly identical, each with a wide central arch ascending to 108 feet (33 metres) at its apex and chamfered (slanted) corners incorporating smaller arches.
The majestic central dome, which reaches a height of 73 metres (240 feet) at the peak, is surrounded by four smaller domes.
The sound absorption within the main dome causes a single flute note to echo five times.
The centre of the mausoleum's interior is an octagonal marble chamber with sculptures and semiprecious stones (pietra dura) in low relief.
It is the location of both Mumtaz Mahal's and Shah Jahan's tombs.
These fictitious monuments are enclosed by a decorative marble screen.
At garden level, beneath the chambers, are the actual sarcophagi. Elegant minarets stand gracefully apart from the central structure at each of the four extremities of the square plinth.
Two symmetrically identical buildings flank the mausoleum near the northwestern and northeastern edges of the garden, respectively: the mosque, which faces east, and its jawab, which faces west and provides aesthetic balance.
They are constructed out of red Sikri sandstone and have domes and architraves that are made of marble.
This is different from the white marble of the tomb in both colour and texture.
With pedestrian paths, fountains, and ornamental trees, the garden is laid out in accordance with classical Mughal design—a square divided by long watercourses (pools)—and features classical Mughal architecture.
Enclosed by the complex's walls and structures, it offers a spectacular approach to the mausoleum, whose reflection can be seen in the garden's central pools.
The southern portion of the complex is decorated with a wide red sandstone gateway with a two-story-tall hollow central arch.
Around the arch are white marble panels inlaid with black Qur'anic calligraphy and ornamental designs.
Two pairs of smaller arches flank the principal arch. 11 white chattris (chhattris; cupola-like structures) decorate the northern and southern facades of the gateway, along with 98-foot-tall (30-meter-tall) ornamental minarets.
At each of the structure's four extremities, there are octagonal towers topped with larger chattris.
Both pietra dura and Arabic calligraphy are replicated throughout the complex as decorative elements of note.
As exemplified by Mughal craftsmanship, pietra dura (Italian for "hard stone") involves the incorporation of semiprecious stones of various hues, such as lapis lazuli, jade, crystal, turquoise, and amethyst, in highly formalised and intertwining geometric and floral patterns.
The hues mitigate the blinding expanse of white Makrana marble.
Under the direction of Amnat Khan al-Shrz, numerous sections of the Taj Mahal were inscribed with Qur'anic verses in calligraphy, which is fundamental to Islamic art.
One of the inscriptions on the sandstone gate, called "Daybreak" (89:28–30), tells the faithful to come into heaven.
Also, calligraphy encircles the grand, arched entrances to the mausoleum's interior.
To ensure a uniform appearance from the terrace, the scale of the lettering increases in proportion to its relative height and viewer distance.
Current Issues
The Taj Mahal has been subject to neglect and deterioration over the centuries.
Beginning in the 20th century, Lord Curzon, the British viceroy of India at the time, conducted a significant restoration effort.
Recent air pollution caused by emissions from foundries and other nearby factories, as well as vehicle exhaust, has harmed the mausoleum, particularly its marble surface.
Several measures have been taken to reduce the threat to the monument, including the closure of some foundries and the installation of pollution-control equipment at others, the creation of a parkland buffer zone around the structure, and the prohibition of adjacent transportation.
In 1998, a restoration and study programme for the Taj Mahal was initiated.
Slow progress has been made in alleviating environmental conditions around the monument.
India's political climate occasionally has an impact on the Taj Mahal.
Between 1984 and 2004, nighttime viewing was prohibited due to concerns that the monument would become a target for Sikh militants.
Additionally, it is increasingly regarded as an Indian cultural symbol.
Some Hindu Outfit organisations have attempted to downplay the significance of the Muslim influence on the Taj Mahal's origins and design.
Acid Rain cause
Recent environmental hazards on the banks of the Yamuna River include acid rain caused by the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by directives from the Supreme Court of India.
The pollution has turned the Taj Mahal brown-yellow.
To combat air pollution, the Indian government has established the "Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)," a 10,400-square-kilometer (4,000-square-mile) area surrounding the monument with stringent emission standards.
Because the groundwater level in the Yamuna river basin is falling at a rate of approximately 1.5 m (5 ft) per year, concerns have recently been voiced regarding the tomb's structural integrity.
In 2010, parts of the tomb started to crack, and the minarets around the monument showed signs of leaning.
This suggests that the wooden base of the tomb may be rotting because it doesn't get enough water.
Politicians have pointed out, however, that the minarets are constructed with a slight outward tilt to prevent them from collapsing onto the mausoleum in the event of an earthquake.
In 2011, it was said that some predictions said the tomb could fall within five years.
On April 11, 2018, it was reported that two of the outlying structures' small minarets had been damaged by a storm.
On May 31, 2020, a second intense thunderstorm caused harm to the complex.
Some Interesting Facts about Taj Mahal
The oldest stories about the Taj fall into the last category.
Here, the most well-known story is about the second Taj, which is called the "Black Taj."
Shah Jahan wanted to build it in black marble next to the current tomb.
The site of the Mahtab Bagh dates back to Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who was in Agra in 1665 and said, "Shah Jahan began to construct his own tomb on the opposite side of the river, but the war with his sons stopped him, and Aurangzeb, who is in power now, doesn't want to finish it."
Aurangzeb, his son and successor, put Shah Jahan under house arrest.
Most of the time, the second son didn't agree with his father, and he especially didn't want him to build him a black Taj as a grave.
Aurangzeb buried Shah Jahan in the Taj Mahal next to his wife's grave after he died. Most likely, this was the best way to do it.
.The Emperor's body was brought from Burhanpur to Agra in a golden casket by only two men in a boat.
During his eight-year illness and incarceration, according to legend, Shah Jahan viewed the Taj from his bed through a diamond mounted on the wall in front of him at a specific angle. WOW!!!
As a tribute to a woman of exotic beauty and as a monument to a love story that captivates us even as we read these pages, the Taj discloses to its Beholder its details!
1942 protective Armed Forces scaffolding
In 1942, the government covered the building with scaffolding in fear of Japanese Air Force air attacks.
During the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan conflicts, scaffolding was again erected to confuse bomber pilots.
Visitors at Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction. In 2001, UNESCO recorded more than 2 million visitors; by 2014, that number had risen to between 7 and 8 million.
There is a three-tier pricing structure in operation, with significantly lower entrance fees for Indian nationals and higher fees for foreigners.
As of 2022, Indians had to pay 50 rupees, people from SAARC and BIMSTEC countries had to pay 540 rupees, and all other visitors from other nations had to pay 1,100 rupees.
The peak months for tourism are October, November, and February.
Polluting vehicles are prohibited in the vicinity of the complex, and visitors must either walk from parking areas or take an electric vehicle.
Currently, the Khawasspuras (northern courtyards) are being renovated for use as a new visitor centre.
To deal with overtourism, the site instituted fines for visitors who remained longer than three hours in 2019.
Taj Ganji, or Mumtazabad, the small town to the south of the Taj Mahal, was originally built with caravanserais, bazaars, and markets to service the needs of visitors and workers.
The Taj Mahal appears on a number of lists of the seven modern wonders of the world, including the New Seven Wonders of the World, a recent poll that received 100 million votes.
The grounds are open from 6:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m. during the week, with the exception of Friday, when the complex is open from 12:00 p.m. to 14:00 p.m. for mosque prayers.
The complex is accessible at night on the day of the full moon and two days before and after, with the exception of Fridays and the month of Ramadan.
In India, foreign dignitaries frequently visit the Taj Mahal.
Dwight Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, George Harrison, Vladimir Putin, Princess Diana, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Philip have all visited the site.