Taj Mahal – The remains of Love

The Taj Mahal was built in 1648 by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan lost his wife Mumtaz Mahal on June 17, 1631. He was so inconsolable that he envisaged a memorial befitting his love. Taj Mahal is the final resting place Mumtaz Mahal, real name Arjuman Bano. Today, it is listed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, the only one from India. Taj Mahal was the apogee of the evolutionary architectural process in medieval India. No wonder it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mumataz Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal was born on April 6, 1593, as Arjuman Bano.  Mumtaz Mahal was the daughter of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, a Persian nobleman and the niece of Empress Nur Jahan. Nur Jahan was the chief wife of Jehangir. When Mumtaz Mahal was of 14 years old, she was engaged to marry Prince Khurram, also known as Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal got married to Shah Jahan in 1612. Mumtaz Mahal is said to travel with Shah Jahan and even accompanied him on his military campaigns. Shah Jahan trusted her even in royal matters and gave her his Imperial Seat — the Muhr Uzah. Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan together had 14 children, including Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja, Roshanara Begum, Jahanara Begum and Aurangzeb. On June 17, 1631, while she was giving birth to their 14th child, she succumbed to death. Initially, her body was buried in a walled garden in Burhanpur, on the banks of the Tapti. It was later on that her body was moved to the final resting place of the Taj Mahal in Agra. Shah Jahan was devastated on hearing the news of her death. He went into mourning that lasted for about a year. When he came from Agra ( Capital during his reign ) to see his beloved wife, his hair was turned white and his face was ravaged with grief and sadness. He had her body exhumed and took back her beloved wife to Agra in a golden coffin, escorted by their son Shah Shuja. In Agra, her body was buried in a small building on the banks of the Yamuna. Shah Jahan then started planning a royal mausoleum to make the memories of his beloved wife remembered in the times to come.

Taj Mahal Architect

The construction of the mausoleum was started in 1632 and got finally completed in 1648. The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal – Taj Mahal is made of white marble and is a master showpiece of Mughal architecture. It is supposed to represent Shah Jahan’s vision of Mumtaz Mahal’s home in paradise.

The architecture of the Taj Mahal is a culmination of various elements of Islamic, Indian, Persian, Ottoman and Turkish styles of art. The principal architect of the Taj Mahal was Ahmed Shah Lahauri. It is said that thousands of artisans and craftsmen were employed for the construction of this monument. According to a folklore, Shah Jahan ordered the cutting of hands of these artisans so that such a beautiful monument could never be created again in the future.

Materials used for construction

The materials used for the construction of the Taj Mahal were brought from all over the Indian subcontinent as well as imported from Asia. Over 1000 elephants were used to carry the materials from their source region. The magnificent white marble used was brought from the Makrana mines of Rajasthan. Other decorative items were also brought from various places – turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan, jade and crystal from China and Sapphire from Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabian peninsula.

It is believed that the Taj Mahal is constructed in such a way that the white marble reflects the sky. And because of this the monument seems to be changing its colours during the day – During early morning the Taj appears pinkish, milky white at noon, a sparkling golden at sunset and shimmering silver in the moonlight.

Chahar-Bagh style of Garden Planning

In the early years of his reign, Shah Jahan’s capital was at Agra. Agra was a city where the nobility class constructed their homes on the banks of the river Yamuna. These constructions were set in the midst of formal gardens. These gardens were constructed in the chahar bagh layout of the Mughal Architecture. Agra, especially the Taj Mahal complex had been constructed in a variant of chahar-bagh style of architecture called “river-front garden”.

However this dwelling was not located in the middle of the chahar-bagh but at its edge, close to the bank of the river. The Taj Mahal – white marble mausoleum was placed on a terrace by the edge of the river and the garden was to its south. Shah Jahan develop this architectural form as a means to control the access that the nobles had to the river.

Taj Mahal Complex Plan

The plan of the complex of the Taj Mahal is simple and orderly. It is known for its perfectly symmetrical design. One can enter the Taj Mahal Complex through a monumental gigantic red sandstone gateway. The gateway is in the form of an arch. The main mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal is lying in the Chahar-bagh. The mausoleum is at the north end of the chahar-bagh instead of the middle so as to stand near to the riverbank of Yamuna. The chahar-bagh garden is crisscrossed with paths and waterways, interspersed with pools and fountains.

You will have to go on a straight path through the chahar-bagh to reach the main monument. The tomb is standing on a platform. At the corners of it, there stand four tall minarets 132 feet high. The minarets taper from bottom to top. The main monument has a large dome at the top along with drums and four cupolas. They together form a beautiful skyline. There is a tomb to the west of the mausoleum. It is made up of red sandstone. A similar structure is also present to the east so as to maintain the symmetrical balance. The tomb structure is square-shaped. It along with chamfers forms eight sides, recessed with deep arches. This structural stylisation produces in the elevation of the building a variety of contrasting planes and shade and solids and voids effects. All the sides of the building, the twin elevations of floor to roof and roof to pinnacle, atop the foliated crest of the dome, measure 186 feet each.

Interiors of Taj Mahal

The interior of the mausoleum consists of a crypt below and a vaulted, octagonal tomb chamber above. Here there is a room at each angle and all of them are well connected with the corridors. The interiors are well lit through the perforated jail work built as ventilation windows, set in the arched recesses. The ceiling is also very high similar to the façade creating a void with the help of a double dome.

The Controversy over Taj Mahal

According to historian P.N. Oak, the Taj Mahal was earlier a Lord Shiva’s Temple known as Tejo-Mahal Mahal in his 1989 book title “Taj Mahal: The True Story”. It is said that there was a haveli (mansion) owned by Hindu ruler Jai Singh which existed before the Taj was built in this area. Mr Oak believed that Emperor Shah Jahan seized the structure after a battle, and later renamed it the Taj Mahal. He said like a Shiva temple, water drips from the ceiling in the Taj Mahal, which is not a case in any mausoleum anywhere and is a likely feature that only exists on a Shiva linga. “Shah Jahan officially bought the haveli from him. An official farman [order] was issued about this and it still exists. The farman also shows that the Mughals were very particular about recording their deeds and history,” she said.

Taj Mahal and the bond of lovers

The Taj Mahal is no doubt the greatest embodiment of love. And therefore it is believed to strengthen the bond between lovers over the centuries. Local folk says that Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal meet at Taj Mahal even now on Amavasya (moonless) nights. This theme was depicted in M. Sadiq’s film “Taj Mahal” too. The belief is also that if a lovelorn man goes to the monument at midnight he would meet Mumtaz Mahal and a love-begone woman could hope to meet Shah Jahan. There are also more such old wives’ tales, including the one about how Jahanara Begum, the Mughal emperor’s eldest daughter. It is said that Jahanara Begum would go secretly at night to meet her lover, a doting poet, at the Taj, while her father was lying restless pining for Mumtaz in the Khawabgah (sleeping quarters) at the Agra Fort. This theme was also portrayed in the 1970s film, “Jahanara”. Ghazal maestro Rajendra described the relation between the Taj Mahal and the Love in his 1960s ghazal’s memorable lines: “Jab aanchal raat ka lehraye, Aur sara alam so jayey Tum mujhse milne, shamma jala kar; Taj Mahal mein aa jaana”. It was in the same vein that Yesudas sang his famous lyric, “Jab deep jalaein aana, Jab shaam dhale aana”. Both compositions have the same theme of lovers’ meetings after the evening fades away and the solitude of night envelops the world — at the Taj.

How to reach Taj Mahal

The nearest airport to Taj Mahal is Agra Airport at a distance of 13 km and will take about 35 minutes to reach the monument by cab or taxi from the airport. The closest railway station is Agra Cantt at a distance of 6 km. It is advisable to visit the Taj Mahal during the non-summer months. As the floor gets heated very soon, it makes it difficult to enjoy the trip.