The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven
Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent.
It’s the history of Taj Mahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a
soul that is filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if
it was not for love, the world would have been robbed of a fine example
upon which people base their relationships. An example of how deeply a
man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made
sure that this memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in love with Mumtaz Mahal,
his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name Arjumand Banu
Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor
Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that
he met Mumtaz and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year
1612, they got married.
Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion
of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It
was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a
magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the
“Taj Mahal”. The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631.
Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers,
dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of
the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran, and it took
approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome of love,
it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The
monument was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in
from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of
approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was
finally completed in the year 1653.
It was soon after the completion of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was
deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at
nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this
mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was
at the end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a
sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908, as a measure
to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion of 1857: Taj being
blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also
deprived the monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious
stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. Also, the British style lawns
that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were remodeled around
the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present
threats from Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of
love continuous to shine and attract people from all over the work.
Epitome Of Love -Taj Mahal
Shahjahan, who was a passionate builder, now decided to erect a memorial to his queen in pristine marble that the world would never forget. The site selected for the tomb was a garden by the Yamuna river, unshadowed by any other structure. The garden had been laid by Raja Man Singh of Amber and now belonged to his grndson, Raja Jai Singh. By a royal firman, Shahjahan gave Jai Singh four havelis in exchange for the garden. The site was also chosen because it was located on a bend in the river, and so could be seen from Shahjahan’s personal palace in Agra Fort, further upstream. This is why Taj Mahal history is still reminded by the lovers all over.Construction Of The Mausoleum – Taj Mahal
The history of Taj Mahal behind its construction is quite amusing. Work on the mausoleum began in 1633 and 20,000 workers laboured for 17 years to build it. The most skilled architects, inlay craftsmen, calligraphers, stone-carvers and masons came from all across Indian and lands as distant as Persia and Turkey. The master mason was from Baghdab, an expert in building the double dome from Persia, and an inlay specialist from Delhi.
Yemen sent agates, the corals came from Arabia, the garnets from Bundelkhand, onyx and amethyst from Persia. Mumtaz Mahal’s final resting-place was ornamented like a queen’s jewel-box.
This is the undying story that has now became an integral part of the Taj Mahal history and its construction.
Shahjahan, who was a passionate builder, now decided to erect a memorial to his queen in pristine marble that the world would never forget. The site selected for the tomb was a garden by the Yamuna river, unshadowed by any other structure. The garden had been laid by Raja Man Singh of Amber and now belonged to his grndson, Raja Jai Singh. By a royal firman, Shahjahan gave Jai Singh four havelis in exchange for the garden. The site was also chosen because it was located on a bend in the river, and so could be seen from Shahjahan’s personal palace in Agra Fort, further upstream. This is why Taj Mahal history is still reminded by the lovers all over.Construction Of The Mausoleum – Taj Mahal
The history of Taj Mahal behind its construction is quite amusing. Work on the mausoleum began in 1633 and 20,000 workers laboured for 17 years to build it. The most skilled architects, inlay craftsmen, calligraphers, stone-carvers and masons came from all across Indian and lands as distant as Persia and Turkey. The master mason was from Baghdab, an expert in building the double dome from Persia, and an inlay specialist from Delhi.
Yemen sent agates, the corals came from Arabia, the garnets from Bundelkhand, onyx and amethyst from Persia. Mumtaz Mahal’s final resting-place was ornamented like a queen’s jewel-box.
This is the undying story that has now became an integral part of the Taj Mahal history and its construction.
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