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Taj Mahal in India
About Taj Mahal in India
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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