.The Taj Mahal in Agra is indisputablythe most famous example of Mughal architecture. Described by RabindranathTagore as "a tear on the face of eternity", it is in popularimagination a veritable "wonder of the
world".The white-splendored
tomb was builtby Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum,better known as Mumtaz Mahal ("Chosen of the Palace"). Shemarried Shah Jahan in 1612 to become his second wife and inseparable companion,and died in childbirth at Burhanpur while on a campaign with her husband in1629. Shah Jahan was, it is said, inconsolable to the point of contemplatingabdication in favour of his sons. The
court went into mourning for over twoyears; and Shah Jahan decided to commemorate the memory of Mumtaz with abuilding the like of which had never been seen before.The dead queen was brought to Agraand laid to rest in a garden on the banks of the Jamuna river. A council of thebest architects was assembled to prepare designs for the tomb. Though someattribute the design to Geronimo Verroneo, an Italian in the Mughal service,evidence suggests that it was designed by Ustad Isa Khan Effendi, a Persian,who assigned the detailed work to his pupil Ustad Ahmad. The
dome wasdesigned by Ismail Khan.The tomb which is higher than amodern 20-storey building took 22 years to complete with a workforce of 20,000.Craftsmen from as far as Turkey came to join in the work. The
marble wasquarried at Makrana near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Precious stones were importedfrom distant lands. A two mile ramp was built to lift material up to the levelof the dome. It is alleged that on its completion, Shah Jahan ordered the righthand of the chief mason to be cut off so that the masterpiece could never be recreated.As one might expect, numerous other legends are associated with the Taj Mahal:thus, according to one story, Shah Jahan desired to have another Taj builtacross the river, this one entirely in black marble.The tomb was provided with sumptuousfittings and furnishings, including rich Persian carpets, gold lamps andcandlesticks. It is reliably reported and documented that two great silverdoors to the entrance were looted and melted down by Suraj Mal in 1764, and asheet of pearls that covered the sarcophagus was carried off by Amir Husein AliKhan in 1720. In a manner of speaking, the pillage of the Taj continuesunabated: more recently, the fumes from the surrounding industries have starteddeteriorating the marble, though various court orders have resulted inindustries around the Taj being moved to more distant points. The latestdesecration of the monument took place, ironically, in celebration of thefiftieth anniversary of Indian independence, when the mediocre rock star Yanni,whose elevator music has attracted a world-wide audience, was allowed to give alive and certainly unprecedented performance at the Taj.The surroundings of the Taj Mahalhave been restored to the original designs of Ali Mardan Khan, a noble at ShahJahan's court. The main vista is accentuated by a red sandstone channel setbetween rows of cypress trees. The main entrance is from the west, but thereare two other entrances -- from the east and from the west. The main gateway isa large three-storey sandstone structure with an octagonal central chamber withsmaller rooms on each side. The walls are inscribed with verses from the Quran.The Makrana white marble of the TajMahal assumes subtle variations of light, tint and tone at different times
ofthe day. At dawn it assumes a soft dreamy aspect; at noon, it appears to be adazzling white, and in the moonlight the dome looks like a huge iridescentpearl. Not surprisingly, then, the Taj is today regarded all over the world asa supreme labour of love.Though the architectural history ofthe Taj has received much attention, a cultural and political interpretation ofthe Taj has never been attempted. While it never fails to move and dazzle, onecan scarcely forget that its history, like that of other monumentalchievements of pre-modern (and even modern) states, is bound to oppression andslavery. Who thinks of the large force of serfs whose labor was exploited tosatisfy the love of one man, and how brutal was the repression of the peasantryin order to increase the revenues of the state? Or consider this: is it notoppressive that the Taj charges an admission fee of Rs. 100, an amount that themajority of Indians still do not make in one day's work, for the luxury ofviewing it by moonlight? The monument remains the supreme icon of India to therest of the world, along with the over-population, notorious poverty, and"mysticism" of this ancient land. It is one of India's largesttourist-revenue earners, and no tourist image predominates as that of thevisitor snapped in front of the Taj. The image of the Taj appears in countlessadvertisements, and the Taj has taken on another life of its own. Thus ahistory of the representations of the Taj is still wanting.
More summaries about the Taj Mahal