Tears at the Taj
Situated on the banks of the river Yamuna, stands the world’s most photographed
monument, the Taj
Mahal. It indeed is a jewel on India’s bosom. The beauty of the Taj lies in its grace and magnificence in terms of art and talent.
The Taj Mahal is not merely a structure in speechless stone but is also a memoir of love and solace speaking a silent language of its own. One glimpse of the Taj Mahal has never failed to bedazzle millions of spectators the world over. Those who visit the Taj not only carry an unforgettable memory in their hearts but also a feeling of having witnessed true love that lies engraved in the core of the marble tomb that will live on for ever and ever till the end of time.
The legendry mausoleum tells the tale of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s love for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. A promise fulfilled, a thought lost, a memory that never faded with time and age. The glimmering walls of the Taj Mahal recite the ballad of the Mughal era and of a love so great that withstood all boundaries of patience and pain. The structure itself speaks of being able to bring back to life someone you love. And the legend in marble lives on….
A few days ago I read in an article in the ‘Times of India’ about a tour operator guiding a
group of students through the Taj Mahal on a visit from a school in France. As the group entered the lofty red sandstone gates that give the first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, one of the students, a twelve-year-old girl, just kept standing dumbstruck by the splendor of the
monument. After a while she went and sat down at a secluded spot and was seen crying .On being asked she just expressed her disappointment at how unfortunate her parents were that they might never be able to see something as beautiful as this in their entire life.
Few weeks later, the tour operator was invited to the same school in Western France as the group that had visited India had put up an exhibition on the Indian Culture. Amongst various other exhibits was a small postcard size picture of the Taj Mahal with an article by its side that stated,” I have never seen anything as majestic or as overwhelming as the Taj Mahal. Photographers have tried to click the reflection of the Taj in the river Yamuna the world over. Millions of pictures put together cannot bring the beauty of the monument to life. I never clicked any pictures of the Taj Mahal because it cannot be remembered through an image captured by any camera and I know that I will remember the image of the Monument in my mind the longest.”
Such was the impact of the great Taj on the mind of the little girl.
The famous writer and Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore described the Taj as ‘tears frozen into marble’. The splendor of the Taj Mahal does not lie in the putting together of marble and precious stones, but in the plain fact that it is a reminiscent of love immortal and has been acclaimed a masterpiece of the soul, a wonder indeed.
The need to see Mumtaz through the eyes of the bereaved emperor as he breathed his last was a need so immense that it can be felt even today when the world throngs to see the Taj Mahal.
The irony doesn’t end here. Today, when the world is fighting with social and political evils several threats are glaring at this legacy of love. The threats that have emerged from terrorism and political differences are a shame as they claim to destroy the Taj Mahal which isn’t merely a tomb in white marble but is also a gift given by a loving husband to his dead wife, a miracle that pledges to keep his love alive till time eternal.
No terrorist or organization, cult or person has the right to try and destroy this jewel on earth. Two lovers lie in peace within its heart and dwell in the lap of nature with the waves of the river Yamuna caressing their soul.