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Agra, once
the capital of the Mughal Empire during the 16th and early 18th
centuries, is one and a half hours by express train from New
Delhi.Taj Mahal means "Crown Palace" and is in fact the most well
preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world.Taj Mahal
stands on the bank of 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. The death so
crushed the emperor that all his hair and beard were said to have
grown snow white in a few months.
When
Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted 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
material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it
took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. It was
designed by the Iranian architect Ustad Isa and it is best
appreciated when the architecture and its adornments are linked to
the passion that inspired it. It is a "symbol of eternal love".
As a tribute to a beautiful woman and as a monument for enduring
love, the Taj reveals its subtleties when one visits it without
being in a hurry. The rectangular base of Taj is in itself symbolic
of the different sides from which to view a beautiful woman. The
main gate is like a veil to a woman’s face which should be lifted
delicately, gently and without haste on the wedding night. In indian
tradition the veil is lifted gently to reveal the beauty of the
bride. As one stands inside the main gate of Taj, his eyes are
directed to an arch which frames the Taj.
The dome is made of white marble, but the tomb is set against the
plain across the river and it is this background that works its
magic of colours that, through their reflection, change the view of
the Taj. The colours change at different hours of the day and during
different seasons. Like a jewel, the Taj sparkles in moonlight when
the semi-precious stones inlaid into the white marble on the main
mausoleum catch the glow of the moon. The Taj is pinkish in the
morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines.
These changes, they say, depict the different moods of woman.
Different people have different views of the Taj but it would be
enough to say that the Taj has a life of its own that leaps out of
marble, provided you understand that it is a monument of love. As an
architectural masterpiece, nothing could be added or substracted
from it. |
