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| The Taj Mahal has visitors lining up from before the monument opens at 6am! |
What is left to say about the Taj Mahal? As the pinnacle of Mughal architecture, its fame has ensured that people have seen it through a populist frame, where the excellence of design and aesthetics have got overshadowed by a 'love story'.
The love shared by Khurram and Arjamand Bano Begum, better known today as Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal, clearly involved a lot of intercourse, and Mumtaz died giving birth to their 14th child in Burhanpur. Grief stricken Shahjahan, newly Mughal emperor, pledged to build something the world would marvel at. Shahjahan commissioned the Rauza-i Munauwara or the tomb of his wife to be built across the bend in the river and visible from his then residence, Agra Fort. In this of course he was absolutely successful, and to date the monument to love is something visitors from literally all corners of the world.
For me, what has been remarkable is the extreme symmetry of design in the monument complex. The complex does follow the Timurid concept of charbagh, associated usually with Islamic paradisical imagery. The entire complex is 55.5 acres in a rectangular plot that stretches from the Yamuna southwards, acquired from Raja Jai Singh. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri was roped in as architect, though Shahjahan himself was very active in conceptualisation.
The numbers are mind blowing. The project took 22 years (1631-53) to finish. Just the foundation, plinth and main structure took 15 years - can't even imagine planning and waiting for so long! Of course, the builders had no modern equipment at all - not even a plastic scale, of course no cranes or forklifts, or computers. 20,000 workers reportedly worked on the project over time. 28 varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj with exquisite inlay work.
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