The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the
World. This ‘epitome of love’ is a magnificent creation built in the memory of Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan’s beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
The history of Taj Mahal adds a soul to its magnificence, a true
soul filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
fell in love with Mumtaz Mahal at the age of 14. Five years later in the year
1612, they got married.
Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died
in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child.
The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631. It
took approximately 22 years to build it making use of the services of 22,000
laborers and 1,000 elephants.
Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters,
calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans got engaged in its construction
from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran.
The monument was built entirely out of white marble, which
was brought in from all over India and central Asia.
The main gateway is situated at
the end of the long watercourse, bordered with Arabic calligraphy of verses
from the Quran, made up of black stone and a domed central chamber.
The original door of the massive sandstone gateway was made
out of solid silver.
The main tomb of Taj Mahal stands on a square platform raised
50 meter above the riverbank and was well-leveled with dirt to reduce seepage
from the river.
The four minarets on each corner of this square are
detached, facing the chamfered angles of the main and are deliberately kept at
137 feet to emphasize the beautiful and spherical dome that itself is 58 feet
in diameter and 81 feet high.
The western side of the main tomb has the mosque and on the
eastern side is the Naqqar Khana (rest/guest house), both made in red
sandstone.
The two structures not only provide an architectural
symmetry, but also make for an aesthetic color contrast. One can only marvel at
the mosque and the rest house as despite being on the opposite ends, the two
are mirror image of each other.
The Islamic style architecture of the garden has a well-defined
meaning which symbolizes spirituality and according to the Holy Quran, the lush
green, well watered is a symbol of Paradise in Islam. The raised pathways
divide each of the four quarters into 16 flowerbeds with around 400 plants in
each bed.
A shadowy burial crypt inside the Taj Mahal houses the tombs
of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan himself, who were buried there after death.
Above these tombs is the main chamber that has the false tombs and perforated
marble screens used to transmit light into the burial chamber, typical of
mausoleums of the Mughals.
Calligraphic inscriptions of the ninety nine names of Allah
are also found on the sides of actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal.