Taj Mahal of India
GATEWAY TO THE MAUSOLEUM, MOSQUE AND GARDENS
Taj Mahal is a monument located in Agra, India. It was
commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the son of Jahangir, as a
mausoleum for his Persian wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, also known as
Mumtaz-ul-Zamani or Mumtaz Mahal. It took 23 years to complete (1630–1653) and
is a masterpiece of Mughal architecture.
The site
The architectural complex of the Taj Mahal covers an area of approximately 580 m
× 300 m, comprised of five main components: the darwaza (gateway), the bageecha
(garden) which is in the form of the typical Mughal charbagh (garden divided
into four parts), the masjid (mosque), the mehmaan khana (guest house), and
finally the mausoleum of Taj Mahal, at the northern end of the complex.
The tomb complex was designed to be accessed from both the north (from the river
Yamuna) as well as by land from the south. The southern (land) entry has a
monumental gateway and other utility buildings. On entering the gateway, which
visually frames the tomb, one is inside the charbagh garden.
Measuring 300 m × 300 m, the garden has sunken parterres or flower-beds, raised
pathways, avenues of trees, water channels and pools that reflect the Taj. At
the north end of the garden, along the central axis, is the tomb. To the western
or Mecca side of the tomb is a mosque of red sandstone. On the eastern side is a
structure that mirrors the design mosque, providing architectural symmetry. This
building is known as the jawab ("answer") and was put to use as a guest house.
Construction and design
Overview
The tomb of Queen Mumtaz-ul-Zamani is a successful synthesis of many design
elements. Like most Mughal tombs, its basic elements are Persian in origin. The
building is a large, domed, multi-chambered structure constructed of white
marble. The building is highly decorated with pietra dura artwork that includes
geometric patterns, plants and flowers.
The floorplan is essentially a square with chamfered corners. The tomb's main
chamber is a cenotaph (the actual graves are a level below) surmounted by a
double dome (i.e., one having both inner and outer layers) generally referred to
as an onion dome because of its bulbous form. The Taj Mahal's design is also
said to have been based on that of a rose. The rose was Shah Jahan's wife's
favorite flower.
Around the central chamber are eight additional bays (four large, four small),
which open into the main chamber through arched alcoves. Four smaller domes
(Kiosks or chattris) over these surrounding bays articulate the main dome. The
entrance archways are adorned with stylised calligraphy of verses from the
Qu'ran.
The Taj Mahal stands on a raised white marble plinth or terrace with four
minarets at each corner framing the tomb. The minarets slant outwards so that in
the event of an earthquake they will fall away from the tomb.
Hindu-influenced design elements — especially sun and lotus flower motifs —
appear throughout: the main dome is an upside down lotus flower, as well as the
pillars. In the ceiling of the dome there is a drawing of the sun.
Craftsmen
A closeup view showing finer details.The names of many of the builders who
participated in the construction of the Taj in different capacities have come
down to us through Persian sources. A project as ambitious as the tomb of Mumtaz
Mahal demanded talent from many quarters.
'Puru' from Benarus, Persia (Iran), has been mentioned as the supervising
architect in Persian language texts (e.g. see ISBN 964-7483-39-2). From Turkey
came Ismail Khan, a designer of hemispheres and a builder of domes. Qazim Khan,
a native of Lahore, travelled to Agra to cast the solid gold finial that crowned
the Turkish master's dome. Chiranjilal, a local lapidary from Delhi, was chosen
as the chief sculptor and mosaicist. Amanat Khan from Persian Shiraz, Iran was
the chief calligrapher, and this fact is attested on the Taj gateway where his
name has been inscribed at the end of the inscription. Muhammad Hanif was the
Supervisor of masons, while Mir Abdul Karim and Mukkarimat Khan of Shiraz
handled finances and the management of daily production. Sculptors from Bukhara,
calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from southern India, stonecutters
from Baluchistan, a man who specialised in building turrets, another who carved
only marble flowers - thirty seven men in all formed the creative nucleus and to
this core was added a labour force of twenty thousand workers recruited from
across northern India.
Materials
Details of the outside wall.The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from
all over India and Asia. Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building
materials during the construction. The white marble was brought from Rajasthan,
the jasper from Punjab and the jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was
from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from
Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, 28 types of precious and
semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble. The total cost of
construction was about 40 million rupees, at a time when 1 gram of gold was sold
for about 1.3 rupees. (Which is around US$520 million at the October 2005 gold
price, though a comparison based on the value of gold in two such different
economic eras is not very meaningful).
Marble work
The cusped arches and panel of flowers are missing their inlay, but the vegetal
band around the flowers survives (or, perhaps, has been restored; it is not
always easy to tell the difference). Also present is a vertical Koranic
inscription. Calligraphy is made larger as the writing climbs up the building,
so that all the letters appear the same size when seen from the ground. In
keeping with the Taj Mahal's function as a funerary monument, Koranic quotations
on the building refer to the delights of Paradise to come.
Origins of the name
Most sources suggest that Taj Mahal is a shorter variant of Mumtaz Mahal, the
name of the woman it was built to commemorate. Taj is the Persian word meaning
"crown". Mahal means "palace" in Persian and in Arabic. This linguistic
similarity could have stemmed from the influence of Persian language in the
Indian society as well as Mughal empire. Typically the building is simply and
evocatively referred to as The Taj.
Aesthetics
Various studies on the Taj speculate on what makes it unique and beautiful. One
reason is attributed to its perfect proportions and geometry. Another is
ascribed to the various moods that the Taj presents to its viewers. Clad in
delicate, white Makrana marble, the Taj changes its character across time as the
light changes- dawn, noon, twilight, night. The shadows that fall on the marble
too enhance the effect, being very delicate. The Taj is considered especially
ethereal when viewed on a full moon night. For Tagore, the Taj was a "tear in
the face of eternity".
History
As part of the struggle for succession, Shah Jahan was put under house arrest at
nearby Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb, and legend has it that he spent the
remainder of his days there gazing from a window at the Taj. Upon Shah Jahan's
death, Aurengzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal, next to his wife, the only
disruption of the otherwise perfect symmetry in the architecture.
By the late 19th century, parts of the Taj Mahal had fallen badly into
disrepair. During the time of the Mutiny, the Taj faced defacement by British
soldiers, sepoys and government officials who chiselled out precious stones and
lapis lazuli from its walls. At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy
Lord Curzon ordered a restoration project. At the same time the traditional
garden was replaced with the more English-looking lawns that are visible today.
By the 20th century the Taj Mahal was being better taken care of. In 1942, the
British Raj erected a behemoth scaffolding over it in anticipation of an air
attack on it by the German Luftwaffe and later by the Japanese Air Force. During
the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were erected by the
Government of India to mislead would-be bomber pilots.
Its most recent threats came from environmental pollution on the banks of the
Jumna River, including acid rain occurring due to the Mathura oil refinery
(something opposed by Supreme Court of India directives).
The Taj Mahal, as of 1983, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and a major tourist
destination.
Recently, the Taj Mahal was declared Sunni Wakf property on the grounds that it
is the grave of a woman whose husband, Emperor Shah Jahan was a Sunni. The
Indian government has dismissed claims by the Muslim trust saying that their
claims were baseless and the Taj Mahal is Indian national property.
The Taj is often described as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Legends and theories
The Taj Mahal[edit]
Designers supposedly mutilated
An unlikely legend claims that after the completion of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan
had the eyes of architect Ustad Ahmed gouged, ensuring that nothing could be
built competing with its magnificence. Other exaggerated stories tell of skilled
sculptors and artisans whose hands were lopped off after their work was complete
to prevent them from ever making anything as glorious as the Taj again. There is
no credible documentation to support these stories, however.
The "Black Taj"
A longstanding popular tradition holds that an identical mausoleum complex was
originally supposed to be built on the other side of the river, in black marble
instead of white. The story suggests that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son
Aurangzeb before the black version could be built. Ruins of dark marble found
across the river are, the story suggests, the unfinished base of this "Black Taj".
Recent scholarship disputes this theory, and throws some interesting light on
the design of the Taj. All other major Mughal tombs were sited in gardens that
form a cross, with the tomb at the intersection of the vertical and horizontal
pieces. The Taj gardens, by contrast, form a great 'T', with the tomb at the
centre of the crosspiece. But the outline of the ruins on the other river bank
would extend the design of the Taj gardens to form a cross of proportions
typical of other Mughal tombs. Further, the marble in the ruins opposite the Taj,
while dark from staining, were originally white. In addition, an octagonal pool
in these ruins would have reflected the Taj. Scholars have called these ruins
the Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden".
Shah Jahan's asymmetric tomb
Aurangzeb had Shah Jahan's tomb and cenotaph placed in the Taj rather than
building him a separate mausoleum such as other emperors had. He thus destroyed
the symmetry of the Taj design. A variation on the Black Taj legend suggests
that Aurangzeb's decision was made from malice or parsimony. In
Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb however, which was a major influence on the Taj design,
Aurangzeb's grandparents were interred in a similar asymmetric fashion.
British plan to demolish the Taj
There is an often-repeated story that Lord William Bentinck, governor of India
in the 1830s, planned to demolish the Taj and auction off the marble. In some
versions of the tale, the demolition crew were ready to begin their work but
were stopped only because Bentinck was unable make the scheme financially
viable. There is no contemporary evidence for this story, which may to have
grown up later in the nineteenth century when Bentinck was being criticised for
his penny-pinching Utilitarianism, and when Lord Curzon was emphasising earlier
neglect of the monument in order to present himself as the saviour of Indian
antiquities. Nevertheless, the story may have been based on a real proposal.
Was the Taj originally a temple?
Recently, some Hindu historians have asserted that the Taj was essentially a
temple, or that its architecture is based on Hindu temples. Most prominent among
these is the Indian writer P.N. Oak, who suggests that the term 'Taj Mahal' is
derived from 'Tejo Mahalaya'. He further states that the Taj was originally a
Hindu temple of the God Shiva, usurped and remodelled by Shah Jahan. Other
sources state that the temple was completely destroyed. Such theories are not
accepted by mainstream scholars.
The source of this article is
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this
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