AGYAAT... Chapter-01: Amazing Facts of the Taj Mahal.!!( part-2 )

 

Youtube link:https://youtu.be/FyXN8mWb-Mc

                          Welcome to the 2nd part of chapter one of the series. In the first part we got to know about the history of the Taj, why and how it was created and some facts regarding it's construction. Today let us see some of the amazing and interesting facts about the Taj Mahal. We will also talk about the many Myth's and Rumor's surrounding the taj and also the factors which are threatening the Taj. Lets get going..

Interesting Facts of the Taj Mahal :

1. The Original Name:

                        The original name of the monument was "Rauza-i-munawwara" which was described by Ustad Lahauri in his book. Taj Mahal which comes from persian meaning "crown palace" is later name given to it. European scholar Francois Berneir was among the first to describe it as Taj Mahal.

2. Quran Inscriptions:

                         Passages from the Holy Quran Sharif were inscribed on the walls of the Taj. The 99 names of God are found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the tomb of Mumtaaz Mahal.

3. The Mood's of Mumtaaz:

                         It is observed that the Taj takes a pinkish hue in the morning, In the evening it has a milky white hue, and turns golden at night. This is done to very well capture the changing mood's of Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaaz Mahal.

4. Tilted Mianars:

                        The four pillars or Minar's of the Taj are not straight, they are tilted outwards by an angle of 2.5 degrees. It can be seen when we look carefully at the Minars. This is done to protect the main dome or the Gumbad from getting damaged. If due to some calamities the Minar's fall of, they will fall outwards rather than falling on the dome and damaging it. Another proof of the archtectural brilliance used.

5. Taller than the Qutub Minar:

                        The Taj is a gigantic structure and has a height of  73 metres, It is Taller than the Qutub Minar which is delhi with a difference of about 5 feet.

                         ( Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar height comparison. )

6. Original Location:

                           The Taj was originally decided to be built in Burhanpur, but factors like the soil of Burhanpur being infested with termites and the lack of transportation of white marble led to the decision of making it in Agra.

7. The Original Graves:

                        What we see inside the Taj are just the replica's of the graves, not the real ones. As graves aren't supposed to be decorated as per Islamic tradition, The original graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaaz are placed beneath the inner chamber of the Taj in a plain crypt.

          ( Replica's of the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaaz Mahal inside the Taj Mahal. )

         ( Real graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaaz present in a plain crypt beneath the inner chamber. )

8. Other's burried in the Taj:

                      It is said that other wives of Shah Jahan and some some of his favourite servants are also burried in the mausoleum outside the Taj, but in the same complex.

9. The Gardens:

                       The gardens called the "charbagh" or "Mughal garden" originally were adorned with abundance of roses, daffodils, and fruit trees. By the end of the 19th century, the british assumed the management of the Taj. This is when they changed the landscape of the garden to look more like the manicured lawns in London.

              ( Manicured lawn like gardens of the Taj Mahal. )

10. Protection during war's:

                       During world war 2, the government erected bamboo scaffolding around the dome of the Taj to disguise it in anticipation of air attacks by the Japanese Air Force. The same was also done to mislead bomber pilots during the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971.

                  ( Scaffolding done to disguise the Taj during world war 2. )

11. The golden finial:

                  It is said that the finial of the Taj Mahal was made of gold when it was created. However, the current finial on the dome of Taj is made of bronze.

                                     ( Finial of the Taj Mahal, made of bronze. )

12. Loots and Thefts:

                  During the rebellion of 1857, the British army invaded the Taj and looted the various precious stones, carpets, silver and jasper door, gold leafs and enameled lamps that adorned the Taj. In the 18th century, Jat rulers of Bharatpur attacked the Taj and took away 2 chandeliers of silver and agate, and also gold and silver screens that coverd the finial. some Locals around also try to chip out the stones and try to steal it.

13. Hidden route to Agra fort:

                      It is bilieved that their is an underground tunnel that connects the Taj Mahal will the Agra fort that was built by Shah Jahan. But it cannot be proven as access to the underground of Taj is denied.

14. Shah Jahan's Tragedy:

                      Shah Jahan gave 22 years of his life to complete his dream project, but the tragedy is that soon after his son Aurangzeb became the new king, he kept Shah Jahan in home arrest. Shah Jahan was unable to visit the Taj for the rest of his life. He was given a room through which the Taj was visibe where he spend his last days and finally passed away on 22 january, 1666.

                                    ( The passing away of Shah Jahan. )

15. Other buildings:

                      Apart from the tomb which is the central focus of the complex there are other building as well on the premises. The western building that faces the tomb is a mosque, and the eastern building called as "Jawab" was used as a guest room. Also, two drum houses or "Naubat-Khana" are present on the east and west ends of the cross axis, the western one is converted into a museum.

( The main tomb with the mosque on the west and guesthouse on the east, the main gate and drum rooms. )

16. A working mosque:

                     The Mosque on the western side of the main tomb is a working mosque. for this reason the Taj Mahal is closed on friday's for normal people and opens only for 2 hours for prayers. Hence, while going there we should be fully aware of this fact and try not to disrupt any religious sentiments.

                       ( Mosque on the western side of the Taj Mahal, still functioning. )

17. The "Darwaza":

                         The "Darwaza-i-rauza" or the "Great gate" is the main and only entrance of the Taj Mahal. It is the 3rd largest gateway of India, after the "Buland Darwaza" in Fatehpur Sikri which is the largest and the India gate in Delhi which is the 2nd largest. It is designed with optical illusions which make the first view of the Taj even more breath taking. The gate has 11 mini domes on the exterior side and 11 on the interior, which describes that the Taj took 22 years to complete. It also consists of Quran inscriptions on both sides.

                       ( the "Darwaza-i-rauza" or "Great gate". )

18. The only Assymetrical part:

                             The Taj is made completely symmetrical from every angle, even from the sky and it is evident that a lot of effort and hardwork was required to done so. But there is a part of the Taj which is not symmetrical, guessing what it is? Well, It is the tomb of Shah Jahan itself. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan was placed next to Mumtaaz's cenotaph by his son Aurangzeb. Historians debate about why this is the case, but the most beffiting answer is that in Islam the husband and wife are placed next to each other.

                  ( The Taj Mahal view from sky, The symmetry is pretty evident. )

        ( Blue print of the main tomb of Taj, the assymetrical tomb of Shah Jahan can be seen. )

19. Not completely Marble:

    

                        Taking a look on the Taj one will say that it is 100% pure marble, but there is a part of the main tomb which is not made of marble! yes you heard it right. The terrace of the main tomb is made of red sandstone instead of marble. It is not visible from ground and that is the reason why it is done.

                       ( The terrace of the Taj made of red sandstone, visible from top.)

20. Mud Pack Therapy:

                           Pollution is a major threat for the Taj, hence it requires a lot of maintainance and cleaning to keep it shinning and white. Mud pack therapy is a process is which the structure is covered with multani mittti which has pollution absorbing powers and then it is cleaned. Through this method the Taj is still in a brand new looking state, at least from outside.

                     ( Scaffolding done to clean the Taj using mud therepy.)

21. Replicas: 

                  A lot of replication attempt of this gorgeous building is done by many. The "bibi ka Makbara" in Aurangabad is an attempted structure similar to Taj. Countries like bangladesh, UAE and even the master of replication, China have tried to make similar structures, But we can clearly say that the glory of the original can never be replaced or replicated just as Shah Jahan desired.

                       ( Replica of Taj Mahal in China.)

                      ( Taj Mahal replica, Bangladesh.)

                      ( Bibi ka Makbara, Aurangabad, Maharashtra.)

Myths and Rumors :

1. Hands of the Workers:

                       We all have been told that the hands of the workers who built the Taj was chopped off by the emperor so that they can never make any other monument like the Taj Mahal ever again. But this myth is falsified by historic evidences as workers who were involved in making the Taj also built the "lal kila" the construction of which started in 1638. Instead, the workers were made to sign a contract that they would not make such a monument again.

2. Black Taj Mahal:

                           It is bilieved by many that Shah Jahan wanted to create a Black Taj Mahal of black marble to house his tomb on the other side of the Yamuna river. But no evidence of this claim is found by the Archeologists. This Black Taj would be located on the area where the "Mehtab garden" is present today and would have been in line with the white Taj, enhancing the symmetry aspect even more. This mythical idea is said to have originated by the fanciful writting of European traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who visited Agra in 1665.

                      ( A representation of the Black Taj Mahal.)

3. Hindu Temple?:

                     Many claims have been made that the Taj Mahal used to be a hindu temple dedicated to lord Shiva, and was initially called as "Tejo Mahalaya". But this is a completely fictional rumor as the archeological department have not found any evidences of a hindu temple. Another rumor is that the Taj was buit by a hindu king Parmal Dev in 1196 and many petitions by various lawyers were made regarding this, but there is no proof or evidence to support this claim as well.

4. Other rumors:

 

 - A theory promoted by Henry George Keene in 1879 that claimed that the Taj Mahal was designed by an Italian, Geromino Vereno.

- A bilieve that a part of the Kohinoor diamond is embeded in the walls of Taj Mahal.

- A theory suggesting that Mumtaaz's remians were not buried in Taj, but in the "Ahukhana" in Burhanpur.

                  All of these claims and theories lack proof and evidences. As the Taj is a renowned monument, it's always in the limelight of such controvercies.

The Taj in Threat!!

1. Pollution is in the air: 

                     We all are aware of the sprinting increase of pollution levels in air, and this is also a major threat for the Taj Mahal. The marble walls of the Taj are changing to a brownish yellow colour from milky white due to the increase in air pollution. Acid rain caused due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by the supreme court is also a major concern. The government has setup the "Taj Trapezium zone"(TTz), a 10,400sq.km. area around the Taj where strict emission standards are applied to help control pollution.

                    ( Air Pollution, a major threat to the Taj Mahal.)

2. Yamuna's Death:

                      Remember that the foundation of the Taj is made of timber wood to keep it strong by seeping water from the Yamuna river, well that boon has became a curse for it due to the death of the Yamuna. The conditions of the river are so detoriated that experts say that it has become nearly impossible to revive the river back. The timber foundation of the Taj is not getting enough water due to which it is rotting. As a result of this, cracks appeared on the tomb and minarets in 2010. If Yamuna water levels are not revived which are declining by 1.5 metre per year, then the structural integrity of the Taj Mahal is in a severe danger.

                     ( Quality of Yamuna river detoriated, frothing due to poisoning of water.)

                     ( pollution, a major threat to the Taj Mahal.)

                     ( Cracks on the Taj, Resulting due to detoriation of foundation.)

In 2011, it was predicted that the tomb could collapse within 5 years, but we are lucky that the Taj survived and is still standing. But we cannot deny the issues that are threating this brilliant structure.

                     A masterpiece that stood the test of time for 400 years is now under threat due to the evil of pollution, and we all know who is to blame for. But leaving all of this aside, the truth cannot be denied that the Taj Mahal is one of the best offering that humanity has given to the world, And surely we all are proud of this Marvel of Love.