AGYAAT... chapter-01: The Magnificent Taj Mahal.!! (part-1)
The Taj Mahal, beautifully described by the Great Rabindranath Tagore as "A drop of tear on the cheeks of time.." A symbol of passionate love that an emperor had for her wife. A remarkable masterpiece spreading it's esscence in the entire world. A landmark of architectural brilliance. And mostly profuondly the best example of pure beauty that is engraved on white marble.
Most of us must have visited this fabulous sight and have adored it's beatuy in real. It's Grand structure is jaw droping, it's views are breath taking and the first glance of it is mesmerizing. Considered as one of the 7 wonders of the world, it is a UNESCO world heritage site and the most renowned monument of India. Considering that 7 to 8 million people visit it every year, it is definitely a sight to behold. So today let's know about the history of this marvellous structure, how it became a reality from a dream and were the hands of it's workers were really cut off ?? All that and much more in this first chapter of the series AGYAAT..., let's get started.
The story of it's creation :
Let's go back to around 400 years back when India was greatly prospering under the Mughal empire, ruled by it's 5th emperor Shah Jahan, the grandson of Akbar. It was in his rule that the Mughal empire was in it's full glory. Shah Jahan is most famous for the love that he had for his 2nd wife Mumtaaz Mahal. she was a persion women who lived in Agra and was married to Shah Jahan in 1607. She was the most loved wife of the emperor and together they had a total of 14 children. Shah Jahan did not had any other children from his other wifes.
But, Their love story came to a sad ending when in 1631, Mumtaaz died while delivering her 14th child in Burhanpur. The emperor was baffled by this, Historians say that he isolated himself for about 2 years after this incident. And this is when Shah Jahan came with the idea to solidify his love forever. He thought of building a heavenly monument to honour his love, Mumtaaz. An unmatchable and irreplacable tomb to house Mumtaaz's body. And finally, in 1632 he commissioned the Taj Mahal to be built as a mousoleum. And this is how the Taj was destined to be created.
( Mumtaaz Mahal.)
Costruction of the Mega-Marvel :
The board of Architect's and Designers :
- Shah Jahan appointed his court architect, Ustad Ahmed Lahauri for the task of creating the taj.
- Ismail khan, from the Ottomon Turk empire was appointed to design and build domes. --- Qazim Khan, a goldsmith casted gold finial that crowns the dome.
- Chiranji Lal was the chief mosaicist, Amanat khan was the calligrapher.
- Mukrimat khan and Mir abdul kareem were the chief supervisor's and administrators.
- The board of architects guided some 20,000 artisans, inscripters, stone cutters, and labourers which were employed to construct the Taj Mahal.
Location :
- Initially it was decided that the Taj Mahal would be built in Burhanpur( today in Madhya Pradesh ), But lack of transportation of white marble made it impossible to built the Taj in that location.
- Initially it was decided that the Taj Mahal would be built in Burhanpur( today in Madhya Pradesh ), But lack of transportation of white marble made it impossible to built the Taj in that location.
- Later it was decided by the emperor to built it in the capital city of the Mughal's, Agra.
- The 1.2 hectares land on which the Taj is built was borrowed by Maharaja Jai Singh, In excahnge of the barren land he was given a large palace in the centre of Agra.
- And so the location of the Taj Mahal was finalised on the south of the walled city of Agra, Near the bank of river Yamuna.
Design :
- It is said that a council of about 20 to 30 designers was made in order to design the Taj, Shah Jahan's love for builiding giant and briliant structures was pretty evident, So his dream project construction definitely had to be the best that the Mughal architecture has to offer. Hence a lot of thinking and designing had to be done.
- It is said that a council of about 20 to 30 designers was made in order to design the Taj, Shah Jahan's love for builiding giant and briliant structures was pretty evident, So his dream project construction definitely had to be the best that the Mughal architecture has to offer. Hence a lot of thinking and designing had to be done.
- The design of the Taj got it's inspiration from other Mughal structures like the tomb's of Humayun, Akbar and Jahangir.
- The Taj was considered to be a dipiction of the heavens, for this reason it was decided to construct it in complete white marbel, instead of red sandstone from which other Mughal monument's were mostly made.
- The symmetry was the most important aspect and the core of construction. Every part of the Taj was designed to make it perfectly symmetrical from every angle.
When comapring their structure with the structure of Taj Mahal, It is pretty evident the the Taj was designed by merging these structures together.
Material sourcing :
- When you are the emperor of one of the largest empires in India, Money is definitely not the problem. So the materials used to built the dream project of the emperor himself, had to be of superior quality and the best in class. And so is the case.
- When you are the emperor of one of the largest empires in India, Money is definitely not the problem. So the materials used to built the dream project of the emperor himself, had to be of superior quality and the best in class. And so is the case.
- 1000's of elephants were used to transport the materials from different parts of the globe to Agra.
- White marble from Makrana, Rajasthan. Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystals from china, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli from Afganistan, Sapphire and Carnelian from Sri Lanka and Arabia repectivey. A total of 28 type of various precious and semi-precious stones wher sourced to built the Taj.
- Gold and Diamonds were also used to decorate the Taj Mahal.
( Material sourcing of the Taj Mahal. )
Inscription and Calligraphy :
- Did you know that the Taj has no paint at all!! The inscriptions and calligary on the Taj was done by a method called "Pietra Dura". It is a famous Italian technique in which different kind of stones are shaped in various beatifull patterns and inlayed in marble.
- Did you know that the Taj has no paint at all!! The inscriptions and calligary on the Taj was done by a method called "Pietra Dura". It is a famous Italian technique in which different kind of stones are shaped in various beatifull patterns and inlayed in marble.
- With the help of this tough method the Taj Mahal was decorated with varios precious and colorfull stones.
- the calligraphy on the Taj includes the passages and the versus of the Holy Quran. It was inscribed by Amanat Khan in an illegible Thulut Script.
- Jasper and other stone were inlayed on the white marble panels to do the calligraphy.
- Besides this, Engravings and carvings were also done on white marble to even more beautify the structure of the Taj.
Engineering brilliance :
- There are a lot of examples of the brilliant engineering done to construct the Taj Mahal.
- There are a lot of examples of the brilliant engineering done to construct the Taj Mahal.
- The foundation of the Taj was made of timber wood instead of bamboo. Timber absorbs water and gets stronger and more robust. The timber seeps the water from the Yamuna river and makes the foundation stronger with time. This is the reason for the Taj to be in perfect shape for centuries.
- There are optical illusions used in the gates of the Taj which makes the first impressions of it even more unforgettable.
Completion :
- The construction started in 1632, and after the hard work of hundreads of architects, designers, inscripters, calligraphers and around 22,000 labourers and workers, the dream of Shah Jahan was made a reality after a total of 22 years in 1653.
- The construction started in 1632, and after the hard work of hundreads of architects, designers, inscripters, calligraphers and around 22,000 labourers and workers, the dream of Shah Jahan was made a reality after a total of 22 years in 1653.
- The main Mausoleum was completed by 1643, but other parts of the project took another 10 years to complete.
- The body of Mumtaaz Mahal that was burried temporarily at zainabad, Burhanpur was shifted and burried in the central chamber of Taj after it's complition.
Cost :
- A lot!! Seriously, the cost to built the Taj was insane. Even the most richest emperor of India was very close to bankruptcy.
- A lot!! Seriously, the cost to built the Taj was insane. Even the most richest emperor of India was very close to bankruptcy.
- Estimated cost of the project at the time was around 32 million rupees, which today will be close to 72 billion rupees or around 1 billion dollars.
- So yes, the cost was too much. But considering the pay off, we all can agree that it was definitely WORTH IT.!!
Thousand's of people made the dream of an emperor come to reality. The beads of pure marble, precious stones, designing and architectural brilliance, art and karigari were imbeded in the string of Mughal architecture. A true representation of pure love was stamped in time forever...
In part 2, we will know about the interestings facts of the Taj Mahal, some myths and controvercies surrounding it and also, talk about why the Taj is in threat!!
Stay Tuned.
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