12th June 2007
The Taj Mahal
While visiting India this summer I was lucky enough to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. The Taj is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture, a “jewel of Muslim art in India.” The Taj had been an inspiration to many poets and artists over time, not only for its white marbled beauty but also because of the bitter love story attached to it.
Grief stricken when his wife died during childbirth, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan started construction on the Taj Mahal in 1632. The Taj was not only a mausoleum for his beloved wife but a continuous reminder and commemoration of his love for her. When I first saw this fine building the sheer beauty and grandeur is clearly a deep expression of this mans love for his dead wife.
It took seventeen years to construct the Taj, finishing the main structure in 1648; it was many years later that the surrounding mosques and gardens were completed. Something that is most striking about the Taj is the combination of architectural styles incorporated into the overall design. When you look at this grand building you can see a combination between Persian, Turkish, Indian and Islamic architectural styles, due to a wide variety of craftsmen commissioned by Shah from all over the world including Europe.
The story goes that Shah initially intended to build an identical mosque, which would sit directly opposite the Taj across the Yamuna River. This duplicate mosque would differ only in colour, using a contrasting black, a striking difference to the clean white marble of the Taj. However, it is said that before the construction began, Shah was overthrown by his son, Aurabgzeb. Locked away in the Amber Fort of Agra, situated looking out across the river at the Taj, Shah was tortured with spending the rest of his days gazing over at where his lost love lay.
This story combined with the gleaming marbled, symmetrical beauty of the structure is what I feel, makes the Taj so special and one of the reasons it made such an impact on me. When entering the surrounding gardens, I was struck with an almost otherworldly sensation of complete calm. Agra, the city in which the Taj is located is an extremely busy, noisy and industrial place, so the contrast between this and the beautiful gardens and clean white construction is quite dramatic. On my way to the Taj I walked along a chaotic road where I had to dodge rickshaws and motorbikes and fight of pesky, insistent touts and wallahs, most of which have no idea about personal space, yet on entering the Taj I was greeted with the sound of birds, open space and luscious gardens. This contrast between the chaos and the calm, the noise and the silence, the dirty pollution and gleaming white marble, is what makes walking around the Taj such a unique experience.
It is a stereotype and a cliché to talk of the beauty of the Taj, but once you’ve taken your shoes and socks off and are walking on the hot marble with the sun burning down over the colourful saris down by the Yamuna river, and the complete calm and quiet surrounds, you know that this is something very special.
The Taj Mahal
While visiting India this summer I was lucky enough to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. The Taj is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture, a “jewel of Muslim art in India.” The Taj had been an inspiration to many poets and artists over time, not only for its white marbled beauty but also because of the bitter love story attached to it.
Grief stricken when his wife died during childbirth, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan started construction on the Taj Mahal in 1632. The Taj was not only a mausoleum for his beloved wife but a continuous reminder and commemoration of his love for her. When I first saw this fine building the sheer beauty and grandeur is clearly a deep expression of this mans love for his dead wife.
It took seventeen years to construct the Taj, finishing the main structure in 1648; it was many years later that the surrounding mosques and gardens were completed. Something that is most striking about the Taj is the combination of architectural styles incorporated into the overall design. When you look at this grand building you can see a combination between Persian, Turkish, Indian and Islamic architectural styles, due to a wide variety of craftsmen commissioned by Shah from all over the world including Europe.
The story goes that Shah initially intended to build an identical mosque, which would sit directly opposite the Taj across the Yamuna River. This duplicate mosque would differ only in colour, using a contrasting black, a striking difference to the clean white marble of the Taj. However, it is said that before the construction began, Shah was overthrown by his son, Aurabgzeb. Locked away in the Amber Fort of Agra, situated looking out across the river at the Taj, Shah was tortured with spending the rest of his days gazing over at where his lost love lay.
This story combined with the gleaming marbled, symmetrical beauty of the structure is what I feel, makes the Taj so special and one of the reasons it made such an impact on me. When entering the surrounding gardens, I was struck with an almost otherworldly sensation of complete calm. Agra, the city in which the Taj is located is an extremely busy, noisy and industrial place, so the contrast between this and the beautiful gardens and clean white construction is quite dramatic. On my way to the Taj I walked along a chaotic road where I had to dodge rickshaws and motorbikes and fight of pesky, insistent touts and wallahs, most of which have no idea about personal space, yet on entering the Taj I was greeted with the sound of birds, open space and luscious gardens. This contrast between the chaos and the calm, the noise and the silence, the dirty pollution and gleaming white marble, is what makes walking around the Taj such a unique experience.
It is a stereotype and a cliché to talk of the beauty of the Taj, but once you’ve taken your shoes and socks off and are walking on the hot marble with the sun burning down over the colourful saris down by the Yamuna river, and the complete calm and quiet surrounds, you know that this is something very special.
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