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Taj Mahal History

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Taj Mahal History :

For centuries, the Taj Mahal has inspired poets, painters and musicians to try and capture its elusive magic in word, colour and song. It is one of the most flawless architectural creations of the world. Since the 17th century, travellers have crossed continents to come and see this ultimate memorial to love, and few have been unmoved by its incomparable beauty.

Taj Mahal stands in the city of Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the Yamuna River. It was built in the memory of the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum, who won the heart of a Mughal prince. She was married at 21 to Emperor Jahangir’s third son Prince Khurram and stayed loyally by his side through good times and bad: in the luxurious royal palaces of Agra as well as the transient tents of war camps.

In AD 1628, Khurram became king after a bloody battle of succession: he took the name Shahjahan or “King of the World” and showered his beloved begum with the highest titles. She became Mumtaz Mahal, the exalted of the palace and Mumtaz-ul-Zamani, the exalted of the Age. But Mumtaz Mahal was not destined to be queen for long.

In 1631, Shahjahan went on an expedition to the south and, as always, Mumtaz Mahal accompanied him. But she died in childbirth at Burhanpur. She had borne Shahjahan fourteen children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived. When Mumtaz Mahal died , she was just 39 years old. Shahjahan was inconsolable and contemporary chronicles tell of the royal court mourning for two years. there was no music, no feasting, and no celebration of any kind.

Shahjahan, who was a passionate builder, now decided to erect a memorial to his queen in pristine marble that the world would never forget. The site selected for the tomb was a garden by the Yamuna river, unshadowed by any other structure. The garden had been laid by Raja Man Singh of Amber and now belonged to his grndson, Raja Jai Singh. By a royal firman, Shahjahan gave Jai Singh four havelis in exchange for the garden. The site was also chosen because it was located on a bend in the river, and so could be seen from Shahjahan’s personal palace in Agra Fort, further upstream.

This feature became possible apparently after the experience gained by the builders in mishandling Humayun's tomb, where the kiosks seem to be excessively detached from the dome. At the Taj the builder calculated the distance between the two features for the precise relationship they were intended to present together. The dome doesn't give an impression of isolation but is seen always in terms of the Chhatris amid a group of pinnacles on all sides. This plan, which is also known as panch-ratna gives the Taj Mahal such a remarkable, impressive and unparalleled grace.

It is on the centre of a rectangular red sandstone platform that the tomb structure stands along the river Yamuna. Chameli-farsh as the platform is generally called, measures 970'-7" (East-West) by 364' 10" (North-South) and is 4' high from the garden level. There is a beautiful mosque on its west and a matching structure on the east. These structures are in red sandstone with a liberal use of white marble for emphasis and contrast. The tapering minarets are three storeyed and measure 132' in height, each separated by a balcony supported on a series of brackets which has a rhythmic play of light and shadow and provide this black and white marble minaret with grace which matches the arms of a beautiful lady.

The detached minarets at each corner of the plinth of the Taj trace their evolution probably from the Lodhi Tomb at Agra itself. The tomb of Sher Shah is another example of detached kiosks on all the four angles of the main plinth, with the tomb structure occupying its centre. It is for the first time that four full fledged minarets appear on its main gateway. Each minaret is circular and tapers as it rises. These minarets rise gracefully high into sky seemingly carrying the whole body of the gateway with them. Fully developed Minarets mark an important stage in Mughal architecture. The most remarkable feature of these minarets is their harmony with the tomb.

Though the white marble main tomb is basically a square of 187' side, it assumes an octagonal form due to the chamfer at the angles. Some architects believe that the inspiration for this plan could have originally been derived from that of the Hemkuta temple. Each fascia of the tomb is composed of a grand iwan (portal) in its centre, occupying almost the whole height up to the ramparts which rises well over it to give distinction to the iwan. It is flanked on both sides by double alcoves one above the other. Each section of the façade is well demarcated on both sides of the iwan by very small turrets which rise above the ramparts and are crowned by beautiful pinnacles with lotus-buds and finials.

In the construction of the Taj Mahal three types of stones have been used : (1) Semi-precious stones like Aqiq (agate), Yemeni, Firoza (turquoise), Lajwad (Lapis- lazuli); moonga (coral), Sulaimani (onyx), Lahsunia (cat's eye), Yasheb (jade) and Pitunia (blood stone). These were mainly used for inlaying work. (2) Rare and scarce stones such as Tilai (goldstone), Zahar-mohra, Ajuba, Abri, Khathu, Nakhod and Maknatis (magnet stone) were used for bold inlay and mosaic work chiefly on floors, exterior dados and turrets and (3) Common stones: sang-i-Gwaliari (grey and yellow sandstone) sang-i-Surkh (red sandstone), sang-i-moosa (black slate) and sang-i-Rukhan (sang-i-marmar; white marble) were used in foundations, masonry and for giving finishing touch to the external surfaces. Red stone was brought from the neighboring towns like Fatehpur Sikri, Karauli-Hindaun, Tantpur and Paharpur whereas white marble was brought from Makrana mines (Rajasthan). Semi precious and rare stones were occasionally brought from as distant places such as Upper Tibet, Kumaon, Jaisalmer, Cambay and Ceylon.

Other materials which were used for the construction of Taj Mahal included different kind of bricks, Gaj-i-Shirin (sweet limestone), Khaprel or tiles, Qulba or Spouts to lead off water, San, Gum, Sirish-i-Kahli or reed glue, Gul-i-Surkh or red clay, Simgil (silver clay) and glass. The center and skeleton of the main building is made up of extra strong brick masonary in which massive white marble slabs, have been used on the headers and stretchers system to give it a white marble outlook. Country ingredients such as molasses; batashe (sugar-bubbles), belgiri-water, urd-pulse, curd, jute and Kankar (pieces of fossilized soil) were mixed with lime mortar to make it an ideal cementing material.

The Mughals believed that the precious and semiprecious stones have different effects on the fortunes of different persons and places; they may be auspicious or inauspicious. This has exactly been calculated and strictly adhered to in the adornment of the Taj Mahal. It is primarily because of these reasons that we see predominance of one or the other stone on a particular feature of its architecture. A number of marks are engraved on red stone slabs, on the pathways, stairs, plinths and pavements of the Taj Mahal. Some of them are- Symbolic motifs Swastika, Cakra, âako¸a (Hexagon), Paµcako¸a (Pentagon), áa´kh (conch-shell), Animate motifs - fish, bi rd, Geometrical motifs - triangle, Square, rectangle, Floral motifs- leaves and petals of the flowers chiefly lotus. 

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