A beautifully laid out walled garden encloses the magnificent monument “Taj Mahal”. The entire Taj complex consists of five major constituents, namely

* Darwaza (The main gateway)
* Bageecha (The gardens)
* Masjid (The mosque)
* Naqqar Khana (The rest house)
* Rauza (The main mausoleum)

Taj MahalTaj Mahal architecture is a kind of fusion of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture. The main gateway, with its domed central chamber, is situated at the end of the long watercourse. On one side of the Taj Mahal is the Mosque and on the other, the Naqqar Khana, built mainly to maintain its symmetry. The main building, that of the Taj itself, stands on a raised, square platform with its four abridged corners, forming an unequal octagon. The architecture of Taj Mahal of Agra has made use of the interlocking arabesque concept.

Oscar winning actor Ben Kingsley, who plans to make a film on Taj Mahal, Wednesday visited the monument along with his wife Daniela Lavender.

He spent more than two hours at the Taj and mingled with visitors, many of whom took pictures with the 67-year-old.

Sir Ben plans to play Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in his dream project called “Taj”, Daniela will act as Kandhari Begum, Shah Jahan’s first wife of Persian origin, While Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai may feature as Mumtaz Mahal.

Sources said the film would bring out the loneliness of Shah Jahan and the intense love he had for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died delivering their 14th child.

To the left of the Taj is a mosque made of red sandstone. It is common in Islam to build a mosque next to a tomb, as it sanctifies the area and provides for a place for worship. This mosque is still used for Friday prayers.

An identical mosque is also built to the right of the Taj and is known as the Jawab (answer). Prayers are not held here as it faces west away from Mecca, the holy city of the Muslims. It was built to maintain symmetry.

The structure of Taj Mahal adheres to the Indo Islamic architecture, which flourished in India during the medieval period. It is said that the structure was based primarily on the structure of Humayun’s tomb in Delhi, which was culminated in precision with the building of the Taj.

The mammoth entrance gate built in red sandstone is a beautiful inscribed with texts from the Koran. They are beautifully written in absolutely uniform size from whichever angle you see them. After passing the gate you enter in to the exquisitely laid gardens with symmetrical designs and fountains built in red sandstone with the majestic Taj standing nearly thousand feet away.

The Taj stands atop a plinth with four minarets in each corner. The central dome is huge supported by four smaller domes. The elegantly carved arches and the floral designs, not only intricate, but in perfect symmetry is the highlight of Taj. The exquisite tracery looks more like lace than actual carvings. Earlier precious and semi-precious stones were laid inside the floral designs, a very typical form of craftsmanship known as the pietra dura.

Inside the cenotaph are the two dummy tombs of Shahajehan and his wife Mumtaz; the original ones are in the basement just beneath these. The tombs studded with various precious gems like the Sapphire, Ruby et al were the natural target for grave robbers. The interiors of the chamber have fine floral motifs on in its walls with various shades of marble stones. The most moving feature is the tragic prayer of the emperor which is carved in perfect calligraphy on the tomb which asks for help from the almighty and says, ‘Help us, O Lord, to bear that which we can not bear!’

Taj Mahal was constructed between 1631 A.D and 1654 A.D. The construction is said to have been done by a workforce of  22,000 that contained among others laborers, Naqqashi laborers, painters, stonecutters, garden-layers, gardeners, embroidery artists and masons. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned its construction. It was constructed as a mausoleum for Arjumand Begum, who was re-christened Mumtaz after her marriage to Shah Jahan. It is said that Shah Jahan was very much pained by the death of his favorite wife. He constructed this mausoleum so that its pleasant site would give him solace.

Facts about Taj Mahal

Quick Facts :

* Legend has it that Shah Jahan had planned to construct another Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of the river, but the war with his sons interrupted his plans.

* Some people think that Geronimo Veroneo, an Italian, designed the Taj Mahal.

* Supposedly, there are two staircases on the northern side of the red sandstone plinth that lead into a basement containing 17 chambers, with a third crypt in the center.

* Some important studies feel that the Taj Mahal is sinking.

* The name Taj Mahal when translated means “Crown Palace” or “Crown of the Palace.”

* Some think that the changing colors of the tomb depict the different moods of a woman.

Hindu Symbols in Taj Mahal  With the coming of the Mughals in India, the architectural style of Hindus were greatly influenced. On the other hand, the Mughals also incorporated some elements of Hindu architecture in their style

Taj Mahal is an example of the rich Mughal architecture. The influence of the Hindu style of architecture on the Islamic buildings was natural. It is said that many holistic symbols of Hindus had been followed in designing Taj Mahal. Most important of all is the use of lotus.
Lotus
Lotus is a holy symbol of the Indian cultural heritage. It is a sacred symbol for Hindus and has been mentioned in all Hindu scriptures. Lord Brahama and Vishnu are depicted sitting in a lotus. The Indian poets have used lotus as a simile to the feet of the Gods. According to Mahayana, the sect of Buddhism all souls emerge from a lotus. Lotus is the prominent Hindu symbol used in Taj Mahal.

Though Muslims does not have any significance to lotus they have used lotus in Muslim architecture under the influence of Hinduism. The Taj Mahal contains a lot of lotus motifs in its designs. The dome of Taj Mahal resembles the upside-closed lotus resting on its petals.

Purankalsa
Purankalsa Purnakalasa also known as Purnakumbha, Purnaghata and Mangalakalasa is one of the eight auspicious symbols of the Indian classical art. It is a symbol of plenty and creativity. This symbol is normally associated with Lakshmi and with over flowing foliage composed of lotus buds, flowers and leaves. The motifs of Purankalsa appears in its finest form on the interiors of Taj Mahal. Here the vase and the foliage motif have been combined in a very fine way with the inner border.

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.

Arjumand begum was born in 1593 April in Agra to Asaf Khan,who was the Prime Minister for Shah Jahan and son of the Prime Minister for Jahangir whose sister, Nur Jahan, married Jahangir.

The story goes back in 1607, when a prince of the royal Mughal household strolled down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, he caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads.She was an unrivalled beauty, which caught the heart of Shahjahan, the fifth Mughal emperor at first sight.Five years and a wife later (in those days princes did not marry for love alone) the regal 20-yr-old went to wed his 19-yr-old bride.

They got married in 1612, it was an extravagant grand affair. Prince Khurram was entitled as “Shahjahan” when he became the emperor in 1628 and entitled Arjumand bano his wife as “Mumtaz Mahal”. Shahjahan built beautiful palaces for her like, the Khas mahal in Agra. Desplite being the third wife of Shahjahn , Mumtaz mahal was his favourite throughout her life. She was conferred by the Emperor with the highest honor of the land-the royal seal – Mehr Uzaz. Mumtaz was so compassionate and generous and always intervened on behalf of petitioners. However it is also believed that she even enjoyed the spectacle of man in combat with animals.

Mumtaz was of great support to Shahjahan and accompanied the Emperor to all his conquests. During one such trip to Deccan where emperor went to war with Khan Jahanb Lodi, Mumtaz breathed her last breath on 17 June, 1631 during her fourteenth childbirth. It is said that Mumtaz on her deathbed asked for four promises to the Emperor. The four promises were, that the emperor build a monument of their love, second- that he should marry again, third- that he be kind to their children and the fourth one being that Shahjahan visit the tomb on her death anniversay.

Shahjahan kept the first and second promise and keeping his first promise began the construction of the splendid beauty, the Tajmahal in the year 1631.Mumtaz was given a temporary burial at Zainabadi garden in Burhnpur. After six months the body of Mumtaz Mahal was exumed and brought to Agra for final burial. Thus with the construction of Tajmahal, Shahjahan immortalized their love.

An enduring love story

India’s Poet laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, who was Asia’s first Nobel Prize winner, first called the Taj Mahal “a drop of tear on the cheek of history”.

The fact of Taj Mahal is also a tragic and enduring love story, a perfect symmetrical dream in marble which is listed as the Seventh Wonder of the World.
The Taj Mahal has many faces

It is located in the city of Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the Yamuna River. It is is famous as an enduring monument to love having been built by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Chosen One

She was the daughter of the Prime Minister at the court of Emperor Jahangir. Shan Jahan first saw her one day when she was attending a Ladies Bazaar in the courtyard of the Palace and, it said, he immediately fell in love with her. In 1612, at the age of 21, they were married and she became Shah Jahan’s beloved consort Mumtaz Mahal “chosen one of the palace”.

Mumtaz accompanied the Emperor on his military campaigns. She was his comrade, his advisor and inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence towards the weak and the needy but even these qualities were diminished by the love that bound her to Shah Jahan. She bore him 14 children.

It was in 1630, while accompanying her husband on a military campaign in Burhanpur she died giving birth to her fourteenth child at the age of 39. It is said that on her deathbed, Mumtaz begged the king to build monument as a memorial to their great love.

The Heartbreak

It is also said that his wife’s death, Shah Jehan so heartbroken, that he locked himself in his private chambers for a month and when he finally emerged his hair had turned white.

Mumtaz’s body was carried from Berhanpur to Agra and she was laid to rest in a temporary crypt. She was moved again and buried in a garden on the banks of the river. The foundation of her mausoleum was laid in 1631. On the completion of the Taj she was buried for a third time in her final resting place nearly 12 years later.

The emperor married twice more, and both these later wives, were buried in small mausoleums in Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb garden.

Deadly Rivalry

Soon after the completion in 1657, Shah Jahan became seriously ill. As he lay dying he watched hostility break out among his four sons. His four children had grown up in an atmosphere of bitter rivalry, even though they were all the sons his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The expectation of their father’s death provoked them into a savage contest for power

Aurangzeb had an acute sense of political realism and a fierce appetite for power. He was the superior in both military talent and administrative skills. He easily outclassed his brothers in the bid for power. After a bitter struggle he was crowned emperor in 1659. He imprisoned his sick and ailing father in the Agra fort. There he remained, confined for eight years under house arrest until his death.

From the balcony of Muasamman Burj tower he could look down on the beautiful monument he had created for his beloved wife.