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.

Bangladesh has its own Taj Mahal located approximately 30km northeast of the capital Dhaka. It is a replica built by a rich film maker.
Taj Mahal has always attracted attention and people all around the world made copies of the structure. There were copies made of matchsticks, plastic blocks, or sand. In Dubai they built a three-quarter-sized replica for a shopping festival and in New Jersey they have a luxury hotel-casino called Taj Mahal.

A wealthy Bangladeshi film maker Ahsanullah Moni decided to go even further and so he built a life-sized replica of the original. It took over twenty years to build the original.

Thanks to modern machinery, it took only 5 years to build the copy. Specialist architects were hired to measure the original and provide Bangladeshi builders wit the needed information. Mr. Moni claimed he has imported marble and granite from Italy,

Authorities of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Agra, have sternly objected to the functioning of a shooting range and training camp of the paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the restricted vicinity of Taj Mahal.

This shooting range and training facilities have been set up in the southeast corner of the Taj Mahal where the Akbarabadi Mahal Begum’s tomb is located.

Reportedly the CISF personnel have set up several exercising facilities and allied systems related to physical training.

ASI officials contended that the CISF officials had never sought permission for this.

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal would soon be given a facelift under an MoU to be signed by the Union Tourism and Culture Ministry with an industry player for maintenance of world heritage monuments.

Besides the Taj Mahal, the Qutub Minar and Red Fort in Delhi had also been identified under the project, Union Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee told reporters after the inauguration of a seminar on the role of the corporate sector in tourism.

Though the Archaelogical Survey of India would manage the heritage monuments, private parties would maintain them. He also said a sum of Rs 512 crore had been allocated for upgradation of tourism infrastructure facilities across the country.

Taj Mahal, one of the greatest Seven Wonders of the World, always stood as the pride of India. Now, the esteem of India goes one step further when an Indian artist creates the replica of Taj Mahal and all in wood!

Arun Kumar Meher, an artist from Bargarh district created the five feet high and ten feet wide wooden replica of Taj Mahal. He used different shades of Sal wood to create the replica within three months.

“Not everyone can go to Agra to see the actual Taj Mahal made by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz. So, for those who have not witnessed the monument, my work will give them an idea of how it actually looks like,” According to Meher .
Different shades of Sal wood were used for making the replica. No external colours were added to it.

Locals in the area have expressed appreciation, but believe it deserves greater recognition.

Taj Mahal is one of the most popular tourist places in the world, attracting around 20,000 visitors daily.

Preparations are on in full swing for the “Taj Mahotsav”, the ten-day annual festival at Shilpgram near the Taj Mahal.
Bedecked elephants and camels, drum beaters, folk artists and master craftsmen together would recreate the glorious past of the Mughal era ambiance during the carnival that kick starts every year on February 18.

The Taj Mahotsav will display the country’’s extensive arts, crafts and culture besides folk music, and classical dance performances as well as elephant and camel rides, games and a food festival, all forming part of the festivities.

Organised by the state tourism department every year to promote tourism in and around Agra, the festival is truly India at her best with a glimpse of her rich heritage and extraordinary legacies.

This year, over 1500 artists would be performing during the festival. There would be around 217 performances.
Traditional folk musicians, performing at the gateway to the “Shilpgram”, welcome the visitors.
The majestic Taj Mahal forms the backdrop of the festival.

‘Tulsi’, known for its medicinal utilities, will now help protect the Taj Mahal against the ill-effects of environmental pollution.

In a joint exercise being undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh forest department and Lucknow-based Organic India Private Ltd, one million tulsi saplings would be planted in the vicinity of the Monument of Love.

“Till now, nearly 20,000 tulsi saplings have been planted. More will be planted in nature parks near Taj Mahal and throughout Agra,”  According to company’s MD Krishan Gupta.

“It is one of the best plants which purify the environment. Its cleansing action is due to its property of releasing high amount of oxygen, which minimises the adverse impact of industrial and refinery emission.” Krishan Gupta added.

Hollywood beauty Julia Roberts added to the beauty of the Taj Mahal when she visited the 16th century monument built by Mogul emperor Shah Jahan. She was accompanied by her husband and children.
She was spotted with her husband Daniel Moder and their children on a sightseeing visit at the Taj.

Wearing a scarf to hide her identity from the large number of fans as well as media persons gathered at Taj Mahal awaiting her visit, Julia behaved like an ordinary tourist preferring to walk towards the edifice from the main gateway on the sidewalk rather than the main platform running along the central vista.

When she came along at the Taj gate, it was almost dusk and she mixed up with the crowd, avoiding media and walking barefoot from the barrier to the marbled platform with her husband and a guide.

It is learnt that Pretty Woman is on a ‘spiritual holiday’ trip here. Earlier, she visited Pink City, Jaipur with her husband and kids. Julia and his family were seen enjoying elephant and camel cart rides.

Julia won the Best Actress Academy Award in 2000 for her critically acclaimed turn as the title character in Erin Brockovich and earned Oscar nominations as Best Supporting Actress for Steel Magnolias (1989) and Best Actress for Pretty Woman (1990). Her films, which also include romantic comedies such as My Best Friend’s Wedding, Mystic Pizza, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, and crime films such as The Pelican Brief and Ocean’s Eleven, have collectively earned box office receipts of over $2 billion, making her the most successful actress in terms of box office receipts.

The visit to incredible India cannot be complete without experiencing its most spectacular piece of architecture — the Taj Mahal, literally ‘the Crown Palace’. Its curving, gently swelling dome and the square base upon which its rests so lightly, surrounded by four lofty minarets, is a familiar image in hundreds of travel brochures and travelogues on India. This picture postcard image of the Taj, as it is lovingly called, does little justice to the legend, the poetry and the romance woven into its history. Its beauty is eternal. It overawes, it mesmerizes, and it inspires.

The beauty of Taj Mahal is so mesmerizing that one cannot avoid the enticement of capturing it into their camera. Agra Taj Mahal is believed to be the most photographed monument of India. Taj Mahal in Agra India has never failed to fascinate the tourists from the world over. If one want to understand this beauteous monument of love and would like to know more about Taj Mahal then one should experience it. No trip to India is complete without visiting the Taj Mahal Agra.

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.