Taj Mahal - The epitome of love

The Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent. It's the history of Taj Mahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a soul that is filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if it was not for love, the world would have been robbed of a fine example upon which people base their relationships. An example of how deeply a man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made sure that this memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in love with Mumtaz Mahal, his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name Arjumand Banu Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married. Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the "Taj Mahal". The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631. Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran, and it took approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The monument was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was finally completed in the year 1653. It was soon after the completion of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was at the end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908, as a measure to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion of 1857: Taj being blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also deprived the monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. Also, the British style lawns that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were remodeled around the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present threats from Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of love continuous to shine and attract people from all over the world. The beautiful Taj Mahal at night Anyone who so much as walks past it, cannot hold himself/herself from the feeling of wanting to look at it one more time. And anyone who has been in the presence of it cannot help but sing praises of its glory. It's inevitable! Taj Mahal impressions consist of the things that people have said after experiencing the magnificence of this outstanding monument. From awe to delight to sheer ecstasy, impressions of Taj Mahal depict each and every conceivable feeling. Here are some of the many famous sayings people said about the Taj Mahal. The stupefied exquisiteness coupled with pure brilliance of the monument has led to the emergence of these impressions. Go through them and see how the monument has awed left even the best of people speechless. Famous Sayings Of Taj Mahal : "The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs and makes sun and moon shed tears from their eyes. In this world this edifice has been made to display, thereby, the Creator's glory."  Shah Jahan (Badshah Nama) "It appears like a perfect pearl on an azure ground. The effect is such I have never experienced from any work of art."  British painter, Hodges "I cannot tell what I think. I do not know how to criticize such a building but I can tell what I feel. I would die tomorrow to have such another over me."  British officer, Colonel Sleeman's wife "Did you ever build a castle in the Air? Here is one, brought down to earth and fixed for the wonder of ages". American novelist, Bayard Taylor "If I had never done anything else in India, I have written my name here, and the letters are a living joy." Lord Curzon, the British Governor-General "You know Shah Jahan, life and youth, wealth and glory, they all drift away in the current of time. You strove therefore, to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart? Let the splendor of diamond, pearl and ruby vanish? Only let this one teardrop, this Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever."  Rabindra Nath Tagore "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones." English Poet, Sir Edwin Arnold "And now adieu! -Beautiful Taj - adieu! In the far, far West I shall rejoice that I have gazed upon your beauty; nor will the memory depart until the lowly tomb of an English gentlewoman closes on my remains." Welsh Travel Writer, Fanny Parkes "Properly speaking the Sultan's memory is more perpetuated by this building than that of his favorite, for everyone who saw it would involuntarily ask who created it?" Ida Pfeiffer "After hearing its praises ever since I had been in India I felt that its beauty rather exceeded than fell short of my expectations." Anglican Bishop in Calcutta, Reginald Heber "Mumtaz Mahal herself radiant in her youthful beauty... India's noble tribute to the grace of Indian womanhood - the Venus de Milo of the East." Principal of the Calcutta Art School, EB Havell "On a white marble terrace an immaterial light shell like the apartments of the blessed, whose foot does not touch ordinary ground." Swiss Art Historical Luminary, Heinrich Wolfflin "A massive marble structure, without weight, as if formed of ether, perfectly rational and at the same time entirely decorative, it is perhaps the greatest art work which the forming spirit of mankind has ever brought forth." German Philosopher, Count Hermann Keyserling

The Taj Mahal Rest House, also referred to as Guest House, Naqqar Khana, Mihman Khana, or the Assembly Hall, is located on the eastern side of the Taj and is a replica of the Taj Mahal Mosque that lies exactly opposite, on the western side of the Taj Mahal. It is believed that the rest house was built to provide a "jawab", which translates to "answer", as it balances the architectural symmetry and harmony of the whole structure. Although it is an exact replica of the mosque, a surety that this structure was never used for prayer purposes comes from the fact that unlike the mosque, it doesn't host a Mihrab, an indented enclosure that indicates the direction of Mecca and the direction which the Muslims face to perform their prayers or salat, and Minbar, a three step to flat platform from where the priest delivers a speech.

The Taj Mahal Rest House

The entire structure of the rest house bears many similarities to the mosque at the opposite end. Just like the mosque, it is made up of red sandstone with marble facing that provides a captivating contrast of colors, possesses one dominant portal known as the Iwan with one mini Iwan on either side of it, three marble coated domes surmounted by gilded finials and adorned with flower-topped pinnacles and traditional lotus design, and four little domed kiosks with marble veneer. The finial that we see today was installed in 1940 and is fourth in succession after a series of repairs and replacements. The first was replaced back in the year 1810 by Captain Joseph Taylor. And as it didn't serve as a mosque, the Quranic inscriptions that present in the mosque have here been replaced by floral designs and other decorative patterns done on white marble that infuse liveliness to the red sandstone background.

However, till date, there's a sense of ambiguity to what purpose the rest house served. Apart from accepted belief that it was built to provide a symmetrical balance to the proceedings, theories from experts differ from it being used to accommodate visitors for observing the death anniversaries of Mumtaz Mahal to it being used as a rest house for the pilgrims who came here on caravans. Some also believe that it was used as an assembly hall where devotees used to gather before prayer. Despite all the theories that are up and running, one thing is for certain that the sense of grandeur has certainly increased manifold by the symmetrical design and identical twins of outlying buildings, the rest house being one of them.