Taj Mahal the lovable marble lady of India, her 400+ years in a heavy populated country like India is a true surviving(Survival of the fittest..).
Taj mahal was not located in the middle of a desert like Pyramids because nature was the only threat in deserts but Taj has to face human threats like anti rulers(anti Muslim rulers,rival rulers..Because Muslim rulers destroyed many of the Hindu temples in the past. If there is no religious wars in history, many of the man made monuments could exist today..that's why i mentioned Taj Mahal is the Survival of the fittest.),terrorism,pollution and natural disasters too.
Taj mahal was not located in the middle of a desert like Pyramids because nature was the only threat in deserts but Taj has to face human threats like anti rulers(anti Muslim rulers,rival rulers..Because Muslim rulers destroyed many of the Hindu temples in the past. If there is no religious wars in history, many of the man made monuments could exist today..that's why i mentioned Taj Mahal is the Survival of the fittest.),terrorism,pollution and natural disasters too.
Construction:
Shah jahan spared no expense for taj Mahal, All the money in the world was spent for Taj mahal. Best of best workers in their field hired for Taj mahal. Almost 20,000 workers involved in the construction, when this much of men gathered in one place then feeding them is huge task.
Cost and Suffer: Taj mahal is a great man made monument, But to do so many suffered. To feed the workers of Taj mahal, food grains and other products are diverted to Agra which is suppose to go another location. Lots of money spent in the task, for one man's love and mission people suffered.Shah jahan simply created an artificial famine, But this suffer does not reflects in Taj Mahal.
Design of Taj mahal : Shah jahan himself designed the Taj, he took many ideas from his forefather's mausoleums. Since the design was approved by the Mughal custom, there is no margin of error. The whole complex was constructed in the original design made by Shah Jahan, Its never been altered.
- Yamuna river was the beautiful and challenging location for Taj Mahal, the sand was unstable to build such a marvelous building like Taj mahal. Mughul engineers came up with a revolutionary idea, The engineers dig deep into yamuna river and filled with rocks and and water. On this base, the master builders erect stone columns linked together by massive arches. The result is Solid mountain of stones to support the foundation slab, This water friendly foundation protects the Taj mahal from the currents of the Yamuna river
- There are some optical tricks went in to the architecture of Taj mahal - the first view of the Taj Mahal was framed by the main gate, when we move closer Taj gets smaller.Taj seems grow bigger when we walk away. People say, "when we leave,we take Taj in our hearts".
- Minarets: minarets of Taj mahal were seems to be vertical but they were not. To protect the main dome from earth quakes the engineers built them slightly outwards, so even in earth quakes Minarets fell outwards and the main dome was safe in hard times too.
- The dome is the crowning glory of the Taj mahal, This self supporting structure built only by stones. The miracle calculation of the engineers was still unthinkable, because there are no supporting structure for dome which means the weight of the dome(40 meters height, 4 meters thick..) is directly transferred downwards. The credits surely goes to the unknown Indian architects.
- The shell of Taj was completed in few short years, But the costliest beautification part of Taj Mahal took the rest of the years and which makes it unique from other mausoleums.
- The white marble for taj Mahal comes from the quarries at Makrana in Rajastan still in use today. Makrana marbles already famous in Shah Jahan's time,Hard yet easy to work, Makrana marbles praised for its fine detail and high polish. Shah jahan reserved Makrana marbles for Taj Mahal.The marble slabs are carried more than 400 Kilo meters to the sight of the Taj Mahal. Construction consumes huge amount of this fabulous stone, With the skeleton f the building complete, The bricks disappeared forever beneath the pure white magic, this smooth glowing stone gives the Taj its unique impact.
- Color scheme of Taj Mahal is deeply symbolic, the worldly elements and other buildings were red. White is reserved for the mausoleum, This is to be a building of enlightenment and earthly representation of the heavenly house where Mumtaz Mahal living in eternity. Pure white stands for the spirituality and faith of the person who buried here
- Garden is the heart of the Taj Mahal.its an earthly picture of paradise mentioned in Qur'an.Two paths divide the terrain into four squares. The channels along the path represent the rivers of paradise in Qur'an, meeting place of the channels is a pool. this is symbolic of the celestial pool which is mentioned in Qur'an.
- Interior of the Taj is modeled after the 8 paradises of the Qur'an, the eight chambers surround the central space beneath the dome, Mumtaz Mahal's coffin lies here. Pietra dura is an Italian mosaic art, Which is used in the interior of Taj Mahal. there are 28 different kinds of semi-precious and precious stones were used to enhance the Taj with excellent inlay work.
Love......
Shah jahan and Mutaz Mahal are together every possible moment, The mutual love and affection between the two was incomparable with any other emperor or humankind in the whole world. As per imperial chronicles The intimacy,deep affection,attention and favor which is Shah Jahan had for Mumtaz mahal is exceeded a thousand times what he felt for his other wives .
Mumtaz Mahal, the first lady of the palace got immense powers and leads a luxurious life in the women's apartment of the Red fort. She is fabulously wealthy, Simply "Her wish be done".
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For Shah Jahan the happiness of Mumtaz Mahal is paramount, Shah Jahan was so sure about his wardrobe,perfumes, his palace and everything around him has to express his love for Mumtaz Mahal. The whole palace is turned a romantic place,
The peaceful palace is always a romantic place for the king and queen.But the Deccan region of the kingdom is always a problem for the emperor and for his peaceful life in Agra. Deccan appraisals cause wars against the Mughals, But the great Mughals crushed and victorious in all wars. Even in these hard times, Mumtaz Mahal traveled along with Shah jahan as a great companion. All love stories have an end Emperor's love doesn't matter to fate:- The tragic end hits Shah jahan,
In the midst of the Deccan wars Mumtaz mahal falls pregnant. When she giving birth to
her 14th child,Mumtaz mahal face the complications of pregnancy and Shah jahan's living dream ends there(17th June 1931). Shah jahan's world has come to an end, He fasted for eight long days, He quits jewelery,no perfume, No music in the palace,No royal costumes.
Shah Jahan's wives:
Akbarabadi Mahal
Kandahari Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal
Hasina Begum Sahiba
Muti Begum Sahiba
Fatehpuri Mahal Sahiba
Sarhindi Begum Sahiba
Shrimati Manbhavathi Baiji Lal
Sahiba
Lilavati Baiji Lal Sahiba.
Shah Jahan spent most of the time with Mumtaz Mahal, But He have to satisfy his other wives too. Its just a formality to Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan has a special duty to his kingdom, Produce heirs. Shah Jahan's wives bagging children in the red fort But once they done their duty these women are his wives in name only.
After Mumtaz mahal dies, Shah Jahan never been with his other wives. Jahanara Begum the elder daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal couple, took care of his father (I don't want to get in to that relationship..) .
The work of Taj mahal begins after Six months Mumtaz Mahal's death. The
Building mausoleum is not new to Mughals but for love of wife is new to east. Shah jahan took best parts from his ancestor's mausoleum.s and made Taj Mahal, Shah jahan took the minarets part from his father's mausoleum, dome from his grand father's mausoleum.
Shah Jahan's costly life style caused him imprisonment, His own son Aurangzeb alleged him and arrested him and imprisoned in Red fort, His only happiness is to see the Taj Mahal from his windows. In 1666, at the age of 74 Shah Jahan finds the resting place with his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, The couple reunited.
- Shah Jahan was famously known as Prince Khurram. After his accession to the throne, he became Shah Jahan.
- Shah Jahan fell in love with the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum (Mumtaz Mahal) and married her, Arjumand Bano Begum was Shah Jaha's third wife.
- Shah Jahan called his wife Arjumand Bano Begum as Mumtaz Mahal, it means "the chosen one".
- Mumtaz Mahal leaves Shah Jahan permanently when she gave birth to her 14th child, In her last words Mumtaz said that she wants a monument to be build by Shah jahan to portray their love to the world, Shah Jahan promised her and erected Taj Mahal . Well historians says its a belief (who cares...)
- As much as 1000 elephants were used in the construction of the Taj Mahal, Elephants carried the construction materials from other parts of the kingdom.
Taj Mahal New Bio Data:
Construction Begun: 1631
Finished In : 1653
Time Taken : 22 years (some where between 12 to 22 years, there are no strong records )
Investor : Shah Jahan
Built By : The Unknown Skilled Indians
Memory of : Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan
Where : Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
Finished In : 1653
Time Taken : 22 years (some where between 12 to 22 years, there are no strong records )
Investor : Shah Jahan
Built By : The Unknown Skilled Indians
Memory of : Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan
Where : Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
Building Type: Islamic tomb
Architecture: Islamic
Cost of Construction: 320 Million Indian rupees
Labors Worked : 20,000
Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World,
An UNESCO World Heritage site
Open Timings: 6:00 am to 7:30 pm (Friday closed).
Architecture: Islamic
Cost of Construction: 320 Million Indian rupees
Labors Worked : 20,000
Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World,
An UNESCO World Heritage site
Open Timings: 6:00 am to 7:30 pm (Friday closed).
disclaimer: This post is and its interpretations never means to hurt anyone, exclusive content of Madura beats, since the the info collected from authorized news agencies like National geographic so these are trustworthy.
The way you started is different.. taj mahal is always a new topic.. love ... part is superb..
ReplyDeleteToooooooo .. lengthy .. but i lots of effort .. Love is good
ReplyDeleteLove of Taj.. . cool man.
ReplyDeletei thought you were unkind about Muslim rulers, but you made it wrong, in many places you avoided(Jahanara... daughter father relationship)hurting readers... who supposedly hurt... but u let them to their imaginations.. Why the black taj mahal details missing.. if you need it i ll mail you..thank u
ReplyDeletehey guys .. hi Guru..
ReplyDeletethanks for ur comments.. I know the details of Black taj mahal.. but all of u mailed me about the length...so only i avoided.. and this post is about Taj mahal only, so i avoided the things could hurt some one.. but already im getting scolding mails.. anyways thank you
The architects planned water devices at the Taj Mahal in a very systematical manner. The water for Taj Mahal was drawn from the river and came from a number of underground pipes. Purs (a rope and bucket pulled by bullocks) were used for drawing water from the river and from there the water was transferred to a huge storage tank. Again thirteen purs were used to pump the water from the tank. From this tank, the water was taken into another huge storage tank through an over-head water-channel. More reading...
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