Symbol of undying love

With shimmering marble domes and towers reflected in landscaped pools, the Taj Mahal is the world’s greatest monument to love. SHAMLAL PURI, who visited the famous building in Agra, India, writes of its spellbinding allure.

If there is an eternal testament to true love, it is the Taj Mahal. Widely considered one of the most beautiful buildings ever created, the exquisite structure in the Indian city of Agra is a white marble mausoleum, an enduring monument to the love of a husband for his favourite wife.

Situated on the banks of River Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, the Taj Mahal is 239 kilometres south of New Delhi. It is one of the ‘Seven New Wonders of the World’ and listed by the Unesco as a World Heritage Site.

I hired a taxi for the drive to and from Delhi. It took five hours each way, as the driver dodged people, animals and overloaded trucks, honking most of the whole way.

As I arrived in Agra in the afternoon, the Taj Mahal was an oasis of calm and beauty. No photo does it justice, partly because no photo shows all of it. The monument is flanked by two lovely, symmetrical red palaces that are worthy sights on their own.

The story of the Taj Mahal started with Emperor Shah Jahan, who took control of the Mughal Empire in 1628. A true romantic, he was deeply in love with Queen Mumtaz Mahal. Bards in the Court of the Mughals said Mumtaz’s beauty was such that even the moon hid its face in shame before her.

The Mughals were at the peak of their power, and the empire rode on the huge wealth of precious stones during Shah Jahan’s reign. But despite all his wealth, he was powerless to stop the death of Mumtaz during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum, in 1631. Storytellers say Mumtaz bound her husband with a promise on her deathbed that he should build her the most beautiful tomb ever known.

The ruler poured his heart, passion and wealth into creating just such a monument to show his love and sorrow. According to records, more than 20,000 masons, artists and stone carvers drawn from across India and as far afield as Iraq and Turkey were deployed under a team of architects to build the Taj Mahal in its picturesque setting.

More than 1,000 elephants were used to transport materials to the site, and it is believed that 28 types of precious gemstones were inlaid in the walls. The mammoth task was finally completed in 1653, after 22 years.

A myth says that on its completion, Shah Jahan ordered the hands of all the workers involved in the construction chopped, so they would not build anything to match the magnificent Taj Mahal.

The architecture of this regal building is unique. The first thing that catches the eyes are the marble domes framed by four minarets, from which Muslims are called to prayer. Each is designed with a slight outward lean, presumably to protect the main mausoleum should one of them collapse in an earthquake.

Two red sandstone buildings flank the main mausoleum on either side. One, to the west, is a mosque. The other is a former guesthouse.

These buildings are set within lush gardens, complete with an enormous pool in which the beauty of the Taj Mahal is reflected.

When Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son, Aurangzeb, in 1658 and imprisoned in the Agra Fort, across from the Taj Mahal, the fallen ruler gazed upon that beautiful image until the end of his days. Upon his death on January 22, 1666, at the age of 74, Shah Jahan was buried next to his beloved wife in the monument he had built her.

Nowadays, around 9,500 people visit the Taj Mahal every day of the year, except Fridays, when it is closed to the public.

Most of the monument is visited on foot, offering some leisurely exploration. A good part of the visit is spent looking at this iconic building from outside. The marble changes in colour and tone to match the time of the day; it appears pink in the morning, white in the daytime and golden in the moonlight. Its interior is a striking space with intricate wall and floor art.

The highlight is getting an opportunity to view the Taj Mahal on the night of the full moon once a month. Four hundred lucky people get a chance to enter the grounds in staggered groups of 50 to watch this unique spectacle.

When the guards switch off the lights, the shrine emerges like a ghost in the shadows of a colourful haze. The pearly shrine looks like a stately queen on her throne. Moonlight glazes its globes with an ethereal sheen, while the inside is bathed in an eerie silence.

The only disturbing aspect of visiting the Taj Mahal, and other monuments in India, is the unfair two-tiered entry fee for locals and foreigners. Payment of a higher fee does not give international visitors any extra privileges — they see the same things the locals do.

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