Taj - the Priceless Monument of Love
Built
by Shahjahan in the memory of his beloved mistress Mumtaz Mahal, the beauty
in white marble stands on the banks of the river Yamuna in Agra. The symbol
of eternal love - Taj Mahal at Agra India beckons largest number of tourists
from all the corners of the globe, making it one of the very few most
visited & photographed monuments in the world.
Taj Mahal, the beauty moulded in white marble is the most captivating site
in India and is the most precious jewel on the tourist map of India.
At various time of the day Taj carries different hues, demonstrating its
many moods. But many people say, that Taj is best viewed on a full moon
night.
During its construction, Taj was bejeweled with various precious and semi
precious stones, most of which no more exists. Even then, Taj Mahal is the
most beautiful and most appealing monument in the world, for being the most
priced and largest mausoleum built by a man for his undying love on earth.
Where is this White Beauty?
The historical city, Agra prides in housing this most precious monument of
Love. This is the reason, that Agra is also known as the city of Taj. Oe of
the most developed cities in India since the Mughal Period, Agra was the
capital of the Mughal Empire during the 17th century. Today, Agra has wide
array of industrial sectors, apart from its historical wonders.
The History Behind the White Marvel
The credit of the construction of this marble wonder goes to the Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan who erected this mausoleum in memory of his beloved wife,
Mumtaz Mahal, who died in AD 1630.
Mumtaz's last wish to her husband was "to build a tomb in her memory
such as the world had never seen before". Thus emperor Shah Jahan set
about building this fairy tale like marvel in 1631 AD one year after her
death.
The Taj Architecture
The
entire mausoleum is build in white marble. In all 28 kind of rare, semi
precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal.
» The Chief Building Material : White marble
brought from the quarries of Makrana, in distt. Nagaur, Rajasthan.
» Sandstone Brought From : Fatehpur Sikri
» Jasper from : Punjab
» Jade & Crystal From : China
» Turquoise from : Tibet
» Lapis Lazuli & Sapphire from : Sri Lanka
» Coal & Comelian from : Arabia
» Diamonds from : Panna
The Taj Mahal stands on a plinth amidst sprawling gardens in Persian
Charbagh (four garden) style, which promotes its beauty. The entire area of
the Taj complex is 580 m (1,902 ft) by300 m (984 ft), while the garden alone
spans to an area of 300 m (984 ft) by 300 m (984 ft).
The well laid out garden has canals and different waterworks. The dramatic
watercourse neatly divides the garden into four equal parts and enhances the
immaculate symmetry of the entire complex. The image of Taj reflecting on
the canals and waterworks within the Charbagh adds to the beauty of the Taj.
Trees, mostly cypress (Cuprussus) (signifying death) or different fruit
bearing trees (signifying life) were carefully planted in the 64 flowerbeds
in accordance with the symmetry of the total plan. The network of water
channels in the garden used to be full of colourful fish of various species.
How to Reach Taj Mahal?
Agra, the city housing the Taj is well connected to rest of India by all
the means of transport - air, rail & road. Indian Airlines (Domestic
Airline in India) runs daily flights from Delhi to Agra. Kheria Airport
(Airport of Agra) is about 6 km from the Agra city centre and is easily
accessible by taxis and auto-rickshaws at nominal rates.
Agra has three Railway Stations : Agra Cantt Rly Station, Raja-ki-Mundi Rly
Station, Agra Fort Rly Station, which are connected to several parts of the
country. There are several excellent train services to Delhi such as The
Shatabdi Express (2 hrs), Taj Express (2.5 hrs), Intercity Express (3 hrs).
Express bus services, both AC and non-AC are available from Delhi, Jaipur,
Lucknow, Gwalior, and Jhansi.
Incredible
India
