Shah Jahan’s favorite wife Arjumand Banu Begum, to whom he had given the title Mumtaz Mahal (Exhalted of the Palace), died on 17 June 1631 after thirty hours of gruling labor. This was her fourteenth child in nineteen years; on average, one child every 16.3 months. Mumtaz Mahal was just 38 years old.
While her life was short, more than 375 years later the tomb under which she rests has to be on any world traveler’s short list for “Places to See Before I Die.” It was on mine, and it didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, my photographic abilities do.
Work began on the tomb in 1632 and was essentially complete in 1643. Work continued for another ten years on the remainder of the complex—gardens, mosque, guesthouse, gates, etc. By the end of the 19th century, after years of neglect and looting, the mausoleum was greatly in need of some TLC. Lord Curzon, who became Viceroy of India in 1899, initiated a mammoth restoration project that lasted until 1908. Almost a century later the white marble was covered with grime emitted by vehicles and nearby coal-fired power plants. In 2002, multani mitti, a mixture of soil, cereal, milk and lime that had once been used by Indian women to beautify their skin, was used to wash away the effects of industrial pollution. Moreover, vehicles powered by internal combustion engines were banned from the immediate area.
The tomb is just one component of a large complex that sets the stage for this beautiful structure.
Taj Mahal Site Plan
From the main entrance all one sees is a lawned forecourt surrounded by a red sandstone colonnade, other gates, and the Main Gate or darwaza, which rises to a height of 90 feet.
Darwaza or Main Entrance to Taj Mahal
The surface decorations of the darwaza provide a hint of what is to come.
Calligraphy and Herringbone Stonework on Darwaza
The Darwaza is topped by a line of chhatris.
Chhatris atop Main Gate
Once inside the main gate, the mausoleum sets at the end of a long reflecting pool which is just one of four pools that create the chahar bagh, a four-square garden design symbolizing paradise that originated in Persia. The lawns were added by Lord Curzon, replacing what probably was a more natural assemblage of trees and flowers that after several centuries had been transformed into a jungle.
Center of Chahar Bagh and Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal stands on two bases: a sandstone terrace topped by a 313-square-foot marble plinth. Since the tomb sits on the raised marble platform at the end of the gardens with only the river behind it, the only backdrop is the sky. Unfortunately, when you visit in early April when it’s been months since a pollution-cleansing rain, the sky is not very blue.
Note the red sandstone base beneath the square marble plinth
At each corner of the platform are 137-foot-tall, ornamental minarets, which were built at a slight tilt away from tomb. Some say the tilt was designed to insure the towers would fall away from the tomb in case of an earthquake, but it’s more likely the tilt was intended to compensate for the human eye’s optics. That is, as in railroad tracks, parallel lines viewed from a distance tend to appear as if they are approaching each other.
The central structure is a square with cut-off corners. The four identical faces have a vaulted arch in the center and have been decorated with carved flowers inlaid with semiprecious stones, pietra dura scrollwork, and quotations from the Quran created using jasper inlay.
Corner of Taj Mahal
Chhatri atop Taj Mahal
According to one source there are 22 different Qur’anic quotations on the Taj Mahal.
Calligraphy Inlay
Geometric designs, especially in a herringbone pattern, are used extensively to demarcate space on the exterior.
The main dome is really two domes—an outer shell that is 200-feet high and an inner shell that is only 81-feet high. The four large chattras balance the dome which is higher than the minarets.
The inside of the mausoleum is spectacular. Finely-cut marble screens filter the light. Tiny flowers composed from 43 different types of inlaid semiprecious stones decorate the raised cenotaph. A single one-inch flower has 60 pieces. Some of the gems used are: yellow amber from Burma; lapis lazuli from Afghanistan; jade from Chinese Turkestan; cornelian, agate, amethyst, jasper, green beryl, chalcedony, onyx and coral from different regions of Indian subcontinent. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside mausoleum, so the best I could do is this column.
Flower Inlay
To see and appreciate the stunning artistry of the Taj Mahal’s interior, check your local library for Taj Mahal, photography by Jean-Louis Nou, text by Amina Okada and M. C.Joshi, NY: Abbeville Press, 1993.
At the end of my tour, my guide and I spent some time sitting on the steps to the mosque on the west side of the Taj Mahal. As the sun descended, the sky became bluer, and the marble began to glow. I wished I could stay longer, but the gates would be locked before sunset.
West Face of Taj Mahal in the late afternoon
On the other hand, it was full moon, so the gates reopened after dark to let about 40 people enter each half hour for a 20 minute visit. My travel agent had managed to get one of the coveted tickets in the 9:30 p.m. time slot. Security for these visits was extraordinary, and while you could take a camera in, you could not take a purse, tripod or remote control. At 9:30 the moon was only about 90 degrees above the horizon, so with the atmospheric haze the dome did not shine like in the photographs. This was my best shot.
Now, to return to my initial question: Is the Taj Mahal “the most beautiful building in the world”? As long as symmetry, proportional harmony, grace, and elegance are used to determine architectural beauty, the Taj Mahal will be among the most beautiful buildings in the world. When buildings made of glass and steel are eliminated from the list, the Taj Mahal is THE most beautiful.