Taj Mahal India
TAJ MAHAL (Crown of the Palace)
Area
17-hectare (42-acre)
Height
73 m (240ft)
Built
Shah jahan (1632–1653)
Built for
Mumtaz mahal
Architect
Ustad ahmad lahori, Various types of symbolism have been employed in the Taj to reflect natural beauty and divinity.
Architectural
Mughal architecture,and expands on design traditions of Indo-Islamic.
Unesco
1983
Tenure
22 years
Cost
32 Million
The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on 17 June that year, while giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.Construction started in 1632,and the mausoleum was completed in 1648, while the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.The imperial court documenting Shah Jahan’s grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrates the love story held as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Indo-Islamic and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun’s Tomb which inspired the Charbagh gardens and hasht-behesht (architecture) plan of the site, Itmad-Ud-Daulah’s Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan’s own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. Buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.
TOMB
The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Indo-Islamic in origin.The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 meters (180 ft) on each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaq is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The dome is nearly 35 meters (115 ft) high which is close in measurement to the length of the base, and accentuated by the cylindrical “drum” it sits on, which is approximately 7 meters (23 ft) high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome or amrud (guava dome).The top is decorated with a lotus design which also serves to accentuate its height. The shape of the dome is emphasized by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners, which replicate the onion shape of the main dome. The dome is slightly asymmetrical.Their column bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide light to the interior. Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldaste. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial which mixes traditional Persian and Hindustani decorative elements.The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. This feature provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point heavenward.The minarets, which are each more than 40 meters (130 ft) tall, display the designer’s penchant for symmetry. They were designed as working minarets — a traditional element of mosques, used by the muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer. Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower. At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb. The chattris all share the same decorative elements of a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that in the event of collapse, a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period, the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.
EXTERIOR DECORATION
The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes, the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs. Throughout the complex are passages from the Qur’an that comprise some of the decorative elements. Recent scholarship suggests that Amanat Khan chose the passages.The calligraphy on the Great Gate reads “O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you.”The calligraphy was created in 1609 by a calligrapher named Abdul Haq. Shah Jahan conferred the title of “Amanat Khan” upon him as a reward for his “dazzling virtuosity”.Near the lines from the Qur’an at the base of the interior dome is the inscription, “Written by the insignificant being, Amanat Khan Shirazi.”Much of the calligraphy is composed of florid thuluth script made of jasper or black marble inlaid in white marble panels. Higher panels are written in slightly larger script to reduce the skewing effect when viewed from below. The calligraphy found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb is particularly detailed and delicate.Abstract forms are used throughout, especially in the plinth, minarets, gateway, mosque, jawab and, to a lesser extent, on the surfaces of the tomb. The domes and vaults of the sandstone buildings are worked with tracery of incised painting to create elaborate geometric forms. Herringbone inlays define the space between many of the adjoining elements. White inlays are used in sandstone buildings, and dark or black inlays on the white marbles. Mortared areas of the marble buildings have been stained or painted in a contrasting color which creates a complex array of geometric patterns. Floors and walkways use contrasting tiles or blocks in tessellation patterns.On the lower walls of the tomb are white marble dados sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines. The marble has been polished to emphasize the exquisite detailing of the carvings. The dado frames and archway spandrels have been decorated with pietra dura inlays of highly stylised, almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits. The inlay stones are of yellow marble, jasper and jade, polished and leveled to the surface of the walls.
Interior decoration
The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal reaches far beyond traditional decorative elements. The inlay work is not pietra dura, but a lapidary(practice of shaping stone) of precious and semiprecious gemstones.The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used. The interior walls are about 25 meters (82 ft) high and are topped by a “false” interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level and, as with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall.The four central upper arches form balconies or viewing areas, and each balcony’s exterior window has an intricate screen or jali cut from marble. In addition to the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof openings covered by chattris at the corners. The octagonal marble screen or jali bordering the cenotaphs is made from eight marble panels carved through with intricate pierce work. The remaining surfaces are inlaid in delicate detail with semi-precious stones forming twining vines, fruits and flowers. Each chamber wall is highly decorated with dado bas-relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined calligraphy panels which reflect, in little detail, the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex.Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves. Hence, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were put in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with their faces turned right, towards Mecca. Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber on a rectangular marble base of 1.5 by 2.5 meters (4 ft 11 in by 8 ft 2 in). Both the base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems. Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet. Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is beside Mumtaz’s to the western side and is the only visible asymmetric element in the entire complex. His cenotaph is bigger than his wife’s, but reflects the same elements: a larger casket on a slightly taller base precisely decorated with lapidary and calligraphy that identifies him. On the lid of the casket is a traditional sculpture of a small pen box.The pen box and writing tablet are traditional Mughal funerary icons decorating the caskets of men and women respectively. The Ninety Nine Names of God are calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Other inscriptions inside the crypt include, “O Noble, O Magnificent, O Majestic, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious… “. The tomb of Shah Jahan bears a calligraphic inscription that reads; “He traveled from this world to the banquet-hall of Eternity on the night of the twenty-sixth of the month of Rajab, in the year 1076 Hijri.”
GARDEN
The complex is set around a large 300-meter (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four-quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. Halfway between the tomb and gateway in the center of the garden is a raised marble water tank with a reflecting pool positioned on a north–south axis to reflect the image of the mausoleum. The elevated marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar in reference to the “Tank of Abundance” promised to Muhammad.Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees labeled according to common and scientific names and fountains. The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced to India by Babur, the first Mughal emperor. It symbolizes the four flowing rivers of Jannah (Paradise) and reflects the Paradise garden derived from the Persian pairidaeza, meaning ‘walled garden.’ In mystic Islamic texts of the Mughal period, Paradise is described as an ideal garden of abundance with four rivers flowing from a central spring or mountain, separating the garden into north, west, south and east.Most Mughal charbagh are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center. The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden. With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or “Moonlight Garden” on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden’s design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.Similarities in layout and architectural features with the Shalimar Gardens suggests both gardens may have been designed by the same architect, Ali Mardan.Early accounts of the garden describe its profusion of vegetation, including abundant roses, daffodils, and fruit trees.As the Mughal Empire declined, the Taj Mahal and its gardens also declined. By the end of the 19th century, the British Empire controlled more than three-fifths of India,and assumed management of the Taj Mahal. They changed the landscaping to their liking which more closely resembled the formal lawns of London.
OUTLYING BUILDINGS
The Taj Mahal complex is bordered on three sides by crenelated red sandstone walls; the side facing the river is open. Outside the walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan’s other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz’s favorite servant.These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era. The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples which was later incorporated into Mughal mosques. The wall is interspersed with domed chattris, and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.The main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble, and reminiscent of the Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. Its archways mirror the shape of the tomb’s archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate the calligraphy that decorates the tomb. It utilizes bas-relief and pietra dura inlay decorations with floral motifs. The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs like those found in the other sandstone buildings in the complex.At the far end of the complex are two grand red sandstone buildings that mirror each other, and face the sides of the tomb. The backs of the buildings parallel the western and eastern walls. The western building is a mosque and the other is the jawab (answer), thought to have been constructed for architectural balance although it may have been used as a guesthouse. Distinctions between the two buildings include the jawab’s lack of a mihrab (a niche in a mosque’s wall facing Mecca), and its floors of geometric design whereas the floor of the mosque is laid with outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble. The mosque’s basic design of a long hall surmounted by three domes is similar to others built by Shah Jahan, particularly the Masjid-i Jahān-Numā, or Jama Masjid, Delhi. The Mughal mosques of this period divide the sanctuary hall into three areas comprising a main sanctuary and slightly smaller sanctuaries on either side. At the Taj Mahal, each sanctuary opens onto an expansive vaulting dome. The outlying buildings were completed in 1643.
CONSTRACTION
The Taj Mahal is built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharaja Jai Singh with a large palace in the center of Agra in exchange for the land.An area of roughly 1.2 hectares (3 acres) was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and leveled at 50 meters (160 ft) above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble to form the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb. The scaffold was so enormous that foremen estimated it would take years to dismantle.The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. It is believed over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. It took the efforts of 22,000 laborers, painters, embroidery artists and stonecutters to shape the Taj Mahal.The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty-eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.According to the legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep the bricks taken from the scaffold, and thus it was dismantled by peasants overnight. A 15-kilometer (9.3 mi) tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site and teams of twenty or thirty oxen pulled the blocks on specially constructed wagons.An elaborate post-and-beam pulley system was used to raise the blocks into desired position. Water was drawn from the river by a series of purs, an animal-powered rope and bucket mechanism, into a large storage tank and raised to a large distribution tank. It was passed into three subsidiary tanks, from which it was piped to the complex.The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on “completion”. Construction of the mausoleum itself was essentially completed by 1643 while work on the outlying buildings continued for years. Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost at the time has been estimated to be about ₹ 32 million, which is around ₹ 52.8 billion ($827 million US) based on 2015 values.
LATER DAYS
Soon after the Taj Mahal’s completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan’s death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.In the 18th century, the Jat rulers of Bharatpur invaded Agra and attacked the Taj Mahal. They took away the two chandeliers, one of agate and another of silver, which were hung over the main cenotaph; they also took the gold and silver screen. Kanbo, a Mughal historian, said the gold shield which covered the 4.6-metre-high (15 ft) finial at the top of the main dome was also removed during the Jat desoliation.By the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen into disrepair. At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908.He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modeled after one in a Cairo mosque. During this time the garden was remodeled with European-style lawns that are still in place today.
Why Lord Curzon’s name is inscribed on a lamp that hangs inside the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal’s century-old chandelier that recently sustained damage was one of two gifted by Viceroy Lord Curzon in the early 20th century. And thereby hangs a tale.
The Taj Mahal’s century-old chandelier that sustained damage during a recent cleaning procedure, was one of the two gifted by then Viceroy, Lord Curzon in the early 20th century. The chandelier made of copper, placed under one of the royal gates, just where it allows visitors a first glimpse of the Taj, was installed in 1909. Weighing around 60kg, it was crafted at the Mayo School of Art in Lahore.The Archaeological Survey of India, on its part, has decided to remove a smaller bronze lamp, inlaid with gold and silver, hanging in the inner dome over the false mausoleums of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Also a gift from the Viceroy, and more intricate in its construction, Curzon is said to have invested more time and resources on it.Curzon, who became India’s Viceroy in 1899, was a man on several missions. To secure India’s northern frontiers from the advancing threat of Russia, Curzon encouraged Francis Younghusband’s 1903 Tibet expedition. His move to preserve India’s heritage was part of his own “civilizing mission”.But it was the Taj Mahal that had his unqualified attention. In the last two centuries, the Taj Mahal had seen much destruction, looted by different marauding groups as the Mughal Empire lay dying. It had also suffered damage during the 1857 revolt.Previous conservation initiatives had focused on the mausoleum but Curzon’s plans included the restoration of the mausoleum’s gardens and the reconstruction of its outer courts. In the space of eight years, 1900–1908, the Taj Mahal’s southeast garden tower and the colonnades of the jilau khana (the forecourt) were rebuilt. The minor tombs and the complex of the Khawaspur(quarters of the tomb attendants) were restored and the bazaar approaches to the complex were cleared.Curzon even concerned himself with the outfits of the tomb’s hereditary attendants (khadims) who were made to wear what Curzon and his advisers thought was quite the traditional Mughal garb, something that none other than Akbar had worn — white suits with green scarf and a badge.
New Lamps for Old
Curzon wrote that he spent some £40,000–50,000 on Agra alone (his own and the government’s resources). But one of Curzon’s special concerns — after being horror-struck by the dim smoky lamps the attendants used when showing him around — were the new lamps that he wanted set up — these would be objets d’art that would eminently suit the interior of the Taj Mahal and the royal gate.For the lamp to hang from the Taj’s inner dome, he envisaged something similar to those seen in the mausoleums of Egypt’s Mamluk sultans (13th to the early 16th century). First he turned to Lord Cromer, British Consul General in Egypt but these plans soon fell through.Curzon then tried to get a copy of the Arabian Nights, that he had read in childhood (evidently Curzon’s efforts were part of similar moves, towards creating an imagined Islamic past or how an Islamic city was envisioned).As his biographer, the Earl of Ronaldshay writes, Curzon while in Cairo, on his way to London in 1904, finally decided to have the lamp cast in likeness of one that had once hung from Sultan Baibars II’s (ruled 1308–1309) mosque. This lamp however had vanished and could not be traced to any museum in Cairo, London or Paris.But local artisans apparently knew how the lamp looked, down to its every detail. And advised by two Egyptian scholars, Herz Bey, the director of the Arab Museum of Cairo, and E Richmond, of the Egyptian Public Works Department, a trusted artiste, Todros Badir, was chosen to replicate the lamp with the dedication and delicacy this required.Badir took two years to make a vase-shaped lamp in bronze, inlaid with gold and silver work. Curzon’s dedication in Persian — Presented to the Tomb of Mumtaz Mahal by Lord Curzon, Viceroy 1906 — was also inscribed on it, after a careful process of revision to ensure it matched the script used by calligraphers for the Taj Mahal.This lamp was installed on February 16, 1908, after a solemn function following the evening prayers, almost a year before the other chandelier at the gate was.”The central dome of the Taj is rising like some vast exhalation in the air,” Curzon is supposed to have said at the inauguration. “If I had never done anything else in India, I would have written my name here and the letters are a living joy.”
THREAD
In 1942, the government erected scaffolding to disguise the building in anticipation of air attacks by the Japanese Air Force.During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffolding was again erected to mislead bomber pilots.More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of the Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery,which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow-brown.To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the “Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)”, a 10,400-square-kilometer (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.Concerns for the tomb’s structural integrity have recently been raised because of a decline in the groundwater level in the Yamuna river basin which is falling at a rate of around 1.5 m (5 ft) per year. In 2010, cracks appeared in parts of the tomb, and the minarets which surround the monument were showing signs of tilting, as the wooden foundation of the tomb may be rotting due to lack of water. It has been pointed out by politicians, however, that the minarets are designed to tilt slightly outwards to prevent them from crashing on top of the tomb in the event of an earthquake. In 2011, it was reported that some predictions indicated that the tomb could collapse within five years.Small minarets located at two of the outlying buildings were reported as damaged by a storm on April 11, 2018.On 31 May 2020 another fierce thunderstorm caused some damage to the complex. to know more… CLICK HERE
