The Taj Mahal
Written: Aug 07 '02 (Updated Aug 07 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It is to be seen to be believed.
Cons: None as far as the Taj is concerned
The Bottom Line: No pictures can do it justice. This is one touristy thing you have to do when in India.
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| arjita's Full Review: The Taj Mahal |
In the words of one Urdu poet, Majrooh Sultanpuri,
Ek Shehenshah ne banwa ke hasin Taj Mahal, Saari duniya ko mohabbat ki nishani di hai
“In Taj Mahal the world was given an eternal symbol of love by an emperor”
Sahir Ludhiyanvi countered by saying,
Ek Shehenshah ne banwa ke hasin Taj Mahal, saari duniya ki Mohabbat ka udaya hai mazaaq
“In building the Taj Mahal, an emperor has made a mockery of the love of all the poor lovers of the world”
Whichever poet you agree with, one thing that you will agree is that the Taj Mahal is one of the most enchanting, ethereal buildings you can hope to see. Taj Mahal literally translates to mean “crown palace”. No one is really certain of how the name came about but some consider it to be the short version of the name of the inspiration for the monument, Mumtaz Mahal.
A History Lesson
We have all heard the word Mogul:
an important, powerful, or influential person, example: a movie mogul.
Some of us though are unaware that the word comes from the Mughal Dynasty which ruled large parts of India from early sixteenth century to the time of the British arrival. Originally Mongol, the word owes its origin to them. They are credited with the construction of numerous buildings as well as gardens in India which were influenced by the Islamic traditions of art and architecture.
Shah Jahan the fifth of the Mughal emperors gave his wife, Mumtaz Mahal a few promises on her deathbed. One of them included the construction of a great monument in her memory. The construction of the mausoleum, which was to eventually house her grave, began in 1631. It took 22 years, and 20,000 workers to accomplish the task.
The Geography
The Taj is situated on the banks of river Yamuna (locally known as Jamuna), in the historic city of Agra, a mid size city in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The city is about 200 kms from New Delhi, the capital city, which incidentally is also located on river Yamuna.
It is well connected by rail, road and air and forms the Golden triangle of tourism along with Jaipur and Delhi. You could also make a day visit to the Taj Mahal from Delhi, if that is all you want to see. However, Agra and its vicinities have other points of interest which should not be missed. This review concentrates on the Taj Mahal and so I will not be discussing these here.
Hot in summer, and quite cool in winter, Agra has water which needs some getting used to. Though it is advisable to drink bottled water in India for health reasons, if you think you are acclimated to the water (as we Indians are), you might still want to rely on the bottle as the salty water might not suit your tastes.
Because of extreme heat during the summer months, plan to visit these parts of North India, in the months of October to February.
The monument is open from 6 am-7 pm everyday except Fridays. On Fridays there is afternoon (12 –2pm) access to the Muslims who are interested in offering prayers at the mosque located in the Taj Mahal complex.
Entry costs Rs 970 for Foreigners and for Indians during the sunrise and sunset entry costs Rs 110 and during the daytime Rs 20/-.
Video cameras are not allowed in the complex. You can of course take your camera.
The compound of the Taj Mahal begins outside its gates where the ticket windows are located. The lines are fairly long but move reasonably fast. There is a red sandstone wall surrounding the main courtyard, which also houses shops along its length. This area is sort of a large courtyard with not much shelter on those hot days though.
After getting our tickets, we entered the main gateway. Made of red sandstone, you are still not given a complete glimpse of the Taj. A tall impressive structure, the gate is very richly decorated with floral arabesques of gemstones and inlaid in white marble. The central vaulted portal has inscriptions from the Koran done in black marble inlays on its surface. There is an impressive optical trick at work here. The height of the letters is gradually increased as their distance from the eye is increased. This tricks the eye into believing that all the letters of the same size. This effect is also used on the main doorway of the Taj itself. This demonstrates the attention to detail paid by the people involved in the construction of the building.
And now …drum roll...THE TAJ
Through the southern gate, which has a tall brass door you can now see the Taj Mahal in a distance. The distance to the Taj from here is about a 1000 feet.
A red sandstone platform is the base on which the Taj rests. At the top of the dome of the Taj, there is a golden needle reaching up to the sky. There are four minarets at the four corners of the Taj, at the crown of which there are cupolas.
Standing near the main gateway, your eye is drawn to the Taj, which seems to float in air with the sky seeming bluer because of the milky whiteness of the marble.
A pretty garden lies in between this gateway and the Taj. Laid out in a very geometric and contrived pattern, this is in the Persian style that can be seen in other mughal gardens too. The large garden contains four reflecting pools divided at the center. Each of these four sections is further subdivided into four sections and then each into yet another four sections. You can relax in these gardens and gaze at the Taj.
From the distance, and in all pictures of the Taj, you cannot see the beauty of the embellishments on the walls. These are floral patterns which were studded with precious stones at one time. All of the precious stones have been plundered through the centuries, and their original beauty is lost to the visitor today.
We have all seen the dejected looking Princess Diana on the bench in front of the Taj. This bench is located almost mid-way right in front of the garden and is the perfect spot to shoot yourself with the Taj in the background.
To the left and right of the Taj are red sandstone buildings. The one to the left is a mosque and on the right is a rest house. Both are very similar in design. The mosque has inscriptions from the Koran embellishing its walls while floral, and other nature inspired designs adorn the rest house.
There is a full size reproduction of the golden pinnacle atop the Taj between the rest house and the mausoleum. This gives the visitor some idea of the true proportions (31 ft.) of what from below appears to be a tiny thing.
Within the dome lie the cenotaphs for the royal bodies of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. These are only replicas as the actual sarcophagus lies below these cenotaphs. The sarcophagus below is not open to the visitors. Mumtaz’s is in the center, and Shah Jahan’s, placed by his queen’s, seems like an afterthought, which indeed it was as originally it was to be kept in another monument said to be built in black marble across from the Taj, but that was not to be.
You can walk all round the Taj, and also gaze on the other side of the Yamuna. The red fort (similar to the red fort in Delhi) in Agra can also be seen from the Taj. Much has been said about the pollution’s effects on the structure of the Taj Mahal. Starting with 1993, multiple efforts are being made to preserve the beauty of the Taj Mahal with cooperation from national and international agencies.
A visit to the Taj Mahal is a must on every traveler’s itinerary to India, and every Indian’s dream. The ticket-price discrepancy for a foreign visitor as opposed to a native one did strike me as wrong. I do not truly understand the reason for this. The only good I can see in this is that this enables the authorities to keep the ticket price at Rs.20 for Indians, which is still quite an amount for a large majority of Indians.
Agra is a very touristy town and comes with all the trappings of that. It seems like everyone works on commission. The taxi-drivers, auto-rickshaw (motorized three wheelers) drivers, store owners, restaurants, hotels, souvenir sellers, photographers, everyone is out to fleece the tourist. Wherever tourists can be found you can find hawkers and others hassling them. You can just not get away from them in the city of Agra.
However, stepping into the main gateway, you get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The chaos seems far away and a feeling of serenity takes over. The resting place of the queen is a very peaceful one and I am sure she would be proud of the way in which her husband kept his promise to her.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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arjita
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Member: Arjita Sharma
Reviews written: 44
Trusted by: 32 members
About Me:
Nations have no permanent friends or enemies, but only permanent interests - Benjamin Disraeli
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