Taj Mahal is a symbol of eternal affection and stands for the pious love even after the death of the two lovers who loved each other more than the almighty GOD. Taj Mahal has been an inspiration for those who are true lover of art, human emotions, also for painters, poets, writers and musicians who try to express human emotions in form of paintings, words, poetries and songs. The beautiful structure was built in the city of Agra, in state of Uttar Pradesh. The colossal architecture is situated on the banks of the Yamuna River and has a huge ground on its back side which gives a beautiful starry background to it. Taj Mahal was build in memory of the beautiful wife of Mughal Prince, her name was Arjuman Bano Begum. The prince Khurram (who was third son of Mughal Emperor Jahangir) and his wife loved each other so much that they never stayed away from each other, even when the prince went on for wars, they lived together. The prince on becoming king after some years; changed his name and was called "Shahjahan" which means 'Ruler/King of the whole World'. Shahjanan then honored his wife Arjuman Bano with name 'Mumtaz Mahal'. The king and queen continued loving each other the way they did, and the queen accompanied king Shahjahan in every campaign he set for, even when she was pregnant. Around year 1631 when Mumtaz Mahal was pregnant, she accompanied the king when he started his campaign to win the southern states of India. Mumtaz Mahal, who gave birth to about fourteen children (of which only four male and three female children survived), died during childbirth at Burhanpur, at the age of 39 years. Some stories say that the devastated king was so sad that he had imprisoned himself in a room in remembrance of his lovely wife. Some stories also state that the Shahajahan had banned music, feasts and any kind of party for about two years in his regime. No matter how hard he tried, but Shahjahan could never forget his wife and he decided to build a monument in the remembrance of his beloved wife. He wanted to build a huge, beautiful monument, entirely made up of marble which will be only one of its types in whole world. Shahajahan chose a garden on the banks of the Yamuna River to build the structure. The reason of choosing this spot was that, there was no other structure which could overshadow the beauty and uniqueness of the structure he wanted to build. This was not the only reason why the spot was chosen for the monument, but the place was well visible from the king Shahajahan's palace in Fort of Agra. Shahajahan gifted with four huge havelis against the garden he wanted to build the monument in, with the king of Amber who owned the garden. The construction of the monument began in 1633. The monument was so huge that about 20,000 workers worked for more than 17 years to build it. The King had brought skilled workers from all over India and some neighboring countries also such as Baghdad, Turkey etc. A renowned architect Ustaad Ahmed Lahori was the chief architect for this project; he was a
ccompanied by the counterparts who were from Delhi an Baghdad. Every outline, every look of the structure were discussed in details, many trials were carried out in order to find out the appropriate choice for every possible artwork. Various beautiful parts of the Taj Majal were specially ordered from various countries. The main dome of Taj Mahal measures about 110 yards in circumference and is about 107 yards above the ground. The base on which the Taj Mahal is resting is called Mahajar-e-Mushababbak, which was specially designed from Turkish designers. It is said that the tombs of Humayun and Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana (Delhi) inspired the design and structure of the monument Taj Mahal at certain extent. The cost of building such a huge architectural structure was about 50 lakhs in those days. There are many minute details which are not at all possible to explain in words such as beautiful calligraphy used on the marble stones, marvelous work of artists who carved the marble stone in various designs etc.SOURCE:http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-20-2004-63187.asp
