True to its reputation as a monument to romantic love, Taj has a poignant story attached to it. Shah Jahan, the great builder, was so devastated by the death of his wife Mumtaz Mahal that he set out to create an unmatched, eternal memorial to her life. Thus came into being the Taj Mahal. One of the architectural gems of the world, Taj kept some 20,000 labourers from all over Asia employed for nineteen years and remains a potent symbol of Mughal megalomania, visible from the Agra fort in the west, exuding romantic ambience at the northern end of large gardens enclosed by walls. Topped with a huge central dome, it extraordinarily finer detail of relief carving and monumental scale cast a spell on the viewer and he is left with saying “Wah Taj”. However Shah Jahan had little time to appreciate his achievement, only three years after the work was finished he fell ill in 1657 and war of succession broke out among his four sons. Aurangzeb, his third son, seized power after defeating his three brothers. Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor, was interned in the Red Fort at Agra. The legend has it that he spent his final years "gazing wistfully at the Taj Mahal" through the window. The name of the Taj’s chief architect is not known, but it is for certain that Mughal court's Persian calligrapher, Amanat Khan was responsible for the signing of many panels that embellish the gateways, mosque and tomb. While marble from Makrana, near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, was used in the Taj, precious stones such as amethyst, onyx, turquoise, lapis lazuli, jade, crystal and coral - were brought to Agra from Persia, Afghanistan, Russia, China Tibet and the Indian Ocean.
India's most seen tourist spot, the Taj Mahal, is essentially a squarish structure. Constructed of marble, precious stones on a commanding podium looking towards the Yamuna, Taj stands on an arcaded platform. The structure is crowned with a huge central dome that soars to a height of 55m. Words cannot do justice to the magnificence of Taj Mahal. You have to see it to believe it.
