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Taj Mahal
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Message 1.Â
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Sunday, 26th February 2006
Located at the city of Agra in the State of Uttar Pradesh, the Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of architecture in the world. Agra, situated about 200 km south of New Delhi, was the Capital of the Mughals (Moguls), the Muslim Emperors who ruled Northern India between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Mughals were the descendents of two of the most skilled warriors in history: the Turks and the Mongols. The Mughal dynasty reached its highest strength and fame during the reign of their early Emperors, Akbar, Jehangir, and Shah Jehan.
It was Shah Jehan who ordered the building of the Taj, in honor of his wife, Arjumand Banu who later became known as Mumtaz Mahal, the Distinguished of the Palace. Mumtaz and Shah Jehan were married in 1612 and, over the next 18 years, had 14 children together. The Empress used to accompany her husband in his military campaigns, and it was in 1630, in Burhanpur, that she gave birth to her last child, for she died in childbirth. So great was the Emperor love to his wife that he ordered the building of the most beautiful mausoleum on Earth for her. -
Message 2
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Monday, 27th February 2006
Dear Chelsea,
all your facts are correct. I would just like to comment on the Mughal Empire: the Taj Mahal was built at the zenith of the Empire and you can imagine how much revenue must be coming in to allow the Emperor Shah Jehan to build such an expensive monument to his love.
Unfortunately not much was being done to create an infrastructure for the people, in the form of Universities, Medical Schools, hospitals. No works of irrigation to improve the farming on which the Mughal Empire was dependent for its revenue. In all the many year of the Mughal Empire from 1525 to 1857 only one ruler did anything to create an infrastructure and do anything for the public and he was not even Mughal and ruled for only 4 short years. He was Sher Shah, who defeated the Mughal Emperor Humayun and took over the throne. He established the first postal service in India in 1545, he created the first Indian superhighway stretching from Kabul in the North West to Bengal in the East; it had Caravan stops and Inns at specified intervals. Sher Shah's administration was excellent and only if the later Mughals had learnt from the example of Sher Shah we might have had a very different history of India.
Tas -
Message 3
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Tuesday, 28th February 2006
The names of the chief architect who worked on the Taj are Ismail Afandi, who designed the hemispheres and built the domes was from Turkey. Qazim Khan came from Lahore to cast the gold finial that would top the dome. Chiranji Lal was called from Delhi to pattern the mosaic. From Shiraz in Persia came master calligrapher, Amanat Khan. Stone cutter Amir Ali was from Baluchistan. Ustad Isa of Tukey is however credited to have been the main architect. It is believed that his design embodied much of what the Emperor wanted to express.
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Message 4
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Wednesday, 1st March 2006
Dear Chelsea,
You are a fountain of information and you know a great deal about the Taj. Let me add some details:
On the entrance to the Taj, the portal has Arabic verses from the Koran. As you look up, the calligraphy appears to be parallel. That is the lines defining the verses do not appear to meet at infinity, as railway lines do as you observe them. This is because the artist who did the Calligraphy increased the size of the script proportionally as you went up. When it was built there were many semi precious stones embedded in the walls. They were looted by the Jats who sacked Agra in the 18th Century. Surrounding the main sarcophagus there used to be a pure gold railing, which was also stolen at that time.
Shah Jehan’s mother-in-law and Mumtaz Mahal’s Aunt, Nur Jehan, another famous Mughal queen built another marble tomb earlier in Agra to her father. It is almost as beautiful as the Taj. It is still in Agra. That tomb is called the precursor of the Taj, it started the trend of building tombs in marble. It is called Itimad ud Daulah that was the title of Nur Jehan’s father. He was the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Court.
The Mughals also used to employ certain elegant tricks in their architecture. In Lahore, there is the World’s largest mosque the Badshahi Mosque and the tomb of the Emperor Jehangir. If you climb any minaret of the Badshahi mosque and look in the distance, 10 miles away is the Tomb of the Emperor, which also has four minarets. However, you can only see three from the minaret of the mosque. The reverse also holds if you climb any of the minarets of the tomb. That is many stairs to climb for you.
In Kashmir, the Mughal Emperors built a beautiful garden called Shalimar, which has many descending terraces with fountains. However if you go to the lowest terrace and look back you will not realize that you have climbed down many terraces. They will all look as if the are all in one plane.
It is about the Shalimar gardens that a Persian poet wrote the famous lines of poetry:
“If there be paradise on Earth
it is here; it is here; it is here!â€
In New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, I saw the tent that the Emperor Jehangir, Father of Shah Jehan, used to use on campaigns. It was like a beautiful palace of cloth of gold with superb carpets and brocaded walls. I saw his wine cup. It was all made of ivory with a beautiful ruby embedded in it. Simple yet elegant! I saw the Emperor’s bath tub. It was like a huge cauldron probably made of brass. It was the size of a small swimming pool in Long Island.
I thought, since you are so interested, all this may interest.
Tas -
Message 5
Posted by Mohammadali (U1749930) on Wednesday, 1st March 2006
Hi Tas,
>>Sher Shah's administration was excellent and only if the later Mughals had learnt from the example of Sher Shah we might have had a very different history of India.<<
You are so right.Can you tell us the differences in the upbringing of Sher Shah Suri and the Moghul Shah Jahan.May be that will shed some light to help reform our contemporary Muslim societies.Thanks. -
Message 6
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Wednesday, 1st March 2006
Hi Ali,
Sher Shah was originally an Afghan chieftain who was in the court of the Emperor Babar. He was given the title of 'Sher Khan' by Babar because he killed a tiger in Babar's presence with just his sword. Tiger in Urdu is called 'Sher' so Sher was a title showing his strength and fearless nature.
Babar's son Humanyun spent too much time in revelry and so Sher Khan organised a rebellion in the East against Humanyun. In a big battle near the shore of the River Jumna Humayun lost the battle and just barely escaped over the river, when a water Carrier took him across the river floating on his leather water skin, filled with air. When long after the death of Sher Shah Humanyun retook his throne he made this water Carrier Emperor for two days and the Water carrier even issued his coins in leather made from his water skin flask.
The only thing the Mughals copied from Sher Shah's administration was his system of collecting land revenue. That made the Mughal Emperors rich beyond any other Empire of that day. Sher Shah was a very constructive and thoughtful monarch. His castle, called the 'Purana Qila' or Old Fort still exists near New Delhi, but like most things in India is now in ruins.
Shah Jehan was Jehangir's son and was given commands of his army when he was quite young. His elder son was Khusro, who organised a rebellion against Jahangir. Jehangir captured him and gave him to Shah Jehan to keep in prison. Shah Jehan had his brother killed instead. Later Shah Jehan organised a rebellion against his father but lost. Nevertheless when his father died in Lahore he came post haste to take the throne.
New Delhi is so full of great monuments scattered all over but no one is looking after them. There is the famous city 'Tughlaq Abad', a city complete with a fortress created by the Tughlaq Kings of Delhi in the early 14th Century. It is in a worse state of ruin than even the Old Fort.
If you had a city constructed by Richard III or by Edward IV in England it would be carefully preserved. The only monuments the Indians look after are the Red Fort of Old Delhi and the Taj Mahal, and the guides there give you a lot of false history.
Tas -
Message 7
Posted by Mohammadali (U1749930) on Thursday, 2nd March 2006
Hi Tas,
>>>Sher Shah was a very constructive and thoughtful monarch. His castle, called the 'Purana Qila' or Old Fort still exists near New Delhi, but like most things in India is now in ruins.<<
Hi Tas,
When societies don’t have the institutionalized mechanisms to profit from the experiences of the passing time; They don’t have the mechanisms to preserve the physical heritage either. A physical structure, without the backing of social structure is condemned to decay.
Thanks. -
Message 8
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Thursday, 2nd March 2006
When societies don’t have the institutionalized mechanisms to profit from the experiences of the passing time; They don’t have the mechanisms to preserve the physical heritage either. A physical structure, without the backing of social structure is condemned to decay.
°Õ³ó²¹²Ô°ì²õ.Ìý
Hi Ali,
That is a very profound statement! You are correct of course!
I think the reason why the World is divided into the First World and the Third is not because of wealth and poverty, so much as lack of constructive tendencies and lack of strong institutions. You can see that the Mughal Empire had probably the richest treasury of any Power of its time, however, it did not put that treasure to good use. It was all squandered on fantastic Palaces and Mosques and Tombs, Shah Jehan had himself weighed in Gold and then in Silver on his birthday and gave all that Gold and Silver to the poor. Had the Mughals at that time had the foresight to endow a single College such as Oxford or Cambridge or had a they created a Medical School to propagate all the medical knowledge of the Hakims, had they created a single hospital instead of giving all that money to the poor as alms, what a great country would India be today.
Note that Oxford started when one of the English Kings, I think Henry VI, in medieval times endowed a College. What great thinkers have emerged from England because of Oxford and Cambridge!
Tas -
Message 9
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Thursday, 2nd March 2006
As a tribute to a beautiful woman and as a monument for enduring love, the Taj reveals its subtleties when one visits it without being in a hurry. The rectangular base of Taj is in itself symbolic of the different sides from which to view a beautiful woman. The main gate is like a veil to a woman’s face which should be lifted delicately, gently and without haste on the wedding night. In indian tradition the veil is lifted gently to reveal the beauty of the bride. As one stands inside the main gate of Taj, his eyes are directed to an arch which frames the Taj. The dome is made of white marble, but the tomb is set against the plain across the river and it is this background that works its magic of colours that, through their reflection, change the view of the Taj. The colours change at different hours of the day and during different seasons. Like a jewel, the Taj sparkles in moonlight when the semi-precious stones inlaid into the white marble on the main mausoleum catch the glow of the moon. The Taj is pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines. These changes, they say, depict the different moods of woman. Different people have different views of the Taj but it would be enough to say that the Taj has a life of its own that leaps out of marble, provided you understand that it is a monument of love. As an architectural masterpiece, nothing could be added or substracted from it.
Chalsea -
Message 10
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Friday, 3rd March 2006
Re Message 9:
Chelsea,
that is the most beautiful description of the Taj I have ever seen. Thank you for it! You are a truly remarkable young lady and I predict you will go far.
Tas -
Message 11
Posted by ritesh (U1886080) on Friday, 3rd March 2006
Fasicinating description of Taj, chelsea. I live in New delhi, India, and being an indian , still i haven't read more beutifull description, unfortunately, here state governments are so corrupt that no body cares about these precious relics! Uttar Pradesh(U.P) the state in which there is Agra, is India 2nd state when to comes to notoriety. The party that has majority in U.P
and heads state government is an ideal for corruption! 2 yrs ago a report came that Taj is decaying and would be a ruin in coming years. It took the Supreme Court Of India to force the then state government to do something substantaitive, a substantial amount was kept aside. I can tell, only a small part was employed for renovation, rest all the then government ate it! -
Message 12
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Friday, 3rd March 2006
Can you tell me one thing about Taj?
If yes,
When British took away every precious monuments, and tried to get the Taj why couldn't they seem to take it?And since it is made of lusterous white marble it doesn't seem to get any mess on it?
Why is it so? -
Message 13
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Saturday, 4th March 2006
RE message 11
Knight_179
They r not going to let the Taj ruin r they?
Couldn't they repair it?
Chalsealauren -
Message 14
Posted by Giselle-Leah (U1725276) on Saturday, 4th March 2006
I recall visiting the Taj some years ago (well, 20 to be exact !!) and if my memory serves me correct, the actual tomb of Mumtaz is not dead centre because Shah Jehan was going to have himself placed there alongside her on his death.
But something happened and I'm getting a bit confused here, either one of his sons or his brother had him imprisoned long before he was due to die and he was not buried with Mumtaz.
Have I got it right?
And I recall standing on the bank of the river behind the Taj and seeing ANOTHER version of the Taj on the other riverbank, but in black, as the Taj is in white marble.
Why was the black Taj built, by whom and for whom?
Cheers and thanks. -
Message 15
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Sunday, 5th March 2006
I recall visiting the Taj some years ago (well, 20 to be exact !!) and if my memory serves me correct, the actual tomb of Mumtaz is not dead centre because Shah Jehan was going to have himself placed there alongside her on his death.
But something happened and I'm getting a bit confused here, either one of his sons or his brother had him imprisoned long before he was due to die and he was not buried with Mumtaz.
Have I got it right?
And I recall standing on the bank of the river behind the Taj and seeing ANOTHER version of the Taj on the other riverbank, but in black, as the Taj is in white marble.
Why was the black Taj built, by whom and for whom?
Cheers and thanks. Â
Hi Leah,
The facts are as follows:
Shah Jehan fell ill and his sons thought he was going to die. That started a round of fratricidal warfare between them. In this war eventually the third youngest Aurngzeb won and became Emperor. In the meanwhile Shah Jehan got better but Aurangzeb had a quandary. He was already Emperor. If he restored his father to the throne he thought he would surely be executed. Therefore he imprisoned his father in the Agra Fort putting him under house arrest in a small set of rooms. Shah Jahan could gaze at the Taj across the river from his bedroom.
When Shah Jehan had built the Taj he had intended that he be buried in a separate tomb next to the Taj but identical in architecture made of Black Marble, the Black Taj. He had actually started this structure. When he was in prison, Aurnagzeb did not want to spend the huge sum that was necessary, so the black Taj is a half-finished building alongside the Taj. When Shah Jehan died after spending 10 years in house arrest he was buried in the Taj on the orders of his son Aurangzeb.
Tas -
Message 16
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Sunday, 5th March 2006
RE message 11
Knight_179
They r not going to let the Taj ruin r they?
Couldn't they repair it?
Chalsealauren Â
Hi Chelsea,
Last time I visited the Taj was in 1979 about 26 years ago. Then you could just see some cancer started on a bit of the marble. That bit of marble appeared to be rotting. I thought then that they will be very stupid to let the cancer grow considering how much foreign exchange the Taj brings in to the country.
I hope they have done something to restore that patch. In the time when the British were in India, the Taj was taken better care of and the lovely Mughal garden then looked beautiful. In 1979 even the garden looked like it was not well looked after.
Take Care!
Tas -
Message 17
Posted by Giselle-Leah (U1725276) on Sunday, 5th March 2006
Tas - message 15
Thank you very much. You and everyone else brought back some lovely memories on this thread.
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Message 18
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Sunday, 5th March 2006
Tas, Did u see the Black Taj when you went there? -
Message 19
Posted by chalsealauren145 (U3301564) on Sunday, 5th March 2006
Tas
Was Shah Jehan's Third son, Aurangazeb evil?Because when you said that he locked his own father in prison it sounded like he was waiting for him to die as soon as possible.
Chalsea -
Message 20
Posted by Tas (U1753225) on Sunday, 5th March 2006
Dear Chelsea,
Yes I did see the so called Black Taj. the structure is on the other side from the real Taj. The Black Taj was only a concept and the structure is largely made of brick, with a little bit of black marble on the facade. They had not yet purchased the marble in Aurangzeb's time.
Regarding whether Aurangzeb was evil, I do not believe so. The Mughal Emperors were rather bloodthirsty and there were a lot of Mughal princes who lost their lives because they happened to be in line for the throne.
Shah Jahan himself had his brother Khusro killed when he should have held him as a prisoner. He also ordered the execution of all male heirs of Babar to be killed when he ascended the throne. His Great Grandfather Humayun's brothers all were very deceitful to him, one even making his son, the little boy Akbar a hostage. They were all eventually killed on Humayun's orders.
That Aurangzeb put Shah Jehan under house arrest in that sense shows his comparative magnanimity. He essentially pensioned off Shah Jehan.
Some will say Aurangzeb was ruthless in handling his brothers. He was following the politics of the Mughals and he played that politics better than others. If he had lost he would not have been treated any differently.
I hope that answers your question.
Tas
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