India Guide
Uttar Pradesh
The Taj Mahal
Price: Rs750
Price: Daily except Fri, complex 6am–7pm, museum 9am–5pm
Described by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore as "a teardrop on the face of eternity", the Taj Mahal is undoubtedly the zenith of Mughal architecture. Though the magic of the immense mausoleum is strangely undiminished by the crowds of tourists who visit, the Taj is at its most alluring in the relative quiet of early morning, shrouded in mist and bathed with a soft red glow. As its vast marble surfaces fall into shadow or reflect the sun, its colour changes, from soft grey and yellow to pearly cream and dazzling white. This play of light is an important decorative device, symbolically implying the presence of Allah, who is never represented in physical form.
Overlooking the Yamuna, the Taj Mahal stands at the end of a vast walled garden. Though its layout follows a distinctly Islamic theme, representing Paradise, it is above all a monument to romantic love. Shah Jahan built it to enshrine the body of his favourite wife, Arjumand Bann Begum, or Mumtaz Mahal ("Chosen One of the Palace"), who died after giving birth to her fourteenth child in 1631. Construction commenced in 1632 and took over twenty years. Eventually, Shah Jahan's pious and intolerant son Aurangzeb seized power, and the former emperor was interned in Agra Fort, where he lived out his final years gazing wistfully at the Taj. When he died in 1666, his body was carried across the river to lie alongside his beloved wife.
The Taj itself is essentially square in shape, with pointed arches cut into its sides and topped with a dome which rises over 55m, its height accentuated by a crowning brass spire almost 17m high. Not until you are close do you appreciate both the tomb's sheer size and the extraordinarily fine detail of relief carving. Arabic verses praising the glory of Paradise fringe the archways, proportioned so that each letter appears to be the same size.
The Taj's museum features exquisite miniature paintings, and portraits of Mughal rulers including Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, as well as architectural drawings of the Taj.