taj mahal

taj mahal is nore den a monument. it has a special place in our imagination coz it was built for love.


it was built by shah jahan for his wife mumtaz. the monument is 300+ yrs old its onstruction began in 1632 and was completed approx in 1648 at the cost of 1.36million (an unimaginable sum at dat time).

did u know???

halfway through 17th century, india's emperor aurangzeb wrote to his father, shah jahan, whom he had imprisoned in a fort of agra. aurangzeb noted that wen he had visited the taj mahalhe saw "illustrious sepulchres and gained the blessings of paying the homage to the holy shrine".
but he added "the dome is leaking in two places.. the buildings in sacres enclosure stand exactly as they were completed in ur majesty's presence. except tht the the master builders state it the roof of the second storey is opened out and treated wid concrete... it is probable that the semi domed arches, the gallaries and the smaller domes will be set right, but they confess their inability to prescribe any corrective measures in respect to the mai dome".

dangers the taj has survived

In 18th century, the taj was captured by jats who used it as a camp. they burned hay in the monument to keep warm, and they carried away the precious gem inlays and the huge silver gates.
In 19th century, the terrace of the taj was a platform for the british balls, and the mosques on either sied were rented out to honeymooning couples!!!!!
in lord bentick's time, there was a plan to dismantle the taj, and ship the marble and other prescious material to Britain for use in other structures der.the wrecking machinery moved into the grounds, but just as the demolition began to work it was stopped as there wwere no buyers and they thought der was no gain in breaking up the taj.

In 20th century, india's own mayawati decided to built a corridor to link all the monuments of agra, and add shops and other amusements arround the place. the course of jamuna wud also be changed in the process. luckily, the Taj was saved yet again!!!!