The Taj Mahal

Recently, I got to visit the Taj Mahal, in Agra. It was a marvelous opportunity and I really enjoyed walking around the grounds and learning the history of the magnificent tomb Shah Jahan had built for his wife.

The Taj Mahal, along with its surrounding architecture, took 22 years to build (around 1632-1648). This work was completed by around 20,000 artists along with a team of architects who supervised them. These dedicated and hardworking builders lived in small rooms constructed around the Main Gate. The building itself combines Persian, Islamic and Indian styles, as Mumtaz (the wife Shah Jahan had built the tomb for) was Persian. In the tomb, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz are buried together, deep underground, in a small cavern that visitors are only allowed to see in the spring months (the month fluctuates as it is decided based on the Islamic calendar).

During this time in which the Taj Mahal was being built, Shah Jahan didn’t pay much attention to the politics and how India was running. Because of this, his son, Aurangzeb, put him under house arrest in the Agra Fort, where he could see the Taj Mahal being built. There is a tradition that states that Shah Jahan wanted his own mausoleum, made of black marble, opposite Mumtaz’s. Unfortunately, he was imprisoned and therefore was unable to ever construct this structure. Therefore, he and Mumtaz were buried together.

Have you ever been to the Taj Mahal?