Last week, while people in India were still voting for Taj Mahal as ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and people around the world focused their attention towards Lisbon for its place of honor, me and my cousin Gitu, her daughter Neha and her friends Nadar and Saif, were making our own estimation of the monument.
We set for Agra from Delhi, during the early hours in the morning in a private, comfortable vehicle (Inova) to admire the monument that Emperor Shah Jahan had so lovingly built for his third wife Mumtaz.
Arjumand Bano (later named Mumtaz Mahal by her devoted husband) was a legendry beauty and many a poet has celebrated her charm and delicate beauty. Although Shah Jahan had three wives, Mumtaz Mahal became his favorite and the only wife to bear his children (14 children). The Prince would not part with her even on his numerous military campaigns. In his suffering, she sustained him; in his glory, she inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence. Both comrade and counselor, she was beloved by him for her unswerving loyalty and by his people for her wise and compassionate guidance.
When Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted a promise from the emperor that he build the Taj in her memory and that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. Construction of the Tajmahal began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty two thousand people were deployed to work on it.
Mumtaz Mahal died in 1629 during child birth while accompanying her husband in Behrampur in a campaign to crush a rebellion.
The monument deserves its place in ‘Seven wonders of the world’ for its splendor and fine architecture.
It is not merely a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the pride, loyalty and passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones. It is a celebration of eternal love, exquisitely portrayed in marble.
Last week, while people in India were still voting for Taj Mahal as ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and people around the world focused their attention towards Lisbon for its place of honor, me and my cousin Gitu, her daughter Neha and her friends Nadar and Saif, were making our own estimation of the monument.
We set for Agra from Delhi, during the early hours in the morning in a private, comfortable vehicle (Inova) to admire the monument that Emperor Shah Jahan had so lovingly built for his third wife Mumtaz.
Arjumand Bano (later named Mumtaz Mahal by her devoted husband) was a legendry beauty and many a poet has celebrated her charm and delicate beauty. Although Shah Jahan had three wives, Mumtaz Mahal became his favorite and the only wife to bear his children (14 children). The Prince would not part with her even on his numerous military campaigns. In his suffering, she sustained him; in his glory, she inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence. Both comrade and counselor, she was beloved by him for her unswerving loyalty and by his people for her wise and compassionate guidance.
When Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted a promise from the emperor that he build the Taj in her memory and that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. Construction of the Tajmahal began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty two thousand people were deployed to work on it.
Mumtaz Mahal died in 1629 during child birth while accompanying her husband in Behrampur in a campaign to crush a rebellion.
The monument deserves its place in ‘Seven wonders of the world’ for its splendor and fine architecture.
It is not merely a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the pride, loyalty and passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones. It is a celebration of eternal love, exquisitely portrayed in marble.
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