The TAJ MAHAL was the jewel of Mughal Empire; Shah Jahan (the Emperor of India) was the one, who immortalized not only his beloved queen - Arjuman Banu Begum, but also himself and his whole dynasty, by building the eloquent mausoleum - Taj Mahal.

It is said as Shah Jahan knelt by his beloved queen & she whispered to him to build a monument that would perfectly symbolize the beauty& purity of their love. After a short while she died. Shah Jahan - the great Emperor of the World, the grandest of the Mughals, broke down and wept inconsolably.

Described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love, this poignant Mughal mausoleum has become the de-facto tourist emblem of India. Many have tried to sum up its beauty, but even the poets & writers of the time were unable to do justice to this magnificent masterpiece. This spectacular white marble masterpiece looks the same as it looked when it was made centuries back. It is the most well-preserved & architecturally beautiful tomb in the world.

Taj Mahal's construction began in 1632 & was completed after twenty-two years i.e. in 1648 (approx.). Taj is a style, which is a combination of Persian, Turkish, Indian & Islamic styles of architecture. It is actually an integrated complex of structures & stands on the bank of river Yamuna.

AN ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE
Taj Mahal is a tribute to a beautiful woman & it is a monument that signifies true and pure love.

Over three centuries people have visited this mausoleum. Some rush in hordes through the gateway, down the garden, around the cenotaphs and back to the garden to picnic on its lawns. Some see it only through the eyes of the camera. But there are many who pause, overwhelmed, at the gateway. They spend hours at the mausoleum, savoring its view, absorbing the view of the flawless orient Pearl as they often use the name of Taj Mahal. Taj reveals its subtleties when one visits it patiently.

Its dome is made of white marble, but the tomb is set against the plain across the river because of which it looks magical, through the reflection of colors. The colors change at different hours of the day & different seasons. The Taj sparkles at night like a jewel when the moonlight spreads over it & the semi-precious stones studded on the white marble catch the glow of the rays of the moon. It has three different shades just like different moods of a woman i.e. pinkish in the morning, milky-white in the evening & golden when the moon shines.

Different people have different views, but it is totally an enchanting & different experience, to absorb the strange silence, delighting the landscape and the play of light on the marble. When they leave, they are amazed by the image of the Taj Mahal, and wonder, that what they have just seen was reality in stone and marble or a fleeting vision of pure beauty.

In 1783, the British Painter Hodges visited the Taj Mahal and made the first known painting of this mausoleum. He found the gardens "tolerable repair" but the tomb itself, he says, "appears like a most perfect pearl on a azure ground. The effect is such, I confess, I never experienced from any other work of art."

CONTEMPRORY TAJ MAHAL
Taj Mahal has inspired painters, writers, critics and poets: in more recent years it has been filmed, televised and profusely photographed. But nothing can equal the unforgettable experience of seeing such a combination of beauty and perfection for oneself.

A hundred years ago, Edward Lear expressed a similar thought somewhat different: "Henceforth", he said, "let the inhabitants of the world be divided into two classes- the first who have seen the Taj Mahal; and the second who have not."

Today also, the Taj Mahal is cherished and preserved, as indeed the Emperor of the World had meant it to be.