On to the Taj Mahal

Moving at a pace faster than any elephant ...

... we drive from Ranthambhore and its tiger preserve to Agra and its most-famous Taj Mahal. It is about a 5 or 6 hour drive. Much of the drive is on new 6-lane and 8-lane superhighway.

The Taj Mahal is iconic. It is a monument in honor of romantic love, a "jewel box in marble." In 1631, the wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's most beloved wife, dies. In 1632, the Emperor orders a mausoleum to be built along the banks of the Yamuna River. The mausoleum and its surrounding buildings are completed 22 years later.

Symmetry is very important in the design of the Taj.

Yet, the designers employed tromp l'oeil (trick of the eye) to soften the effect of the design. The four pillars are not precisely vertical. Rather they tilt ever so slightly outward to enhance the sense that the building is floating in its lightness.

Here we fool around with another trick of the eye!

Note the gardens behind. They use the same sense of symmetry. In the 1800s, these gardens were allowed to grow up to the point where it was difficult to get a full, unobstructed view of the Taj. The gardens underwent a massive renovation, making it possible to once again appreciate what was designed and built.

Let's look more closely at the building itself.

The writing, taken from the Koran, frames the entryway. It is black inlaid calligraphy decorate the arches. The recessed arches above the door help give a greater sense of depth amid the changing light.

The underside of the arches resemble the facets of a cut diamond.

The panels at the bottom of the wall on either side of the entrance door are made of alabaster and are carved to provide a three-dimensional display of flowers.

You can see the inlayed jewels of precious and semi-precious stones, including malachite, jasper, and onyx. There is detailed lattice work carved from the marble, which you can see at the bottom, right-hand corner of the photo.

Inside the central room lies replicas of the queen's tomb, positioned to be precisely along the axis of the Taj and its outside pool and gardens. The king's tomb is set off to the side, but alongside the queen's tomb.

Outside and behind the Taj is the nearby river. This is the view to the northeast

And the view downriver.

Standing outside on the eastern side, you can see additional structural features of the Taj.

You can see the water troughs just under the dome that carry rainwater away from the vertical walls. There are also small iron rings embedded in the dome that allow workers to scale the dome for cleaning and repair purposes.

The Taj is closed on Fridays as the Muslim day of rest when such repair and cleaning can take place.

Our guide then took us to a shop where modern-day examples of the intricate stone work is done in marble like what makes up the Taj Mahal.

First, the marble plate is chiseled away into small indentations where precious and semi-precious jewels are laid and cemented, as you can see at the artist's left elbow.

You can then see how, using tweezers, the artist arranges the tiny pieces of jewelry into the patterns.

Further down this "assembly line," artists cut and abrade the the jewelry.

And then arrange the pieces to make up the tiny flowers or other objects.

The final plate of marble, with its intricate artistry, is then cleaned and polished and ready for purchase!

While this entire trip has been on the bucket list, the Taj occupies its own separate bucket! And it is amazing to see the detailed artistic work as displayed in this shop that makes up the beauty of the Taj.

Cheers,

Brio