Taj Mahal is an archaeological masterpiece and is also one of the most popular and well known monuments in the world.
The actual meaning of the Taj Mahal is the “Crown of the Palaces” which was built with an ivory white marbel mausoleum on the south bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian City which is called Agra. In memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had ordered the construction of Taj Mahal which has took to complete the construction from 1631 and 1648 with 20000 workers.
Also the Taj Mahal resembles the jewel of Muslim art in India and is one of the most admirable masterpieces that made India to stand with proud because of its architectural talent universally.
According to the words of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan court historian named Muhammad Amin Qazwini ” Taj Mahal will be a masterpiece for ages to come, increasing the amazement of all the humanity.”
This shows that the Taj Mahal is one and only ideal monument for his passion, ambition, love towards his wife.
However there are various architectural reasons that shows why Taj Mahal is considered as one of the wonders of the world.
It our duty or responsibility to know the history and greatness of the memorable monuments that are constructed by emperors to show us and our future generations know about the real meaning of nation’s pride and real architecture.
So let us discuss what reasons made Taj Mahal to stand as one of the wonders of the world.
Architecture of Taj Mahal
Shah Jahan is all set about planning and constructing Taj Mahal with utmost deliberation.
Furthermore he took almost six months alone to just make his final selection of the site where he wants to build Taj Mahal in order to give it a firm position.
The Taj Mahal project demanded the varied talents, artistry, creativity, skills and abilities of many people. So this shows that it is not the talent of a single person alone, it has many minds to built it beautiful.
The architecture of the Taj Mahal is mainly consists of the designs of Persians and earlier Mughal traditions.
Shah Jahan wanted his monument to be built with white marble that is inlaid with some precious stones.
The four main distinct architectural sections of Taj Mahal are as follows.
Taj Mahal : Gateway
The Taj Gateway which was constructed with a massive red sandstone has been completed in the year of 1648 and made the gate to stand 30 m high. The Taj gateway is all set to topped by small cupolas or chhatris. Symbolic of the divide in between the spiritual and the material, the gateway is well decorated in calligraphy with the verses from holy Koran.
Taj Mahal : Construction of Charbagh(The Taj Garden):
): The beauty of the Taj Mahal is used tp be enhanced by the garden that is laid out in the Persian Charbagh which is famous for its four garden plan style. The entire area of the Taj complex is just 580 m (1,902 ft) by300 m (984 ft) which is less than the garden that alone makes up an area of 300 m (984 ft) by 300 m (984 ft).
Taj Mahal : Pietra Dura The Tomb
The tomb of the Tajmahal stands on its own marble plinth, which is further rests on a platform of red sandstone. Four tall pillars with a feat of 138 each, that had built to rise up from the corners of the white marble plinth and are topped with 8 windowed cupolas.
Immediately below the construction of the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal which is lined centrally with the main entrance. Interestingly the tomb of Shah Jahan is just besides the Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb. Actually Shah Jahan never though to place his tomb in Taj Mahal besides his wife Mumtaz’s tomb. But Aurangzeb was decided to place Shah Jahan’s tomb in Taj Mahal itself breaking the symmetry.
Taj Mahal : Interior And Exterior Designs
The decorative elements in exterior places of the Taj Mahal were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays or carvings of mughal style. Throughout the complex you can find the passages from the Qur’an that comprise some of the decorative elements. Also you can find the calligraphy at the great gate Much of the calligraphy that is used to compose are of florid thuluth script made of jasper or black marble that is inlaid in white marble panels. Whereas the interior chamber of the Taj Mahal is composed of traditional decorative elements. The inlay work of the interior chamber is not the actual pietra dura, but is made of precious and semiprecious gemstone.
Almost 7 to 8 million people are visiting Taj Mahal per year. This shows that Taj Mahal is still stood a greatest monument since for a long time. Hence these are all the factors that are considered and made Taj Mahal to stand as one of the wonders of the world.
