Taj Mahal A Symble of Love

India is one of the most beautiful monuments in the world. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as the mausoleum of his beloved Queen Mumtaz Mahal, after her death in 1631. The Taj Mahal is recognized worldwide as a symbol of eternal love. Built of white marble and surrounded by green gardens, the Taj Mahal is a breathtakingly beautiful sight. The Taj Mahal is a UNESCO world Heritage site and is considered one of the wonders of the world and the supreme example of Mughal architecture in India. Taj Mahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child. The death so crushed the emperor that all his hair and beard were said to have grown snow white in a few months.

Shah Jahan ascended the peacock throne of India in 1628, at the age of 36. By that time, he had been married to his second Persian wife for 16 years. Formally named Arjuman Banu Begum, she was more familiarly known as Mumtaz Mahal, or "beloved ornament of the palace". Not only was the Shah deeply in love with her, one of his many wives and concubines, so were the people, who knew her as generous, compassionate, and one of the most beautiful women in India. Within three years, their love story had ended. Mumtaz Mahal died on June 17, 1631 while accompanying the Shah during a battle campaign in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in Madhya Pradesh) giving birth to her fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. So grief stricken was the Shah, that he withdrew from the public eye for an year, and when he emerged at the end of that time, although still a youthful 40, his hair had turned white and he appeared as an old man.

The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. The thoughts that come into the mind while watching the Taj Mahal of Agra is not just its phenomenal beauty, but the immense love which was the reason behind its construction. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, with whom he fell in love at the first sight. Ironically, the very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance, also leaves visitors mesmerized and perpetually enthralled. It is white marble and semi-precious stones on the dome of the Taj that make Taj Mahal change colour during the day and on moonlit nights.Ustad Ahmad Lahori is believed to be the architect of Taj Mahal.

The rectangular base of Taj is in itself symbolic of the different sides from which to view a beautiful woman. The main gate is like a veil to a woman’s face which should be lifted delicately, gently and without haste on the wedding night. In Indian tradition the veil is lifted gently to reveal the beauty of the bride. As one stands inside the main gate of Taj, his eyes are directed to an arch which frames the Taj.It was designed by the Iranian architect Ustad Isa and it is best appreciated when the architecture and its adornments are linked to the passion that inspired it. It is a "symbol of eternal love".