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Dec 10, 2008

Bangladesh to open own Taj Mahal

A life-size replica of the Taj Mahal, often described as the world's most beautiful building, is due to open for visitors in Bangladesh.

The replica has been built by a Bangladeshi filmmaker.

Ahsanullah Moni said he wanted his countrymen to experience the beauty of the Indian monument even if they were too poor to travel to see the original.

The 17th Century Taj was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal.

The emperor is buried next to his queen in the monument in the northern Indian city of Agra, which is visited by millions every year.

The $58m (£39m) replica has been built in Sonargaon, a small town in the Bangladeshi countryside.

Work on the replica was continuing just last week

'Marble and diamonds'

Mr Moni, who is a successful director of Bangladeshi films, says he hopes his replica, which has been built an hour's drive from the capital Dhaka, will also attract foreign visitors.

It took 20 years and 20,000 workers to build the original Taj.

Thanks to modern technology, construction of Mr Moni's Taj has taken five years and fewer people.

But it has been neither easy nor cheap.

Mr Moni says he has imported marble and granite from Italy and diamonds from Belgium.

Architects were sent to India to copy the dimensions of the original.

Work on the surrounding grounds and ponds has still not been completed.

Only then will Bangladeshis be able to judge whether Mr Moni has truly copied the beauty and purity of the original Taj Mahal.

Millions of people flock to the Taj Mahal every year

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Feb 25, 2008

TAJ ARCHITECTURE DESIGN LAYOUT

Overlooking the River Yamuna, and visible from the fort in the west, the Taj Mahal stands at the northern end of vast gardens enclosed by walls. Though its layout follows a distinctly Islamic theme, representing Paradise, it is above all a monument to romantic love. Shah Jahan built the Taj to enshrine the body of his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal ("Elect of the Palace"), who died shortly after giving birth to her fourteenth child, in 1631.

Architects at Work

The names of the chief architects who worked on the Taj have been noted. Ismail Afandi, who designed the hemispheres and built the domes was from Turkey. Qazim Khan came from Lahore to cast the gold finial that would top the dome. Chiranji Lal was called from Delhi to pattern the mosaic. From Shiraz in Persia came master calligrapher, Amanat Khan. Stone cutter Amir Ali was from Baluchistan. Ustad Isa of Tukey is however credited to have been the main architect. It is believed that his design embodied much of what the Emperor wanted to express.

Approach to the Taj Mahal

The walled complex is approached from the south through a red sandstone forecourt, Chowk-i Jilo Khana, whose wide paths, flanked by arched kiosks, run to high gates in the east and west. The original entrance, a massive arched gateway topped with delicate domes and adorned with Koranic verses, stands at the northern edge of Chowk-i Jilo Khana, directly aligned with the Taj, but shielding it from the view of those who wait outside. Today's entrance, complete with security checks, is through a narrow archway in the southern wall to the right of the gate.

Garden mausoleum

The mighty marble tomb stands at the end of superb gardens designed in the charbagh style so fashionable among Moghul, Arabic and Persian architects. Dissected into four quadrants by waterways, they evoke the Islamic image of the Gardens of Paradise, where rivers flow with water, milk, wine and honey. The "rivers" converge at a marble tank in the centre that corresponds to al-Kawthar, the celestial pool of abundance mentioned in the Koran. Today only the watercourse running from north to south is full, and its precise, glassy reflection of the Taj is a favourite photographic image.

Structure of The Taj Mahal

Essentially square in shape, with peaked arches cut into its sides, the Taj Mahal surmounts a square marble platform marked at each corner by a high minaret. Topped with a huge central dome, it rises for over 55m, its height accentuated by a crowning brass spire, itself almost 17m high. On approach, the tomb looms ever larger and grander, but not until you are close do you appreciate both its awesome magnitude and the extraordinarily fine detail of relief carving, highlighted by floral patterns of precious stones. Carved vases of flowers including roses, tulips and narcissi, rise subtly out of the marble base, a pa ttern repeated more colourfully and inlaid with precious stones around the four great arched recesses (pishtaqs) on each side.

The Taj Mahal Tomb

The south face of the tomb is the main entrance to the interior: a high, echoing octagonal chamber flushed with pallid light reflected by yellowing marble surfaces. A marble screen, cut so finely that it seems almost translucent, and decorated with precious stones, scatters dappled light over the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal in the centre of the tomb, and that of Shah Jahan next to it. Inlaid stones on the marble tombs are the finest in Agra; attendants gladly illuminate the decorations with torches. The 99 names of Allah adorn the top of Mumtaz's tomb, and set into Shah Jahan's is a pen box, the hallmark of a male ruler. These cenotaphs, in accordance with Moghul tradition, are only representations of the real coffins, which lie in the same positions in an unadorned and humid crypt below that's heavy with the scent of heady incense and rose petals.

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MUMTAZ MAHAL

The year 1607 was a momentous year for Prince Khurram, the eldest son of Emperor Jahangir and his father's favourite. He was a young handsome prince accustomed to luxury and refinement. As he made his way to the Meena bazaar, the private market attached to the harem, he was surrounded by a string of fawning companions, all eager to catch his eye. Even at 15, young Khurram cut a dashing figure with his father's aristocratic nose, high forehead and large languid eyes. Every maid at the bazaar carried a torch for him.

The Flame is Lit

Arjumand Banu sat with her silks and glass beads at her shop. She was the daughter of Asaf Khan, the brother of the emperor Jahangir's consort, Noorjahan. Exquisitely pretty, Khurram was drawn to her. He saw a piece of glass at her stall and asked its worth. When she saucily replied that it was diamond and not glass he gave her ten thousand rupees (a sum she boldly said he could not afford), picked up the piece of glass and left carryimg with him her image in his mind.

Flaming Passions

The next day Khurram boldly presented his case before the Emperor seeking Arjumand's hand in marriage. The Emperor raised his hand in assent, perhaps recalling his own love for Noorjahan. However, five years were to pass before Khurram was to marry his beloved. Meanwhile, he was married to Quandari Begum, a Persian princess, for political reasons.

A Royal Marriage

The astrologers chose 1612 as auspicious for Khurranb's union with Arjumand. By now he was 20, and she, 19. It was a grand wedding, as befits an Emperor's son. Jahangir and Khurram went in procession, surrounded by nobles, musicians and dancers, acrobats, rare animals in cages, slaves and priests. Jahangir himself adorned Khurram with the wedding wreath of pearls. On the bride, he bestowed great honours.

A Perfect match

Deeply influenced by her aunt, Noorjahan, Arjumand Banu was, unlike her aunt, compassionate, generous and demure. Court poets woud celebrate her beauty saying the moon hid in shame before her. She was inseparable from Khurram and often accompanied him with an entourage when he went to fight wars. In her 19 years of marriage, she bore him 14 children, 7 of whom died in infancy.

Mumtaz Mahal

After Jahangir's death, Khurram became Shah Jahan and Arjumand Banu, Mumtaz Mahal. He built sumptuous palaces for her, for instance, the Khas Mahal in Agra fort. She daily rose in his confidence eventually giving her the royal seal, Muhr Uzah. She continually interceded on behalf of petitioners and gave allowances to widows and orphans. Like many royal ladies, she also had nerves of steel. She is said to have enjoyed the spectacle of men in combat with animals. Shah Jahan is believed to have persecuted the Portuguese at Hooghly at her behest.

Death of a Dream

Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth in 1630 ib the Deccan where she had gone accompanying Shah Jahan as he went to war with Khan Jahanb Lodi. As she lay on her deathbed, it is said that she whispered to him to build for her a monument that would symbolize the beauty of their love. For a week Shah Jahan remained behind closed doors. When he emerged his hair had turned white, his back was bent, his face worn with despair. The entire kingdom was ordered into mourning for two years.

Tribute to Beauty

As a tribute to a beautiful woman and as a monument to enduring love, the Taj reveals its subtleties at leisure. 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. Shah Jahan surely had his chaste and exquisite bride in mind when he planned the Taj Mahal.

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TAJ MAHAL

Taj Mahal,

a dream etched in milky white pristine marble is the peerless monument portraying the beauty of eternal love! A commemoration of the memory of Shahjahan's beloved wife, Mumtaz. Taj Mahal is indeed India's rich tribute to womanhood. Renowned for its aesthetic beauty, this extravagant building of timeless beauty is the outcome of a unique combination of passion and architectural exuberance.

Lovers die, but love shall not and death shall have no dominion…

In the year 1607 when a prince of the royal Mughal household strolled down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, he caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. Five years and a wife later (in those days princes did not marry for love alone) the regal 20-yr-old went to wed his 19-yr-old bride. It was a fairytale union from the start, one that withstood court intrigues, battles for succession and finally, the grand coronation. And when she died on the 19th year of their marriage, he etched her story in stone. The Taj Mahal is the living symbol of the monumental passion of Shah Jahan and Arjumand Banu. Which other love story has so grand a memorial?

The Chosen City

Agra was the chosen city of the Mughal emperors during the early years. It was here that the founder of the dynasty, Babur, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of the River Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson, raised the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens. Shahjahan embellished it with marbled mosques, palaces and pavillions of gem-inlaid white marble. Agra is globally renown as the city of the Taj Mahal, a monument of love and imagination, that represents India to the world.

Build me a Taj

As Mumtaz Mahal lay dying, she asked four promises from the emperor: first, that he build the Taj; second, that he should marry again; third, that he be kind to their children; and fourth, that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second promises. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The principal architect was the Iranian architect Istad Usa; it is possible that the pietra dura work was coordinated by an Italian artist.

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Chill And Chill

Dec 10, 2008

Bangladesh to open own Taj Mahal

Feb 25, 2008

TAJ ARCHITECTURE DESIGN LAYOUT

MUMTAZ MAHAL

TAJ MAHAL

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