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A female acquaintance told me recently how it had been her great desire to get married in the Taj Mahal. She had to go through many trials and tribulations to get her wish to materialize, including a last minute hitch when they were told the ceremony had to be Islamic, and they had to dash across Dehli to get a Muslim cleric willing to do the needful. I know the bureaucracy in that part of the world, and it must have been agony. My full sympathies to her (or should I empathize with her?).But it was finally done.
For one reason or another, the Taj Mahal has been brought to the fore in my consciousness in recent days.
I am sure this must happen to many people when something that they had pushed really to the back of their mind for years is brought to "life" by unrelated events or people.

Construction on the Taj Mahal started in 1632, and it was completed in 1653.
It was built by the Mughal Emperor of India who called himself Shah Jahan (King of the World). The Mughal Empire was at its peak at the time, stretching from Afghanistan to Burma (Myanmar). One of the richest and most important Empires in the world of the time.The Mughals were Muslims, but very liberal and encouraged the arts. But they were also very cruel, and it was not a very good idea to cross them, or one of the punishments was that you would get thrown off the ramparts of the castle, and then elephants would be made to trample over you! Not very pleasant. Though I wouldn't mind doing that to some people that I know. But that's another story.
The Taj Mahal is beleived to be a monument to Love. Actually, the Emperor Shah Jahan's favourite queen and third wife lies buried there. She died in 1631 while giving birth to a daughter, their 14th child. The emperor was grief stricken, so he had the Taj Mahal built in her memory!
It is a great irony of fate, that the Emperor was deposed by his own real son, Aurangzeb, and thrown into prison. It is said that as he shuffled about in chains in Agra Fort in his imprisonment, he would squint against the sun to get a view of the Taj Mahal through the small windows of his confines! He died in prison at the age of 74.

How very interesting! I always remember the photograph of Princess Diana sitting outside that place. It looks like a wonderful building.

My eldest daughter is going to Dehli soon. I'm afraid she's a bit like me in that she isn't interested in history much. If there is a MacDonalds close by, she may well have a look.

It is indeed an incredible structure, any chance to see it should not be missed.

so ? its an old building , why people would want to spend money a visit an old structure is beyond me

India has a fascinating history. One of my favourite authors is William Dalrymple - his latest books are about India, with the Last Mughal and White Mughals covering a particularly interesting period of Indian history. I also recommend his first book about a trip in Marco Polo's footsteps, and 'From the Holy Mountain' which covers the Middle East and his visits to Christian sites..

The Mughal rule varied with each emperor - some were extremely strict, others liberal and some had elements of both..

On the Taj itself, there are some rabid anti-Muslims in India that believe in a conspiracy theory that the Taj was actually a Hindu temple! (seriously)

Cheers,

Shafique

On the Taj itself, there are some rabid anti-Muslims in India that believe in a conspiracy theory that the Taj was actually a Hindu temple! (seriously)

You're really earning your moniker, Islam24/7.

^^^LOL. Bless.

shafique wrote:One of my favourite authors is William Dalrymple

I've heard a lot about him and am going to read some of his work when I get the time. Yes, India (and Pakistan ) have a fascinating history. I have to point out that the Islam of the period we are talking about was a much relaxed way of life. I think the harsh austerity has crept into it because of the Arab Wahabi influence, with all due deference to any Arab friends reading this. This is because of the importance these countries have gained as a result of their oil wealth, after the oil boom starting in the '70s. It sucked in generations of Muslims, particularly the poorer ones, who were greatly affected by what they saw in Saudi Arabia, or the UAE for example. I was reading lately about the school books in Saudi Arabia for small children that are full of hate against other religions, particularly Jews, which is wrong! The same thing is being preached in the mosques.
You are right about the Moghul period, and how the rule varied with the whims of the ruling Monarch. Shah Jahan had to kill his step mother and brothers and sisters in order to eliminate any threat to his throne, but he was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb, who was initially sent to put down a rebellion by his brothers in the south of the country. He became so powerful after achieving success, that he became a contender for the throne himself, and had to remove the last and only roadblock in his path, his father. Aurangzeb himself was a powerful king, but unlike his ancestors, he became an austere Muslim in the Wahabi style. Some people believe that he laid down the foundations of religious fundamentalism in the region. He didnt take any money from the official treasury, which he believed belonged to the people. Instead he opened a business from which he earned a small amount for his daily upkeep. His wife stitched caps to supplement the family income!
And yet he was the most powerful of the Moghul kings, who ruthlessly eliminated all opposition to himself. So, after his death, there was no leadership, and the Empire began to disintegrate, finally leading to British take over (which has its own fascinating history!), and India became a colony for over a hundred years.
BTW, Muslim rule over India had lasted for about seven hundred years before the British takeover!
History in a nutshell

I am so happy to share, visited TAJ MAHAL last month no words to explain. It's a beautiful building and needs to be seen in all throughout the day to be fully appreciated. Get a guide as well because there's not nearly enough information and they can provide you with some really interesting facts.

For anyone who is traveling overseas, you can enrich your experience by hiring a tour guide. They are highly knowledgable and know how to deliver content. They can transform an old building into a living work of art.

^^^i always think that about Big Bus Tours. I'm always interested in knowing if anyone famous was born or died in a building.

visited taj Mahal as a child... never seen anything as grand in my life before (atleast by then)... hope would see it some day as an adult... !!

If any one of you are going to see the Taj, I recommend you do so soon. I hear its going to fall down in a few years-http://travel.aol.co.uk/2011/10/05/taj-mahal-could-fall-down-in-two-years-time/

That's a bit like that tower in Pisa. I went to see it a few years ago and it was leaning over.

Hey, say whatever you want! It isn't exactly indestructible. Neither was it made out of elite materials, but that doesn't mean it WILL fall down. It's a possibility.

It was a joke Prowheels.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Get it?

Lol obviously^^, I just thought you didn't seem to take note of the severity of the issue.

prowheels wrote:Lol obviously^^, I just thought you didn't seem to take note of the severity of the issue.

Life's too short prowheels. I'm rarely serious.

BMreformed , Ah...

Taj Mahal is indeed beautiful. History, however, is how some people say things were, not necessarily how things actually were. Aurangzeb ruled with an iron fist, Akbar, to many, was the greatest. Mughal empire spread over most of today's India, however, I am from a part which was never under the Mughal Empire.

South India?

waste of money , waste of space = Taj Mahal.. took them 20 odd years to build a monument that has no importance to anyone... could have built a university like Harvard or Oxford!!

rudeboy , I trying to figure out if your genuinely that stupid or if your trolling.

Heres a question, would you build a university or a burial site if you were the King at that time???

Aren't there enough Universities round the world?
All we've got to show for it is perfectly good people with Masters and PhD's posting garbage on DF or washing bottles in Hotel kitchens

They could have been busy building things like the Pyramids, or the Taj Mahal, or the Eiffel Tower, or giant ferris wheels like the London Eye. At least their names might have been mentioned then on some obscure plaque or other or some grubby register or stone tablet for posterity

As it is we are all doomed on DF if brother Andy pulls the plug on us

nope there aren't that many universities, hospitals or even clean drinking water around the world

i guess some people on this earth would prefer spending thousands to visit a fancy cemetery

rudeboy wrote:nope there aren't that many universities, hospitals or even clean drinking water around the world

i guess some people on this earth would prefer spending thousands to visit a fancy cemetery

I visited Cairo many moons ago. What a dump. There had been an earthquake a few years before and most of the houses still looked untouched but out of the misery rose a mosque, all white and shiny.
I did think to myself, what an odd way to spend what little money there was.

BM, a mosque or even a church or a temple is a place to worship, it has some use. Taj is not a place where you worship, its not a mosque..

Taj was built by a guy who wanted to bury his wife there.. It was built for his wife, not for general public like you or me.. Yes we visit it but that's because there are some among us who like to throw away money!

A mosque, church, hospital, temple are built for anyone who wishes to use it!

By the way maybe someone in Egypt decided that even though after all the misery and despair, there were some people who would like to go to some place quiet and connect with God? Had someone made something like the Taj, would it have been of any use to those people who had suffered because of the earthquake?


anyways it was my opinion that's all

--- Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:51 pm ---

lol even a public bathroom has more benefits than the Taj But I guess in India people prefer to just do it FREESTYLE

I'd rather have my own roof that visit a church or a mosque Rudeboy.

Emperor Shah Jahan probably wasn't good at prioritizing and you can't really blame him for that. Rich people back in the day thought VERY diffrerent from rich people nowadays and there is nothing we can do about that. Plus, it's some good eyecandy