Secrets of the Taj Mahal Page #3

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Shah Jehan mobilizes his army

he will crush opposition

with brute force

day after day week after week

the Mogul army blazes a

trail across the Indian plains

nearly two years of forces marches

follow for Shah Jahan soldiers

but nothing will tell Mumtaz

Mahal from her husband's side

the Mughals are forced to leave

their capital again and again

to crush rebellions in the Deccan region

the campaign seems to have no end

the great mogul still puts

his faith in his cannons

the latest super weapons

imported from the Turkish Empire

his soldiers hold all over the

mountains and across the roughest terrain

shattering City wall

wiping out the rebels

but his string of victories

is interrupted by tragedy

in the midst of the campaign Mumtaz Mahal

falls pregnant with the Emperor's child

but there are complications at the birth

for once the king is powerless

as his bride weakens the great

mogul can do nothing but pray

the court chronicle

recorded the sad events

on the 17th of June 1631

the unfortunate demise

of Her Majesty The Queen

took place shortly after her confinement

and made the whole

world a house of mourning

Mumtaz Mahal dies after

the birth of her 14th child

Shah Jehan world has come to an end

they say the Emperor fasted for

eight days locked in his chambers

for two years he heard no music

or no jewelry or perfume

his hair and beard had done grey

he looked older,

much much older than what

he looked when he went into

confinement a stature to mourning

so surely this must have

had of deep impact on him

before she died, legend

says, Mumtaz Mahal made a wish

for a mausoleum more sublime

than any the world would seem

this will be Shah Jehan's

task for the rest of his life

to erect the world's most

beautiful building, in her memory

the Taj Mahal stands in a long

tradition a fabulous memorials in India

Shah Jehan's predecessors had

constructed many gorgeous mausoleums

the Taj Mahal combines

the very best elements

of the memorials to

Shah Jehan's forefathers

the tomb his own father provides

the model for the minarets

his great-grandfather's

mausoleum had four corner turret

surrounding the central core

the four mighty portals are

inspired by his grandfather's tomb

and Shah Jehan took the

form of the Great Dome

from the memorial to a famous ancestor

different models United

in perfect harmony

no other mausoleum may come close to

the Taj Mahal in scale beauty and grace

this monument must be nothing

less than a paradise here on earth

symbolism carved in stone and marble

a heavenly memorial to

the Queen of the World

or as a poet described it: "a

teardrop on the cheek of time"

in 1632 just six months

after Mumtaz Mahal death

work begins on the Taj Mahal

it will be the greatest

building project of the age

some say that over 20,000

workers slay down the building

A court chronicler captures the scene:

and from all sides of

the Imperial territories

were assembled troops

after troops of skilled men

stonecutters, inlayers, and

those who do carving in relief

each one an expert in his craft

will began work together

with the other labourers

millions of bricks are baked on the

spot for the shale of the building

The Taj rises at record speed.

But progress comes at a price.

Day by day this gigantic construction

is draining the imperial treasury.

but nothing matters to the great mogul

no expenses spared

for this lavish project

nothing must hold up the building work

even if the people suffer

terribly for the Emperor's devotion

Shah Jehan created an artificial famine

when he diverted the supply of grain

toward Agra,

when it was meant for a different place

the regular supply of grain was

diverted to feed a huge population

of artisants, craftsmen, laborers,

merchants, officials, servants.

Such monuments cannot be

built by a few individuals.

today no one remembers

the ordeal of the people

only the sublime result

The color scheme of the

Taj Mahal is deeply symbolic

the worldly elements and other buildings

are all clad in red sandstone.

White is reserved for the mausoleum.

This is to be a building

of enlightenment.

An earthly representation of the heavenly

house where Mumtaz will live for eternity.

The pure white stands for the spirituality

and faith of the person buried here.

The white marble for the Taj Mahal comes

from quarries at Makrana in Rajasthan,

still in use today.

Makrana marble is already

famous in Shah Jehan's time

Hard, yet easy to work, its prized

for its fine detail and high polish.

The Great Mogul has reserved Makrana

marble for Imperial buildings.

The marble slabs are carried more than 400

kilometers to the side of the Taj Mahal.

construction consumes colossal

amounts if this fabulous stone

with the skeleton of

the building complete

the bricks disappear forever

beneath the pure white facade

it's this smooth glowing stone

that gives the Taj

Mahal its unique impact

Of course it's this white

marble that gives it its beauty

its lightness that sense of floating.

These a means of expression

available to an architect,

just as words are used by poet.

Right beside the marble

edifice the gardens begin.

The garden is the

heart of the Taj Mahal.

its an earthly picture of

the Paradise of the Quran.

Two paths divide the

terrain into four squares.

The channels along the paths

represent the rivers of

Paradise in the Quran.

Where the channels meets there's a pool.

This is symbolic of the celestial pool

where the faithfull quench their thirst.

when they arrive in Paradise.

Trough to mogul tradition,

the mausoleum and garden

form an indivisible unity.

And the interior the mausoleum itself

is modeled after the 8

paradises of the Quran.

8 chambers surround the

central space beneath the dome.

Mumtaz Mahal coffin lies here.

Before long, it attracted

pilgrims from far and wide.

Even today the graves have deeply pious

Muslims attract thousands of pilgrims.

The flowers on the graves

recall the Prophet Muhammad.

As he ascended into heaven each drop

of perspiration turned into a rose.

The faithful pray to the departed

asking for their divine intervention.

Indian Muslims are drawn to the

sumptuous memorials of the Mughal rulers

in the same way.

Orthodox Islam has no time

for the worship of saints.

But here in India it's widely seen.

The moguls brought Islam

to the subcontinent.

But they didn't interpret

the Koran rigidly.

For a long time in India,

Islam was linked to policies

of tolerance and openness.

And the Shah Jehan, that

tolerance and openness

reaches far beyond India's borders.

The Great Mogul decrees that

visitors from the outside world

will be made welcome in his empire.

He knows there is much

to gain from the exchange.

So travelers from East and West

are regularly seen

at Shah Jehan's court.

Europeans can easily be spotted

by their exotic head gear.

Both sides benefit from this

transcontinental contact.

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