Secrets of the Taj Mahal Page #4

---

The europeans are drawn by the

precious fabrics spices and gemstones.

European merchants pay with silver and

bring new ideas to the Mughal Empire.

The Taj Mahal itself demonstrates

the links between India and Europe.

Sumptuous stone flowers adorn

the filigree marble latticework

and cover the entire

interior of the Taj Mahal.

Techniques and motifs

coming from distant Europe.

These mosaics have semi-precious stones

are called "pietra dura".

In "pietra dura", for instance,

one doesn't know where "petra

dura" came directly from Europe

or came wire some intermediate zone,

but nevertheless it was

something which really tickled

the imagination of Shah Jehan.

And he used it

in a way interesting way,

in which the building really

looks like a treasure chest.

"Pietra dura" is Italian for hard stone.

in the Renaissance, these

precious inlays decorated palaces.

This craft to stone cutting

travel from Italy to India,

where it experienced the new heyday.

In the "pietra dura" workshops of India,

the techniques haven't changed

in hundreds of the years.

Many families have been doing

this for 17 or 18 generations.

These are the direct descendants of the

craftsman who worked on the Taj Mahal.

"Pietra dura" is a

tough craft to master.

The mosaics are made

of tiny colored stones

set into marble.

A craftsman cuts hundreds of

stones for a single mosaic,

each shaped and positioned

with perfect precision.

He needs just as much skill to carve

the flower shapes into the marble,

creating the setting

for the precious stones.

After the final delicate corrections,

a special glue sets the

stones in the recesses.

Painting in stone is one of the

glories of Indian craftsmanship.

But no chronicles recall

the names of the artists

who decorated the Taj Mahal.

One thing we tend to forget

is the hard labors sweat

suffering of artisan

and ordinary craftsman.

Nobody knows anything about them.

So the monument is a testimony as much

to their existence and the

skill which they possessed,

as it is of Shah Jehan's

aesthetic embellishment.

Through their work the man

who made the Taj Mahal live on.

The Taj Mahal is finished.

It is taken twelve years.

In spite of difficulties and obstacles,

Shah Jehan has accomplished his dream.

The chosen one of the palace rests

in a shrine worthy of her name.

A building more sublime than any

conceived or carved by human hand.

On the anniversaries of her death,

Shah Jehan visits Mumtaz Mahal tomb.

The King of the World

travels the Yamuna river

to the shrine of the Taj Mahal,

to remember his great love.

The Taj Mahal conceals a final mystery.

The coffin seen in the

mausoleum, is only a cenotaph,

an empty monument.

Mumtaz Mahal lies in the

secret marble chamber below.

There she rests undisturbed.

After finishing the Taj Mahal,

Shah Jehan rules these

lands for 20 more years.

But his reign will

see an inglorious end.

His costly projects and

extravagant lifestyle

have brought the empire

to the age of ruin.

In 1658, the King of the World

is toppled from the throne,

deposed by his and Mumtaz own son,

to save the Empire

from his extravagance.

Shah Jehan, absolute ruler,

Great Mogul for 30 years,

is a prisoner.

He's held captive in the Red

Fort, he will never leave it again.

In the evening, a servant reads him

stories of the heroic deeds of his youth.

Epics of bravery and

power, struggle and triumph.

a long long time ago.

In Shah Jehan's decades

intelligent ruled,

the Mogul Empire reached its peak.

No one succeeded in

challenging his infinite power.

But the mightiest,

have furthest to fall.

Just one comfort remains to Shah Jehan.

in the distance from his prison window,

He can see the gleaming

monument of his beloved.

He cannot forget his passion

for the chosen one of the palace.

Their happiness was mortal.

Their love was for eternity.

Mumtaz Mahal's tomb has

carved its place in history.

Shah Jehan will also find

his last resting place here.

In 1666, at the age

of 74, Shah Jehan dies.

His chronicle ends with the words:

The king of the world has died.

The body was taken by river

to the magnificent tomb of

the late Queen Mumtaz Mahal.

Shah Jehan is reunited with

his Chosen One of the Palace.

Their legacy will make them immortal.

The most perfect building in the world.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes