My elder brother preserved rare articles that he collected. On demand by me (myself then a school-going boy), he shall take out them carefully and show them to me. He won't give them to me to handle; he will point and show their parts and describe about their beauty; then he will place all of them at the earliest inside his bureau and lock it. So, this bureau remained as a wonder chamber having many wonders within it! One of those articles was a Taj Mahal miniature model.
As the Taj Mahal's name is mentioned, only its magnificent architecture comes to our mind. It had been built on a site of three acres near the river Yamuna in Agra of India. It is a large white marble building that rests on a square plinth made of marble. It has a large dome in the top with doorways on the sides and four minarets that stand on each corner of the plinth. It is a cube (actually an octagon) with 55 meters on its sides. Doorways have huge vaulted archways with arched balconies on either sides. Similar replications are also found there on the corner areas. Taj Mahal's main chamber houses the false graves of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; actual graves of them are at a lower level. Taj Mahal's dome is 35 meters in diameter and sits on a 7 meter high cylinder. There are also four smaller such dome on its four corners. Minarets are of 40 meters height, and were used then for calling to prayer. It took nearly 12 years to complete the plinth and the tomb. Building materials were brought from all over India and Asia. The translucent marble was got from the mines of Makrana of Rajasthan. Twenty eight semi-precious stones like agate, turquoise, onyx and jade were inlaid into this white marble. Cementing material used was a mixture of molasses, black gram pulse, curd, jute and soil, made with the lime mortar.
Such a colossal architectural perfection in all its perspectives makes the making of the Taj Mahal itself a wonder! This magnificent architectural masterpiece shall be felt and understood only when one makes a visit to Taj Mahal and when he/she nears the Taj Mahal.
Related post in this blog:
Love Sign - the Taj Mahal!
2 comments:
The Taj Mahal is near the top of my list of places I wish to visit. The architecture and splendor of the building is matched by the love story that was the reason it was erected.
Yes, Emma you are correct. I wish you for your earlier trip to the wonder that is Taj Mahal.
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