7.Taj Mahal
1.Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world because it is one of the most splendid masterpieces of architecture in the world. In the year 1983 it was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and was described as a “universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage”. This building is also a symbol of love. |
| Taj Mahal |
Specialty
1) यह अपने विशेष चमक और ठीक बनावट के साथ शुद्ध सफेद संगमरमर से बना है। 2) मुख्य संरचना उद्यान, फव्वारे और पूल से घिरा हुआ है। 3) मुख्य संरचना के प्रत्येक कोने में, एक मीनार है। 4) यह मुगल सम्राट शाहजहां ने अपनी तीसरी और सबसे प्यारी पत्नी मुमताज महल की याद में बनाया था। symbol of love
Emperor Shah Jahan is best remembered as a patron of Mughal architecture and is known for the grand legacy of architectural structures constructed during his reign.
The most famous of them is the Taj Mahal, which he built in the memory of his favorite wife the empress Mumtaz Mahal
WHY TAJ IS ONE OF THE SEVEN WONDER:
The Taj Mahal India is famous as an enduring monument to love and Shah Jahan’s real intention was to create a monument that would be unrivalled in beauty and grandeur and to leave an enduring legacy, a masterpiece for the ages to come, to assure his place in history and his immortality. His objectives were superlatively achieved.
History of Construction
The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahān (reigned 1628–58) to immortalize his wife Mumtaz Mahal (“Chosen One of the Palace”). She died in childbirth in 1631, after having been the emperor’s inseparable companion since their marriage in 1612. The plans for the complex have been attributed to various architects of the period, though the chief architect was probably Ustad Aḥmad Lahawrī, an Indian of Persian descent. The five principal elements of the complex—main gateway, garden, mosque, jawāb (literally “answer”; a building mirroring the mosque), and mausoleum (including its four minarets)—were conceived and designed as a unified entity according to the tenets of Mughal building practice, which allowed no subsequent addition or alteration. Building commenced about 1632. More than 20,000 workers were employed from India, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe to complete the mausoleum itself by about 1638–39;
Layout And Architecture
Resting in the middle of a wide plinth 23 feet (7 metres) high, the mausoleum proper is of white marble that reflects hues according to the intensity of sunlight or moonlight. It has four nearly identical facades, each with a wide central arch rising to 108 feet (33 metres) at its apex and chamfered (slanted) corners incorporating smaller arches. The majestic central dome, which reaches a height of 240 feet (73 metres) at the tip of its finial, is surrounded by four lesser domes. The acoustics inside the main dome cause the single note of a flute to reverberate five times. The interior of the mausoleum is organized around an octagonal marble chamber ornamented with low-relief carvings and semiprecious stones (pietra dura). Therein are the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahān. Those false tombs are enclosed by a finely wrought filigree marble screen. Beneath the tombs, at garden level, lie the true sarcophagi. Standing gracefully apart from the central building, at each of the four corners of the square plinth, are elegant minarets.
The garden is set out along classical Mughal lines—a square quartered by long watercourses (pools)—with walking paths, fountains, and ornamental trees. Enclosed by the walls and structures of the complex, it provides a striking approach to the mausoleum, which can be seen reflected in the garden’s central pools.
The southern end of the complex is graced by a wide red sandstone gateway with a recessed central arch two stories high. White marble paneling around the arch is inlaid with black Qurʾānic lettering and floral designs. The main arch is flanked by two pairs of smaller arches. Crowning the northern and southern facades of the gateway are matching rows of white chattris (chhattris; cupola-like structures), 11 to each facade, accompanied by thin ornamental minarets that rise to some 98 feet (30 metres). At the four corners of the structure are octagonal towers capped with larger chattris.
Current Issues
Over the centuries the Taj Mahal has been subject to neglect and decay. A major restoration was carried out at the beginning of the 20th century under the direction of Lord Curzon, then the British viceroy of India. More recently, air pollution caused by emissions from foundries and other nearby factories and exhaust from motor vehicles has damaged the mausoleum, notably its marble facade. A number of measures have been taken to reduce the threat to the monument, among them the closing of some foundries and the installation of pollution-control equipment at others, the creation of a parkland buffer zone around the complex, and the banning of nearby vehicular traffic. A restoration and research program for the Taj Mahal was initiated in 1998. Progress in improving environmental conditions around the monument has been slow, however.
From time to time the Taj Mahal has been subject to India’s political dynamics. Night viewing was banned there between 1984 and 2004 because it was feared that the monument would be a target of Sikh militants. In addition, it increasingly has come to be seen as an Indian cultural symbol. Some Hindu nationalist groups have attempted to diminish the importance of the Muslim influence in accounting for the origins and design of the Taj Mahal.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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