We rose really early to make sure we see the sunrise over
the
Taj Mahal. It is said that the white
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| Waiting For the Guys To Pass Security While the Sun Rises |
color of the marble gives off a pink hue at
this time of day. We were close to the front of the line before the complex
even opened but when it finally did open all of us had to go through security;
men on one side, women on the other side. The women made it through security
fairly fast, the men? Not so fast! In fact we took 30 minutes longer than the
women. Indian Security, bureaucrats who rule the world, were let lose at the
Taj. Then we had to meet the guide, who had to tell us all the details we could
have read on Google. Ah, India! We missed the sunrise over the Taj! Bummer!
I am sure the Taj is on many a bucket list and
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| Dawn Sun Shining on the Entrance Gate |
yes, it is a
must see in your life time. You don't need me to repeat stuff you can read on
line, but let me tell you some tidbits you might not know. It took about 20,000
people 8 years to build it. They lived beyond the south wall of the tomb and
those living areas are still there today.
The Taj is on the bank of a river and
Shah Jahan intended to
build another Taj across from the present building on the other
side of the river. It was to be a tomb for himself. It never happened because…read why later.
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| Finally, Our First View of the Taj Mahal |
The white marble of the Taj is a very special
Crystalline Makrana Marble and was used on the entire Taj. At a certain angle of light, moon or
sunlight reflects off the marble, giving it a reflective glow, a reflection
like a jewel would do.
The inlays into the marble took forever. The amount of
inlaid marble was delicate work, just one flower on the vines had up to 64 pieces
of hand cut jewel like stones. Those colored stones (semi-precious and fairly
rare stones) came from all over the world, dark blue from Afghanistan, turquoise
from Iran, jade green and carnelian red
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Crystalline Makrana Marble
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from India, etc. Those are hard stones
and cutting them by hand, fitting them perfectly to form the flower is almost
impossible, yet… here they are, all over the Taj. The amount of money it cost
to build this tomb is incalculable. Someone figured out it was in the range of
1 billion U.S. dollars, in today's money. But I think it would be more…..see
Abu Dhabi.
The special marble for the Taj was hauled to Agra in carts
from Rajasthan. Each of the plates of marble is at least 4 inches thick. It was
made this way so the marble would not
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| Beautiful Inlays |
break and could also be engraved with carvings.
Nothing was spared when the Taj was built.
The closer one gets to the inside of the tomb, to where the sarcophagi
are, the more intense and more decorative the inlay work becomes. Even the
stones become more precious.
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| Closeup of the Inlaid Marble |
When the Taj was built, it stood alone. There was no tree in
sight that would block the view from the
Red Fort Palace. All the trees you see
today were planted to supply oxygen, to protect the marble from the tourists
and to help shade the area.
The Taj is constantly cleaned. The cleaners use special mud
packs, applied over the marble to draw out the pollution, to clean the marble,
to keep the Taj white looking.
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| Red Fort Is Almost Visible in the Background | | | | | | | | | | |
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So now back to Shah Jahan, why did he not build a Taj for
himself? There was supposed to be another Taj Mahal, but in black, on the other
side of the river. He could not build it because his son, his successor, put
him under house arrest for the last 8 years of his life. Shah Jahan was confined
to 2 rooms in the Red Fort Palace but he could see the white Taj Mahal where
his wife was buried from his window. He was not allowed to leave his rooms. He
was constantly guarded; only one daughter had access to him, just to feed him.
He died in this room at the age of 74.
After
his death, he was buried next to his wife inside the Taj Mahal.
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| Inner Entrance to the Red Fort |
Amazing India!
The Red Fort (more terra-cotta colored than red) was next on
our tour. It is better described as a city within walls. The exact starting point
of the building is not that important; I think this spot was always a defense
spot. The Fort was battled over many times in its history and changed hands
many a time. Which amazes me, walking through the maze of walls, traps, gates,
hidden spots I would think it is impenetrable. But no, some found a way in. The
weak spot is its water supply. The water had to come from the river and with a
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| Beautiful Decorative Work in the Fort |
long siege and cutting off the water supply, taking the Fort was easy.
The Palace within the Fort was the residence of Shah Jahan.
He is the man who ripped down some of the inner parts of the Fort and converted
the center of the Fort to a palace. Instead of the Fort being pure ‘red’
sandstone, it now has white marble, stained windows and other luxury items
within. While from the outside it is Fort like, the inside is palatial. The
term ‘red’ is to be taken loosely, yes the sandstone is reddish, in comparison
to other forts that might use granite or other stones.
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| White Buildings Comprise the Palace Complex |
This is the place where Shah Jahan was under room arrest for
8 years. How did this happen?
Here is a short story that is true:
As we know, Shah Jahan had a few wives and had many
children, many sons. It was customary to pass along the reign to the oldest
son, which is what Shah Jahan did when he was about 64 and ill. He feared he
was going to die and passed on his powers to his oldest son. Son # 3 was furious;
he thought he would make a much better Mogul. Mysteriously son # 1 and 2 die
rather quickly soon after the power
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| Beautiful Inlaid Marble Decorative Work |
exchange leaving son # 3 next in line. How
convenient, right? Son # 3 had an alibi; he was not near Agra when his
‘brothers’ died. He was in Pakistan at the time, but when he heard of the
demise of his ‘brothers’ he came to the Agra Fort to talk to his father, Shah
Jahan, to get his blessing I assume. Well Shah Jahan closed the gate on son #3
and did not let him into the Red Fort. Shah Jahan did not like son #3, I
suppose, which really upset # 3. He cut off the water supply to the entire
Fort, gaining control and retaliated by putting his Father under room arrest.
Nice guy! # 3 sons name?
Aurangzeb.
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| Shah Jahan's View of the Taj Mahal From His Rooms in the Fort |
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He reigned for near 49 years and was really the last effective Mogul of the Red Fort.
He died in 1707.
Bollywood:
Have you
ever watched one of those films? Way over the top acting, dancing, singing and costumes.
They were a bit stiff and chaste. It was Indian style.
There is a daily Bollywood Show in Agra giving an insight
into the relationship between Shah Jahan and his favorite wife
Mumtaz Mahal. It
is very corny, very over the top but it was an experience seeing a live Bollywood
show. Our seating section had headphones that automatically translated from
Hindi to English whatever the actors said; quite sophisticated. No photos
allowed, still we had a good time going to Bollywood.
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An Ad For the Bollywood Show That We Saw
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I must say this is a grand tour, every possible attraction
is covered and Fiona, Gary and yes, Dinesh, who arranged this Bollywood show,
are a great combination, doing a terrific job.
I Love it!
