Taj Mahal
So we saw the Taj Mahal in India. Yes it is amazing. I don’t have any good photos to show you, but here are three things I took away from the experience:
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The four minarets on the side are the genius of the Taj Mahal. Without them the building would look much smaller. They create a sense of proportion and perspective. Interestingly, the minarets are angled three degrees away from the center of the building, in case of earthquake.
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Everyone knows that the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum for a Mughal emperor’s dead wife. The story goes that she saw the building in a dream, described it to her husband, and he built it for her after her death.
What I didn’t know is that the Taj Mahal is situated next to a river, and the emperor’s original plan was to build his own tomb on the other side of the river, in black marble, with a bridge spanning the river, linking the two tombs together. That would have been spectacular.
But his building spree came to an end when he was deposed by his son, who put his father’s coffin inside the Taj Mahal, to the side of his wife’s, destroying the symmetry of the building.
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The designers intended you to approach the Taj head on, walking slowly along the center line toward the entrance gate, seeing the building open up through the door in front of you. The effect of this is amazing. First you see the central building, perfectly inscribed within the doorway. Then two of the minarets appear in perfect symmetry, then all four, and then the entire building is in front of you. At points, the building seems to be magnified by the entrance door, and then to recede, and then to grow again in front of you. It is an incredible revelation.
For some awful reason the Indian government has placed the tourist entrance to the SIDE of the building, completely ruining the effect. Everyone catches a glimpse of the building partly obscured by the outer wall, gasps, and then rushes through the door from the side, completely missing the geometry of the central approach. Don’t miss it.
I was also surprised that the Taj Mahal is only 350 years old. I thought it was older. The year construction started, Galileo was beginning his house arrest in Italy.
As a friend said, the Taj Mahal is one of the few legendary world sights that lives up to its reputation.
Arun on 9 April 2011 at 2:48 pm
I have been throughout Europe. Everything works like clockwork. Getting to a place is so simple that all you need to focus on is enjoying yourself.
But maybe due to over expectation, none have lived up to the image you create in your mind from the readings.
But the Taj… It is a struggle to get there. The taxi touts at the railway station. The conniving taxi drivers. The dirt and dust on the way to the Taj from the hotel. The ignorant guides who crowd around you. The photographers who wont leave you alone. You curse everything about the system that perpetuates this mediocrity. And vow never to come back to Agra.
But as you enter slowly thru the gateway, you glimpse the faint outline. And as you fully cross the gateway, there it is… shimmering in the sunlight. Like a perfect fairytale castle implanted on the brown earth, disjointed from everything else around. A vision of white perfection in a sea of mediocrity.
Yes. Now you tell yourself. This is really a wonder of the world.
Nat Friedman on 10 April 2011 at 6:58 pm
Well put.
sha on 9 April 2011 at 9:54 pm
Point 1:This structure has awesome similarity with hindu temple. There are more than 100 examples of conversion of Hindu temples into monuments.
Point 2: The wife of mughal emperor died and buried in southern part of India , known as Burhanpur. After passing of 17th years of her death , her remains brought back from original grave and she re- cremated in this building.It is historical fact , which kept hide.
Nathan on 9 April 2011 at 10:39 pm
You should come over to Bangladesh!
Sankar on 10 April 2011 at 10:47 am
When I first heard about Taj mahal as a school boy, I felt, “What non-sense ? A king constructed such a costly gift for his wife instead of constructing something useful like a Dam (we were facing water shortage then) or good roads !? Good that Aurangazeb (his son) had some sense.” After this, I have never felt the need to see the Tajmahal. Also, when you are free, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCHeeGpy4eo
Girish on 10 April 2011 at 3:53 pm
Taj really is brilliant.
But if you didn’t show us any pics, it didn’t happen.
Debarshi Ray on 10 April 2011 at 8:57 pm
Did you see the Agra fort? Aurangzeb had locked up his father, after deposing him, in a tower in the fort: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musamman_Burj
Vadi on 12 June 2011 at 12:42 pm
The geometry is always missed when someone is taken to Taj mahal. I always particular to take my guests to close their eyes before they just reach the main entrance. When they open the eyes, when the white rays passes, they never miss to say wow, it is an amazing master piece. Yes, government ruining it though. I hate that camel shit all over the place too
Destry on 25 September 2011 at 12:23 pm
I much prefer ionframitve articles like this to that high brow literature.