My favourite trip to

Tajmahal

a presentation by Srimitha

Glory of taj
One knows that The Taj is one amongst the Worlds Wonders! One knows that it is one amongst the UNESCO World Heritage Sites!! One knows The Taj as a legend of eternal love of an Emperor for his favourite Queen!!! Well, The Taj has distinctions much beyond just these! Therefore, The Taj, surely, deserves me visit once and more!!!

The maker of the taj

Shahab Uddin Muhammad Shah Jahan ruled India from 1628 until 1658.

From Khurram to Shah Jahan: The blue-eyed of the Mughal Royals, the young Khurram impressed his father the Emperor Jahangir with his intense military successes of 1617 against the Lodi in the Deccan, which effectively secured the southern border of the empire.The grateful father rewarded him with the prestigious title 'Shah Jahan Bahadur ', which implicitly sealed his inheritance. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning "King of the World."
Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra. The Pearl Mosque at Agra, the palace and great mosque at Delhi. The celebrated Peacock Throne, said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates. He was the founder of Shahjahanabad, now known as 'Old Delhi'. Other creations of Shah Jahan also include the Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas within the Red Fort in Delhi.

The cause of the taj

Arjumand Banu Begum, popularly known as Mumtz Mahal (April, 1593 - 17 June 1631) meaning "beloved ornament of the palace" was an Empress of India during the Mughal Dynasty. Her father was the brother of Empress Nur Jehan. She was religiously a Shi'a Muslim. Betrothed to Prince Khurram in 1607 AD at the age of 14 years, she was married five years later on 10 May 1612, a date selected by the court astrologers as most conducive to ensuring a happy marriage to Prince Khurram, who later ascended the Peacock Throne of India as the fifth Mughal Emperor and populary known as Shah Jahan I. She was his third wife, and became his favorite. She died in Burhanpur [1631 AD] in the Deccan. She had been accompanying her husband whilst he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. Her original grave still lies here. Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally bought him to the region. While there he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife, a task that would take more than 22 years to complete, the Taj Mahal. Today, the Taj Mahal stands as the ultimate monument to love and homage to her beauty and life.

The making of the taj

The Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures with the white domed marble mausoleum being its most significant component. Entrusted to a board-ofarchitects by the Emperor Shah Jahan, the construction of the Taj Complex began about 1631 AD. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 AD by employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen, whereas, the outlying buildings and gardens were finished five years later in 1653 AD. The Taj, the ultimate expression of love speaks volumes of indulgence coming from an overflowing treasury and political security of that era and much more by way of the finesse in art and science of architecture. Herringbone inlays define the space between many of the adjoining elements. White inlays are used in sandstone buildings, and dark or black inlays on the whitemarbles. Mortared areas of the marble buildings have been stained or painted in a contrasting colour, creating geometric patterns of considerable complexity. Floors and walkways use contrasting tiles or blocks in tessellation patterns. The inlay stones are of yellow marble, jasper and jade, polished and levelled to the surface of the walls.

architecture
Under the reign of Shah Jahan the symbolic content of Mughal architecture reached its peak. Inspired by a verse by Bibadal Khan, the imperial goldsmith and poet, and in common with most Mughal funerial architecture, the Taj Mahal complex was conceived as a replica on earth of the house of Mumtaz in paradise.

This theme permeates the entire complex and informs the design and appearance of all its elements. A number of secondary principles were also used, of which hiearachy is the mostdominant. A deliberate interplay was established between the building's elements, its surface decoration, materials, geometric planning and its acoustics. This interplay extends from what can be seen with the senses, into religious, intellectual, mathematical and poetic ideas.

Exterior of taj
The mosque establishes the form that the Mihman Khana follows. It is based on a standard type which the Mughals took over from the Sultanate architecture of Delhi, namely that of an oblong massive prayer hall formed of vaulted bays or rooms arranged in a row with a dominant central pishtaq and domes. The elevation of mosque and Mihman Khana takes its cue from the great gate, the third monumental subsidiary building of the funerary garden (their relationship is also announced on the overall plan, where they form the points of a compositional triangle).

Interior decoration
Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves and hence Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are laid in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with faces turned right and towards Mecca. Mumtaz Mahal's cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber with a rectangular marble base of 1.5 metre by 2.5 metre. Both the base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious ems.

The interior chamber of Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here the inlay work is not pietra dura, but lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones. The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, though, only the south garden-facing door is used.

The taj garden

Strict planning determines the organization of the garden component of the riverfront scheme, the cross-axial chahar bagh. The large square is divided by two main walkways (khiyaban) into four quadrants; each quadrant is in turn subdivided by narrower cross-axial walkways, so that sixteen sub-quadrants are formed; and the garden as a whole is surrounded by a walkway which connects with all the subwalkways. Such geometrical patterning had been characteristic of early Mughal architectural decoration; in the Taj Mahal, when floral designs became the nobler form of ornament, it was demoted and used for floors and for jails.

Culture at agra
Agra is one of the favourite tourist destinations not only for Indians but for the tourists around the globe. Taj Mahal alone attracts millions of tourists each year . It has become an integral part of culture of Agra. Formerly, a major city of Mughal dynasty, Agra, holds some of the finest monuments of Indian history. Agra has diverse religious beliefs and practices and is a safe home for different religions like Hinduism, Islam,

Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism. Every religion in Agra enriches the cultural and traditional values of the city. The natives of Agra believe in simple living and influence the tourists with the same kind of values. Men usually wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers while women enjoy wearing traditional salwar kameez or traditional sarees. ToursNorthIndia.com is here to assist you with the information about Culture of Agra.

Dress code in agra

Uttar Pradeshs unique dressing style distinguishes it from other states of India. Saree is the traditional dress worn by majority of women. The saree worn with a top, popularly known as blouse. Women also wear wide or narrow pants known as Salwar with long top termed as Kameez.

They also wear knee length attire called Lehangas with medium length top or blouse. All these apparels are artistically embellished with embroidery works and vibrant prints. Uttar Pradesh is famous for its exquisite creation of Benarasi sarees.

Languages spoken in u.p

Uttar Pradesh is the core of Hindi-Heartland that comprises states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Therefore it is but natural that Hindi is the Lingua Franka of this state. In fact, the accent that is spoken in Uttar Pradesh is the standard accent of the Hindi language.

The second most spoken language is Hindustani. Actually Hindustani is the language that is spoken by the masses whereas the Hindi is largely confined to administrative usage. Broadly now days, Hindustani if written in 'Devanagri' script is called Hindi where as if the same is written in 'Nastaliq' script then it is termed Urdu. Uttar Pradesh has produced numerous poets and laureates both in Hindi as well as Urdu. For years these people have ruled the roost.

Thank you!!!

A presentation by c. srimitha