AGRA -THE CITY OF TAJ-III: INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT TAJMAHAL

Interesting facts about Taj mahal

The Taj Mahal was Shah Jahan’s imagination of Mumtaz’s home in paradise.

The real name of Mumtaj was Arjumand Bano Begum while Shahjehan name was Khurram. Shah Jahan, the Prince of Khurram, met Arjumand Banu Begum when he was only 15 years old and fell in love with her at first sight. They were engaged in 1607 and got married after a five year period of struggle over family feuds in 1612. Shah Jahan loved Arjumand Banu Begum's appearance and character so much that he gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal which means Jewel of the Palace

It took 22 years and 22,000 people to build this structure. Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal cost about Rs. 32 million, which in today's money would probably exceed $1 billion. Ustad Ahmed Lahauri was the architect of Taj Mahal, who was also architect of Red Fort at Delhi. Tajmahal was constructed using the best quality marble from Rajasthan, Tibet, Afghanistan and China

 

Taj Mahal is considered the most symmetrical structures in the world. The four sides of the Taj Mahal are perfectly identical creating a mirrored image on each side. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry of architectural elements.The Taj Mahal is perfectly symmetrical in every way, except for one thing–the two tombs inside are not equal in size. This is because the male tomb had to be larger than the female tomb.

The pillars surrounding Taj Mahal are slightly tilted outwards so that in the event of an earthquake they will fall away from the tomb.

It is believed that you could witness the changing mood of females – more specifically Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaj Mahal – in the changing colours of Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal dons a different color at different times of the day. It changes from the shy pinkish hue in the morning, to glowing milky white in the evening and burnished golden at night when lit by the moon.

Another popular myth around the Taj Mahal is that after the construction of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan cut off the hands of all the workers so that such a structure could not be built again. Fortunately, this is not true.

An identical Taj Mahal was supposed to be built in black marble instead of white. The base of it can still be seen across the river.

Despite being the creation of a Moghul king, the architecture of Taj Mahal was globally inspired. It's a fusion of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture.

99 names of Allah can be found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal

The Taj Mahal was partially damaged by the British after the rebellion of 1857. At the end of the 19th century Lord Curzon who was the then Viceroy of British India ordered an extensive renovation project. Many precious stones and lapus lazuli were ripped off from the walls of Taj Mahal by the British during the Indian rebellion of 1857.