The Taj Mahal. I had heard of it, read a lot about it, and seen some amazing pictures of it. I knew that it was a great monument to love built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. But I had never been to Agra or visited the Taj. Was it really so worth seeing?

We set off early in the morning for Agra, from Delhi. As our trip progressed, the sun shone mercilessly down on us. Trees whizzed by and I remember wondering whether this trip would be as exciting as my earlier trips had been. I was a bit impatient.

We entered Agra, which, I felt, could not have been a shadow of its former glory as the seat of Mughal power in India. It had been three hours since we left Delhi. 

Then I saw the white dome of the Taj in the distance, getting larger and larger as we approached. We reached the junction near the Taj, where there was utter chaos and confusion: vendors, schoolchildren, tourists with cameras, tourist buses, horse carts, camels, street children… It resembled any other dusty dirty street corner in India.

We were told that cars were not allowed up to the Taj, as the monument is being affected by pollution. My dad called for a horse and we went bouncing along until we finally reached the gates. There was a massive queue; we got our tickets and lined up. We then had to pass through metal detectors.

We hired a photographer to accompany us as we walked around reading a bit of the building’s description and history by the Archaeological Survey of India.

As we walked through the massive gates, the Taj loomed before us gleaming white in the bright afternoon sun. It was the most magnificent building I have ever seen! It looked as though it had been pulled out of a movie! I had seen pictures of the Taj, but up close it was a million times better!

I was struck by how incredibly beautiful the 400-year-old structure looked even today. I couldn’t believe that Shah Jahan had gone to such lengths for the woman he loved.

I was bowled over by the brilliant carvings inside the Taj. They were done in such a way that they all lead to the tomb in the middle. Sadly, we saw some people breaking the rules and taking pictures of the room with the tomb. Later, we visited the Taj museum that contains some brilliant paintings and old swords belonging to the king himself. 

Despite the Taj being so stunning, I read that the British took away all the gold trimming from the building; the Taj now has bronze trimming. We studied the calligraphy done in jasper, then took a walk around the back of the Taj to see the river flowing past. What a contrast! The beauty of the Taj and the dirty river behind it! Why can’t the government do something to clean it up?

It seems the great Yamuna river was clean and beautiful 400 years ago. It is said that Shah Jahan used to watch the Taj from his window at the top of the Agra fort.

Shah Jahan was born on January 15, 1592, in Lahore. He was named Khurram by his grandfather Akbar. In 1607, he was married to Arjumand Bano Begum, who later became known as Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal died at the young age of 38 after giving birth to her 14th child. Shah Jahan was so depressed when she died that he didn’t come out in public for a week. Mumtaz Mahal was not just a beautiful woman whom Shah Jahan loved, she was also his confidante. Shah Jahan was very dependent on her and often discussed major issues of state with her. He was devastated when she died and decided to build the Taj Mahal to remember her by.

The Taj, which was built over the property of Raja Man Singh, took 16 years to build. It was started in 1632 and construction ended in 1648. Peter Mundy, who visited the site, said that gold and silver were considered common metals at the time, and marble merely another stone. Shah Jahan also donated 30 hamlets, yielding Rs 200,000, towards maintenance of the garden and the grave. After the British took over India they tried to sell off the Taj but failed. To this day, the Taj Mahal stands proudly at its post.

(Vineet John is a student at the Bangkok Patana International School)  

InfoChange News & Features, March 2009