Taj Mahal, the monument of love that leaves even the best of us speechless. The grandeur, the beauty and the story of Taj Mahal are something that can never be forgotten. Everybody knows that Shahjahan built this monument for his wife Mumtaz, but there are few facts that very few know. We bring you the top eight facts of Taj Mahal that are bound to leave you in awe.
Taj Mahal was in Honor of Shahjahan’s favorite wife:
The Taj Mahal was built as a remembrance of Mumtaz, Shahjahan’s favorite wife. In his lifetime, the emperor married several women, but none of them captured his heart like Mumtaz did.Their marriage lasted 19 years and resulted in 14 children. It was during the last delivery that Mumtaz died due to complications at the age of 39. Shahjahan was struck by the loss and ordered the construction of Mumtaz Mahal in 1632 and was finished in two decades.
The Taj Mahal is elaborately decorated except for the grave:
The Muslim Personal Law states that graves should never have any decoration on them. Following this rule that gives inappropriate expression of vanity, the grave was left plain. This explains the simple design on the grave in the intricately designed palace.
In Case of Collapse, everything will fall away from the tomb:
The placement of minarets around the Taj Mahal is such that in the case of collapse, the entire structure will fall away fro the tomb and not on it. The placement of the 130 feet minars in not aesthetic but a strategic planning and an engineering brilliance for then existing technology used for construction. This prevents any kind of damage to the tomb.
The grave in the only asymmetrical structure in Taj Mahal:
The entire structure is meticulously placed to be in symmetry, except for the grave itself. The schematic lines and the wide diameter is disrupted by the tomb. The tomb is placed exactly in the center of the palace which disrupts the symmetry.
The collapse of the Mahal has begun:
The collapse of the Taj Mahal has been an issue of concern. The minarets have started showing signs of structural decay. Archeologists have compared the samples of the 1980s and 20th century and observed that with the dying of Yamuna River the building started decaying. It was also revealed that one of the minarets showed one and a half inch tilt in 2016. But the Archeology department had said that it is secure for foreseeable future.
Huge amounts of manpower involved:
The chief Architect of Taj Mahal Lahauri had a team of 20,000 artisans working on the monument. Also, more than 1000 elephants were involved in the construction for two decades on the structure
The Monument hides during the war:
Taj Mahar, a world wonder, has always been a structure of target during international wars. From World War 2 to India-Pakistan war, the structure was protected through all these wars by the government. The airborne pilots when searching for the target will find only a pile of bamboo instead of the Taj Mahal. The architects added scaffolding that helped in concealing the building.
The Modification during British era:
The monument was based entirely on Muslim contemporary designs. The original garden was different from the existing one, it had 60 elaborate flower beds of different species and also rich colors. This was changed after the British took over the country. They implemented horticultural plans on the lawn and adopted a subtle English character than the original grandeur.
Well, these are some of the facts we could find! If you know any more please leave it in the Comments section below!
