RUPINDER KHULLAR
1001 TAJ MAHAL IMAGES OF
1001 Images of
TAJ MAHAL A Great Wonder of the World Rupinder Khullar This book is a culmination of two decades of relentless work. Enamoured by Taj’s pristine beauty and everchanging quicksilver quality, Rupinder Khullar has captured this magnificent mausoleum from every conceivable angle, in different seasons of the year and at various times of the day. Ever responsive to faint shifts of light, to the play of clouds and the drama of sunrise and sunset, Taj Mahal continues to entrance visitors regardless of how often they visit this monument, built by a great Mughal monarch for his wife. As someone who has been photographing the Taj
1001 IMAGES OF
TAJ MAHAL a great wonder of the world Rupinder Khullar
for so many years, Rupinder Khullar shares with us his knowledge of its architecture and the arts that went into its
A GREAT WONDER OF THE WORLD
embellishment, in this splendid celebration of one of the world’s greatest monuments.
Introduction ~ Reeta Khullar Text ~ Dr. Thalia Kennedy
introduction Taj Mahal, the world’s best known tomb and also one of the most
Mahal symbolizes India.
eclectic creations of man, encapsulates a timeless love story of a
Everyone who visits the Taj, takes away his or her impressions
great emperor and his beautiful queen. When a grieving Shah
and experiences of the mausoleum. Innumerable romantic tales
Jahan, the fifth mughal emperor built this icon of white luminous
and colourful fantasies have been woven around it. Writers, poets,
marble as a tribute to his departed wife Mumtaz Mahal, it was
artists, photographers and avid travellers are drawn towards it time
more than just art and architecture; it was a great eulogy to sublime
and again. The smooth marble veneer of the Taj is responsive to
love.
every change or shift in light so that it acquires a different look
“Not architecture ! As all others are But the proud passion of an emperor’s love Wrought into living stone, which gleams and soars With body of beauty, shining soul and thought as when some face Divinely fair unveils before our eyes Some women beautiful unspeakably And the blood quickens and the spirit leaps And the will to worship bends the half yielded knees While breath forgets to breathe So is the Taj.” Sir Edwin Arnold
The evolution of Mughal architecture which began with the laying of Rambagh, a Persian charbagh (four square garden) by the first mughal emperor Babur in 1526, continued to flourish during the rule of Humayun, Akbar and Jahangir, till reaching its zenith in the pure and perfect Taj Mahal, the grandiose garden tomb, that still defies an apt description. Yet to people all over the globe, Taj
at different times of the day and during different seasons. The benign rays of the sun lend a soft purple hue to it at dawn which changes to a dazzling white during the harsh noon, appearing gloriously golden against the backdrop of the setting sun and divinely luminous on a moonlit light. Each season brings forth its own subtle variations and the clouds in the sky above create a quicksilver play of light and shadow during the rains.
In many ways, the changing face of the Taj and all
the architectural and artistic elements that contribute to its monumental presence epitomizes the glorious period of the great Mughals. When Jahangir died, his son Prince Khurram managed to claim the throne after a lot of bloodshed (as there was no rule of primogeniture in the Mughal dynasty) and took on the title of Shah Jahan or the ‘Conqueror of the World’, earlier bestowed on him by his father after a victorious military campaign. Shah Jahan ruled over a colossal empire, possessed immeasurable wealth and a loving companion in Mumtaz Mahal, the niece of Nur Jahan. Earlier named as Arjumand Bano, it was love at first sight for both after a chance meeting at Meena Bazar. After a
five year wait the two were united and Arjumand Bano became
Though Akbar was still in his teens when Humayun died, as a
Mumtaz Mahal or the ‘Exalted one of the Palace’, a title conferred
son he must have had some say in the design and planning of his
on her by none other than emperor Jahangir. She and Shah Jahan
final resting place. That influence found an echo in his favourite
were truly devoted and inseperable; she even accompanied him
grandson’s tribute to Mumtaz Mahal; hence the same square raised
during military campaigns. During one such fateful expedition
plinth, the garden and the huge dome. These elements were already
in Burhampur in south India in 1631, Mumtaz Mahal developed
part of the mughal style. What makes Taj Mahal an incomparable
complications and breathed her last following the birth of her
masterpiece was the harmonious way in which he combined these
fourteenth child, a girl. Her untimely death devastated Shah
architectural elements with his own awareness of the decorative
Jahan. Contemporary chroniclers have written exhaustively about
arts, and with a sense of proportion so exquisite that the result was
his irrevocable anguish at the sudden loss of a perfect soulmate
a perfect harmonious whole.
of nineteen years. The bereaved emperor, it is said, renounced
all worldly pleasures and tried to seek solace under the mantle of
long been considered as the immediate expression of the ruler”.
mourning.
Shah Jahan believed in the concept of centralized authority and
hierarchy to maintain balance and harmony, and he in a sense
When he emerged from the deep recesses of darkness and
“In the Islamic world architecture and the arts had
seclusion after two years, he was a changed man. Dressed in simple
remained “the architect of the workshop of empire and religion”,
white robes instead of his bejewelled costumes, his main mission
according to Ebba Koch.
in life was to fulfill his most loved one’s last desire. He would build
for her a most resplendent tomb, peerless in both concept and
that a highly skilled workforce of twenty thousand masons,
beauty, and one that would stun the world.
artists, labourers, carpenters, jewellers, inlay workers, sculptors,
mathematicians, draftsmen, brick layers, engineers came to live
From the ramparts of the Agra Fort, Shah Jahan’s
As work began on the construction site, it is estimated
discerning eye spotted a stretch of vacant land that lay within
at the site on the right bank of Yamuna in the southern part of
the curve of the languidly flowing Yamuna river. Its owner Raja
Agra. From a small settlement, it grew into a virtual city known
Jai Singh of Jaipur was generously rewarded and the site for the
as Mumtazabad after the queen whose body was brought from
ambitious garden tomb finally selected.
the garden of Zenabad in Burhanpur in south India and accorded
another temporary burial in 1632 close to the site. Shah Jahan
Building the burial chamber became an all consuming
passion for the melancholic monarch, involved as he was with
celebrated “Urs” at the grave on her death anniversary and amidst
every miniscule detail of the mammoth venture. He conceived the
solemn prayers, the foundation stone of the mausoleum was
Taj Mahal as the most magnificent building of all ages, and as the
laid. Work progressed as the cling clang of the hammer on stone
quintessential mausoleum for his departed queen. His expertise in
continued all through the day. A large area excavated was filled
planning, design, architecture, decorative arts, gems and his highly
with sediments to avoid seepage from the Yamuna, a colossal brick
developed aesthetic sensibilities, nurtured by the years he had spent
scaffolding was erected and a ten mile long ramp also came up to
at the courts of his father and grandfather were the “conceptual
facilitate transportation of raw materials at the site. White marble
force behind the venture”. The unceasing speculation regarding
came from Makrana in Rajasthan, yellow amber from Burma, lapis
the real architect of Taj Mahal notwithstanding, whosoever it was,
lazuli from Afghanistan, jade from China and a mind boggling
merely realized Shah Jahan’s vision into reality. Also undisputed is
variety of various precious stones and gems from different regions
the fact that it was the logical successor to a style of garden tomb
of India.
that had already been explored with Humayun’s tomb in Delhi.
Though Shah Jahan kept a close watch on every aspect of 16 17
tomb’s planning and implementation, coordinating the expertise
his new capital city of Shahjahanbad in Delhi in 1648. His son
of craftsmen of different guilds and managing the needs of so
Aurangzeb deposed him four years later and held him captive in
finial. The height exceeds the width by more then seventeen
many artisans and workers would have required organizational
Agra Fort till his death in 1966.
metres, which creates the impression of a building soaring
skills of an extremely high order. Ismail Afandi, a builder of
skywards. As you walk towards the tomb, almost as if in a trance,
domes and hemispheres from Turkey, Qasim Khan responsible
perhaps he had first conceived the magnificent masterpiece, he, it
there is a sense of “a delicately anchored bubble straining to break
for casting the solid gold finial to crown the dome, Chiranji Lal,
is believed, often looked out of the window to gaze longingly at the
free”.
the chief mosaicist, Ustad Isa, the plan drawer, Mir Abdul Karim
Taj across a bend of Yamuna.
and Makramat Khan, the construction supervisors and Amanat
Khan, the master calligrapher from Siraj are a few very important
a mosque, tiny shops and apartments, the main entrance to the
workmen who toiled incessantly to give shape to the Taj.
Taj Mahal is through a forecourt or a Jilaukhana which leads
to an imposing red sandstone gateway aesthetically inlaid with
Craftsmen worked on the marble surfaces until they
During the eight years of incarceration at the place where
Entering from a small gateway and passing through tombs,
resembled a piece of jewellery, incising, inlaying and carving
black and white marble motifs in floral and geographical designs
shallow relief motifs. Traditional geometric patterns and
and beautiful calligraphy. Amanat Khan, also responsible for the
innovative floral images were used to offset one another creating
calligraphy at Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandra, made use of a simple
arresting and beautiful visual juxtapositions that fascinate visitors
device of optical illusion and placed the koranic inscriptions
to this day. Each intricate detail was meticulously planned and
in such an ingenious manner, that they seem to be of the same
each portion of the decoration was placed in harmony with the
size from top to below for purposes of uniformity. While the
other elements of the whole. Taj is never dull. There is always
inscriptions add to the grandeur of the gateway, the monumental
something new to discover, no matter how often you visit the tomb.
portal with a height of about thirty metres, prepares the visitors for
It is this quality that gives it such an enduring allure.
the massive yet fragile edifice that comes into view as they emerge
from the portal.
The French traveller Tavernier, who was witness to both
the beginning and the culmination of the project, was of the
opinion that “of all the tombs of Agra, that of the wife of Shah
of the Taj makes it appear soft and illusionary in its breathtaking
Jahan is the most splendid”.
splendour. Also visible is the meticulously planned lush green
garden “evoking the gardens of paradise” laid out in the front like
The mausoleum was finally completed in 1643 and the
Seen across the length of the garden, one’s first impression
body of Mumtaz Mahal interred for the last time in the crypt below
a Persian charbagh (four quartered) with cypress trees, flowers,
the main chamber of the Taj. Prayers were offered and devotional
red sandstone pathways, water channels, fountains and a marble
music played as the Emperor bade a final farewell to his beloved
pond in the middle reflecting the Taj in all the pristine glory. “The
wife and returned to his royal apartments at the fort by boat in the
Persian garden was sacred ground, a tranquil oasis amidst the
manner he always did. Who could forecast then that he too would
furors of temporal life.” The tomb is at the garden’s northern end
be laid to rest alongside Mumtaz in the same chamber in 1666.
and not in its centre.
Taj Mahal, “ A vision of immortal love” took two years and
Each of the garden’s four sections are further subdivided
two decades to build at a phenomenal (by earlier standards) cost of
by smaller streams. The blue skies provide a perfect drop to Taj’s
fifty million rupees. After its completion, income generated from
mesmerizing white contours. This whole setting confires up an
bazars, caravanserais, revenue from villages and endowments were
image of paradise on earth. “Of all Mughal monuments, the
to be kept aside for the maintenance of the entire complex. Events
renowned Taj Mahal represents the continuing imperial fascination
happened in quick succession as Shah Jahan too shifted base to
with paradisiacal imagery”, writes Ebba Koch.
Beyond the garden, the Taj soars 74.2 metres upto the
“Only let this one tear drop, this Taj Mahal glisten spotlessly bright On the cheek of time for ever and ever… …..Oh king, you sought to harm time With the magic of beauty and weave a garland That would blend formless death with deathless form…. This mausoleum stands still and unmoving in its place Here on this dusty earth, it keeps death tenderly covered in the shroud of memory.” Rabindranath Tagore
Approaching further, the Taj which earlier appeared to be delicate and fragile now looks enormous. The square plinth seems to hold the dome in place, rooting it to the earth. At the four corners of the plinth are tapering three storeyed minarets which lead the eye upwards to the central dome. “The four minarets are like guards or anchors that keep the ethereal Taj earthbound”. The four facades of the tomb have main arches followed by smaller ones. The crowning glory of Taj is its ingeniously designed white bulbous dome which is actually a double dome. It nestles amidst four marble cupolas which lie above the central octagon. This structural device stands two hundred and twenty feet above the ground with the finial and provides a suitable and proportionate ceiling to the mortuary chamber while also allowing the outer shell to rise majestically into the sky. The idea of the double dome was first incorporated at Humayun’s Tomb, and then perfected at the Taj where each structural element supports and balances the entire edifice in an elegant manner. “The whole complex was designed proportionally according to geometrical grids which explains the perfect balance
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CHAPTER 6
THE YAMUNA, VILLAGE AND THE TAJ
“Designed to endure even beyond the end of the world, So long as the words flower and gardens remain, So long as there are residues of clouds and rain, May this grave be perpetually showered by divine mercy, And may the flower of His forgiveness, grow from its dust.” Kalim, Padshahnama
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