TAJ
THE UNFORGETTABLE
TAJ
RUPINDER KHULLAR
rupinder khullar
Introduction REETA khullar
Enamoured by Taj’s pristine beauty and everchanging quicksilver quality, Rupinder Khullar has been shooting this magnificent mausoleum for several years. He has captured it from every conceivable angle, in different seasons of the year and at various times of the day. In this exclusive edition, he tries to capture the essence of this great wonder of the world.
THE UNFORGETTABLE THE UNFORGETTABLE TAJ
Rupinder Khullar has been clicking pictures with his prized Nikon ever since he was a teenager. Living amidst the scenic beauty of Uttaranchal’s capital Dehradun, he inherited this passion from his hobbyist photographer father, whom he often accompanied on his travels in the hills. A leading travel photographer for more than four decades, Rupinder Khullar has captured India’s art, architecture, cities, monuments, religions, people and natural wonders for four decades. His arresting and wide ranging body of travel photography has been published in many books and publications. Among them India: Land of Celebration, 1001 Images of Taj Mahal- A Great Wonder of the World. Flowering trees, Shrubs and Climbers of India, Enchanting India, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, Splendours of Rajasthan, Shri Harimandar Sahib and Divine Love-Images of Inner Joy: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. have been widely appreciated. He resides in New Delhi, with his family. His wife Reeta has been actively involved in all his books, besides authoring a few of them. She has also contributed articles and photo features on travel to various publications. She holds a masters in literature and mass communication.
In many ways, the changing face of the Taj and all the architectural and artistic elements that contribute to its monumental presence epitomize 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 Arjumand Bano, the niece of Nur Jahan. 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 Mumtaz Mahal or the ‘Exalted one of the Palace’, a title conferred on her by none other than emperor Jahangir. She and Shah Jahan were truly devoted and inseperable; she even accompanied him during military campaigns. During one such fateful expedition in Burhampur in south India in 1631, Mumtaz Mahal developed complications and breathed her last following the birth of her fourteenth child, a
Everyone who visits the Taj, takes away his or her impressions and experiences of the mausoleum. Innumerable romantic tales and colourful fantasies have been woven around it. Writers, poets, artists, photographers and avid travellers are drawn towards it time and again. The smooth marble veneer of the Taj is responsive to every change or shift in light so that it acquires a different look 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.
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 Mahal symbolizes India.
“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
aj Mahal, the world’s best known tomb and also one of the most eclectic creations of man, encapsulates a timeless love story of a great emperor and his beautiful queen. When a grieving Shah Jahan, the fifth mughal emperor built this icon of white luminous marble as a tribute to his departed wife Mumtaz Mahal, it was more than just art and architecture; it was a great eulogy to sublime love.
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INTRODUCTION
12
15.3 Qudsi
If you cherish a desire in your head, then come; For the morning breeze has never returned empty handed.
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Kalim, Padshahnama
Elaboration has been exhausted on it on so vast a scale, That for Speech there now remains no share.