Taj Mahal, elegy of three lovers

by Panchamee Hewavissenti

On a full moon night, with a serene mind, sitting on the grass in front of one of the wonders in the world, your heart will throb with romance. You should feel it if you are a lover.

Taj Mahal, truly a citadel of love. It is worth visiting there at least once in your lifetime and give birth to your romantic feelings straight from your heart. Taj Mahal is an art of love.

When you are sitting and looking at the beautiful masterpiece your whole body will get chilled with the secrets buried under this wonderful mansion. Let yourself encage in to the true love which brought Taj Mahal in to existence.

Let your self feel that estrange sensations within you. Let the unknown energy of love penetrate in to your very being.

If I someone asks you who built the Taj Mahal you will doubtlessly say it was Shah Jehan. Shah Jehan was the emperor of India. He was not a sculptor. Read down the column you will know the true story of Taj Mahal.

Shah Jehan, the emperor of India, came to know about a Sufi mystic who embarked on India from Shiraz, Iran. He was called Shirazi because his he was from Shiraz. Shirazi was one of the greatest and famous architect from Shiraz. Shah Jehan had heard countless stories about that miraculous sculptor.

The sufi mystic plus architect was summoned by the emperor to his court to verify what the emperor had come to know. "I have heard that you can sculpt the whole body of a person by simply touching his or her hand without seeing face or body".

"Yes Your Majesty, why don't you let me prove my abilities? Put twenty five pretty women behind a screen and let their hands to be appeared to me out side the curtain. I'll touch their hands and choose a one. But, under one condition.

Whosoever I choose I will make an image without a single hair missing. If you're satisfied and won't be able to find any shortcoming in the semblance, you have to give her in marriage to me".

The emperor said "perfectly ok" and made arrangements to put twenty five slave girls behind a curtain. Shirazi went from the first one to the twenty fifth rejecting all. The emperor's playful daughter, just to play a joke with the sculptor, put out her hand from behind the curtain. shirazi gently touched the girl's hand.

He was overwhelmed with anew feeling. He closed his eyes for a while. Touched the hand once again and said to himself. "This is my hand. Yes, this is mine". And he slipped a ring through her finger to signify that. "If I succeed, she will be my wife for certain". He thought to himself.

The emperor and the ministers went behind the screen to see which of their slave girls was being chosen to be sculpted and to be his wife. The emperor was petrified seeing the girl whom the sculptor has put a ring.

He dragged his breath up and held it for a few minutes and released, but with a great burden in mind. "What has this girl done?" But the emperor instantly repelled his worries and drew a sigh of relief, because it was absolutely impossible for a man, how much ever he is talented, to make a statue of a woman merely by touching her hand.

Nearly three months Shirazi was confined to a room. He worked without distinguishing day and night. After three months Shirazi called upon the emperor and the ministers to make presence at the room. Once again the emperor was petrified with astonishment. He couldn't believe his very eyes.

The image was the replica of his daughter's. The emperor or any other person at the court couldn't pin point any single shortcoming of the semblance. The emperor tried his very best to find a fault, because he was not ready to give his daughter in marriage to a poor foreigner. He was helpless having no other option at his disposal. The emperor had to fulfil his promise.

He was entirely perturbed, and his pregnant wife Mumtaz Begam Mahal was far more disturbed and fell ill. While delivering the child, she died of agony. Emperor named the son Aurangzeb.

The emperor became so downcast and hopeless. He plunged in ceaseless imaginations in order to seek a way to save his daughter. When the emperor had no other way of solving the crucial matter, he fetched the sculptor and said, "Can't you understand that my daughter has just played a joke with you. It's not serious. It's an utter mistake.

Please try to understand my situation. The reason for my wife's demise is that she couldn't comply with the idea of her daughter getting married to a poor foreigner. I can't agree either, though I have pledged you".

The sculptor nodded his head and said "Your Majesty, why worry? You should have been informed me about this before. I could have gone back to my country. Your Majesty, forget about that".

Although the emperor didn't want to break the promise. Because it might harm the reputation of the emperor. Then the emperor said "I can't simply forget it, I am a king and can't change decisions I make at ant time I need. I can't just forget and ignore a promise that I have made as a responsible body of this state. You wait. Let me think".

The emperor urged his Prime Minister to seek a solution to this decisive matter. The Prime Minister suggested "Your Majesty, I may express my view on this. You do one thing. Your wife, the queen died and this man has proved a great artiste with marvellous talents.

Why don't your Majesty ask him to make a model of a tomb in the memory of your wife? Ask him to create a beautiful and unique tomb, the most beautiful and exclusive in the world. And tell him that you will get your daughter married to him, if you are satisfied and approve a model. What you have to do is to show dissatisfaction over all models. Then the problem is solved". The emperor agreed, "Ok I'll never approve any model". The matter was talked over with the sculptor and he showed his total agreement. The sculptor made many heart capturing and exclusive models. As the emperor and the Prime Minister discussed earlier, the emperor kept on saying 'no' to all.

The Prime Minister told the king "Your Majesty, if you keep on rejecting such elite and unique models like this, which I have never seen in my life, we will truly kick a good chance". The emperor raised his tone and said to the Prime Minister "You are the very one who ask me to reject all. So I did according to your word".

"Your Majesty, I have another solution for that. Leave that to me. I will take care of the sculptor". The Prime Minister was ready to play another 'card' to save the royal.

The Prime Minister rumoured around, particularly to the sculptor, "The girl, whom the sculptor had chosen, the king's daughter fell fatally sick and she died last week".

When the rumour reached the sculptor, he was finishing his last model. The sculptor became so frustrated and broken hearted. He brought the model to the emperor and said "I became so broken hearted upon hearing that the girl I chose fell ill and died. I will not be making any more models regardless you approve it or not. This is my last model".

The trick they played was that they rumoured that the king's daughter had died so that there was no need of marrying the girl. And the model was approved to be built. The model became Taj Mahal. It was created by a Sufi Iranian.

Taj Mahal still carries that charismatic energy of love with it. Mumtaj Mahal died because of her love for the daughter. Shah Jehan suffered because of the love for his wife. And Shirazi, the sculptor created the model because he underwent tremendous pain within himself for loosing the woman he had chosen to get married.

Out of great love and spiritual ecstasy, the world famous Taj Mahal stand in existence today spreading rays of love all over. It still carries the vibe. It is so special. It's not an ordinary monument.