Taj Mahal speaks for itself

No words can describe the monument in milky white marbel that rises with the sun rise in a pinky tone and changes to a golden glow with the sun set.

A wonder to the world,a wonder of the world situated in northern India. Taj mahal was built by none other than Shah Jahan once a great king of Agra who made it his capital met his queen Mumtaz and laid the foundation for a new kingdom in Agra.

Shah jahan was a grandson of Akbar the great who had in no lesser terms converted Rajastan to a kingdom by building a great palace there.

Akbar was a tolerent and benevolent king who had respected all religions, consulted the representatives of all faiths and walks of life to do his utmost to his subjects. The historical remains in Rajastan express his personal convictions in many ways than one.

Getting back to Shah Jahan we can call him a Warrior king. A soldier in battle as well as in love. Many were his conquests in battle but one in love. His queen Mumtaz herself would have been a great lover who stood by him in her short span of life. She not only was a dutiful and companion in all terms of the word and accompanied him where so ever he went even to the cruel and unpredictable battle field.

Going back to the days when necessities were luxuries we realize e neither Rajastan nor Agra were bare of such luxuries. The kings did not hesitate to consult experienced men of wisdom and learning. Both kingdoms proved to be absolutely well planned and secured.

There was no hesitation or vacillation when it came to decision making on matters of the head or heart. Probably they enjoyed both to the fullest, leaving behind ample proof of both. As mentioned earlier Taj Mahal speaks for itself. It has proved to the world even long afterwards that all is fair in war and love.

When Shah Jahan was in the battle field accompanied by his Mumtaz she developed labour pains for her fourteenth child. The king rushed to her side but she could not stand the strain and labour and breathed her last to the shock and bitter heart break of Shah Jahan.

This shock and loss ran through his veins that he kept away from all social and even administrative engagements and grew in years in a short time, turning frail and gray. It was then that he made the decision to erect a lasting monument, the greatest in India perhaps in the world to the memory of his beloved.

In the latter part of his life his whole concentration was on the building the monument, one to be unique and unmatched. He employed so many workmen engaged the best builders and designers.

He chose the best marble and gems and stones from India, neighboring states and even distant lands to make his dream a reality. He could view the structure from the windows of his palace as it was being built neglecting all other state functions. It is said he kept gazing at it each day and night as it came up like a piece of art more than a tomb.

They say it was his intention to erect a similar monument by its side in his own memort, in black marble contrasting with the beautiful white for his Mumtaz. The foundation of this is visible to this day.

His own son made him a prisnor in an apartment by the Great Taj Mahal where he could gaze at it as he wished while the son took over the affairs of the kingdom completely. There he was to his dying day,and laid to rest by the queen in the great Taj Mahal.

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz are gone physically but not completely and they’d never be so as long as Taj Mahal stands in all its splendor against the a vacant backgraoud of clouds, majestic and expressing feelings of an eternal love, a monument of love not only for India but the entire world as lovers pay homage to this great shrine of love.

- Courtesy: www.news.lk