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rief Description
Brief synthesis
The Taj Mahal is located on the right
bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly
17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. It was built by
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with
construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the
mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer
courtyard and its cloisters were added subsequently and completed in
1653 AD. The existence of several historical and Quaranic inscriptions
in Arabic script have facilitated setting the chronology of Taj Mahal.
For its construction, masons, stone-cutters, inlayers, carvers,
painters, calligraphers, dome builders and other artisans were
requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from the Central
Asia and Iran. Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the main architect of the Taj
Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is considered to be the
greatest architectural achievement in the whole range of Indo-Islamic
architecture. Its recognised architectonic beauty has a rhythmic
combination of solids and voids, concave and convex and light shadow;
such as arches and domes further increases the aesthetic aspect. The
colour combination of lush green scape reddish pathway and blue sky over
it show cases the monument in ever changing tints and moods. The relief
work in marble and inlay with precious and semi precious stones make it
a monument apart.
The uniqueness of Taj Mahal lies in some
truly remarkable innovations carried out by the horticulture planners
and architects of Shah Jahan. One such genius planning is the placing of
tomb at one end of the quadripartite garden rather than in the exact
centre, which added rich depth and perspective to the distant view of
the monument. It is also, one of the best examples of raised tomb
variety. The tomb is further raised on a square platform with the four
sides of the octagonal base of the minarets extended beyond the square
at the corners. The top of the platform is reached through a lateral
flight of steps provided in the centre of the southern side. The ground
plan of the Taj Mahal is in perfect balance of composition, the
octagonal tomb chamber in the centre, encompassed by the portal halls
and the four corner rooms. The plan is repeated on the upper floor. The
exterior of the tomb is square in plan, with chamfered corners. The
large double storied domed chamber, which houses the cenotaphs of Mumtaz
Mahal and Shah Jahan, is a perfect octagon in plan. The exquisite
octagonal marble lattice screen encircling both cenotaphs is a piece of
superb workmanship. It is highly polished and richly decorated with
inlay work. The borders of the frames are inlaid with precious stones
representing flowers executed with wonderful perfection. The hues and
the shades of the stones used to make the leaves and the flowers appear
almost real. The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is in perfect centre of the
tomb chamber, placed on a rectangular platform decorated with inlaid
flower plant motifs. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is greater than Mumtaz
Mahal and installed more than thirty years later by the side of the
latter on its west. The upper cenotaphs are only illusory and the real
graves are in the lower tomb chamber (crypt), a practice adopted in the
imperial Mughal tombs.
The four free-standing minarets at the
corners of the platform added a hitherto unknown dimension to the Mughal
architecture. The four minarets provide not only a kind of spatial
reference to the monument but also give a three dimensional effect to
the edifice.
The most impressive in the Taj Mahal
complex next to the tomb, is the main gate which stands majestically in
the centre of the southern wall of the forecourt. The gate is flanked on
the north front by double arcade galleries. The garden in front of the
galleries is subdivided into four quarters by two main walk-ways and
each quarters in turn subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways,
on the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden. The enclosure
walls on the east and west have a pavilion at the centre.
The Taj Mahal is a perfect symmetrical
planned building, with an emphasis of bilateral symmetry along a central
axis on which the main features are placed. The building material used
is brick-in-lime mortar veneered with red sandstone and marble and inlay
work of precious/semi precious stones. The mosque and the guest house
in the Taj Mahal complex are built of red sandstone in contrast to the
marble tomb in the centre. Both the buildings have a large platform over
the terrace at their front. Both the mosque and the guest house are the
identical structures. They have an oblong massive prayer hall consist
of three vaulted bays arranged in a row with central dominant portal.
The frame of the portal arches and the spandrels are veneered in white
marble. The spandrels are filled with flowery arabesques of stone
intarsia and the arches bordered with rope molding.
Criterion (i): Taj
Mahal represents the finest architectural and artistic achievement
through perfect harmony and excellent craftsmanship in a whole range of
Indo-Islamic sepulchral architecture. It is a masterpiece of
architectural style in conception, treatment and execution and has
unique aesthetic qualities in balance, symmetry and harmonious blending
of various elements.
Integrity
Integrity is maintained in the
intactness of tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the whole Taj
Mahal complex. The physical fabric is in good condition and structural
stability, nature of foundation, verticality of the minarets and other
constructional aspects of Taj Mahal have been studied and continue to be
monitored. To control the impact of deterioration due for atmospheric
pollutants, an air control monitoring station is installed to constantly
monitor air quality and control decay factors as they arise. To ensure
the protection of the setting, the adequate management and enforcement
of regulations in the extended buffer zone is needed. In addition,
future development for tourist facilities will need to ensure that the
functional and visual integrity of the property is maintained,
particularly in the relationship with the Agra Fort.
Authenticity
The tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate
and the overall Taj Mahal complex have maintained the conditions of
authenticity at the time of inscription. Although an important amount of
repairs and conservation works have been carried out right from the
British period in India these have not compromised to the original
qualities of the buildings. Future conservation work will need to follow
guidelines that ensure that qualities such as form and design continue
to be preserved.
Protection and management requirements
The management of Taj Mahal complex is
carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India and the legal
protection of the monument and the control over the regulated area
around the monument is through the various legislative and regulatory
frameworks that have been established, including the Ancient Monument
and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and Rules 1959 Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and
Validation); which is adequate to the overall administration of the
property and buffer areas. Additional supplementary laws ensure the
protection of the property in terms of development in the surroundings.
An area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj
Mahal is defined to protect the monument from pollution. The Supreme
Court of India in December, 1996, delivered a ruling banning use of
coal/coke in industries located in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and
switching over to natural gas or relocating them outside the TTZ. The
TTZ comprises of 40 protected monuments including three World Heritage
Sites - Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
The fund provided by the federal
government is adequate for the buffer areas. The fund provided by the
federal government is adequate for the overall conservation,
preservation and maintenance of the complex to supervise activities at
the site under the guidance of the Superintending Archaeologist of the
Agra Circle. The implementation of an Integrated Management plan is
necessary to ensure that the property maintains the existing conditions,
particularly in the light of significant pressures derived from
visitation that will need to be adequately managed. The Management plan
should also prescribe adequate guidelines for proposed infrastructure
development and establish a comprehensive Public Use plan.
Long Description
The Taj Mahal, an immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. It no doubt partially owes its renown to the moving circumstances of its construction. Shah Jahan, in order to perpetuate the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631, had this funerary mosque built. The monument, begun in 1632, was finished in 1648; unverified but nonetheless, tenacious, legends attribute its construction to an international team of several thousands of masons, marble workers, mosaicists and decorators working under the orders of the architect of the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahori.Situated on the right bank of the Yamuna in a vast Mogul garden of some 17 ha, this funerary monument, bounded by four isolated minarets, reigns with its octagonal structure capped by a bulbous dome through the criss-cross of open perspectives offered by alleys or basins of water. The rigour of a perfect elevation of astonishing graphic purity is disguised and almost contradicted by the scintillation of a fairy-like decor where the white marble, the main building material, brings out and scintillates the floral arabesques, the decorative bands, and the calligraphic inscriptions which are incrusted in polychromatic pietra dura. The materials were brought in from all over India and central Asia and white Makrana marble from Jodhpur. Precious stones for the inlay came from Baghdad, Punjab, Egypt, Russia, Golconda, China, Afghanistan, Ceylon, Indian Ocean and Persia. The unique Mughal style combines elements and styles of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture.
The Darwaza, the majestic main gateway, is a large three-storey red sandstone structure, completed in 1648, with an octagonal central chamber with a vaulted roof and with smaller rooms on each side. The gateway consists of lofty central arch with two-storeyed wings on either side. The walls are inscribed with verses from the Qu'ran in Arabic in black calligraphy. The small domed pavilions on top are Hindu in style and signify royalty. The gate was originally lined with silver, now replaced with copper, and decorated with 1,000 nails whose heads were contemporary silver coins.
The Bageecha, the ornamental gardens through which the paths lead, are planned along classical Mughal char bagh style. Two marble canals studded with fountains, lined with cypress trees emanating from the central, raised pool cross in the centre of the garden, dividing it into four equal squares. In each square there are 16 flower beds, making a total of 64 with around 400 plants in each bed. The feature to be noted is that the garden is laid out in such a way as to maintain perfect symmetry. The channels, with a perfect reflection of the Taj, used to be stocked with colourful fish and the gardens with beautiful birds.
The Taj Mahal itself, situated in the north end of the garden, stands on two bases, one of sandstone and above it a square platform worked into a black and white chequerboard design and topped by a huge blue-veined white marble terrace, on each corner there are four minarets. On the east and west sides of the tomb are identical red sandstone buildings. On the west is the masjid (mosque), which sanctifies the area and provides a place of worship. On the other sides is the jawab, which cannot be used for prayer as it faces away from Mecca. The rauza, the central structure or the mausoleum on the platform, is square with bevelled corners. Each corner has small domes while in the centre is the main double dome topped by a brass finial. The main chamber inside is octagonal with a high domed ceiling. This chamber contains false tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, laid to rest in precise duplicates in a. Both tombs are exquisitely inlaid and decorated with precious stones, the finest in Agra.
The Taj Mahal's pure white marble shimmers silver in the moonlight, glows softly pink at dawn, and at close of day reflects the fiery tints of the setting Sun. From an octagonal tower in the Agra Fort across the River Yamuna, Shah Jahan spent his last days as a prisoner of his son and usurper to the empire, Aurangzeb, gazing at the tomb of his beloved Mumtaz.
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