The Taj Mahal Tour in India
For the people across the globe, the Taj Mahal, mausoleum of the Mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal, is one of the seven great wonders of the world. This majestic marble structure is a symbol of love and dedication as well as an architectural marvel created in India. The Taj is an epithet of Mughal Era and undoubtedly one of the most spectacular buildings of the world. More than a mere grave of Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved queen of Shahjehan; the Taj Mahal is a testimony of their mental bond. As a tomb, it is a matchless creation on earth, for the mortal remains have never been preserved immortally before this.
Everyone who comes closer to this monument in Agra can experience the aesthetic beauty of Taj Mahal. But, the manor veils in itself the great affair of Shahjehan and Mumtaz Mahal which stood the testing waters. The history behind this grand building goes like this. In 1612, Arjumand Banu Begam, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal was married to Shah Jehan (then Prince Khurram), the fifth Mughal Emperor. This marriage, although the emperor's second, was an ideal one as Mumtaz was her husband's inseparable soulmate who accompanied him in all his journeys and military expeditions. She was his comrade, his counsellor, and also involved him in the acts of charity and benevolence towards the downtrodden strata in the society. She gave birth to fourteen children and died in 1630 (only three years after his accession to the throne) during labour while giving birth to the fifteenth one in Burhanpur in the Deccan where she had accompanied him on a military campaign. Under extreme sorrow and pain, Shah Jehan made a determination to make her immortal in the memories of the future generations. Thus evolved the Taj Mahal - a monument of eternal love. By the efforts and pain of more than twenty thousand dexterous craftsmen, which persisted for twenty-two laborious years, the Taj Mahal was finally completed in 1648 on the banks on the river Yamuna in Agra, the then capital of Mughal Monarchs.
The origin of the name the "Taj Mahal" is yet not known. It is generally believed that "Taj Mahal" (in simple terms either "Crown Palace" or "Crown of the Palace") is an abbreviated version of the empress name, Mumtaz Mahal (Exalted One of the Palace). It is also said that after the construction of the monument the hand and legs of the craftsmen were amputated so as to make them immobile and incapable to make the conception of another Taj Mahal possible in the world. The one and only reality that rules and remains unchanged is the immortal existence of the eternal love between Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jehan even after their demise many centuries before.
