Taj Mahal - A love poem in Marble

You knew, Shah Jehan, life and youth, wealth and glory, they all drift away in the current of time.

You strove, therefore, to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart…

Let the splendor of diamond, pearl, and ruby vanish like the magic shimmer of the rainbow.

Only let this one tear-drop, this Tajmahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever

O King, you are no more.

Your empire has vanished like a dream, your throne lies shattered…

your minstrels sing no more, your musicians no longer mingle their strains with the murmuring Jamuna…

Despite all this,

the courier of your love, untarnished by time,

unwearied, unmoved by the rise and fall of empires,

unconcerned with the ebb and flow of life and death,

carries the ageless message of your love from age to age: ‘Never shall I forget you, beloved, never.’

– By Rabindranath Tagore (translated by Kshitish Roy) from One Hundred and One Poems by Rabindranath Tagore (pp. 95-96
Background of the country

 Country that occupies the greater part of south Asia.

 constitutional republic consisting of 29 states.

 New Delhi is the capital of india.

 Second most populous country next in china.

 Seventh largest country area and most populous democracy in the world.

Taj Mahal

 means “Crown of Buildings”

 Located on the right bank of Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares.

 Built by Mughal emperor Sha Jahan in memory of his wife Muntaz Mahal.

 Constructions begin in 1632 AD and complete in 1648 AD.

 It has approximately 20000 workers work on it.

 28 kinds of semi-precious were used.

 White marble is the main building material.

 Ustad-Ahmad was the main architect of Taj Mahal.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

 Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali Rabīndranāth Ṭhākur, (born May 7, 1861, Calcutta [now Kolkata], India—died
August 7, 1941, Calcutta)

 Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose
and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models
based on classical Sanskrit.

 He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally
regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-century India.

 In 1913 he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

SHA JAHAN

 Shah Jahan (Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram) was one of the most successful emperors of the
Mughal Empire.

 He was the fifth Mughal ruler after Babur, Humayun, Akbar and Jahangir. After winning the war of
succession post the demise of his father Jahangir.

 Shah Jahan successfully ruled the empire for 30 years. During his reign, the Mughal Empire thrived,
making his reign the golden era of the empire.
 Though Shah Jahan was an able administrator and commander, he is best known for the construction of the Taj Mahal, which he built in the
memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Architecture in general saw the best of Mughal construction during his time.

 He is credited with constructing many beautiful monuments throughout the landscape of North India. Shah Jahan is also the founder of
Shahjahanabad in Delhi.

 She is also popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal.

 Shah Jahan fell in love with her and married her in 1612. After he came to the throne in 1628, he conferred the title, Mumtaz Mahal, on her
which means the “Jewel of the Palace” and she was his most favorite wife. She travelled everywhere with him, even during some of his military
campaigns.

 Unfortunately, Mumtaz died when she had their fourteenth child in 1631. Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal in memory of Mumtaz Mahal as a
tribute to their love and to fulfill her last wish. After his death in 1666, his body was buried in a tomb which was located next to his wife’s tomb.