Home

10%

Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal

Probably the most famous building in India

By Grant Cameron

January 22^nd, 2019

Delhi to Agra

I recently visited India on business, and took the opportunity to visit Agra, the site of probably the most famous building in India, the Taj Mahal.

As we left Delhi, the air quality index was showing a reading of 430, classified as “hazardous”, and one couldn’t see more than a few hundred meters ahead because of the hazy smog and pollution.

Thus, I was concerned that if Agra was similar, I may not get good photographs.

But I was fortunate. By afternoon (and distance) most of the haze had cleared.

Arrival

We entered the Taj complex via the West Gate (Fatehpuri Darwaza), and as we walked towards the Forecourt, the Main or Great Gate (Darwaza-I-Rauza) was to our left, and on our right was the southern wall and South Gate (Sidhi Daewaza).

First Glimpse

As we cleared the Fatehpuri gate courtyard we had our first tantalising glimpse of the dome of the mausoleum on our left, just rising above the main gate wall.

The Sidhi Daewaza is built of red sandstone and directly faces the imposing Great Gate.

It is aligned in perfect symmetry to the Great Gate as well as the Taj Mahal itself. Beyond the gates is the Taj Ganji, a bustling market that has existed since the time the monument was constructed.

The colossal "gateway to the Taj", with it's two-tone red-white appearance is built of marble and red sandstone with intricate floral inlay artwork and calligraphy.

It is 23 metres high and is also of perfect symmetry, crossed by two axes East-West and North-South.

The facade of the Great Gate is elevated above the door and is surmounted by a series of 11 identical and contiguous chhatris, forming a gallery, called a "guldastas".

Alignment

There is a perfect alignment all the way from the mausoleum building of the Taj Mahal from and through the Great Gate, into the Forecourt and on to the Sidhi Daewaza (south gate).

With almost 40,000 visitors daily, it is difficult to photograph the alignment from the south gate, but from in front of the Darwaza-I-Rauza, despite the volume of visitors, it can be clearly seen.

An optical illusion is created with this view, the Taj appearing much nearer and larger in size than it is.

Framed View

As we walk through the Great Gate, the Taj begins to appear in all its marble grandeur.

The wide View

And then, there it is, the view the whole world recognises from countless photographs. Such an impressive piece of architecture.

The building to the left in the photograph is the Mosque, in the western part of the complex, as Mecca lies in that direction.

To the right is the "false" Mosque, the counterpart necessary to produce overall symmetry in the complex and counterbalancing the Mosque. It is known as the "Guest House" or "Jawab".

Interesting fact: at the time of construction it is estimated to have cost around 32 million rupees to build the Taj Mahal. In today's money that is somewhere around US$ 1 billion.

It is Not a "Palace"

The Taj Mahal is not a palace.

It is in fact a white marble mausoleum, a symbol of eternal love, built by the the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favourite (third) wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who had borne him 13 children, ultimately dying in childbirth to the 14th.

The mausoleum also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself, the only non-symmetrical part of the entire complex, for this was only ever designed as the tomb for one person, his love.

Interesting fact: it took over 20,000 workers, comprising artisans, craftsmen, laborers, calligraphers, stone-cutters, painters and other craftsmen under the guidance of the court architect to build the complex.

From so many angles

It is almost impossible to stop taking photographs of this incredible monument, and I took many!

But for the purpose of this photo-essay, I have saved the viewer from boredom overkill, and am only displaying a small number of the images that I shot.

In all its Glory

Until the reality of actually seeing the Taj Mahal, one cannot begin to comprehend the incredible size of it.

I hope the below image begins to convey some idea of how really large and tall is the mausoleum building.

Some additional photographs follow (before we reach sunset), and with buildings that I have already described in this post.

Also illustrating, I hope, the volumes of visitors on a day that was supposedly a "quiet" day.

And more images.

Perhaps also a moment to ask viewers if they are aware of the Black Taj Mahal? If not, I hope I have intrigued you enough to do your own research.

People

As taken with the monument as I was, I could not fail to be impressed by how awed all visitors were, poor and wealthy alike.

I took many photographs of the Taj visitors, mostly Indians, and few foreign tourists, on the day I visited.

Again, so as not to bore the viewer, I post only a couple of shots of a lovely lady who kindly invited me to take her portrait. A beautiful woman and a colourful dress!

Late afternoon

Several hours were spent wandering around the complex on the banks of the Yamana river.

Time flew.

And then, suddenly, it was late afternoon, and the sun was about to set, changing the colours and the atmosphere.

As if to cap things off, a wonderful crescent moon appeared above one corner of the main Taj building.

The day is Ending . .

By now the sun was rapidly sinking.

Upon leaving, I was able to take some shots in the complex as the atmosphere and light rapidly changed, and went through a whole range of hues and amazing colours.

Let there be no doubt; this is clearly a monument to love.

My only sadness was that my wife was unable to join me on this trip.

Getting There

If you’ve visited some of my other blog posts, you will know that I normally give brief details of how to get to the subject of the post, along with a map and directions. In this case, however, one must first fly to India!

Instead, I’ve chosen to simply show a map of the “Golden Triangle”, with the Taj Mahal being in Agra, about 230 kms (three and a half hours) from Delhi.