June 7,
1631
[Sources
differ as to date.] While on a campaign with her husband (Shah
Jahan, Mughal
Emperor of India), Mumtaz
Mahal (born Arjumand
Banu Begam), died.
The Taj Mahal,
described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath
Tagore as “a tear on the face of eternity”, is often said to be
one of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World, and is her tomb. The grand Taj Mahal
stands as a monument to the love of a man for a woman.
As she lay on her deathbed, it is said that Mumtaz
whispered to Jahan a dying wish for him to build a monument that would
express the beauty of their love for each other. Stricken with grief,
Shah Jahan remained indoors for a week; when he emerged his hair had
turned white, his back was now bent, and his face lined with despair. He
ordered his entire kingdom into mourning for the next two years, and it is said he was inconsolable to the point of
contemplating abdication in favour of his sons.
Some believe the great building was
designed by Geronimo Verroneo, an Italian in service to the Mughal
(Moghul) Empire,
and certainly many European craftsmen were among the 20,000 workers who
worked on the tomb, bringing with them Renaissance skill and vision –
not that the Moghul culture was lacking in either skill or vision.
Craftsmen from as far as Turkey came to join in the work. However,
evidence suggests that the architect was a Persian, Ustad Isa Khan
Effendi, with the detailed work being undertaken by his pupil, Ustad
Ahmad, and the dome being designed by Ismail Khan.
The tomb is higher than a modern 20-storey building
and was 22 years in construction. Highest quality marble was quarried
for the project, at Makrana near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, and precious
stones were imported from distant countries to decorate the edifice. A
ramp about 3 kilometres (approximately 2 miles) long was built to lift
material up to the level of the dome.
We are familiar with the tomb’s magnificent
exterior, but also it was fitted with sumptuous and precious furnishings and
decorations, some of which have been looted in succeeding centuries – in
1720, a sheet of pearls that covered the sarcophagus was carried off by Amir
Husein Ali Khan, and two large silver doors to the entrance were tragically
looted and melted down by Suraj Mal in 1764. It might be said that the pillage
of the Taj continues unabated, as today acid rain from nearby Western-style
industry erodes the wonder’s white marble.
On completion of this architectural masterpiece,
Shah Jahan ordered the right hand of the chief mason to be cut off in order
that the masterpiece of devotion to his beloved Arjumand could never be recreated. Or, so it is said.
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