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Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Taj Mahal” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Taj Mahal

Essay No. 01

Brief Introduction of Agra—Agra is a grand old city which is famous in the world for the Taj Mahal, which is one of the wonders of the world. It is also famous for the imperial glory of Akbar the Great who followed a policy of national harmony and love and who propagated a new religion called Din-E-Ilahi which contained in it all the best principles of almost all the religions of the world. Agra is also famous for industries, for its beautiful gardens of the Mughals, for its narrow lanes, Old Bazars of the Mughal times, but at the same time for the famous marble items, leather goods, durries, carpets, iron foundries and for diesel engine pump sets and generator sets. Agra is situated on the banks of famous river—the Yamuna. Agra reminds us of the old settlements of the early Aryans, the Hindu kings and the imperial glory of the Mughals.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is situated on the right bank of the Yamuna river. It is towards the South of the City and is at distance of about 3 kms from Agra. The Taj Mahal, the most beautiful building of the world is made of white marble, in the loving memory of the Empress of India named Arjumand Bano Begum. She was the grand daughter of Mirza Giyas Beg who was later known as ltmaddaula and who was father of Noor Jahan, the wife of Prince Salim or Jahangir. The name of her father was Khwaja Abdul Hasan entitled as Yaminudaula Asaf Khan who was real brother of NoorJahan and was the Prime Minister of Jahangir’s court. She was persian by blood and was born on 6 April 1593 A.D. (14 Rajab 1001). She was very beautiful like Noor Jahan, from her early childhood, and was liked by Noor Jahan very much. Her father arranged for her education in royal family and she developed in her all the qualities and merits of a royal family. When she became young, she attracted Prince Khurram (Shahjahan) and both of them started loving each other.

Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal were inseparable lovers and it is clear from the incident that when Shah Jahan had to go to suppress a rebellion of Khan-e-Jahan Lodi at Burhanpur in the Deccan, then Mumtaz was also at the site of Shah Jahan in Burhanpur in that Campaign. During same time she gave birth to her fourteenth child Gauhar Ara Begum and fell seriously ill. It is said that at the time of her death, Mumtaz Mahal expressed her last word to the Royal Emperor ShahJahan that he will build a beautiful monument over her grave as a token of their worldly inseparable love. One of the court historians of ShahJahan has narrated the incident that at the time of the death of Mumtaz Mahal, princess Jahan Ara called her father to her mother’s death bed. ShahJahan on hearing of this sad news was greatly upset at the bed side of his life long companion and became restless and agitated. This noble queen weepingly bade farewell to her Royal spouse and expressed her final wish. Till her last breath she requested to the king for his kindness and compassion to the children and royal consideration towards her parents. And thus after giving responsibility of the care of Shah Jahan to the elder daughter Jahan Ara. Mumtaz Mahal expired on Tuesday June 1631 and left ShahJahan alone

After death of Mumtaz(the Lady of the Taj) ShahJahan could not bear this great loSs of his dear wife and his health began to decline. For complete two years he abstained himself from all kinds of pleasures and functions. On each Friday. ShahJahan used to go to her grave on foot in white dress to read Fatiha accompanied by his courtiers.

The natural remains of Mumtaz Mahal were given a temporary last rituals (Amanat) in the building which was situated inside garden at Zainabad opposite of Burhanpur on the other side of the River Tapti in the month of June 1631. On 15th of June 1631 (on Thursday) the Emperor crossed River Tapti and went to the grave and shed oceans of tears on her grave. He read Fatiha prayers and on his return, distributed alms etc. for the heavenly peace departed soul. On 1st December, 1631 A.D. the dead body was brought to Agra, accom-panied by various VIP’s like Shuja, Nawab Wazir Khan and the most beloved friend cum secretary of Mumtaz Mahal Sitiu Nesa Khanam. All along this journey alms in cash, food and clothes were distributed freely to the poor as per Shahjahan’s wishes. The site which was selected for the permanent grave of the queen was a lofty mansion of Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur situated towards the South of the city. As per Islamic relegious rules he was granted some other lofty residence in exchange the dead body reached Agra on 29th December 1631 AD and was again buried temporarily under a temporary structure in the north corner of the garden on the bank of River the Yamuna. The Emperor announced a memorial to be built for his dear wife and invited designes from the famous architects of the world. So many designs were put before the emperor but ultimately the design of Ustad Isa Afandi of Turkey was selected and the construction of the Taj started.

The main building material of the white marble of top quality was brought from Makrana–a well known place in Nagaur District of Rajasthan.

The other material such as red stone, was brought from Dholpur and Fatehpur Sikri. The yellow and black marble was brought from Narbads and Charkh respectively. Some precious stones. gold and silver were received from various kings and chief dignitaries of the empire and from abroad. Besides all these materials, some other materials were brought fl’om far-far off lands. There are so many views among the historians regarding the cost of construction of the Taj Mahal was three crore. It is said that this cost included in it the Mausoleum and its adjacent buildings. It can be assumed in the absence of any authentic account, that the cost of construction of the Taj was between Rs. Fifty Lakh to Rs. Six crore. But it is clear from the Badshahnama that 30 villages from the pragna of Mofussil Agra bearing a sum of Rs one Lakh.

The construction work started in the month of December 1631 A.D. of and it came to a finish in the year 1648. But the French Treyeller Jean Baptests Traverner who claims to have witnessed the commencement and the completion of it writes that it took twenty two years to build the Taj and nearly twenty thousand labourers worked on it. But the court historians of Shahjahan Abdul Hamid Lahori and Mohd. Salim Kambhu have narrated that the Mausoleum and the auxiliary buildings were completed by February 1643 A. D. However the main building took at least 12 years to complete. After the construction of the main building the other buildings surrounding the Taj and Taj Gardens were taken up. Not only this, but some adjacent buildings were also erected in which the mosque towards the west, another buildings named Jamat Khanna towards the east a big boundary like huge platform towards river Yamuna and very big three storeyed entrance gate took another five years. Further the mosque in the front and some other smaller building took another five years. Thus, in the total, the Taj took 22 long years in its completion; it is said that twenty two small domes on the main entrance gate of the Taj described twenty two years spent in the construction of the Taj.

Taj First Anniversary—On the occasion of the first anniversary of Mumtaz Mahal ShahJahan ordered for an Urs to be celebrated. As per the orders of the emperor, the attendent of the household, set up some huge and lofty tents with golden strings and curtains alongwith costly carpets. The emperor himself the court nobles, mansabdars the leading personalities of the city the holy people, the learned ones, the Huffaz—those who knew Quran by heart participated in the celebration. The ladies of the house and envoy from Iran attended the Urs and read Fatiha for the forgiveness of the departed soul. A beautiful feast organised to the assembly with betalsand scents out of Rs. 1 lakh of which a part was put for charitable deeds. About Rs. 50,000 were spent in distributing the alms to the poor and the needy. At the conclusion of this was all the lady members of the royal family alongwith other elite ladies went around the grave of Mumtaz Mahal and held a meeting. The remaining sum of Rs. 50,000 was distributed as alms to the needy pious and the deserving females. The Emperor declared that on every yearly death anniversary a sum of Rs. 50,000 will be distributed among the deserving masses. It was also declared that Rs. 12,000 would be distributed while he was away from the capital.

The Southern Gate of Taj (Tomb of the Maid of Honour)-The gate is towards the South which faces the old Mumtazabad—Modern Tajganj. It is meant for the pedestriains or the pedlers only. On the right side of this gate is a Tomb of red stone which is surrounded by courtyards and crowned with a dome. It is said that there is a grave of one lady campanion of Mumtaz Mahal due to this reason this building is called as the tomb of a Maid of Honour. It stands on an elevated square measuring 156 feet each way. In the central chamber, there are two unscribed tomb of marble stone. The platform of the building is octagonal and the cupola is turnip shaped. No historian has given account of these graves yet they agree with the possibility that these graves may belong to the personal attendants of Mumtaz Mahal. Just opposite this building there is red stone edifice of the same type.

The Eastern Gate (Sirhi Darwaza)-This gate faces towards Fatehabad. There is domed tomb erected on an elevated platform near this gate. This tomb was built in the memory of another wife of Shahjahan called Sirhindi Begum. Due to this the gate is known as Sirhi Darwaza. This main building is eight sided having twenty four arches a big hall and a verandah.

The Western Gate—It is the main entrance gate of the Taj Mahal and this gate faces towards Agra Cantonment and Agra city. There is red sand stone edifice outside this gate which is known as Fatehpuri Masjid, which was constructed in the memory of Fatehpuri Begum another wife of Shahjahan. It is erected on a beautiful terrace. The courtyard is paved and its measure-ments are 103 feet by 55 feet. Some 175 to 200 persons can perform Namaj in it.

After the entering the huge gate there is a beautiful tomb of Sit-Num-Nisan on the left side. She was also the governess of Jahan Ara Begum the beloved daughter of Shahjahan who spent her days and lonely nights after her father’s death. Sit-nu-Nisan was a childless widow and after the death of Mumtaz Mahal she had gone to Lahore. She died in the year 1648 AD in Lahore and after her death her body was brought to Agra in 1749 AD to be buried in the Taj complex as per the last wish of Mumtaz. This tomb was built by Shah Jahan with white marble at an expense of Rs. 3000/- only. The tomb is beautifully paved with marble. In the centre hall of this dome, the grave of Sit-nu-Nisan is situated with beautiful and colourful paintings on the wall and the ceiling.

After passing this western gate, there comes a big courtyard a carved open square which now serves as the space for parking cars. It is called Jilan Khana to the Forecourt.

The Gateway to the Taj Mahal-The majestic entrance gateway of red sand stone is beautiful monument in itself. This gateway is an octagonal entrance hall surrounded by small rooms on both the sides in the floors having beautifully ornamented gates on two sides, one opening towards the courtyard side and the other towards the Mausoleum itself. On the three sides of this gateway, there are strong balconies. The gate is a master piece of fine inlay work itself. The profuse inlay work the red sandstone surface and black marble on white marble surface gives a charming look to the whole structure. Some Quranie texts are inscribed in black letters. These Quranic verses do not appear bigger at the bottom than they are at the top. On the top there is a row of white marble cupolas and the corners are crowned by open domed kiosks. During the reign of ShahJahan it was built of silver with a cost Rs. 1,27000. This door had eleven hundred nails studded with one silver rupee on each nail top. It is said that this door was looted by the Jats of Bharatpur during their reign and was melted. Later, the door made of bronze was fitted by the English.

The elevated roof inside the entrance gate is painted with pink in the blue colour. In the centre there is beautiful brass lamp of Egyptian style. It was presented by Lord Curzon in 1906 A.D. who brought from Egypt. It was prepared by an Egyptian designer named Todras Badir. Towards the left side of this entrance hall there is the Taj Museum where so many paintings of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and some original documents and Farmans pre-sented among these paints are very famous which are taken from the Persians Epic ShahNama of Firdausi. There are portraits of the lady of the Taj and

ShahJhan. In some other exhibits an interesting manuscript of the Chihl Majlis contains the sight of ShahJahan under the Royal seat. Further more some jade and procelain objects too are exhibited here.

 The Taj Garden—From the main entrance gate, a few steps ahead there is the Taj garden. The gardens in the Taj were designed by Ali Musadaf Khan who was a noble in Mughal Court.

Fountains and running channels of water with large reservoirs are typical of three garden designs. Water was drawn up from the river Yamuna by a system of buckets dipping into the river and conveying water up by a chain drawn by the bullocks and by camel of power. The river water was collected in some big reservoirs on the top of the rooms situated in the middle of the garden walls on both sides of the Taj enclosure. From these artificial reservoirs on the walls, water was taken through iron pipes to the fountains and the running water channels.

The Tomb Beneath—The tomb or graves of the Empress Mumtaz Mahal and Emperor ShahJahan are situated below the main dome on a platform of (10, 5 x 6.5 x 1.5) feet 10.5 feet long, 6.5 feet broad and 1.5 feet high 3 feet wide and 2.75 feet high. On this cenotaph is written in black letters. The words are inscribed like this. This Tomb of Arjumand Bani Begum called Mumtaz Mahal died in the year 1040 Hijiri (1631 A.D.) The Hurs of the heaven came down to greet her and the Angels on date of her death said “In the Heaven may always be Mumtaz seated.”

About 5 inches apart the western side has the grave of the Emperor ShahJahan which was built by son Aurangzeb. Its platform is 11.5 feet long 7.5 feet side and 2 feet high. The cenolaph slab over the platform is 7 feet long. 3.25 feet broad and 3 feet high which is little higher than that of the Empress the inscription on it is like this “The Mauseoleum of the Most Exalted Majesty living in his abode in paradise—the second Lord of constellation may ever flourish. Here lies ShahJahan Emperor called Firdause Ashyani (a dweller in Paradise) who was born when Jupiter and Venus were in heaven. He passed away from the world on the night of 28 of the month of Rajab 1076 Hijri. Just below these graves there is a chamber where the actual graves are situated.

The Taj Screen—Along the cenotaphs there is a beautiful screen on an enclosure of eight sides 6.25 feet high and each site of the screen being 12.5 feet in length. The emperor employed, Saida of Gilan entitled Bibadal Khan who was in the royal service as the chief of the Goldsmith Establishment of ShahJahan. He prepared a railing of gold, in about May 1633 A.D. with Willi 3 inscription of horns and floral designs and worked in rare enamel in which 40,000 total of gold was used costing about Rs. 6 lakhs. This garden railing was replaced in 1642 A.D. when the entire complex was completed and exquisitely furnished marble screen was completed at the cost of Rs. 50,000 and which took 10 yrs. in its completion. Likewise, a covering of pearl strings worth several lakhs of rupees used to be placed over the grave of Mumtaz Mahal on every Friday or on her death anniversary day.

The Taj Mixture of Hindu and Persian Art—There is a perfect fusion of Indian and Persian architecture. It is worth mentioning here that Ustad Isa Afandi and his pupil Ustad Ahamed Paras were of Persian origin but both of them were Indian at the same time as they were converted to Islam as depicted by Mr. B. L. Dharma who were residing at Agra or Delhi. Thus it may be said that the exterior of the Taj is Persian yet the soul in it is Indian. It is an established fact that the designers and architects of the Taj were known Hindu artisans.

It is historical well known fact that the mughal Emperors were under Hindu influence as they had matrimonial relations with the Hindus. The mother of Jahangir Jodhabai and that of ShahJahan was the daughter of Raja Udai Singh of Marwar. Thus the imperial mothers had a full influence upon their children—the future emperors of India. Their mothers were the worshippers of five Gods namely Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh (Lord Shiva), Ganesh and Suraj related respectively to water, air, ether, earth and fire. Thus, the compositions of these five basic elements is applied to Shilpa Shasha, than it is called Panch Prasad. Apparently the Taj Mahal with its four corner minarets and the main building in the middle is Of the Panch Prasd type and is purely Indian.

Some Opinions on the Taj Mahal—The Taj is one of the wonders of the world. It has been visited by countless people of the world. Every foreigner who came to India either as a traveller or as a politician or businessman visits Agra particularly; the Taj is the only building of the world which has been spoken of and written about in the world. Thus various world dignitaries, politicians, travellers and authors have depicted their respective opinions in various ways.

Samuel Smith a member of the British Parliament depicts “No words can describe it—-No such effect is produced by the first view of St. Peter’s Mulan or Cologul Cathederals, they are all majestic but the Taj is enhancement itself.”

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales remerked Most writers who have tried their hands at the description of the Taj admit that is indescriable.

Mr. MG Forest has described about the Taj in these words ‘It is unlike unto one of these daugters of God who were most divinely fair.’ So pure so glorously perfect did it appear to us.

Holy and profanemen poets, prosers and practical people all write about the Taj in the same strain Too pure too splendid work of human hands’ a poem in the marble’ Lord Robert praised it by saying I will not attempt to describe the indescriable. To those who have not already seen it, I will say then to go to India, the Taj is alone well worth the Journey. The Taj is so superbly beautiful that even the most satisfied and the most influential leaders work to die to have a Taj on their graves. Major General Syleeman has written in his book Rambles and Recollections I asked my wife when she had gone over it what she thought of the building “I can not” said she “tell you I think for I know now how to criticise such a building but what I feel I would die tomorrow to have such another over me.”

Opening of Taj in Moonlit Night—The Supreme Court in landmark ruling. on 7th October 2004 ordered to open the Taj in moonlit night. The Honourable Court has also made provision that only a group of 50 people will be allowed to enter the Taj in one go. These tourists will have to go through the metal detector and X-ray machines fitted at the entrance gate. The verdict came after U.P. Solicitor General Ashok Desai presented a detailed report with regard to its environment around it. Each group of tourists comprising 50 people will have to appreciate and stay in Taj Mahal for half an hour. Each tourist have to purchase a ticket costing Rs. 1,000 for the enjoyment of moonlit night in Taj. On Friday and on the occasion of Urse and during Ramzan, the Taj will remain closed at night. But on the occasion of every Purnima, two days before Purnima and two day after Purnima Taj will remain open. In return to this gift to the people the S.C. has demanded the assurance from the State Government and authorities regarding the security of Taj. According to verdict Taj will be opened for General Public five days in month.

 

Essay No. 02

The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world. The Taj Mahal is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. The Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble.

The Taj Mahal was built by the Muslim emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his dear w4e and queen Mumtaz Mahal, at Agra, in India. The Taj Mahal stands on the bank of river Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the great Red Fort of Agra, the centre of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637.

The Taj Mahal rises on a high red sandstone base topped by a huge white marble terrace on which rests the famous dome flanked by four tapering minarets. The garden of Taj Mahal contains a green carpet of grass and a Persian garden runs from the main gateway to the foot of the Taj Mahal.

The purity of the white marble, the exquisite ornamentation, and Precious gemstones were used, and its picturesque location, all makes the Taj Mahal a place among the most popular ones. However, unless and until one knows about the love story behind the Taj Mahal of India, it will come up as just a beautiful building. But, the love behind this outstanding monument, is what has given a special life to this monument.

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