The Taj is often called “A Dream in Marble” and is situated on the banks of the Yamuna (Often spelt Jamuna) River about 3 kms south of the city of Agra. The main building material is top quality white marble brought from Makrana, in Rajasthan. It is said that over 200 bullock carts arrived every day to ensure the craftsmen had sufficient marble on which to work.
Construction of the Taj Mahal began in December 1631 and was concluded in 1648, a period of twenty-two years, employed 20,000 craftsmen at a cost of 32 million Rupees – goodness knows what that would be a today’s prices! The master architect was Ustad ‘Isa Afandi of Turkey but thought to be of Persian origin. Expert craftsmen from Delhi, Qannauj, Lahore and Multan were employed as well as many Muslim master craftsmen from Baghdad, Shiraz and Bukhara worked on the more specialised tasks.
The Taj stands on a raised platform (186 x186 feet) with its four corners truncated to form an unequal octagon. I was told that this is part of careful planning to ensure that should the Taj suffer an earthquake the turrets would fall away from the central dome.
The architectural design is based upon the ‘interlocking arabesque concept’, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry of elements. Its central dome is 58 feet in diameter and rises to a height of 213 feet and is flanked by four smaller domed chambers. The four graceful and slender minarets are 162.5 feet tall and perfectly in alignment from any perspective.
The entire Mausoleum – inside as well as outside – is decorated with inlaid designs of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The most delicate flowers – and considered to be the most difficult to perfect – are poppies and reserved for the outer decoration of the graves.
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