The Taj has been closed to tourists at night for 20 years.

Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal in Agra is indisputably the most famous example of Mughal architecture. Described
by Rabindranath Tagore as "a tear on the face of eternity", it is in popular imagination a veritable
"wonder of the world".
The white-splendored tomb was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his favourite wife,
Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal ("Chosen of the Palace"). She married Shah
Jahan in 1612 to become his second wife and inseparable companion, and died in childbirth at
Burhanpur while on a campaign with her husband in 1629. Shah Jahan was, it is said, inconsolable to
the point of contemplating abdication in favour of his sons. The court went into mourning for over two
years; and Shah Jahan decided to commemorate the memory of Mumtaz with a building the like of
which had never been seen before.
The dead queen was brought to Agra and laid to rest in a garden on the banks of the Jamuna river. A
council of the best architects was assembled to prepare designs for the tomb. Though some attribute
the design to Geronimo Verroneo, an Italian in the Mughal service, evidence suggests that it was
designed by Ustad Isa Khan Effendi, a Persian, who assigned the detailed work to his pupil Ustad
Ahmad. The dome was designed by Ismail Khan.
The tomb which is higher than a modern 20-storey building took 22 years to complete with a
workforce of 20,000. Craftsmen from as far as Turkey came to join in the work. The marble was
quarried at Makrana near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Precious stones were imported from distant lands. A
two mile ramp was built to lift material up to the level of the dome. It is alleged that on its completion,
Shah Jahan ordered the right hand of the chief mason to be cut off so that the masterpiece could never
be recreated. As one might expect, numerous other legends are associated with the Taj Mahal: thus,
according to one story, Shah Jahan desired to have another Taj built across the river, this one entirely
in black marble
The tomb was provided with sumptuous fittings and furnishings, including rich Persian carpets, gold
lamps and candlesticks. It is reliably reported and documented that two great silver doors to the
entrance were looted and melted down by Suraj Mal in 1764, and a sheet of pearls that covered the
sarcophagus was carried off by Amir Husein Ali Khan in 1720. In a manner of speaking, the pillage of
the Taj continues unabated: more recently, the fumes from the surrounding industries have started
deteriorating the marble, though various court orders have resulted in industries around the Taj being
moved to more distant points. The latest desecration of the monument took place, ironically, in
celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Indian independence, when the mediocre rock star Yanni,
whose elevator music has attracted a world-wide audience, was allowed to give a live and certainly
unprecedented performance at the Taj.
The surroundings of the Taj Mahal have been restored to the original designs of Ali Mardan Khan, a
noble at Shah Jahan's court. The main vista is accentuated by a red sandstone channel set between
rows of cypress trees. The main entrance is from the west, but there are two other entrances -- from the
east and from the west. The main gateway is a large three-storey sandstone structure with an octagonal
central chamber with smaller rooms on each side. The walls are inscribed with verses from the Quran.
The Makrana white marble of the Taj Mahal assumes subtle variations of light, tint and tone at
different times of the day. At dawn it assumes a soft dreamy aspect; at noon, it appears to be a dazzling

white, and in the moonlight the dome looks like a huge iridescent pearl. Not surprisingly, then, the Taj
is today regarded all over the world as a supreme labour of love.
Though the architectural history of the Taj has received much attention, a cultural and political
interpretation of the Taj has never been attempted. While it never fails to move and dazzle, one can
scarcely forget that its history, like that of other monumental achievements of pre-modern (and even
modern) states, is bound to oppression and slavery. Who thinks of the large force of serfs whose labor
was exploited to satisfy the love of one man, and how brutal was the repression of the peasantry in
order to increase the revenues of the state? Or consider this: is it not oppressive that the Taj charges an
admission fee of Rs. 100, an amount that the majority of Indians still do not make in one day's work,
for the luxury of viewing it by moonlight? The monument remains the supreme icon of India to the
rest of the world, along with the over-population, notorious poverty, and "mysticism" of this ancient
land. It is one of India's largest tourist-revenue earners, and no tourist image predominates as that of
the visitor snapped in front of the Taj. The image of the Taj appears in countless advertisements, and
the Taj has taken on another life of its own. Thus a history of the representations of the Taj is still
wanting.
Source: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Culture/Archit/TajM.html
* An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art
in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=252
* Here in Agra, northern India stands the Taj Mahal with its towers rising toward heaven. Completed
in 1654, its beauty was reputed to exceed that of paradise. Islamic style is embodied in the Taj Mahal:
building up stones symmetrically to construct beautiful stone arches is an amazing feat of architecture.
The finest builders and artists worked to build the mausoleum to make it the pride of the Mughal
Empire. The emperor at the height of the empire was Sha Jahan. To whom did he dedicate this
mausoleum? A coffin lies at the stretch of the centre-line of the mausoleum; a stone coffin of his wife.
The Empresss coffin was decorated with jasper and jade, and is protected by the finely carved
openwork of marble fencing. The Emperors deep love and affection for the Empress is expressed in
these works. A grand garden stretches before the mausoleum complex with lush greenery and abundant
water. For the Muslim people of the desert, they are symbols of heaven. Star patterns adorn the green
lawns. The patterns can also be found on the flagstone walkways. Stars are a symbol of heaven in
Islamic culture. By scattering star patterns around the complex, the Emperor tried to guide his beloved
wife to heaven. Sha Jahan was so despaired at the loss of the Empress that his beard turned grey. In the
later years of his life, he was put under house arrest by his 3rd son in the castle across the lake.
Memories of his wife, while gazing at the mausoleum, was the only consolation he could find. His
body was buried next to his wife in Mumtaz Mahal by the 6th Emperor.
The Mughal Empire disintegrated in the 18th century, but the monument dedicated to his beloved wife
lives on as World Heritage. Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252/video