12 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is an enormous mausoleum complex commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to keep the remains of his beloved wife. Constructed over a 20-year period on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, India. At its center is the Taj Mahal itself, built of beautiful white marble that seems to change color depending on the daylight.
We know that the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world. Now we know who built it and for whom. We know it is the pride of India. We know a lot about it. But we don't know a lot of things about it.
Come let’s see few of them …..
1.The story of the arms being amputated of all the Taj Mahal worker is probably a myth because the architect worked on other projects.
The architect who lead the team of architects to build the Taj mahal also laid the foundation of the Red fort Ustad Ahmed Lahauri. Ustad Ahmed Lahauri was probably the main architect among all the architect's team. Seeing that Shah Jehan appointed him to work on a project after Taj means he was surely using both his arms!
2. There is a small hole or a flaw on the ceiling of the main hall just above the tombstone of Mumtaz Mahal .
According to stories told by elders it is the work of an worker who decided to make it imperfect so that Shah Jehan 's dream of creating a masterpiece can not be fulfilled, So the Taj is not as flawless as we would like to think it is. So it has a flaw ……..
3. The minarets were built tilting outwards to protect the Taj from natural calamities like earthquakes.
If you see carefully, you'll find out that the four minarets are tilting outwards. This was done so that in the event earthquake, the minars won't fall on the main Dome, thereby ensuring the safety of the Tomb.
4. A conman named Natwarlal sold the Taj Mahal multiple times that’s he has a temple on his name
Natwarlal who sold the Taj Mahal quit a few times, has a temple on his name. The people from his village Bangra which is in Bihar decided to put up a statue of him as his monument, at the place, where his house used to be.
5. If there was no Yamuna the foundation of Taj Mahal would have eroded many years ago
Taj Mahal foundation is made of timber (wood) which is not long lasting building material. The wood should have been weaken overtime and crumble owing to rot and ruin, but that is not the case because the wood is kept strong and moist by the Yamuna river. And because of the moist wood its still long way to go…..
- The interior of Taj was and is very grand and rich with its grand interior work.
There was 28 kinds of rare, semi precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal . They were brought from China , Tibet , Sri Lanka and different places of India. At the time of British rule, the monument was breached several times because of those stones and only in the late nineteenth century that restoration work was initiated .
7. How much wealth Shah Jehan spent to build the Taj aprox ?
Shah Jehan spent about 32 million rupees during the years 1632-1653 on this great architectural venture. Today that amount would be very close to 1,062,834,098 USD. Its quite a spent for someone you love .
8.The fountains have a special feature to ensure uniform water pressure in the fountains.
To ensure uniform and undiminished water pressure in the fountains, the fountain pipes is not connected directly with the copper pipes feeding them. Instead a copper pot was placed under each fountain pipe so that the water first fills the pot and then only rises at the same time in the fountains. The pressure in the pots is maintained and so in the fountains. That’s really creative for that time….
9. Shah Jehan had wished to build another Taj Mahal , a black Taj Mahal .
Shah Jehan is believed to have always desired a mausoleum for himself similar to that he made in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal . The writings of the European traveller, Tavernier mention that Shah Jehan began to build his own tomb on the other side of the river but could not complete it as he was dethroned by his own son Aurangzeb . What a petty what if he had build a black Taj Mahal , what a view would that be to see both together……
photo got from www.blacktajproject.org
10. The first person to take a slefies at Taj
George Harrison was the person to clicked a selfie at the Taj .
One of the first selfies taken at Taj were by George Harrison. He used the fish-eye lens.
11. The Taj changes colors
The Taj mahal change color depending on light its pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines.
12. The designer or architect made an optical trick so that as you move closer to the gate, the Taj keeps getting smaller.
The guides here say when you leave,you take the Taj with you in your heart. It feel to grow bigger as you walk away.
