A Visit to the Taj
or
A Visit to a Historical Building
or
A Visit to a Monument

General

We have wonderful buildings all over the world. Some of these are architectural triumphs. India is interspersed with all kinds of marvellous buildings and monuments. It is because of India’s rich and varied culture embracing several races and religions and communities. South India, in particular, is a land of splendid temples. The Mughals, however, excelled in building mosques and monuments of wondrous glory and excellence.

Masons and workers

Of all the monuments and mausoleums built by the Mughals or other Indian monarchs, the Taj Mahal at Agra is, on all hands, considered to be a superior monument both in architectural design and grandeur of building material and general layout.

The Taj Mahal was built by the Engineer Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that about two thousand masons and workers laboured for about twenty years to build the Taj.

Location

The Taj stands on the banks of the holy Yamuna. It is built of pure white marble and is rightly called a dream in marble. Its glory is matchless in the full moonlight. Tagore rightly characterized this non-pareil human achievement, which is known as one of the wonders of the world, as “a tear frozen on the face of eternity.”

Central dome

The main building of the Taj comprises a large dome in the centre with four minarets on each of the four sides. Right from the entrance, there is a marble pathway leading to the main building. The path has on either of the sides tall impressive cypress trees behind which there are luxurious lawns.

Beneath the central dome, there is a dark chamber having the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal side by side.

Walls

The walls are engraved the verses from the holy Koran in colourful intricate designs comprising precious stones.
Taj is visited daily by hundreds of tourists and visitors from all parts of the world. It is, indeed, a spectacle the moonlight. It is an awe-inspiring monument which once seen draws the man irresistibly to itself with the desire to come again and again.

Mini heaven on earth

The Taj is a monument, the like of which may not be built again. Hence it is the duty of all of us to co-operate with all governmental efforts to maintain it and ensure its safety. What should we say about the Taj in conclusion? We can simply say, “It is a mini heaven on earth, and we must try to visit it at least once in life.”

Let us visit it at least once in life.

It was in this spirit that I visited the Taj last week in the moonlight and am still wondering at its glory, and the more think of it, the more the wonder grows in my mind.