If you have never been to the Taj, I reckon you should. It is the finest thing we Indians ever built. Perfection at its best. You don’t need to major in architecture to recognize why some creations exudes such excellence. I also think it would be vulgar to categorize, to identify in it, what is Persian, Indian and Islamic. The Taj is timeless and beyond classifications. Talking about wonders, I often wonder how the Leaning Tower of Pisa got to be one. Something that ended up being a miscalculation in the first place! Or the Pyramids of Giza or the Great Wall of China…granted, they are all tributes to mankind’s ability to perform the impossible….. but , how could they all possibly rank amidst aesthetic treats like the Taj?
Looking back,connecting the dots….I guess, my fascination probably came from my early history lessons ….ICSC recommends that you literally ‘research’ Indian architecture for your matriculations. …right from harappan excavations to the Mughals up north, Cholas , Pallavas, Hoysalas down South! We had to mug the dimensions, specialties of the architectures, the rulers, the architects, in short all the gory details.... even identify them from their pictures. No easy task, if you have an idea how many they built in those days! Listing Mughal flavors alone can get your head spinning…Taj Mahal, Gol Gumaz, Fatehper Sikri, Jama Masjid at Agra, at Delhi, Diwan-i-khas, Red Forts everywhere, Siri Fort, Qutb Minar, Humayum’s Tomb, Hawa Mahal.…. and, if you have seen all of these (at least the pictures of it), you would probably have an idea what makes the Taj special. Looking at all the others, you cannot help but conclude they were building the rest to get this one right! The Taj.
Looking back,connecting the dots….I guess, my fascination probably came from my early history lessons ….ICSC recommends that you literally ‘research’ Indian architecture for your matriculations. …right from harappan excavations to the Mughals up north, Cholas , Pallavas, Hoysalas down South! We had to mug the dimensions, specialties of the architectures, the rulers, the architects, in short all the gory details.... even identify them from their pictures. No easy task, if you have an idea how many they built in those days! Listing Mughal flavors alone can get your head spinning…Taj Mahal, Gol Gumaz, Fatehper Sikri, Jama Masjid at Agra, at Delhi, Diwan-i-khas, Red Forts everywhere, Siri Fort, Qutb Minar, Humayum’s Tomb, Hawa Mahal.…. and, if you have seen all of these (at least the pictures of it), you would probably have an idea what makes the Taj special. Looking at all the others, you cannot help but conclude they were building the rest to get this one right! The Taj.
Now, as any Indian kid, you grow up seeing miniature models of Taj all around, in wood, marble, glass, what not. Maybe, you would have lined up before some backdrop (curtains of old days, I mean, not today's digital wizardry) of the Taj during some fairs for family photos. So, it hardly evokes any special feeling in us when some documentary or foreigner speaks so high of it. Oh Taj? No Big Deal, really.
In fact we are all so used to the ‘jasmine-in-our-courtyard’ that you would be frowned upon to make a trip all the way to Agra (at least from Kerala) to see it. But I got lucky in my college days to be a part of the notorious ‘All India’ tour (that was like a decade ago). We made it to Delhi, caught a train to Agra station, bump along in an auto to the actual spot. The squalor of the slums, of under developed India makes you sad... you expected Taj to be in some cozy grand locale..like the Disneyland... Now, the Taj comes with its grand gateways (the Darwazas or something) and you don’t actually see it completely until you enter the gate. Then it hits you!
I don’t know how to explain but maybe, you don’t often realize the magnitude-of-beauty of
something unless....unless, you actually see it ….at such close quarters, filling the whole horizon… of your panoramic vision. May it is the size. The wonderful symmetry. Such a grand structure in marble.....All along you have been seeing small small imitations and suddenly this dream structure soaring so high strikes you.... So, you just stand there, struck down. Frozen.
It was one of the best moments in my life.
The guide’s tour of the interior is depressing, you feel sad about the walls been scribbled on….turning yellow….gaping holes that once held precious stones…. When I was done, I went back to gateway and sat there, watching others. People, families would come in, boisterous, rollicking. Then suddenly they fall silent, looking up. The Taj. Some smile , some inadvertently bring up their palms to hide the gasp. Some are not affected too. But it is satisfying to see people freeze for a moment. How Taj gets to each one of you....
There are numerous legends you never tire yourself hearing. Like the ‘magic’ steps. It is said that when a visitor steps on those, they lower themselves to immerse your feet in water, cleaning them in the process. Alas, the British fiddled with it to figure it out and never got to put them back. Then again, it is also rumored that those people who build the Taj had their thumbs or hands cut off to preserve the IP! wicked world.
Today, the Taj is almost yellow, thanks to our modernization woes. Sometimes I try to picture how it really looked......back in the 16th century when it was actually built....made of the finest ‘translucent’ marble...studded with precious stones….. on a full moon lit night....by the side of the silent waters of Yamuna....the reflections....
what a sight it would have been to behold!
One bows before their brilliance. Ahmad Lahauri (the chief architect) , Shah Jahan ( who is said to have personally reviewed the whole drawings) and, all those people who helped realize the ‘Tear Drop upon the cheek of Time’ (who other than Tagore could have worded it otherwise).
In fact we are all so used to the ‘jasmine-in-our-courtyard’ that you would be frowned upon to make a trip all the way to Agra (at least from Kerala) to see it. But I got lucky in my college days to be a part of the notorious ‘All India’ tour (that was like a decade ago). We made it to Delhi, caught a train to Agra station, bump along in an auto to the actual spot. The squalor of the slums, of under developed India makes you sad... you expected Taj to be in some cozy grand locale..like the Disneyland... Now, the Taj comes with its grand gateways (the Darwazas or something) and you don’t actually see it completely until you enter the gate. Then it hits you!I don’t know how to explain but maybe, you don’t often realize the magnitude-of-beauty of
something unless....unless, you actually see it ….at such close quarters, filling the whole horizon… of your panoramic vision. May it is the size. The wonderful symmetry. Such a grand structure in marble.....All along you have been seeing small small imitations and suddenly this dream structure soaring so high strikes you.... So, you just stand there, struck down. Frozen.It was one of the best moments in my life.
The guide’s tour of the interior is depressing, you feel sad about the walls been scribbled on….turning yellow….gaping holes that once held precious stones…. When I was done, I went back to gateway and sat there, watching others. People, families would come in, boisterous, rollicking. Then suddenly they fall silent, looking up. The Taj. Some smile , some inadvertently bring up their palms to hide the gasp. Some are not affected too. But it is satisfying to see people freeze for a moment. How Taj gets to each one of you....
There are numerous legends you never tire yourself hearing. Like the ‘magic’ steps. It is said that when a visitor steps on those, they lower themselves to immerse your feet in water, cleaning them in the process. Alas, the British fiddled with it to figure it out and never got to put them back. Then again, it is also rumored that those people who build the Taj had their thumbs or hands cut off to preserve the IP! wicked world.
Today, the Taj is almost yellow, thanks to our modernization woes. Sometimes I try to picture how it really looked......back in the 16th century when it was actually built....made of the finest ‘translucent’ marble...studded with precious stones….. on a full moon lit night....by the side of the silent waters of Yamuna....the reflections....
what a sight it would have been to behold!
One bows before their brilliance. Ahmad Lahauri (the chief architect) , Shah Jahan ( who is said to have personally reviewed the whole drawings) and, all those people who helped realize the ‘Tear Drop upon the cheek of Time’ (who other than Tagore could have worded it otherwise).
Comments
Post a Comment