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Agra – City of Mughals
Agra is the major traveller destination of India because of its many Mughal – era’s structure, most notably monument the “Taj Mahal”, “Agra Fort”, and “Fatehpur Sikri”, all of which are “UNESCO world heritage sites”. Agra is included in the golden triangle tourist circuit, along with Delhi and Jaipur; and the Uttar Pradesh heritage arc, tourist circuit of Uttar Pradesh state, along Lucknow and Varanasi. Agra falls within the Braj cultural region. Agra is the birthplace of the religion known as “Din – I – Ilahi”, which flourished during the reign of Akbar and also of the Radhaswami Faith, which has around 2 million followers worldwide. The city of love has a historic connection with Runukta of Hinduism and Shauripur of Jainism.
The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is located in Agra and is the symbol of love. It was made by the husband for his wife when she died. The name of the husband was Shah Jahan. He was the emperor of Agra. He started building the Taj Mahal in 1632 and finished it in the year 1648. The Taj Mahal is made up of ivory white marble. It is situated on the southern bank of river Yamuna. The Taj Mahal was selected as one of the Ancient Wonders of the world out of 7. The Taj Mahal complex is very big. Every part of the Taj Mahal deserves the praise that you would get to know about Taj Mahal tour from Delhi. When you go to visit any monument, it should be carefully seen and observed because every inch of it speaks a story.
The poet Rabindranath Tagore described it as “a teardrop on the cheek of eternity”; Rudyard Kipling as “the embodiment of all things pure”; while its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan, said it made “the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes”.
Every year, tourists numbering more than twice the population of Agra pass through its gates to catch a once – in – a – lifetime glimpse of what is widely considered the most beautiful building in the world.
The Taj Mahal Exterior
The basic type of Taj Mahal is based on the Sultanate architecture of Delhi. Please be reminded that this Sultanate architecture of Delhi has been taken by the Mughals from where they took over. It is based on the form that Mihman Khana follows. The meaning of Mihman Khana is a Guesthouse. So, in a nutshell, the standard type of the mosque is based on what was followed by the guest house of the Sultanate architecture of Delhi. It also had a very big prayer hall. The hall has vaulted rooms. These rooms are arranged one by one with a dome at the centre.
The Structure of the Triangle
There is an elevation of the mosque. It forms a compositional triangle with the gate it and the third building of the funerary garden. This was the result of careful thought and husband mentioned in the documents which are kept in the Taj Museum.
There is a platform on which the main mausoleum finds its base. The mausoleum has got its decoration with the help of some very delicate carvings of plant elements. This is perfectly called as ornamentation period because it appeals to the principles of care and attention to make it look extremely natural and detailed period this particular ornamentation was reserved for the lower zone of the building period it was thought to do so because the lowest zone of the building was expected to be immediately appreciated by the spectators all the visitors period this kind of ornamentation is also present on the platform where there are turning combinations of flowering plants like that of the dados of the Pishtaq halls.
The Marble Platform or the Takhtgah
One of the most prominent features of the Mughal mausoleums where there are tomb chambers is the placement on the platform of marble. The main platform of marble or the floor on the ground is being talked about. As we know that the main or real Graves or tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan have been built in the basement. On this mobile platform on which we stand while entering the Taj Mahal has four minarets. This is a Marvel of architecture that these four minarets are projected as the five sides of an octagon. There is a terrace also and the marble platform is set off away from its paved surface. It is done by making a pattern of white marble octagons which interlock with each other. There are four pointed stars of sandstone. They are surrounded by a combination of long and short cartouches. Cartouches can be understood as the lord variant of the sharp and pointed pattern that usually frames the walkways of the garden. Such similar designs are also seen in normal gardens. If you look at the centre of the south of this marble platform, there are two staircases. This year cases are partially covered by tunnel vaults. This is the only staircase which gives access from the terrace to the mausoleum.
Now get to the centre of the marble platform. As we discussed the triangle in the above paragraphs, there is an open room which is bordered by two square cells. The usage of the cells is to store something over there. These square cells are covered with carved ceilings. This Central room has three openings which have arches. These arches have jellies in the pattern of the hexagon. These patterns jalis are present almost everywhere in the complex. This Jelly is basically a small rectangular window. The rooms were basically built for visiting members of the royal family and to make the rest. However, there were no such guests; the reciters of the Quran when they were not on duty.
These points related to the Taj Mahal were not yet thought of. The beauty of the Taj Mahal is actually intact and same day Agra tour by car is going to be successful if you are going to visit it and take your relatives along with you.
