The beauty of the Taj in Agra is perhaps as legendary as the myths that surround it. The mausoleum built by emperor Shah Jahan on the passing away of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal passed away giving birth to the couple’s fourteenth child, is distinctively Persian in style though its Hindu elements are so 
pronounced (the finial for instance resembles a trident) that many have claimed it to be a Shiva temple. The most tragic myth surrounding the Taj is that the emperor chopped off the hands of the master craftsmen so that they could not replicate the designs elsewhere, while one of the most absurd ones is that Lord William Bentinck, governor general of India in the 1930s, planned to demolish the Taj and auction the marble in a fund raising drive. Historian Anshuman Dwivedi says the monument is designed to stun. “The ten-and-a-half feet doorway that leads to the Taj (A UNESCO World heritage site) is made of a mixture of eight elements and was originally covered in silver. It picked up wavering reflections of the monument. It has 1100 nails and each is covered with a silver coin.” The Taj’s main dome is 187 feet tall and is made of red sandstone from Fatehpur Sikri, jade and crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet and gems from Sri Lanka.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
pronounced (the finial for instance resembles a trident) that many have claimed it to be a Shiva temple. The most tragic myth surrounding the Taj is that the emperor chopped off the hands of the master craftsmen so that they could not replicate the designs elsewhere, while one of the most absurd ones is that Lord William Bentinck, governor general of India in the 1930s, planned to demolish the Taj and auction the marble in a fund raising drive. Historian Anshuman Dwivedi says the monument is designed to stun. “The ten-and-a-half feet doorway that leads to the Taj (A UNESCO World heritage site) is made of a mixture of eight elements and was originally covered in silver. It picked up wavering reflections of the monument. It has 1100 nails and each is covered with a silver coin.” The Taj’s main dome is 187 feet tall and is made of red sandstone from Fatehpur Sikri, jade and crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet and gems from Sri Lanka.For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
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