From its origins that are tied to a lost love, to the secrets that may be hidden within the
building itself, join us as we reveal to you 13 Surprising Facts about Taj Mahal!
13.
Built To Honor A Lost Love Let's start off at the beginning of things,
shall we?
The Taj Mahal as we know it was built by Shah Jahan, who was the emperor at the time in
India.
While he was the ruler, you could also say that he was honestly a ladies man.
As he had multiple wives that bore him many children.
However, his third wife was particularly special to him because it was his first true love.
Her name was Arjumand Banu Begum, whose other name (and more famous name) was Mumtaz Mahal
You see where this is going, right?
Well, these two had a very special relationship, and as such, they had 14 children together.
Which was very common for those times.
Their marriage lasted 19 years, but sadly, after complications happened with their last
child, Mahal died.
And this struck Shah very hard.
Such much so that he felt compelled to go and make her the grandest tomb possible.
One year after she died, the Taj Mahal was begun, and 2 decades later, it was finally
finished.
So in point of fact, not only is this a massive landmark of India, but it's also a testament
to the power of love between a man and a woman.
You know, if you want to get all sappy.
12.
The Look Of The Grave Take a look at the Taj Mahal from the outside.
You look at this and think what?
More than likely you note the grand design, the attention to detail, the lavish look,
and so on and so forth.
And as we just established, the grand nature of it was meant to go and appease the loss
of a loved one.
So thus, you might think that the grave in which Mahal herself was buried was just as
lavish and opulent as everything else, right?
Well...no.
Quite ironically, the Indian people (specifically the Muslim side of India) have certain beliefs
about how a grave should look.
In short, it cannot be decorated.
The reason for this is that this would be an "expression of vanity" and thus if you
were to head to the lower level of the Taj Mahal, you'll find that it looks very basic
and drab.
This isn't because they ran out of money or time, it's because they were following the
law of the land.
What also makes this interesting is that this is in direct contrast to say the Egyptian
method of burial for certain people and Pharaohs as their tombs are adorned with gold and other
items to "carry on" to the afterlife.
11.
Asymmetrical Grave Take a look once again at the Taj Mahal, another
thing that sticks out about it is the fact that the place is perfectly symmetrical from
top to bottom and left to right.
It was well and truly designed that way and if you look both inside and out you'll see
that same meticulous level of detail in keeping it symmetrical.
Except for...you guessed it, the gravesite.
But this time it wasn't Mahal who broke the tradition, it was the Shah himself.
You see, when the tomb was done, her grave was put in the direct center of the tomb to
keep the symmetrical aesthetic.
But when the Shah died and was put in there, he was put in "west of center", and thus,
the symmetrical look was broken.
We'll give them a pass on this one.
10.
Protecting The Grave Guess what I'm going to ask you to do now?
Yep, look at the Taj Mahal.
You see the four towers that are at the four corners of the site?
You might think that those are just "set pieces" or something else to really boost the visual
look of the grave or the building.
But ironically, the man who built the place, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri , knew that these needed
to be there, but also knew they needed to erected in a certain way.
You see, while many buildings at the time (this was in the 17th century) were marvels
of architecture, they tended to have a problem of not being well built weight-wise, and thus,
they would collapse upon themselves for various reasons.
The architect here knew that this could happen, and that if they collapsed the towers would
likely fall onto the building, and thus hurt the grave.
To prevent that, the four towers are honestly tilted outward just enough so that should
something cause them to collapse, they won't hurt the grave.
Call it an insurance policy, one that is still active today!
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9.
A Collapse Could Still Happen Recall the insurance policy I just mentioned?
Well, it's a little more apropos than you might think.
Because like many ancient structures, there are many who wonder if the building is honestly
going to last as long as people think it will.
Sure, it hasn't collapsed yet, but in the 20th century many people noticed that there
was structural decay in the building, and apparently, it's starting to grow.
Some of the towers have been shifting an inch or so over the last couple of decades, and
some were so afraid that they thought it would collapse by 2016!
Obviously, that didn't happen, but the fear is still there.
Will it collapse?
It's hard to say.
But it could, and it might just be a matter of when and not if.
8.
Manpower One of the biggest mysteries of the ancient
world is how the various ancient cultures were able to go and build all sorts of impressive
buildings.
Such as the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and so on and so forth.
While we don't have all the answers, we do have a big one: manpower.
To get over some of the hurdles of not having modern day machines and automation, nations
like India used whole legions of people in order to get things done.
In the case of the Taj Mahal, it took 20,000 people to get it up and perfect.
And that wasn't the only things they used either...
7.
Elephant Power Yep.
They went there.
India is known for using elephants in many ways, including using them for weddings.
But when it came to the construction of the Taj Mahal, they were sure they needed helping
moving materials, so thus, they brought in over 1000 elephants to help them get the various
materials to the site.
This would help explain certain factors, including the part where this took under 20 years to
make, where other projects took significantly longer.
Admit it, you want to see footage of them using the elephants moving stuff around, don't
you?
6.
The Mark Of The Calligrapher Calligraphy isn't as appreciated now as it
was back then.
When the Taj Mahal was built, it wasn't just a architectural wonder, it was one that was
inlaid with various references to the Muslim faith, and the Qaran.
All headed up by their calligrapher Abd-al Haqq, known professionally as Amanat Khan
Shirazi.
He oversaw all of the work to make sure the text was done perfectly.
Then, to thank him for his work, he was allowed to sign his name and a small message at the
base of the interior dome.
Which to be clear, was a high honor at the time.
But here's the twist, while others would've signed something big and boastful, he didn't.
Rather, he penned, “Written by the insignificant being, Amanat Khan Shirazi”
How humble.
5.
Different Cultures, Different Gardens As we've noted, the Taj Mahal was imparted
with many things to enforce the fact that this was a Muslim building and ruler who made
it.
This also was brought to something a little more basic in the gardens.
Which had dozens of flowerbeds with various plants from the region and beyond.
However, when the British empire came and brought them "into the empire", they decided
that the gardens of the Taj Majal needed to resemble THEIR culture and not Muslim culture.
As such, they were made into a more "proper" and "subdued" aesthetic.
Because of course they did...
4.
Camouflage Pop quiz, if you were to go and wage war on
India, would you think about bombing the Taj Mahal to strike a blow to the people?
Don't worry, you don't have to answer that, but the answer would've likely been yes, and
the people of India know that.
In fact, during MANY wars that have happened in and around the country, they feared getting
bombed so much that they went and made scaffolding around the Taj Mahal to try and deter airplanes
from bombing it.
And it worked, because by the time they were done, if you looked down at the area from
above, it would look like a thicket of bamboo.
Thus, it has never been harmed during a war.
3.
A Second Taj Mahal?
There are many rumors and legends about the Taj Mahal itself, and one of the biggest ones
comes from French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who noted that when he met with Shah, the
ruler was apparently planning to make a SECOND Taj Majal.
One that would be black in nature and be built on the other side of the Yamuna River.
It was, according to legend, abandoned by Shah, which was appropriate because one year
after their meeting he died.
But apparently, it was meant to house his own crypt and be a compliment to the one that
was being built for his late wife.
2.
Did Shah Jahen Really Make The Taj Mahal?
As stated there are MANY rumors and legends about the Taj Mahal, but easily the most important
one is that of whether the stated ruler of Shah Jahen really made it.
Most believe he did, but others aren't so sure.
So if it wasn't Shah, who do these people think built it?
That would apparently be Hindu king Raja Parmar Dev, whom many people have brought forth and
tried to petition the Indian Supreme Court to try and get his name the credit it deserves.
But each time, it was struck down, but just as important, when one was struck down, another
person would bring it back up again.
There is also stated to be a secret room in the Taj Mahal that houses proof one way or
another of who truly made the place.
But obviously, the sealed room is protected by the government and hasn't been opened in
a very long time...
1.
No Cars Allowed If you ever got to the Taj Mahal yourself,
you'll notice something rather quickly when you arrive.
Mainly, you have to walk a little bit to get there, and when you do get there, there won't
be a car or a bus in sight.
This is actually very intentional.
Because no automobiles are allowed within 50 meters of the place.
Why is that?
It's because of the gasoline emissions that they produce they can harm paint when in enough
qualities and thus the people protecting the Taj Mahal don't want it to be tarnished anymore
just because of the cars in the area.
That's also a reason why the air is so clean there if you think about it.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of this look at the Taj Mahal and the various facts surrounding it?
How many of these facts did you already know before coming here?
Does this intrigue you so much that you want to go and see the Taj Mahal for yourself?
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