The Taj Mahal

Several years ago, when I was still teaching, I spent a summer touring and studying in India on a Fulbright-Hays scholarship. One of the places I visited was the Taj Mahal at Agra. Of course, I'd heard about the magnificent building, but I was more impressed than I expected to be, and it was even more beautiful than I had ever imagined. None of the pictures do it justice.

The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb and memorial for the wife of Shah Jahan. The Persian princess had died giving birth, and the court records documenting the shah's grief testify to their love story. He commissioned the building in 1631 and the main building was completed in 1643. The entire complex, including the surrounding buildings and garden, were completed by 1653

At this time, most of the buildings in the kingdom were being constructed of red sandstone, but Shah Jahan chose white marble. However, it is inlaid all over with semi-precious stones in beautiful designs. It had cost about 32 million rupees at that time. Today that would be the equivalent of about 53 billion rupees or 827 million U.S. dollars. This wasn't the shahs only project either, although it was his most lavish.

In the end, with the kingdom nearing bankruptcy, the shah's son put his father under house arrest at a nearby fort and took over. From his balcony, the shah could look across and see the Taj Mahal, where his beloved wife rested, and he was said to do that often. When he died, he was buried in the Taj beside her.

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