A Visit to a Historical Place
-The Taj Mahal
India is famous all over the
world for her ancient temples and historical buildings. The Taj at Agra is the
most famous historical building in India. It is known all over the world as a
dream in marble. It was built by Shah Jahan, the famous Mughal emperor, in
memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was built about three centuries
ago. More than twenty thousand masons and workers built it in about twenty two
years. After the completion of the monument, as the story goes, their hands
were chopped off, so that they could not build the pair of the Taj.
During the last three centuries,
the glory of the Taj has not dimmed the least. It still commands the first
position among the buildings of the world. It stands outside the city of Agra
on the banks of river, Yamuna. In order to reach the main building, one has to
pass through a huge gateway of red stones. There are symmetrical cypress trees
surrounding the building.
The Taj is built on a raised
platform. The outstanding spiral minarets enhance its beauty. The marble tombs
of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are situated in the middle of the main building.
They are inlaid with precious stones. on the walls of the building are carved
verses from the Holy Koran.
As soon as a person reaches close
to the building, he forgets the world altogether. The mausoleum looks like a
fairy dressed in a spotless white attire. On a moonlit night, its beauty
penetrates the interstices of mind so as to remain there forever. One really
feels that one has never seen such a charming spectacle before. Tagore hails
the Taj as "a tear frozen on the cheek of eternity".
The first time I visited the Taj
many yeasago, I simply felt captivated. I found numerous Indian and foreign
visitors pouring in. Once one approaches the building one feels lost to move
away from it. Even if one has to go at last, one feels inclined to visit it
again and again.
The Taj is immortal. It may be
called beauty concertized in pure white marble and as such a joy forever. But,
unfortunately in the present materialistic world, even the beauty of the Taj is
at stake because of the effluent Sulphur dioxide emitted by the Mathura
refinery. Let us hope the able scientists will do something about it.
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