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.