Incredible India - Taj Mahal, A Dream Made In Marble

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for Taj Mahal, A Dream Made In Marble, which is located in historical Agra city of Uttar Pradesh, most populous state in India.

There is so much written about Taj Mahal but possibly the best way to describe it is the way Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Prize winner in Literature (1913) did. 
You knew, Shah Jehan, life and youth, wealth and glory, they all drift away in the current of time. You strove, therefore, to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart... Let the splendor of diamond, pearl, and ruby vanish like the magic shimmer of the rainbow. Only let this one tear-drop, this Tajmahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever. 
O King, you are no more. Your empire has vanished like a dream, your throne lies shattered... your minstrels sing no more, your musicians no longer mingle their strains with the murmuring Jamuna...Despite all this, the courier of your love, untarnished by time, unwearied, unmoved by the rise and fall of empires, unconcerned with the ebb and flow of life and death, carries the ageless message of your love from age to age: ‘Never shall I forget you, beloved, never.’ 
- By Rabindranath Tagore
Taj seems to display varied shades including pinkish in morning, milky white in evening, golden when the moon shines and intermediary variants during different hours of the day and during different seasons in a year. So one can enjoy and appreciate beauty of Taj at all times and never get enough of it in a single visit.





Taj is without a doubt, a masterpiece made in marble, beauty personified, widely recognized as "the jewel of art in India" and one of the universally admired monuments of the world's heritage.
Taj Mahal translates to "crown of palaces", is a white marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658 A.D.), grandson of Akbar the Great in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during the birth of their 14th child. 
The mausoleum is located on the right bank of the river Yamuna. Red sandstone mosque on the western, and Mehman-Khana on the eastern side of the tomb provides aesthetically a clear colour contrast. 
Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
The Gate Way of Taj, Royal Gate is an octagonal entrance hall, surrounded by small rooms on both the sides in the floors having beautifully ornamented gates on both sides. The Royal gate has 22 domes to symbolize the amount of years it took to build Taj.


Taj is a perfect fusion of Indian and Persian Architecture. The four minarets are built to slightly tilt outwards to save the main structure from any earthquake or disaster.



As part of Incredible India series, I had earlier shared blog posts on Karnataka Road Trip, Qutub Minar, Golconda Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Temples in Delhi, Bird Watching, Gwalior Fort, Gwalior Palace Museum, Temples in Gwalior, Agra Fort & Tomb of Akbar

Incredible India - Gwalior Palace Museum

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for Gwalior Palace Museum located in historical Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh, a central state in India.

Gwalior Palace is also known as Jai Vilas Mahal or Jai Vilas Palace, established in 1874 by Jayajirao Scindia, the Maharaja of Gwalior and is still the residence of his descendants the former royal Maratha Scindia dynasty. The European architecture of the palace was designed and built by Sir Michael Filose under the guidance of Jayajirao to welcome Edward VII.
Only 40 rooms and halls of the 400-room palace have been converted into the museum while the Scindia royal family retains the rest of the palace and still uses that portion. 




In the Durbar hall adorning the roof, hangs two crystal chandeliers ordered from Vienna, which have a combined weight of seven tonnes (7,000 kg) and are said to be one of the biggest ones in the world. To test whether the roof would withstand the weight of chandeliers, ten elephants were made to climb on the roof by making a special ramp for them to climb up. Larger chandelier holds up to 248 lamps and when lit, seems to look spectacular with all the reflections coming from the wall paintings. 

In the dining hall a toy train runs over a track laid on the long table, including seven crystal bowls spelling 'SCINDIA'. The mechanical, silver train has been in operation since the early 20th century and whenever someone lifts any of the crystal bowl, train stops and then starts running again once bowl is put back in . Durbar hall is still being used to host top dignitaries and the dining hall are used by the royal family even now. A host of VVIPs, including presidents and prime ministers have been hosted here in recent years. 


Spread across a sprawling area, the museum is divided into different sections, each with its unique heritage touch and collection. For instance, there are Drawing Rooms, Reading Rooms, Royal Bed Rooms, Bath Rooms, Breakfast Room, which offers interesting insights about lifestyle of the royals.  




My favourite was the Persian carpet spread with pictures of world's greatest rulers, kings, spiritual & religious figures including Jesus Christ, Prithviraj Chauhan, Razia Sultan, Maharana Pratap and others. Considered to be Asia's largest single carpet and is supposed to be made by the convicts taking them 12 years. 


Museum houses several antiques and on display including a crystal jhoola (swing), rare painting of Ravi Verma in which Lord Shiva is shown with moustache. There is a dragon antique piece, which is used as room freshener and also on display is a plate, which changes its colour to red from green in case of presence of poison in food. Also on display is a vintage 3 wheeled BMW mini car.




As part of Incredible India series, I had earlier shared blog posts on Karnataka Road Trip, Qutub Minar, Golconda Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Temples in Delhi, Bird Watching & Gwalior Fort.