Sheer poetry in marble!!
Majesty and magnificence, unrivalled. Love redefined. The Taj Mahal, the one and only one of its kind across the world. The monumental labour of love of a great ruler for his beloved queen. The ultimate realisation of Emperor Shahjahan's dream. One of the wonders of the world. From 1631 A.D., it took 22 years in the making. An estimated 20,000 people worked to complete the enchanting mausoleum, on the banks of the Yamuna in Agra.

Better known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and structured in white marble, the pristine purity of the Taj draws visitors from every corner of the globe. Its untouched beauty leaves visitors in amazement. The vision of the Taj is like experiencing the slow unfolding of a raga. By moonlight, by sunrise and sunset, the Taj is a flawless monument. Its every facet unimpeachable, as it turns its face to the changing courses of the sessions and to the hours of the day and night.

The unique mughal style combines elements of Persian, Central Asian, and Islamic architecture. Most impressive are the black and white chessboard marble floor, the four tall minarets (40 m high) at the corners of the structure, and the majestic dome in the middle. On closer look, the lettering of the Quran verses around the archways appears to be uniform, regardless of their height. The lettering spacing and density has been customized to give this impression to the beholder. Other illusionary effects have been accounted for in the geometry of the tomb and the tall minarets. The impressive pietra dura artwork includes geometric elements, plants and flowers, mostly common in Islamic architecture. The level of sophistication in artwork becomes obvious when one realizes that a 3 cm decorative element contains more than 50 inlaid gemstones.

Facts about Taj Mahal
» The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century by Shahjahan- the fifth Mughal emperor, in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
»Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years.
» Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it.
»The material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site.

One of the most beautiful structural compositions in the world, the Taj was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.

The famous Taj Mahal monument focused world attention on pollution concerns when studies found that the industrial emissions around the vicinity were causing the monument’s marble to deteriorate at a extremely fast rate. Public outcry forced the closure of several nearby foundries and refineries, which to date have in most cases been reopened with the companies promising to find methods to reduce the pollution output. But, still tightened standards have prompted many industries to install pollution reduction facilities, but enforcement lags way behind as in everything else in India. A huge backlog of litigation in India’s courts blunts the legal instrument’s effectiveness.