All about India is the space where we cover something about India or Indians that you wouldn’t have known.
We all know that it was built in memory of the Emperor ‘Shah Jahan’s’ third and most favourite wife ‘Mumtāz Mahal’ and the fact that the hands of all the workers who created the ‘Taj Mahal’ were cut off.
Featured today are 10 Unknown facts about the ‘Taj Mahal’.
- The name of the architect of the Taj Mahal is ‘Ahmed Lahauri.’
- According to legend it is believed that Emperor Shah Jahan had planned to construct another Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of the river but the war with his sons interrupted his plans.
- The Taj Mahal takes on different coloring at different times of the day, from a pinkish hue in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden at night when lit by the moon. They say the changing color resembles the changing mood of females – in particular the Emperor’s queen
- The four sides of the Taj Mahal are perfectly identical creating an astonishingly mirrored image on each side. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry of architectural elements.
- The pillars surrounding Taj Mahal are slightly tilted outwards so that in the event of an earthquake they will fall away from the tomb.
- In all, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble, many of which were ripped off from its walls by the British during the Indian rebellion of 1857.
- It is estimated to have taken more than 22,000 people to build this impressive building including labourers, painters, stonecutters, embroidery artists, and many others.
- The Taj Mahal in India is perfectly symmetrical, except for one thing. The two tombs inside are not equal in size. This is because the male tomb has to be larger than the female tomb.
- The Taj Mahal costs in today’s money about US $100 million.
- India’s’ Nobel Laureate, Rabindra Nath Tagore, referred to the Taj Mahal as a “tear drop on the cheek of time”.
11 Comments