Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guesthouse. It is set in formal gardens and is one of the new Seven Wonders of the world.
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned building the Taj Mahal in 1632 in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess who died while giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhara Begum. The imperial court documenting Shah Jahan’s grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrates the love story held as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1643 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished about five years later.
During the Second World War, in 1942, the British India government erected a scaffolding to disguise the building in anticipation of air attacks by Japanese Air Force. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffolding were again erected to mislead bomber pilots. More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of river Yamuna including acid rain due to nearby Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the government has set up Taj Trapezium Zone, a 10,400-square-kilometre area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place. The Taj Mahal was designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.
Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as “the teardrop on the cheek of time”, it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India’s rich history. It attracts around eight million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World (2000—2007) initiative.
