Indian tomb

Press, 14 December 1982, Page 22

Indian tomb

India's most famous building is the tomb Emperor Shah Jahan built in memory Of his wife. Her name was Taj Mahal and that was the name given to the building also. The tomb, where the Emperor is also buried, is in central India at Agra. Twenty thousand workers are said to have helped build the tomb between 1632 to 1650. Rudyard Kipling, the famous author, called the place “an opal-tinted cloud on the horizon.” It has also been called a “gem of a building — a glimpse of Paradise.” The Taj Mahal stands outside the city walls of Agra in a large garden, surrounded by a red sandstone wall. A long pool of water runs beside the building giving a reflected image.

The tomb itself is on a marble platform six metres high. At each corner there is a tall, round prayer tower or minaret. The building is eight-sided with a huge gate in the centre of each of the four main sides. The outside walls have two levels of pointed arches and in the centre is a dome that reaches 60 metres above the ground. Passages from the Muslim holy book, the Koran, are carved in the black marble of the outside walls. Inside the walls are decorated with richly-coloured gems and mosaics of precious stones. Light streams in through pierced marble screens. Thieves have stolen many of the precious stones over the years and pieces of stained glass have been put in their place.