THE TAJ MAHAL

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 80, 28 December 1929, Page 5

THE TAJ MAHAL

ONE. OF THE SEVEN WONDERS WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS MEMORIAL An interesting account of a recent visit to the Taj Mahal is given by a New Zealander, Dr. A. L. Sutherland, of the Presbyterian Mission, India, who writes: “Built by Shah Jehau in Agra as a memorial to his favourite wife, who died in 1629, the Taj Mahal stands to-day as one of the seven- wonders of the world. No fewer than. 20,000 workmen were employed continuously for 22 years on its construction.

“We approach the city by the famous Chandi Chowk road, and, as the monsoon has broken some weeks ago, the grass lawns within are beautifully green, setting off in pleasing contrast the glistening marble on either side. First'comes a glimpse of the stately minarets peeping through the greenery of a lovely old chestnut tree, then the whole building mirrored in one of the ponds, then the pink rays of the setting sun on tlie dome towering above as tve gradually approach and view things from an ever-changing angle. Perfect Reflections. “In the centre of the garden, we now notice for the first time a raised marble platform with a welcome seat; within is a lovely green pool with lotus lilies round the edges; in this pool are cast the most beautiful reflections, while stretching forward is another almost similar pool but without the fountains playing, so that we can admire even more perfect reflections which give an everchanging picture as the sun gradually sinks in the west.

“Passing on to the platform itself, we find it is much larger than at first sight appeared, being at least 20ft. in height and ascended by lovely marble staircases. Emerging on top, we find there is still part of this immense building beyond the reach of our vision. The popular picture taken from a distance of a quarter of a mile conveys no idea of such immensity and detail. What in the distance looked like a black archway round the main door, we now see to be a lovely Arabic inscription, the intricate letters of which are each formed of inlaid black marble. Beneath the Dome. “Passing within, we find beneath the huge dome, an octagonal enclosure with walls of marble lacework. This contains two marble sarcophagi ornamented with floral designs of the most intricate patterns and worked in the most entrancing colours. On closer inspection, each variation of colour is found to be derived from a different piece of stone yet, so cleverly has the inlaid work been done, that the impression given is that of a most exquisite floral painting. When one considers the thousands of individual flowers, each of which is a mosaic of many stones, it simply staggers the imagination to try and comprehend the amount of work involved in such a design. From the Top of the Minarets. “We must now suffer another disillusionment. for what nt first looked like real coffins are only imitation ones, the bodies of the king and his wife lying immediately beneath in an underground tomb. Passing outside, we climb one of the minarets which form the cornerpieces of the immense platform. Each is 134 feat in height, and as one ?,scendg.

one gets an ever-changing picture of the Taj itself. “From the top, one simply gasps m admiration at the whole scene which now appears at a totally different angle; the high walls encircling the whole, the trees with patches of green grass, the beautiful flower-beds, the silvery pools, the bewitching fountains, the massive gateway at the far end surmounted by a tiny row of white minarets, while in the rear, sinister and ugly, lie the sands of the River Jumna, which slowly flows by as it has done during the last 300 years, quite oblivious of all the beauty and wonder which has been collected into this most wonderful spot on earth. The Wonder of It All. “Looking down from our point of vantage, we notice that this massive structure, weighing millions of tons, is placed right on the sandy banks of this great river which, at times, rushes past in high flood. One cannot but admire the work of engineers, who, in days long gone by, were able to erect such a monument of enduring worth. Of the wonder of it ‘all we think, of the marvel of engineering, of the master mind that planned all this, of the thousands of workmen, who faithfully performed their separate share in fulfilling their master’s wishes, of the versatile imagination that was able to conceive of such beautiful settings as have never been paralleled before or since, and of the wonderful love of man for wife which has thus been perpetuated for all time. “One would fain linger still, but the shades of evening begin to fall and we pass here and there about the gardens, our eyes trying to take in something of the beauty of the flowers and trees but ever straying back to the Taj itself. As we reach the main entrance, the colours of the flowers are no more distinguishable in the deepening gloom, while the green of the trees merges gently into the dark colour of the sky. Passing at last through the outer doorway, W’e cast one ‘last, long, lingering look behind' at the perfect dome with its attendant and o’erwatching minarets. Infinitely sorry to leave, but infinitely glad to have enjoyed such a privilege, we recall to mind as we catch a last glimpse of this gem of a building in its silent .surroundings the words of Kipling in another context: — ‘Last, loneliest, loveliest, exquisite, apart.’ ”