TAJ MAHAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 April 1934, Page 3

TAJ MAHAL

ITS UNKNOWN RIVAL. At first sight Bibi Mukbarra is likely to be taken for the celebrated Taj Mahal at Agra, but a closer inspection will dispel the . illusion. Those Wondierfully gra,cc|ful curves and the symmetry of design which are peculiar to the Taj will be found to be conspicuous by their absence. Yet it was contended to be a rival to the Taj, and was constructed just two decades after the unique monument of Shah Jehan had been given its finishing touches and gleamed like a newlyblossomed white rose on the banks of the Jumma, says an English paper. Its ambitious architect, A’ta Aula, who built it at the bidding of Prince Azam Shah to the memory of his mother. Begum Rabia Daurani, the consort of Aurangzeb, had but succeeded in producing a colourable imitation of India’s architectural masterpiece.

The mausoleum stands in the Begumpura Suburb of Aurangabad, which was the capital of the Deccan while Aurangzeb was its Viceroy, and was built between the years of 1650 and 1657; and its cost, as given in the “Tawarikh Kama” or Aurangzeb’s reign, written by Gulam Mustafa, was over six million rupees. Most probably its architect, A’ta Aula, was personally acquainted with some of the architects who had accomplished the miracle in marble at Agra, but the age of decline in architecture had set in so rapidly in India that although the Bibi Mukbarra, as the Aurangabad monument is called, must be considered a very beautiful and interested building, it is in every respect inferior to its celebrated original.

COMPARISON. Tho following description of the Mukbarra may* be of interest to admirers of the Taj Mahal as affording a standard of comparison between the original and its only known imitation. The Aurangabad mausoleum stands within an enclosed area, 500 yards long and 300 yards broad; and the surrounding high wall is crenellated, and contains pointed arched recesses on the outside. There are bastions at intervals; and the recesses are divided by pilasters crowned with little minarets. The centre of the southern wall is occupied by a handsome portal entrance, closed by folding doors, which arc covered with a running foliage pattern in brass. This structure, is in the form of a hexagon and the angles are ornamented with minarets. A large crisped arch in front rises almost to the total height of the building; but the real exit is through a smaller arch with foldingdoors at the other end, and the space between answers as a sort of portico. On either side of the main arch are two smaller arches, one above the other; and the higher one leads into a gallery for music. The centres of the three remaining walls have open pavilions which, with the entrance in the southern wall, are connected by broad tcsselated pavements with the tomb placed in the middle of the enclosure.

The pavements are ornamented with fountains and little knots in all the picturesque variety of Indian art; and the corner spaces are occupied with gardens of fruit trees, cypresses and evergreens. The Darga rests on a raised platform of polished red porphyritic trap, 72 feet square, which is also the height of the four minarets

at the corner angles. A railing of the same trap runs round the edge of the platform; and a flight of steps leads down to the garden below which is still maintained by a local gentleman. Each of the corner minarets has a gallery about midway, and another higher up, forming the basis of a hexagonal pavilion, -which is crowned with a dome and spire. There arc other ornamental bands; and a winding staircase passes up the minarets at the south-western angle, which is provided’ with a projecting balcony. The body of the tomb is square and has a lolly pointed arch, extending the whole height on each side. A magnificent marble dome rises above with four minarets at the corner angles. Four little domes with corresponding minarets to each are also at. the corners.

A flight of steps descends from the platform into the body of tiie building, where the tomb is surrounded by a screen work of perforated marble. Another entrance at the south-easi angle contains some very graceful vunning patterns of floriated decoration over a scalloped arch and over the pillars on cither side. This entrance leads into a gallery running round the interior and looking down upon the tomb. * FINISHED WITH CEMENT. The three windows of marble trellis work and the accompanying panels with flowers are as delicately wrought as anything found at Agra: and a soft and solemn light streams through the apertures of marble tracery. The floor inside is ' paved with white marble, which is also used for the jambs of the doorways. The cupola, as already mentioned, is of white marble procured from Jeypur; and the same material occurs in the lower parts of the building. The finishing touches are given with a beautiful white micaceous cement. Tho groundwork of marble is not inlaid' with precious stones, which forms the

characteristic feature of the Taj Mahal; its place has been supplied with wreaths, scrolls, frets, and other elegant forms in stucco-plaster. A majid stands on the platform on tho west side, and has live cuspcd arches with a minaret at each corner angle in front. The interior contains a row of pillars with corresponding pillasters on the back wall. The decorations in front are chaste and neat and consist of arched recesses, rosettes, and other ornaments below the cornice.

Indeed, though lacking much of the singularly beautiful symmetry and rich oranmentation of the Taj Mahal, the Bibi Mukbarra of Aurangabad is a highly interesting example of the architecture which found its highest expression at Agra and which declined with such surprising rapidity two decades after the Taj had been built. It must also be remembered that the Taj took twenty-two years to complete, whereas the Mukbarra was raised in seven years. It is well worthy of a visit and is on the way of tourists who .visit the Ajanta Frescos and the Ellora Caves. The Hyderabad Archaelogical Department has devoted considerable attention to the preservation of this Aurangabad edition of the famous Taj Mahal.