I may get a LOT of hate for this post. Oh well. Anyway...
The Taj Mahal is an Architechtural Wonder. And thats all there is to it.
It was a bit difficult getting there. Scorching heat, annoying auto drivers.. etc. But when we finally got there, we knew there was something special waiting inside. We paid a whopping 750 Rupees for out tickets and made our way in. The security check was riduculous, they frisked everybody (UGH!) and didnt allow us to bring our books, mp3 players, phone chargers and writing materials inside. I went through fine, but Kiat & ming had to walk like 200meters to the locker box to deposit their things.
After that, we were finally in. The sun was shining so brightly.The sky was so blue(Like a blue cocktail! lol) and the clouds looked like the kind of puffy clouds you draw when you are in kindergarten. The taj was almost blinding to look at. The white marble really sparkeled in the sun. It was really quite beautiful to look at. However...
India markets the Taj Mahal as a Place dedicated to everlasting love. Shah Jahan supposedly made it for his wife Mumtaz when she died becasue he loved her the most (out of his many wives & concubines). Why did he love her so much? I could have been becasue they had an amazing bond and were soulmates. Or it could have been because she bore him 14 children (many sons included). A resemblance to another British monarch famous for his many wives?
They also say that the spent his final years looking out his window gazing at the Taj weeping for his wife. However, some research has shown that she was in fact high on opium and aphrodisiacs most of the time and supposedly died of an overdose. Also, he was a very power hungry man. One of the reasons that he built the Taj could have been to show off his power. Unfortunately for me, I read all of this on the train to Agra. Nice timing val. So I walked around the beautiful building feeling an immense sense of sadness that it wasn't as romantic and dramatic as I had imagined.
So, the Taj Mahal is not a symbol of love or passion. It is an architechtural wonder.
But you know what? Visiting the Taj really made it clear to me that all that marble isn't what love is about. You dont need a gigantic building, nor do you need diamond rings or expensive holidays to know or show love to somebody. As I have learnt from the Taj, these things have no meaning, only surface beauty.
Love is a bit more intangible ( And I'm hoping a lot more beautiful that the Taj Mahal on that very sunny day).
Love,
val
PS- Please forgive me for the spelling/grammatical errors. I literally wrote this at the words came to my head and did one(very quick) spell check.
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I too have alwways felt that the 'love story' part of the taj mahal was a fairy tale
ReplyDeleteIf shah jahan did build the taj mahal to show his love for one woman, it would have been one of the most cruel things he had done
He almost bankrupted his kingdom with the building of the taj and countless of his subjects would have suffered and died as a result
It is very rare for someone your age to make these important observations
Love is indeed about understanding each other, compromising, feeling each others joy and sorrow etc.
unfortunately to many love is more about the giving and receiving of material things and even the outward show of affection