Taj mahal – one of the Seven
Wonders of the World, always portrayed the essence of Love. It was built by the
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved, favorite and beautiful
wife Mumtaj. Adding the fact that she was the fourth wife of seven wives of the
emperor who killed her husband to marry her and oh yes! She died giving birth
to her fourteenth child. The construction was started in the year 1632 and the
glorious structure was completed by the year 1648. It took more labor and lives
of brilliant technicians than we could imagine.
The beautiful structure was
constructed in white marbles and decorated with gems and precious stones. In
the late 19th century, during the Indian rebellion, the British
soldiers and high officials chiseled out the precious stones that are wounded
in the decorations of the polished marble walls. This caused the massive
structure to fall under repair, until after the British Viceroy Lord Curzon
started the restoration project at the end of the 19th C. The restoration project took more man power
and time, which lasted till 1908. After Taj has been repaired by Lord Curzon,
it never actually needed a restoration project again. India’s best monument has
been taken best care of, ever since.
Taj Mahal was protected in every
possible way, by British government and officials while they rule and by Indian
government since the independence. Many precautions were executed to protect
the marvelous property, especially during the war.
During the World War II, in the
year 1942, the Taj Mahal was covered in bamboo sticks as Behemoth scaffolding,
which was predicted to misguide the bomber jets from German Luftwaffe and
Japanese Air Force.
In the years 1965 and 1971,
India- Pakistan wars broke out and this time precautions were taken with green
cloths which act as a camouflage for the air attacks.
After the 11 sept 2001 attack, on
New York City, Taj Mahal was once again protected by the camouflages of green
cloth. An archaeological survey points out that, it took almost 20 days to
cover up the whole structure.
The major threat for the elegant
monument which made other threats less comparable is the pollution, in the
banks of River Yamuna. The pollution in the River brings the acid rain which
will eventually damage the white marbled beauty.
Camouflaging and scaffoldings
worked out for the short time threat of foolish minds. But the pollution will
take its course long enough to destroy the beauty totally. Try to save
environment and history, by putting an end to pollution. Save our Beautiful and
wonderful Monument.
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