Wah Taj!

For the first time in my life, I have heard the story of the Taj Mahal from the guides there as not an ode to love, but as the genius of the architect Emperor Shah Jehan had employed (our guide mentioned the Turkish origin Ustad Ahmad Lahauri).  Two decades ago, the Taj story revolved around the poetic description of the love between the emperor and his wife, Mumtaz - the classic British description of the monument. The British historians had conveniently left out the stories about pilfering of the Taj by the East India Company back in 1857 (they'd even considered using the marble for the Government House). People no longer believe that Shah Jehan cut the hands of the workers who built the Taj. 22 years of its building would make Agra the city of the maimed. The Taj Mahal is whiter than it has ever been in my lifetime thanks to the multani mitti that is used to scrub it clean. (Taj ke gorepan ka raaz 😂). I kept comparing the Taj and the less expensive Bibi Ka Maqbara built by Shah Jahan's grandson, Azim Shah, in Aurangabad, until I discovered that the Archaeological Survey of India has tried to reinforce the marble dome with plaster of Paris, complete with etchings (future designers should have a look at the ASI style of reconstruction). Whether sasta will be tikau, only the Taj can tell. 😊