2. BY MOHIT KUNDU

3. • “Ismail Khan” designed the Taj Mahal’s main dome.
• “Puru” from Benarus, Persia for supervising the architect.
• “Chiranjilal” was the head sculptor .
• “Amanat Khan” from Shiraz, Iran for calligraphy.
• “Mir Abdul Karim” and “Mukkarimat Khan” of Shiraz, Iran (Persia)
were responsible for managing the finances and daily production.
• “Ustad Isa” of Iran, designed the Taj Mahal.

4. • It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third
wife, Mumtaz Mahal
• The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as “The Jewel of Muslim art in India”.
• Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that
combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
• In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO(United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site.
• The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653,
employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen.

5. • Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia.
• Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during
the construction.
• The following Stones are used in the construction:

8. • Sculptors from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from
southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a specialist in building
turrets, another who carved only marble flowers were part of the thirty-
seven men who formed the creative unit.
• A labor force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern
India.

9. • Not only just Taj, even structures along side it add to the architectural
beauty and artistic wonder of the place.
• The entire Taj complex consists of five major constituents, namely
Darwaza (main gateway), Bageecha (gardens), Masjid (mosque),
Naqqar Khana (rest house) and Rauza (main mausoleum).
• The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal
architecture.
• The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone
inlays, or carvings.
• The calligraphy was created by a calligrapher named Abd ul-Haq, in 1609.

10. • Much of the calligraphy is composed of florid thuluth script, made of jasper
or black marble.
• Floors and walkways use contrasting tiles or blocks in tessellation patterns.
• On the lower walls of the tomb there are white marble that have been
sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines.
• The inlay stones are of yellow marble, jasper and jade, polished and
levelled to the surface of the walls.

11. • The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from
each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used.
• The interior walls are about 25 metres (82 ft) high and are topped by a
"false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif.
• In addition to the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof
openings covered by chattris at the corners.
• Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves. Hence, the bodies
of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were put in a relatively plain crypt beneath the
inner chamber with their faces turned right and towards Mecca.

12. • The pen box and writing tablet were traditional Mughal funerary icons
decorating the caskets of men and women respectively.

13. •Different types of marbles used in construction of Taj Mahal were brought
over from many different regions & countries: Rajasthan, Punjab, China,
Tibet, Afghanistan, Srilanka, & Arabia.
•Many precious stones and Lapis Lazuli (a semi-precious stone) were
ripped off from its walls by the Britishers during the Indian rebellion of
1857.
•It cost about 32 million of Indian Currency to build Taj Mahal at the
time of construction

14. • Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors annually with over 200,000 from
overseas.
• The pillars around the main monument were built to slant slightly from the
monument to protect the main monument if the pillars ever collapsed due to
natural calamities like earthquakes.

16. SATELLITE VIEW