Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of
the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the
Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar
range. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m)
at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram.
The story of Taj Mahal is inseparable from the life of Mumtaz Mahal who was
the chief queen of Shahjahan. Prince Khurram, as Shahjahan was known before
he became the Mughal emperor, was a handsome twenty-year-old man, when he was
betrothed to Mumtaz.
It is said that the imperial capital of Agra was agog with the description of
her beauty at the time of the betrothal. The maiden name of Mumtaz Mahal was
Arjumand Banu Begum.
Prince Khurram had been married twice before he met and married Mumtaz Mahal.
Mumtaz bore him 13 children and accompanied him wherever he went.
On June 17, 1631 Mumtaz Mahal breathed her last after delivering her 14th child,
at the age of 39. Saddened by her sudden demise, Shahjahan resolved to immortalize
their love.
It is said that Mumtaz Mahal on her deathbed had herself asked her husband to
create a symbol of their love for posterity. Shahjahan is said to have accepted
her proposal and resolved to do so.
According to another school of thought however, no such conversation transpired
between the two and the grief stricken emperor decided to build the Taj Mahal
to immortalize the memory of his beloved queen, on his own.
Either, way the Taj remains as whimsical in conception as it is majestic in
construction. Before the construction of Taj Mahal began, Mumtaz Mahal was given
a temporary burial in the Zainabadi garden in Burhanpur for a period of six
months, before the body was exhumed and brought to Agra, for the final burial.
Taj Mahal is a monument of love. Taj is the pride of India. The story behind
Taj Mahal is also as beautiful as the monument. It is the love story of a prince
and a beauty girl that turned into a legend.
