Monday, April 10, 2006

Taj Mahal vs. Tejo Mahalaya

oh yeah, so taj mahal is actualy a temple n shah jahan simply converted it 2 tiz marble beauty with d whiff of a magical band? n every fine arts college goes about proposing taj mahal was built by shah jahan ??? ppl who dedicate their work 2 ancient art 'n' religious architecture are so easily duped by a powerful man in history?

nay, now read d true story of taj mahal. shahjahan was 14 years old wen he first met mumtaj. he was a typical arabian prince, tal n handsome n attractive. he was once walkin along d market and al girls were pourin' over him 2 grab so much as an eye twink from him. then, there was this girl at the far end of d road, d daughter of a diamond merchant, who not even so much as a look, cared about the walking prince. she was keeping a watch over her dad's diamond collections (those days, diamonds were sold in markets, yeah). shahjahan was so intrigued over her negligence towards him tat he went and started enquiring about d diamonds. n out came her outlandish reply "you are simply not rich enuf to buy any of my dad's diamonds" - and hero immediately falls in love wth tiz then-arrogant female.

so, shahjahan goes 2 jahangir's court (for those ignorant of tiz fact, jahangir 'n' shahjahan are dad n son in tat order) and says she wants to marry tiz lady he met in the market. there are stil some controversies, but ppl say mumtaj is older than shahjahan (to this date, duh!). the emperor kindly tells his son tat he is too young to decide and if he still thinks so at the age of 20, he wud get him married 2 her. so, the dutiful hero waits for 6 years and then on the same day at the age of 20, he goes 2 his father n claims he wants 2 b her man. and d emperor kept his word n got them married.

they were so much, so much in love tat the world turned rosy al over 4r them. shahjahan courted mumtaj like there was no other woman in the world. every war tat shahjahan went, mumtaj used 2 accompany him 2 b of moral support 'n' loved him in his camp. tiz brot shahjahan glory in al his wars and attempts and he soon grew 2 b a great emperor. wish i cud complete sayin "n they lived happily ever after" but sadly, tats not d case.

mumtaj was pregnant wth their 17th kid (i do not stake authenticity of tiz num, am not sure) n shahjahan was in war. she knew she could not deliver this baby alive and also knew she wil not live. after al a human body is a human body! (yeah, my dad's aunt has 18 kids, i thnk is totaly non-human and heavenly to be able to accomplish that, and she out-lived most of her children! gosh!). so, she cals shahjahan n asks 4r 3 wishes:

1. he should never forget her after her death
2. he should remarry
3. he should build a tomb tats unique in its own self in tiz world n shud visit it daily so she knows he remembers her

n then she dies. shahjahan goes in2 a deep depression n stays wth her body for one whole week inside d tent. no visitors allowed! not even on a ticket-charge basis. he goes in2 grief 4r about a week n wen he comes out of d tent, most of d ppl who see him faint. hez so changed, full of sorow, the charm n vigour tat made up shahjahan was gone. he lost tat war, n went back 2 his kingdom. there he started 2 concentrate on architecture. he temporarily buried her remains and started to build taj mahal. architects were invited frm al over d world 'n' so much money was put in2 its construction. n then after about 20 years (am not sure again on tiz num, but tz al over d interest, so i aint botherin over its preciseness).

His interest in d kingdom started 2 dwindle. more tombs and buildings came up but d righteousness of ppl began to come down. Taj mahal was complete and mumtaj's tomb was shifted. Aurangazeb (hero's third son) saw d state of affairs n decided tz time 2 act. he killed his 2 brothers (ouch, tats d problem of bein d eldest in family), out-threw his father frm d throne n tuk over as emperor. neat job, i shud say. n jaile shahjahan but gave him a smal vent frm his jail tat overlukd tajmahal, so shahjahan can stay wth d spirit of his mother. n there, after some years, our hero died!

tiz is d actual story of taj mahal. it was built, not converted! and even if tat was so, there have been huge number of hindu shrines tat have been converted 2 mosques n tombs in d mughal period. therez no hue n cry tat needs 2 b raised coz taj mahal may b 1 2. if at al it is converted, it wud most probably b only d location site 'n' a few shrine features of hindu cult but most of d construction in mughal-ish and we all now kno it is original!

i havent seen tiz masterpiece yet but wud melt if i c it under d moonlight. probably, tats my idea of a perfect date ???