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| Outstanding Universal Value |
Hello Friends You know about the taj mahal worlds's most famous heritage building in India.
Brief
synthesis
The Taj
Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden
that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. It
was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with
construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the
guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer courtyard and its
cloisters were added subsequently and completed in 1653 AD. The existence of
several historical and Quaranic inscriptions in Arabic script have facilitated
setting the chronology of Taj Mahal. For its construction, masons,
stone-cutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome builders and
other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from
the Central Asia and Iran. Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the main architect of the Taj
Mahal.
The Taj
Mahal is considered to be the greatest architectural achievement in the whole
range of Indo-Islamic architecture. Its recognised architectonic beauty has a
rhythmic combination of solids and voids, concave and convex and light shadow;
such as arches and domes further increases the aesthetic aspect. The colour
combination of lush green scape reddish pathway and blue sky over it show cases
the monument in ever changing tints and moods. The relief work in marble and
inlay with precious and semi precious stones make it a monument apart.
The
uniqueness of Taj Mahal lies in some truly remarkable innovations carried out
by the horticulture planners and architects of Shah Jahan. One such genius
planning is the placing of tomb at one end of the quadripartite garden rather
than in the exact centre, which added rich depth and perspective to the distant
view of the monument. It is also, one of the best examples of raised tomb
variety. The tomb is further raised on a square platform with the four sides of
the octagonal base of the minarets extended beyond the square at the corners.
The top of the platform is reached through a lateral flight of steps provided
in the center of the southern side. The ground plan of the Taj Mahal is in
perfect balance of composition, the octagonal tomb chamber in the centre,
encompassed by the portal halls and the four corner rooms. The plan is repeated
on the upper floor. The exterior of the tomb is square in plan, with chamfered
corners. The large double storied domed chamber, which houses the cenotaphs of
Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, is a perfect octagon in plan. The exquisite
octagonal marble lattice screen encircling both cenotaphs is a piece of superb
workmanship. It is highly polished and richly decorated with inlay work. The
borders of the frames are inlaid with precious stones representing flowers
executed with wonderful perfection. The hues and the shades of the stones used
to make the leaves and the flowers appear almost real. The cenotaph of Mumtaz
Mahal is in perfect centre of the tomb chamber, placed on a rectangular
platform decorated with inlaid flower plant motifs. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan
is greater than Mumtaz Mahal and installed more than thirty years later by the
side of the latter on its west. The upper cenotaphs are only illusory and the
real graves are in the lower tomb chamber (crypt), a practice adopted in the
imperial Mughal tombs.
The four
free-standing minarets at the corners of the platform added a hitherto unknown
dimension to the Mughal architecture. The four minarets provide not only a kind
of spatial reference to the monument but also give a three dimensional effect
to the edifice.
The most
impressive in the Taj Mahal complex next to the tomb, is the main gate which
stands majestically in the centre of the southern wall of the forecourt. The
gate is flanked on the north front by double arcade galleries. The garden in
front of the galleries is subdivided into four quarters by two main walk-ways
and each quarters in turn subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways, on
the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden. The enclosure walls on the
east and west have a pavilion at the centre.
The Taj
Mahal is a perfect symmetrical planned building, with an emphasis of bilateral
symmetry along a central axis on which the main features are placed. The
building material used is brick-in-lime mortar veneered with red sandstone and
marble and inlay work of precious/semi precious stones. The mosque and the
guest house in the Taj Mahal complex are built of red sandstone in contrast to
the marble tomb in the centre. Both the buildings have a large platform over
the terrace at their front. Both the mosque and the guest house are the
identical structures. They have an oblong massive prayer hall consist of three
vaulted bays arranged in a row with central dominant portal. The frame of the
portal arches and the spandrels are veneered in white marble. The spandrels are
filled with flowery arabesques of stone intarsia and the arches bordered with
rope molding.
Criterion
(i): Taj Mahal represents the finest architectural and artistic achievement
through perfect harmony and excellent craftsmanship in a whole range of
Indo-Islamic sepulchral architecture. It is a masterpiece of architectural
style in conception, treatment and execution and has unique aesthetic qualities
in balance, symmetry and harmonious blending of various elements.
Integrity
Integrity
is maintained in the intactness of tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the
whole Taj Mahal complex. The physical fabric is in good condition and
structural stability, nature of foundation, verticality of the minarets and
other constructional aspects of Taj Mahal have been studied and continue to be
monitored. To control the impact of deterioration due for atmospheric
pollutants, an air control monitoring station is installed to constantly
monitor air quality and control decay factors as they arise. To ensure the
protection of the setting, the adequate management and enforcement of
regulations in the extended buffer zone is needed. In addition, future
development for tourist facilities will need to ensure that the functional and
visual integrity of the property is maintained, particularly in the
relationship with the Agra Fort.
Authenticity
The
tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the overall Taj Mahal complex have
maintained the conditions of authenticity at the time of inscription. Although
an important amount of repairs and conservation works have been carried out
right from the British period in India these have not compromised to the
original qualities of the buildings. Future conservation work will need to
follow guidelines that ensure that qualities such as form and design continue
to be preserved.
Protection
and management requirements
The
management of Taj Mahal complex is carried out by the Archaeological Survey of
India and the legal protection of the monument and the control over the
regulated area around the monument is through the various legislative and
regulatory frameworks that have been established, including the Ancient
Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and Rules 1959 Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation);
which is adequate to the overall administration of the property and buffer
areas. Additional supplementary laws ensure the protection of the property in
terms of development in the surroundings.
An area
of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal is defined to protect the monument from
pollution. The Supreme Court of India in December, 1996, delivered a ruling
banning use of coal/coke in industries located in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)
and switching over to natural gas or relocating them outside the TTZ. The TTZ
comprises of 40 protected monuments including three World Heritage Sites - Taj
Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
The fund
provided by the federal government is adequate for the buffer areas. The fund
provided by the federal government is adequate for the overall conservation,
preservation and maintenance of the complex to supervise activities at the site
under the guidance of the Superintending Archaeologist of the Agra Circle. The
implementation of an Integrated Management plan is necessary to ensure that the
property maintains the existing conditions, particularly in the light of
significant pressures derived from visitation that will need to be adequately
managed. The Management plan should also prescribe adequate guidelines for
proposed infrastructure development and establish a comprehensive Public Use
plan.
