PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA
Tombs of Mumtaz Mahal & Shahjahan inside The Taj Mahal
Inside the Tomb 

From inside the mausoleum is comprised of a lofty central chamber, a crypt or maqbara immediately below this, four octagonal corner rooms originally intended to house the graves of other family members. But Aurangzeb, son of Shahjahan failed to honor this wish. The Central Chamber houses the replica tombs while the actual ones are being in the crypt. It was a tradition in the Mughal era to have a private as well as public tomb. Originally, the public tomb was surrounded by a jewel encrusted silver screen. Later, Aurangzeb removed the original screen and replaced it with an octagonal screen of marble and inlaid precious stones. The screen cost him Rs 50, 000 at that time, but the result is a stupendous piece of workmanship. Each screen or jali has been carved out of a single block of marble and all these blocks have been inlaid. If you put flash of light on these flowers, you can see how luminescent the marble and intricacy of inlay work is. There are as many as 64 pieces making up petals of some flowers, which achieve a 3D effect. 

There is a Cairene lamp above the toms whose flame is supposed to never go out. This lamp was given by Lord Curzon (1899-1905), Governor General of India to replace the original lamp, which was stolen by mighty jats in the 18th century. The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal with the 'female slate', rests immediately beneath the dome. The tomb lines up centrally with the main entrance. The tomb of Shahjahan is larger and in the side, it is marked by a 'male' pen-box, the sign of a cultured and noble person. The tomb of Shahjahan was not intended to be there but Aurangzeb squeezed it beside the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal breaking the symmetry of otherwise flawless complex. Semi-precious stones are exquisitely inlaid in both the tombs. There is a fantastic acoustic design of the building with domed ceiling being designed to echo chants from the holy Koran and musicians melodies.