British plan to demolish the Taj Mahal

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PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA

PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA	Nearly every surface of the entire complex has been decorated. The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest to be found in Mughal architecture of any period.
Once again, decoration motifs are repeated throughout the complex. As the surface area changes -- a large pishtaq has more area than a smaller -- the decorations are refined proportionally.	PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA
PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA	The decorative elements come in basically three categories: Calligraphy Abstract geometric elements Vegetative motifs Islamic strictures forbade the use of anthropomorphic forms. The decorative elements were created in three ways: Paint or stucco applied to the wall surface Stone inlay Carvings
Recent scholarship suggests that Amanat Khan chose the passages as well. The texts refer to themes of judgment: of doom for nonbelievers, and the promise of Paradise for the faithful. The passages include: Surah 91 (The Sun), Surah 112 (The Purity of Faith), Surah 89 (Daybreak), Surah 93 (Morning Light), Surah 95 (The Fig), Surah 94 (The Solace), Surah 36 (Ya Sin), Surah 81 (The Folding Up), Surah 82 (The Cleaving Asunder), Surah 84 (The Rending Asunder), Surah 98 (The Evidence), Surah 67 (Dominion), Surah 48 (Victory), Surah 77 (Those Sent Forth) and Surah 39 (The Crowds).	PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA

PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA
The calligraphy is made by jasper inlaid in white marble panels.
Some of the work is extremely detailed and delicate (especially
that found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb). Higher panels
are written slightly larger to reduce the skewing
effect when viewed from below.

PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA
Throughout the complex passages from the Qur'an are used
as decorative elements. The calligraphy is a florid and practically
illegible thuluth script, created by the Mughal court's Persian calligrapher,
Amanat Khan, who was resident at the Mughal court.
He has signed several of the panels.

PHOTOGRAPH BY : RAJESH CHOPRA
Under Ground way from Taj to Red Fort Agra

The lower walls of the tomb are white marble dados that have been sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines. The marble has been polished to emphasise the exquisite detailing of these carvings.
The dado frames and archway spandrels have been decorated with pietra dura inlays of highly stylised, almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits. The inlay stones are yellow marble, jasper and jade, levelled and polished to the surface of the walls

British plan to demolish the Taj Mahal
There is an often-repeated story that Lord William Bentinck, governor of India in the 1830s, planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and auction off the marble. In some versions of the tale, the demolition crew were ready to begin their work but were stopped only because Bentinck was unable to make the scheme financially viable. There is no contemporary evidence for this story, which may have emerged in the late nineteenth century when Bentinck was being criticised for his penny-pinching Utilitarianism, and when Lord Curzon was emphasising earlier neglect of the monument, and presenting himself as a saviour of Indian antiquities. Nevertheless, the story may have been based on a real proposal.

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