The book is related to one of the most beautiful architecture of the world; the Taj Mahal. It has been scientifically portrayed in the book that makes it a useful guide for the tourists. The most beautiful architectural creation has been analysed from completely new angle, using the empirical rules prepared by a modern scientist - “The Fifteen Properties of Christopher Alexander”. The book sheds light on an age old story of another mausoleum of black marble that was to be built on the other bank of the river Yamuna. The construction of the Taj Mahal was only half of the original grand scheme conceived by its builder emperor Shahjahan. The historical events towards the end of emperor Shah Jahan’s reign, his dethroning and the conspiracies by his own son are highlighted. The book also covers the history of Mughal dynasty in a narrative manner. It traces the inherited quality of creativity and love for art and architecture of Mughals. The book puts into perspective the need of fulfilling a forgotten dream - the creation of Miniature Black Taj Mahal with ebony (natural black wood).
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An enduring monument of haunting beauty, the Taj Mahal seems a symbol of stability itself. The familiar view of the glowing marble mausoleum from the gateway entrance offers the very picture of permanence. And yet this extraordinary edifice presents a shifting image to observers across time and cultures. The meaning of the Taj Mahal, the perceptions and responses it prompts, ideas about the building and the history that shape them: these form the subject of Giles Tillotson's book. More than a richly illustrated historyÑthough it is that as wellÑthis book is an eloquent meditation on the place of the Taj Mahal in the cultural imagination of India and the wider world. Since its completion in 1648, the mausoleum commissioned by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, has come to symbolize many things: the undying love of a man for his wife, the perfection of Mughal architecture, the ideal synthesis of various strands of subcontinental aesthetics, even an icon of modern India itself. Exploring different perspectives brought to the magnificent structureÑby a Mughal court poet, an English Romantic traveler, a colonial administrator, an architectural historian, or a contemporary Bollywood filmmakerÑthis book is an incomparable guide through the varied and changing ideas inspired by the Taj Mahal, from its construction to our day. In Tillotson's expert hands, the story of a seventeenth-century structure in the city of Agra reveals itself as a story about our own place and time.
While Galileo suffered under house arrest at the hands of Pope Urban VIII, the Thirty Years War ruined Europe, and the Pilgrims struggled to survive in the New World, work began on what would become one of the Seven Wonders of the World: the Taj Mahal. Built by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, its flawless symmetry and gleaming presence have for centuries dazzled everyone who has seen it, and the story of its creation is a fascinating blend of cultural and architectural heritage. Yet, as Diana & Michael Preston vividly convey in the first narrative history of the Taj, it also reflects the magnificent history of the Moghul Empire itself, for it turned out to mark the high point of the Empire's glory at the same time as it became a tipping point in Moghul fortunes. The roots of the Moghul Empire lie with the legendary warriors Genghis Khan and Tamburlaine; at its height it contained 100 million people, from Afghanistan in the north and present-day Pakistan in the west, to Bengal in the east and southwards deep into central India.. With the storytelling skills that characterize their previous books, Diana & Michael Preston bring alive both the grand sweep of Moghul history and the details that make it memorable: the battles and dynastic rivalries that forged the Empire alongside an intimate chronicle of daily life within the imperial palace. A tale of overwhelming passion, the story of the Taj has the cadences of Greek tragedy and the ripe emotion of grand opera, and puts a memorable human face on the marble masterpiece.
About Book: - Best Book for Indian Culture, Heritage, History, Arts, Architecture & Tourism Degree - Courses in various Universities & Management Institutes and for Tourists also. About Author: - Anurag Mathur (B.Sc., M.A. - History, PhD Level Research, Post Graduate Diploma in Hotel & Tourism Management Advance Course in Tourism from IITTM - Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management- Ministry of Tourism Govt. of India, New Delhi & WTO (World Tourism Organization). PGDBIM (MBA-Delhi). Ex. Lecturer of History, Hotel & Tourism Management Department at Agra University. Agra & also Numismatist (Coins Collector), Philatelist, Antiques, Rare Photographs & Paintings Collector etc, Lucknow. U.P. India. (Father of Author Anurag Mathur, Late. Shri. O.N. Mathur, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Govt. of India -Posted at Taj Mahal & other Historical Monuments at Agra-1975 - 89. Author Anurag Mathur's forefather was posted at Royal Imperial Court of Emperor Shaha Jahan as Finance Minister (Treasury Incharge -Shahi Khazana) as per Author's Family Tree Records & generations Chronology & rest all ancestors were educated from Kayastha family and served in Royal Mughal Court after one by one. - - Indian Culture & Heritage Information, Lucknow.
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal in Agra is arguably the most iconic image of India and is visited by eight million tourists annually. It was characterized as "pure, perfect and unutterably lovely" by the British Viceroy, Lord Curzon, and in 1983, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site of "outstanding universal value." For centuries the world has believed that it was built by Shah Jahan in 1631 to immortalize his love for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Certain mysteries and myths that surround the monument have recently come to the fore in the country, stimulating a public debate about the place it holds as a true representation of Indian culture. Inside you will read about... - The Life of Mumtaz Mahal: The Jewel of the Palace - The Building of the Taj Mahal - A UNESCO World Heritage Site - Myths, Conjecture, and Controversy - The 22 Locked Rooms in the Basement And much more! This book presents the five main historical figures of the Mughal Empire in India during that period as well as many details of how the Taj Mahal was built. It traces the events that have led to the present controversy.
Set against a background of monsoons and heat waves, shanty towns and expensive bungalows, rich old women and angry young men, love and tradition, lives will change forever. As an only child, Simi a well born Hindu young woman grew up with comforts and certainties. Then suddenly, many things change. Her country is convulsed by the riots that have periodically gripped India since Britain’s abrupt withdrawal and the bloody Partition of 1947, tearing society apart along lines of religion, caste and community. To the horror of her grandmother and the outrage of their friends Simi falls deeply in love with Muslim doctor...‘Mohini Kent explores the effects of Partition and the social unrest, resentment, and religious conflicts in 1947 India. This is an important and provocative novel’ (Mark Tully) ‘Black Taj takes forbidden, unbiddable love, the staple of romantic fiction and uses it to tell a much deeper and terrible tale of communal hatred still burning and destroying lives and hopes in India today. We are carried away by the love story between two strong characters and also pulled down into the depths of hell by the author who wants us to know, to feel the agonies of a tragically divided land. The novel is both deeply pessimistic and highly optimistic’ (Yasmin AlibhaiBrown) ‘This is a beautifully realised story for the new Indian century’. (Andy Marino) ‘A riveting read set against an intricate tapestry of love and religion in postIndependence India’ (Anita Raghavan, author of, The Billionaire's Apprentice ) ‘Mohini Kent’s novel sensitively explores the effects of the partition and the social unrest, resentment and religious conflict of 1947 India. She writes with care, honesty and commitment that this important subject deserves. This book is a valuable addition to the growing literature of the partition’ (Sudeep Sen, author) ‘A deeply moving and sensitively written novel exploring the intercommunal violence in India, a subject often ignored or poorly examined. It adds greatly to our understanding of how human relations are structured and identities composed’(Lord Bhikhu Parekh) ‘Fascinating, poignant, thrilling – a brilliant read! Provides an excellent and moving insight into social history’. (Royina Grewal author of Babur Conqueror of Hindustan). ‘Mohini Kent is a gripping storyteller, Before you know where you are, you are deep into her novel’. (Amit Roy, Telegraph India and Eastern Eye UK).‘Brilliantly dramatises. This is no period romance but an ambitious and brilliantly realised attempt to trace through the tangled and compromised net of religious and social relationships the trajectory of India itself since Independence. This is a beautifully realised story for the new Indian century’. (Andy Marino, biographer of Narendra Modi).‘A thundery tale told with all the brilliance, force and fury of a Monsoon rainstrom as it pelts down towards its torrential climax. To be in bondage to the past as so many Indians still are, is only one of many curses that some as yet unknown god needs to free us from’. (Roshan Seth)‘Gripping, humorous and ultimately a profoundly humane story about human frailty and prejudice. Mohini Kent creates marvellous characters that inhabit a broad canvas which elegantly chronicles relationships in India, where the past can eclipse the future. A must read for anyone interested in understanding the mind of modern India’. (Shomit Mitter).
