History of Taj Mahal ?

Question: History of Taj Mahal !?
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Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort!. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal next to his wife!.
Protective wartime scaffolding
Protective wartime scaffolding

By the late 19th century, parts of the Taj Mahal had fallen badly into disrepair!. During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government officials, who chiseled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls!. At the end of 19th century British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a massive restoration project, which was completed in 1908!. He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modeled after one in a Cairo mosque!. During this time the garden was remodeled with British-looking lawns that are visible today!.

In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by German Luftwaffe and later by Japanese Air Force!. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were again erected to mislead bomber pilots!. Its recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura oil refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives!. In 1983, the Taj Mahal was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site!.

Tourism
View of the Mausoleum at dawn!.Photo credit:Amal Mongia
View of the Mausoleum at dawn!.
Photo credit:Amal Mongia

The Taj Mahal attracts from 2 to 4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas!. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February!. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from carparks or catch an electric bus!. The Khawasspuras (northern courtyards) are currently being restored for use as a new visitor centre!.[19][20] The small town to the south of the Taj, known as Taj Ganji or Mumtazabad, originally was constructed with caravanserais, bazaars and markets to serve the needs of visitors and workmen!.[21] Lists of recommended travel destinations often feature the Taj Mahal, which also appears in several listings of seven wonders of the modern world, including the recently announced New Seven Wonders of the World, a recent poll[22] with 100 million votes

For security reasons [23] only five items - water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies' purses - are allowed inside the Taj Mahal!.

Myths

Ever since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses to the building have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument!.[24]
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj Mahal
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj Mahal

A longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble across the Yamuna river!.[25] The idea originates from fanciful writings of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a European traveller who visited Agra in 1665!. It was suggested that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before it could be built!. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in Moonlight Garden, Mahtab Bagh, seemed to support this legend!. However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discolored white stones that had turned black!.[26] A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archeologists who resconstructed part of the pool in the Moonlight Garden!. A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself!.[27]

No evidence exists for claims that describe, often in horrific detail, the deaths, dismemberments and mutilations which Shah Jahan supposedly inflicted on various architects and craftsmen associated with the tomb!. Some stories claim that those involved in construction signed contracts committing themselves to have no part in any similar design!. Similar claims are made for many famous buildings!.[28] No evidence exists for claims that Lord William Bentinck, governor of India in the 1830s, supposedly planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and auction off the marble!. Bentinck's biographer John Rosselli says that the story arose from Bentinck's fund-raising sale of discarded marble from Agra Fort!.[29]

In 2000, India's Supreme Court dismissed P!.N!. Oak's petition to declare that a Hindu king built the Taj Mahal!.[30][28] Oak claimed that origins of the Taj, together with other historic structures in the country currently ascribed to Muslim sultans pre-date Muslim occupation of India and thus, have a Hindu origin!.[31] A more poetic story relates that once a year, during the rainy season, a single drop of water falls on the cenotaph, as inspired by Rabindranath Tagore's description of the tomb as "one tear-drop!.!.!.upon the cheek of time"!. Another myth suggests that beating the silhouette of the finial will cause water to come forth!. To this day, officials find broken bangles surrounding the silhouette!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort!. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal next to his wife!.

By the late 19th century, parts of the Taj Mahal had fallen badly into disrepair!. During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government officials, who chiseled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls!. At the end of 19th century British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a massive restoration project, which was completed in 1908!. He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modeled after one in a Cairo mosque!. During this time the garden was remodeled with British-looking lawns that are visible today!.

In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by German Luftwaffe and later by Japanese Air Force!. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were again erected to mislead bomber pilots!. Its recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura oil refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives!. In 1983, the Taj Mahal was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

After the dead of the wife of Shah Jahan named Mumtaz Mahal he ordered to build a great building to served as resting place for her wife and that is the Taj MahalWww@QuestionHome@Com