Original subtitles

the Taj Mahal India

architectural jewel monument to a grand

passion the Taj Mahal was built in the

17th century by Shah Jahan king of the

world ruler of India's mighty mobile

Empire

this great warrior King gave the world

an architectural masterpiece of a kind

it had never seen before

this is how it came to be made

it's also the legend of his queen the

beautiful Mumtaz Mahal

and of their love to perfect to survive

the chosen one of the palace will have

her final resting place in the world's

most beautiful building

but the Magnificent chambers of the Taj

Mahal hide a secret

and Shah Jahan will pay a terrible price

to complete his life's work at a turning

point in India's history

today the Taj Mahal is one of the

world's greatest tourist attractions

every year more than 3 million people

come to see humanity's loveliest

building with their own eyes but for the

Indian nation the Taj Mahal is much more

than an architectural masterpiece

does good to the movement this is one of

the monuments that makes India what it

is that gives the people their identity

it makes them proud as building as a

symbol for the whole nation the Taj

Mahal was built in one of the most

glorious periods of Indian history

the time of the Moghuls with their

mighty empire and fabulous riches its

creator a man who dedicated his life to

a dream great mogul Shah Jahan

the building that emerged from his plans

perfectly combines grace and scale power

and beauty

the Taj Mahal crown of the palace the

inner sanctum of the Taj is a tomb for

Mumtaz Mahal the love of Shah Jahan's

life in her memory the great mogul

created this eternal love poem in stone

the building of the Taj commenced in

an army of elephants began dragging

construction materials to the mogul

capital

this would be the biggest building

project of the age

in a few short years the shell of the

Taj Mahal was complete ready to be clad

in flawless marble add colossal expense

the location of the Taj on the banks of

the Yamuna River was a special challenge

ambasa at the Masons confessed Bogor

Jewish laws of the embassy close to

water you rarely find ground solid

enough to build on so you have to dig

down until you hit hard dry earth can't

you lose so they came up with a

brilliant solution to this problem

overdue schoolers turn on one that's

still used today in a slightly different

form the understand much they decided to

build a well foundation and cheating

that was a revolutionary idea for those

times enorm innovative the great moguls

engineers dig deep wells to below the

water table then they fill them up with

rocks and mortar on this base the master

builders erect stone columns linked

together by massive arches

the result a solid mountain of stone to

support the foundation slab of the

building

protecting the Taj from the currents of

the Yamuna River forever the Taj Mahal

must always stand as a testament to the

eternal power of love it will be the

legacy of Shah Jahan Shah Jahan was the

favorite son of the Emperor the great

mogul raised in a world of wealth and

splendor in the year 1607 he's granted a

rare honor on his lunar birthday is

weighed in gold and precious stones

that doesn't mean he's been chosen to

become the new great mogul but there are

high hopes for this young prince

and great dangers to his own brothers

are his deadliest rivals the firstborn

Prince does not always become king all

the rulers sons will fight to claim the

throne even to the death the adulation

of the crowds means nothing

the court Chronicles will be our guide

to Shah Jahan's life to its triumphs and

disasters

the prince is given a child bride an

arranged marriage for political reasons

it could have been an empty contract but

this love will last for eternity

ten years later the prince is 25 years

old his star shines brighter than ever

he has fought the enemies of the Emperor

winning victory after victory as a

reward his father gives him the title

shajahan king of the world the capital

of the Mughal Empire is the great city

of Agra in northern India the location

of the giant red fort the center of

imperial power and one of India's

mightiest strongholds the ruling moguls

and their families live in magnificent

palaces inside the fort here the women

of his harem Sita Shah Jahan's every

whim

but his favorite by far is his childhood

love Mumtaz Mahal Shah Jahan calls her

the chosen one of the palace from the

Chronicles

we know this royal couple were

especially close for those times

the impression which one gathers is that

there is a strong personal element of

personal love there is a bit of romance

it is usually said that the concept of

love

is a very European concept because in

the Eastern world you have the emotion

of love which is impersonal love for

deities love for idols love for father

love for institutions love for religion

spiritual love but not romantic love

Pichardo hans memorial to Mumtaz maja is

the world's most exquisite symbol of

romantic love every day countless

visitors are enthralled by the Taj Mahal

partly because it's mogul architects

used some remarkable optical tricks the

first view of the monument is framed by

the main gate as the visitor moves

closer the Taj Mahal seems to get

smaller

it seems to grow bigger as you walk away

the guides here say when you leave you

take the Taj with you in your heart

an optical trick went into the building

of the minarets too they leaned slightly

outwards if they were truly vertical

they would seem to be leaning inwards by

leaning away from each other they look

perfectly upright and that brings

another advantage in an earthquake the

minarets would collapse outwards sparing

the Taj and it's mighty dome the dome is

the crowning glory of the Taj Mahal the

element that makes it so timeless and

graceful I do and today we have other

options we can build giant supporting

structures and steel for a dome like

that called the bunker we have other

materials just they have to solve all

their problems in stone binders a miles

out they laid stone on stone and built

up the diamond rings Ling Fermi award

the dome rises layer by layer the mortar

between the stones gives its stability

the result is self-supporting with no

reinforcing struts or columns the weight

of the dome is transferred directly

downwards to the mass of masonry below

the dome is more than 40 metres high and

4 metres thick yet it seems to float

over the marble facade a miracle of

stress calculation still admired by

engineers for over 350 years this dome

has been the ultimate expression of

mogul architecture 1621 the Moghul

Empire is at a turning point the Emperor

Shah Jahan's father is desperately ill

his sons are gathering the shadow of the

throne ready to fill the vacuum of power

shajahan knows that his moment has come

nothing will stop him in his lust for

absolute power no means are ruled out

not even poison

when the great mogul finally dies shah

jahan has his rivals eliminated

brotherly love means nothing when the

prize is so great there was a notion of

family and there was a notion of

affection but this feeling recede into

the background and then that particular

vision of acquiring power for yourself

and to rule the country or Empire as you

see fit

becomes the rationale behind all the

violence that is perpetrated with his

rivals gone

Shah Jahan seizes the throne

his crowned emperor in 1628 in the red

fort in Agra

shajahan soon proves himself a wise and

moderate ruler he guides the Empire to

even greater prosperity

Mumtaz Mahal's stays in the background

but she's one of the chars most

important advisors this mogul dynasty

seems to have a glorious future perhaps

it will equal the illustrious past the

moguls are descended from the greatest

warlord of them all Genghis Khan their

distant ancestors were fierce warriors

of the Asian steppes the Mongols

a mere hundred years before Shah Jahan's

rise to power the Mughals swept down

from the north onto the plains of India

their cannons crushed one indian city

after another

by the time of shah jahan the moguls

controlled most of india the first time

this great land has been unified in

nearly 2,000 years the Mughal rulers

bring their faith with them Islam after

Hinduism Islam soon becomes India's

second religion but the invaders don't

impose it on the people they seek a

balance between the cultures the Mogul

lords proclaimed religious tolerance

more than a hundred million people now

see business and industry science and

art flourish

artists that caught portray their rulers

as godlike beings

there are no limits to the great moguls

power Shah Jahan holds sway over his

subjects over life and death his word is

law throughout the empire

this just ruler leads the country to

prosperity and stability

the court Chronicle records that

shajahan brings the people abundant joy

and happiness and a Shah Jahan mogul

rule in India reaches its dazzling

Zenith but now his greatest legacy the

Taj Mahal symbol of the Indian nation is

under threat

this has been a high-security zone since

2006 after bomb threats from terrorists

and religious fundamentalists it's

guarded round-the-clock access to the

mausoleum is tightly controlled filming

of the magnificent interior is forbidden

no one knows how long the Taj will need

this kind of protection

art historian abaca was able to study

the taj before the restrictions came

into force

she is the international expert on the

building and its history

she has also decoded the religious

symbolism of the monument

the attached mihaela standing are hip

external for kerplunk Fournier Taj Mahal

is the architectural embodiment of this

life and of the next according to

Islamic belief the ground plan shows

this duality the complex is split

between the tomb garden with its

mausoleum and a worldly side meant for

bazaars and markets the simple fact is

born what's interesting is that the

worldly side is the mirror image of the

mausoleum site no not be connecting

square with the great main gate marks

the transition to the tomb garden and

opens up the view to the mausoleum of

the Smithsonian at the center of the

mausoleum is the Holy of Holies the most

splendid room in the Taj Mahal the final

resting place of Shah Jahan's bride

Mumtaz Mahal the chosen one of the

palace leads a luxurious life in the

women's apartments of the Red Fort

poets admire her grace and charm even

the moon they say hides from her beauty

in shame the first lady of the Empire is

fabulously wealthy she has huge

resources she was the highest recipient

of money in the entire harem being the

chief queen or the most beloved queen of

the Emperor

because payments in the harem were

graded we have very interesting accounts

of graded payments from a very huge

amount to a very small amount and on top

of this they were gifts very very

exquisite expensive gifts on various

occasions the riches of the Mogul

dynasty are legendary both men and women

wear jewelry for the men it's a sign of

nobility and they give precious jewels

to their favorites in the harem

it's endless supply of gems makes India

the treasure house of the world in the

Mughal Empire the Indian art of jewelry

reaches its peak precious stones

decorate statues furniture weapons and

fabrics even today works by mogul

craftsmen command the highest prices the

same is true of india's textiles

cotton has been woven here for more than

4,000 years this is still a vital

industry in India under the moguls India

became the world's leading exporter of

precious fabrics

the rulers the great mogul and his

family cashed in on the trade Shah Jahan

has a special duty to his dynasty to

produce heirs his wives in the harem

bear him children but as the Chronicles

tell us once they've done their duty

these women are his wives in name only

shah jahan's harem may once have been a

love nest soon it comes to resemble an

nursery the harem is not an informal

entirely informal space it's a space

with a certain protocol it is a space

with a certain hierarchy

it is a space with a whole set of rules

and regulations with the Empire at peace

there's plenty of leisure time to fill

the Moghuls enjoyment of alcohol and

opium is legendary

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are together

every possible moment as the Chronicles

record the mutual affection and harmony

between the two had reached a degree

never seen between a husband and a wife

among the classes of rulers or among the

other people the Imperial Chronicle

describes their life that called the

intimacy deep affection attention and

favour which His Majesty had for the

chosen one of the palace exceeded by a

thousand times what he felt for any

other for Shah Jahan the happiness of

Mumtaz Mahal is paramount if you look at

the wardrobe of the Emperor if you look

at his private chambers if you look at

the Shelf which displays all the

perfumes own men's oil and a whole range

of aphrodisiacs then you would perhaps

know that there is a lot of interest to

develop into good lovers to acquire

emotions or to release emotions in a way

that would revitalize them or rejuvenate

them

her husband's love is shared and

returned by Mumtaz Mahal from the depths

of her soul

and always that lady of the age was the

companion close confidant associate an

intimate friend of that successful ruler

in hardship and comfort joy and grief

when traveling or in residence

fortune smiles on the king of the world

but not for long

there is unrest in the empire in 1629

reports reach Agra of another uprising a

distant province has rebelled against

the Empire again This Means War shah

jahan mobilizes his army

he will crush opposition with brute

force

day after day week after week the Mogul

army blazes a trail across the Indian

Plains nearly two years of forced

marches follow for Shah Jahan's soldiers

but nothing will tear Mumtaz Mahal from

her husband's side

the moguls are forced to leave their

capital again and again to crush

rebellions in the Deccan region

the campaign seems to have no end

the great mogul still puts his faith in

his canons

the latest super weapons imported from

the Turkish Empire

his soldiers haul them over mountains

and across the roughest terrain

shattering city walls wiping out the

rebels

but his string of victories is

interrupted by tragedy

in the midst of the campaign Mumtaz

Mahal falls pregnant with the emperor's

child but there are complications at the

birth for once the king is powerless as

his bride weakens the great mogul can do

nothing but pray the court Chronicle

recorded the sad events on the 17th of

June 16:31

the unfortunate demise of Her Majesty

the Queen took place shortly after her

confinement and made the whole world a

house of mourning Mumtaz Mahal dies

after the birth of her 14th child Shah

Jahan's world has come to an end

they say the Emperor fasted for eight

days locked in his chambers for two

years he heard no music wore no jewelry

or perfume

his hair and beard had turned gray he

looked older much much older than what

he looked when he went into confinement

or statutory mourning

so surely this must have had a deep

impact on him

before she died legend says Mumtaz Mahal

made a wish for a mausoleum more sublime

than any the world had seen

this will be Shah Jahan's task for the

rest of his life to erect the world's

most beautiful building in her memory

the Taj Mahal stands in a long tradition

of fabulous memorials in India Shah

Jahan's predecessors had constructed

many gorgeous mausoleums

the Taj Mahal combines the very best

elements of the memorials to Shah

Jahan's forefathers the tomb of his own

father provides the model for the

minarets his great-grandfather's

mausoleum had four corner turrets

surrounding a central core the four

mighty portals are inspired by his

grandfather's tomb

and Shah Jahan took the form of the

Great Dome from the memorial to a famous

ancestor different models United in

perfect harmony no other mausoleum may

come close to the Taj Mahal in scale

beauty and grace this monument must be

nothing less than a paradise here on

earth

symbolism carved in stone and marble a

heavenly memorial to the queen of the

world or as a poet described it a

teardrop on the cheek of time

in 1632 just six months after Mumtaz

Mahal's death work begins on the Taj

Mahal it will be the greatest building

project of the age some say that over

20,000 workers slaved on the building a

court chronicler captures the scene and

from all sides of the Imperial

territories were assembled true after

troupe of skilled men Stonecutters in

layers and those who do carving in

relief each one an expert in his craft

who began work together with the other

laborers millions of bricks are baked on

the spot for the shell of the building

the Taj Rises at record speed but

progress comes at a price day by day

this gigantic construction is draining

the imperial treasury but nothing

matters to the great mogul no expense is

spared for this lavish project

nothing must hold up the building work

even if the people suffer terribly for

the Emperor's devotion Shah Jahan

created an artificial fur mean when he

diverted the supply of grain towards

Agra when it was meant for a different

place the regular supply of grain was

diverted to feed a huge population of

artisans craftsmen laborers merchants

officials servants such monuments cannot

be built by a few individuals

today no one remembers the ordeal of the

people only the sublime result the

fabric of the color scheme of the Taj

Mahal is deeply symbolic for worldly

elements and other buildings are all

clad in red sandstone bowden simply

dalton sandstone for cleric varys's

white is reserved for the mausoleum this

is to be a building of enlightenment an

earthly representation of the heavenly

house where Mumtaz Mahal will live for

eternity the pure white stands for the

spirituality and faith of the person

buried here the white marble for the Taj

Mahal comes from quarries Atma Khurana

in Rajasthan still in use today

McCraney marble is already famous in

Shah Jahan's time hard yet easy to work

its prized for its fine detail and high

polish the great mogul has reserved

Makran o marble for imperial buildings

the marble slabs are carried more than

400 kilometers to the site of the Taj

Mahal construction consumes colossal

amounts of this fabulous stone with the

skeleton of the building complete the

bricks disappear forever beneath the

pure white facade it's this smooth

glowing stone that gives the Taj Mahal

its unique impact deserve I assume

armoire link that to here of course it's

this white marble that gives it its

beauty its lightness that sense of

floating that's it well these it's idol

doesn't these a means of expression

available to an architect DNA detectives

just as words are used by a poet a water

heart right beside the marble edifice

the gardens begin their garden the

garden is the heart of the Taj Mahal

it's an earthly picture of the paradise

of the Quran the gone for two paths

divide the terrain into four squares the

Capel oak economy the channels along the

paths represent the rivers of paradise

in the Quran we see the Quran where the

channels meet there's a pool this is

symbolic of the celestial pool where the

faithful quench their thirst when they

arrive in paradise spilling

vincent's bodies and sealed

true to mogul tradition the mausoleum

and garden form an indivisible unity and

the interior of the mausoleum itself is

modeled after the eight paradises of the

Quran eight chambers surround the

central space beneath the dome Mumtaz

Mahal's coffin lies here before long it

attracted pilgrims from far and wide

even today the graves of deeply pious

Muslims attract thousands of pilgrims

the flowers on the graves recall the

Prophet Muhammad as he ascended into

heaven each drop of perspiration turned

into a rose the faithful pray to the

departed asking for their divine

intervention

Indian Muslims are drawn to the

sumptuous memorials of the Mughal rulers

in the same way

Orthodox Islam has no time for the

worship of saints but here in India it's

widely seen

the moguls brought Islam to the

subcontinent

but they didn't interpret the Quran

rigidly for a long time in India Islam

was linked to policies of tolerance and

openness and Ishod Jahan that tolerance

and openness reaches far beyond India's

borders the great mogul decrees that

visitors from the outside world will be

made welcome in his empire he knows

there is much to gain from the exchange

so travelers from East and West are

regularly seen a charger Hans Court

Europeans can easily be spotted by their

exotic headgear both sides benefit from

this transcontinental contact

the Europeans are drawn by the precious

fabrics spices and gemstones

European merchants pay with silver and

bring new ideas to the Mughal Empire the

Taj Mahal itself demonstrates the links

between India and Europe sumptuous stone

flowers adorned the filigree marble

lattice work and cover the entire

interior of the Taj Mahal techniques and

motifs coming from distant Europe these

mosaics of semi-precious stones are

called Pietra dura

in petra Dora for instance one doesn't

know whether Petra Dora came directly

from Europe or came via some

intermediaries own but nevertheless it

was something which really tickled the

imagination of Shah Jahan and he used it

in a very interesting way in which the

building really looks like a treasure

chest Pietra dura is italian for hard

stone in the renaissance these precious

inlays decorated palaces this craft of

stone cutting traveled from italy to

india where it experienced a new heyday

in the pietre dure workshops of india

the techniques haven't changed in

hundreds of years many families have

been doing this for 17 or 18 generations

these are the direct descendants of the

craftsmen who worked on the Taj Mahal

Pietra dura is a tough craft to master

the mosaics are made of tiny colored

stones set into marble a craftsman cuts

hundreds of stones for a single mosaic

each shaped and positioned with perfect

precision

he needs just as much skill to carve the

flower shapes into the marble creating

the setting for the precious stones

after the final delicate Corrections a

special glue sets the stones in their

recesses painting in stone is one of the

glories of Indian craftsmanship but no

chronicles record the names of the

artists who decorated the Taj Mahal one

thing we tend to forget is the hard

labor sweat suffering of artisans an

ordinary craftsman nobody knows anything

about them so the monument is a

testimony as much to their existence and

the skill which they possessed as it is

of Shah Jahan's aesthetic embellishment

through their work the men who made the

Taj Mahal live on 1643 the Taj Mahal is

finished it has taken 12 years in spite

of difficulties and obstacles

Shah Jahan has accomplished his dream

the chosen one of the palace rests in a

shrine worthy of her name

a building more sublime than any

conceived or carved by human hand on the

anniversaries of her death Shah Jahan

visits Mumtaz Mahal's tomb the king of

the world travels the Yamuna River to

the shrine of the Taj Mahal to remember

his great love

the Taj Mahal conceals a final mystery

the coffin seen in the mausoleum is only

a senator an empty monument Mumtaz Mahal

lies in a secret marble chamber below

there she rests undisturbed

after finishing the Taj Mahal Shah Jahan

rules these lands for 20 more years but

his reign will see an inglorious end his

costly projects and extravagant

lifestyle have brought the Empire to the

edge of ruin

in 1658 the king of the world is toppled

from the throne deposed by his and

mumtaz own son to save the empire from

his extravagance shah jahan absolute

ruler great mogul for 30 years is a

prisoner

he's held captive in the Red Fort he

will never leave it again

in the evening a servant reads him

stories of the heroic deeds of his youth

epochs of bravery and power struggle and

triumph a long long time ago

in Sharjah Hans decades of intelligent

rule the Moghul Empire reached its peak

no one succeeded in challenging his

infinite power

but the mightiest have furthest to fall

just one comfort remains to shah jahan

in the distance from his prison window

he can see the gleaming monument of his

beloved

he cannot forget his passion for the

chosen one of the palace

their happiness was mortal their love

was for eternity

Mumtaz Mahal's tomb has carved its place

in history

shajahan will also find his last resting

place here in 1666 at the age of 74 shah

jahan dies his chronicle ends with the

words the king of the world has died the

body was taken by River to the

Magnificent tomb of the late Queen

Mumtaz my Shah Jahan is reunited with

his chosen one of the palace their

legacy will make them immortal

the most perfect building in the world