Taj Mahal

Title: Taj Mahal – Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire

Author: Diana and Michael Preston

Publisher: Walker & Company, 2008 (First published 2007)

ISBN: 978-0-8027-1673-6

Pages: 284

Taj Mahal is undoubtedly India’s greatest engineering achievement. Built out of an emperor’s sorrow over his dead wife, the white marble mausoleum has been identified as a symbol of India worldwide. The familiar image of the imposing structure on the banks of river Jamuna evokes feelings of awe, wonder, compassion and fulfillment. Influencing the mind of the onlooker is the romantic history of the Moghuls, the only Indian dynasty which could live on in the minds of people of later times through their magnificent buildings and equally magnificent court customs which coloured the imaginations of thousands of poets and story tellers. Most of them were egotistic, megalomaniac and blood-thirsty, resorting to the cruelest methods imaginable to man and which were lavishly employed against their rivals, be them their own brothers, cousins, father or sons. Since the principle of primogeniture was not practiced, the issue of succession in the event of the death of a king always resulted in fratricidal warfare. Unsuccessful princes usually found their eyes gouged out, or if the victor was merciful, they were summarily executed, without adding years of suffering to their lot. Rare exceptions notwithstanding, all of them were pleasure-seekers and ruled roughshod over their hapless subjects. Religious bigotry was practiced during the beginning and end of its flowering period in heartless detail. Thousands of temples were destroyed, thousands and thousands of men and women were taken as slaves or concubines of the rulers and two Sikh gurus were executed. It is clear that the nation does not owe them any moral or social debt for any lasting contribution they had imparted to its society. However, the dynasty still commands attention from us with their tales of intrigue, love and plain cheating.

Diana Preston and her husband, Michael Preston has produced many works under their joint pen name of Alex Rutherford whose book Empire of the Moghul - Raiders from the North has been reviewed earlierin this blog. That was fiction and this one is heavily tinged with details of suspiciously fictional origin. The book begins with Babur’s campaign to India starting from 1526 and nominally covers the end of the dynasty with Bahadur Shah II’s exile to Burma after his fiasco in the first War of Independence in 1857. The heart of the narrative covers Shah Jahan and his rule. Architectural and structural details of the Taj are given in sufficient detail which can be expected from a book targeting general audience. It also describes the changes in appearance affected on the ageless mausoleum after Moghul power waned and authority changed hands, first to British and then to indigenous. The authors have traveled widely in India, Uzbekistan and Iran to visit other construction of similar nature and to compare them to the Taj.

Babur established Mughal rule in India after defeating Ibrahim Lodi at the first battle of Panipat in 1526. That empire was not secure as Babur’s Turkish court couldn’t obtain cooperation from the Afghan nobles who made up the Delhi Sultanates. His son, Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah and thrown into exile. However, he regained his kingdom which grew to gigantic proportions under his son Akbar’s reign which nearly lasted a half-century. Akbar’s eclectic ideals on religion and government helped the various parts of the country to come together in a cohesive way. The sun of Moghul paramountcy rose in Akbar’s reign and probably set at around the completion of Taj Mahal when the empire began reeling under financial stress, caused in no small measure by the great building projects of Shah Jahan. Akbar was followed by his son Jahangir, to whom Shah Jahan was born.

Though Shah Jahan was the favourite son of his father, their relations soured towards the end of Jahangir’s father. In the power struggle which ensued the invalidation of Jahangir, who was addicted to opium and liquor, Shah Jahan killed his brothers Khusrau, Shahriyar and Dawar Baksh, and his two nephews (the sons of Prince Daniyal, his long dead brother). Unlike other Mughals, Shah Jahan was really attached to his wife Arjumand Bano Begum, who was later known as Mumtaz Mahal (the chosen one of the palace) who accompanied her husband in his times of travails – during battles and when he was hounded by an angry Jahangir’s troops for insubordination. In their marital life which lasted 19 years, Mumtaz bore him 14 children, of which 7 died and she herself died in labour during the 14^th. The relentless pregnancies must have cost severe stress on the queen’s health which was accentuated by travel through hostile terrain. Mumtaz breathed her last in Burhanpur in Central India in 1630 where they were camped while proceeding for battle with Deccan Sultans in the far south of the country. She was interred in a nearby garden. After Shah Jahan returned to Agra, his capital, he started construction of a mausoleum in deference to the dying queen’s wish. It took 16 years to complete the grand structure which has remained an object symbolizing conjugal love and dedication.

The marble for the structure was brought from Makrana in nearby Rajastan, and the design shows a seamless mix of Hindu and Islamic architectural styles. Built by Indian craftsmen, who skill was appreciated even by Babur, who had found India a dull place in every respect, the monument soon rose to the sky as a mark of human achievement in the unblemished grandeur of the building. Time went on, along with Shah Jahan’s troubles with his own sons, finally resulting in his reaping what he has sowed. His own sons fought among themselves at the first sign of weakness of their father. Aurangzeb ascended the throne after a bloody battle of succession in which he killed three of his brothers, Dara Shukoh, Shah Shuja and Murad Baksh in an inhuman way and eliminating his nephews. Aurangzeb’s intolerant practice of following hard-line Sunni Islam alienated fellow kings who were still ruling over a population predominantly Hindu. Local rulers like the Marathas gained prominence during Aurangzeb’s reign and when he died in 1707, the end of Mughal dynasty was a foregone conclusion.

The book is excellently written with handsome helpings from fiction and hearsay. Though it can’t be relied upon for accurate historical details, the book provides a convenient palette of semi-fictional facts over which historical fact may be superimposed. The authors had done a commendable job in making it a real blend of those two. Handsomely helped with illustrations and photographs of various architectural styles and characters, the work offers a complete panoply of tools for the serious as well leisurely-minded readers. More important of all, it arises an urge to visit the Taj among the readers with its neat description of the events which led to its construction, succinct narrative of the architectural niceties and the comprehensive coverage of his latter history. A good index helps to locate interesting details in a flash. It also provides some lesser known details of the Moghul monarchs such as,

a)      Akbar had more than 300 wives, many from Rajput dynasties, though he gave none of his daughters in marriage to other rulers

b)      Akbar ended the bizarre right of Muslim magistrates to spit in the mouth of Hindus who were late in paying Jizya, the religious poll tax which non-Muslims had to pay. (p.32)

c)      Jahangir possessed 125 kilos of diamonds, pearls, rubies and emeralds alone – amounting to 625,000 karats of gems

d)      Agra in 17^th century had a population of 750,000 which was more than double that of London at that time (300,000).

Though not exactly very relevant to the subject matter of the book, it also describes a lesser known fact about Babur, the founder of the dynasty. He was a bi-sexual with his homosexual tendencies evident from his diary (Baburnama) in which he writes about a servant boy who was later came to called Baburi (meaning Babur’s). Babur writes, “I developed a strange inclination for him – rather I made myself miserable over him. Before this experience I had never felt a desire for anyone. Occasionally Baburi came to me but I was so bashful that I could not look him in the face, much less converse freely with him. There was no possibility of speaking coherently” (p.13).

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star