Four
Minarets of Charminar Perfected in Taj Mahal
BySyed
Khaled Shahbaaz
Originally,
the Charminar featured four minarets. Its construction was complete in 1591,
just around the time Shah Jahan was born. Forty years later, construction of
the Taj Mahal began in 1631. Around 1612, Akbar's mausoleum was constructed and
it had four minarets. Subsequently in 1627, Noor Jahan built a mausoleum for
her husband Jahangir which also had four minarets as a grand imposing
structure. These minarets have a dominant effect on the entire mausoleum.
He said
"Shah Jahan and his wife had once travelled through Deccan region (now Hyderabad
When the
Taj Mahal was being planned, and artists started presenting the models for
construction, Shah Jahan had the four minarets in mind from the original
Charminar at Hyderabad
According
to Mr. Qaiyum, the "Taj Mahal continues to amaze architects with its
impeccable design, structure and grace. However, the structure design of
minarets attained perfection with their impeccable construction in Taj Mahal.
Furthermore,
the minarets of the Taj Mahal are designed leaning slightly outwards. This is
an engineering marvel to protect the Taj Mahal if the minarets were to collapse
in the event of an earthquake." The structure itself stands on the edge of
the Yamnuna river, and was built to fulfill to honour the last wish of queen
Arjumand Bano.
Arjumand
Bano, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who wanted the king to build a mausoleum
for her, the magnificence of which the world has never seen. The queen also
asked that the king would never marry after her death.
Mr. Qaiyum
said "Moghal Emperor Shah Jahan was one of the wisest and most influential
king of the Moghal era. He had great command over artisans who were roped in
from different parts of the country, to erect the structure".
Similarly, "many of the jewels
adorning the Taj Mahal were transported from Hyderabad
In an
attempt to fulfill the wish of his beloved wife, who was always on his side in
travel and at palace, Shah Jahan commissioned more than 20,000 workers
supervised by dozens of architects, engineers and maestros in their field. More
than 350 years later, the Taj continues to draw millions of visitors every
year.
The central
dome of the Taj Mahal stands without the help of any reinforcing material, and
was built after the emperor's wife died during childbirth in 1631. Taj Mahal, a
magnum opus of eternal love was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1983.
The
presentation featured rare pictures, paintings of Shah Jahan and his wife,
artistic depictions of the construction of Taj, and different pictures of the
iconic Taj Mahal with interesting narrations on each.
Eminent
personalities from different walks of life including academicians, teachers,
students, and admirers of history were also present. Earlier, former Islamic
Development Bank Jeddah Chairman Mr Zafar Javeed felicitated Mr. Qaiyum for his
work and research on Taj Mahal. Dr Anupama Koneru, Prof. Shehbaz Ahmed, Ms
Vibha Asthana, and others were also present on this occasion. Syed Khaled
Shahbaaz compeered the program.