The Final Mahal of Mumtaz

The Taj Mahal does not disappoint. It is without doubt the most spectacular building I have ever seen. We had a guide by the name of Dr Om Pradesh Patok, a man who, now retired, had done his Ph.D in Mughal history and architecture. He was born in Agra and, together with a German woman, they run a school for underprivileged children in Agra, of which there is no shortage, of course.

But back to the Taj. For those of you who do not know or do not remember, this is one of the world’s greatest love stories. I will tell you the story and then put pictures into a second posting.


Shah Jahan was the son of Jahangir, who was the son of Ackbar who was the son Humaon who was the son of Babur, who was the first Moghul Emperor conquering parts of India first around about 1526AD. Bear in mind that the earlier defeated dynasty, the Rajputs, were Hindu but the Moghuls, who were from Persia were Moslem, something which causes violence and war even down to modern times.

So as you can see, it’s a few years later and the Moghuls have been ruling for a hundred years. Shah Jahan meets a Persian lady whose real name I can’t quite remember but it doesn’t matter because he falls deeply in love and renames her Mumtaz Mahal which means “the pleasure of the palace”, in other words she was so very beautiful in so many ways that she gave pleasure to all in the palace.

She was his third wife but this was not a political match as the first two had been. This was true devotion. She went to war with him and helped him in maintaining power in the realm. Governing is perhaps a bit too strong a word for that time although people could bring petitions to Shah Jahan if they needed a judgment from him. She was pregnant with their 14th child when she went to war with him for the last time. She died from complications after childbirth and was buried about 1200 miles from Agra.

Shah Jahan was desolate and built the Taj Mahal to her memory. His weakness was likely noticed by his son Arangir (sp) who then overthrew him and locked him up in the Red Fort across the river where he languished for eight years before he was poisoned. Each evening he would look across the river from the Red Fort at the Taj Mahal and contemplate his love of Mumtaz Mahal. But don’t feel too sorry for him. When he was finished building the Taj the tale is that he cut off the hands of all the artisans so they could never build another building.