Do you know the Story of a Second Taj?
According to popular legend, Shah Jahan decided to construct another Taj Mahal
in black marble on the other side of the river Yamuna and to connect the two by
a bridge. This structure was intended to be his own tomb. It has been recorded
almost contemporarily by a French merchant Tavernier : "Shah Jehan began
to build his own tomb on the other side of the river but the war with his sons
interrupted his plan and Aurangzeb who reigns at present is not disposed to
complete it".
Later gazetteers and guide books mention this story almost invariably. The irregular position of the cenotaph of
Shah Jahan as compared to that of Mumtaz Mahal which occupies the exact centre
of the hall is said to be proof of this assumption. The Mehtab Burj and the
wall adjoining it opposite the Taj Mahal are generally said to be the
foundations and remains of the proposed plan.
Many scholars, however, believe that this idea belongs to fiction rather than
history. The traces which are identified as the foundations of the second Taj
are actually the enclosing wall of a garden founded by Babar. The irregular
position of Shah Jahan's cenotaph in comparison to Mumtaz Mahal's, is similar
to that at the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah, and thus should not be of any striking
significance. Besides, according to Islamic law, bodies are buried with their
faces towards Mecca and legs towards the south, and the husband is placed on
the right hand side of his wife. The interpretation that the cenotaph of Shah
Jahan was not meant to be placed here appears to be superfluous.
"Where there is love, there is life" -- Mahatma Gandhi
"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."--Plato
"The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know."-- Pascal
