The Random Object Randomizer pulled the Taj Mahal today, and that gave me a chance to wrestle with perspective and history all at once.
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Built in the 1600s, it took more than 20 years and the labor of thousands to complete. It is one of the most famous wonders of the world, and it all began with one man’s grief for his favorite wife.
Mumtaz Mahal was her title, meaning “Chosen One of the Palace.” Her real name was Arjumand Banu Begum, and she died in 1631 during childbirth with their fourteenth child. Shah Jahan loved her so deeply that he ordered a monument built to honor her memory. He joined her there years later, entombed side by side in the white marble mausoleum.
The Taj Mahal is made of marble carried about 220 miles from Makrana, India. That is nearly half the Indianapolis 500, only instead of speeding cars it was oxen, carts, and boats hauling stone. Legends grew around the building, like the story of the emperor cutting off the artisans’ hands, but records show those craftsmen went on to build other great works. The truth is already more than enough: a masterpiece in stone dedicated to love.
I always thought it was a mosque, and there is a mosque nearby, but the Taj Mahal itself is a mausoleum. It is a crown of palaces built not for kingship but for memory. It is one of the rare monuments in history that stands as a love letter carved in marble.
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Also, if you, or a teacher friend, would like a 20-30 minutes lesson plan about the Taj Mahal, feel free to download and share this one:
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