Advertisement
Published: April 29th 2006
The Taj Mahal was built over a period of twenty-two years, ending 1663, by the fifth Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan, as a token of un-abiding love; and in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who passed on birthing their fourteenth child. Both Shah and Mumtaz lay in rest at Taj.
I saw Taj and she is simply lovely. I do not mean that she is a lovely building, or edifice or structure; I mean that she is, existentially, in her being, lovely.
In the gentle curves of the graceful domes from whence come her smiles; in her upright bearing and striking stance; in the decorative turrets, cupolas and pinnacles that adorn her; in all of these, as a piece, she is just so lovely.
True, up close, she is cast in the finest white marble, from footprint to sky-touch; as well, her fine skein is imprinted and overlaid with intricate floral designs, symbols of paradise, and with impressionist motifs of prayer mats, idle clouds and spiritual script; sure, semi-precious stones shine tasteful highlights about and within her; to wit, she receives natural light as soft blessings through apertures in her sides; without question, symmetry and proportionality shape the
Taj Mahal - March 2, 2006
Everywhere there are panels of marble engraved with flowers. receding arches that trace the elevation view of her. But, to really see her, is to stand back; and see her whole.
I first saw her, all of her, at noon: from the entrance way of her courtyard, looking beyond her classic gardens and past the pond at her feet, her gaze reflected. And, it is in her nature as a chameleon that her mystery is enshrined. Magically, her soul inhales the light and colours extant to the time of day; and exhales them, through her luminescent surface, ethereally changing, as time and nature modulates haze and hue.
Come about five in the afternoon, it was time to repair for refreshments, un-invited, but seeming like we were, on the verandah of a 5-star with sightlines to the compound of Taj. Chablis in hand, credit card at the ready, we could see Taj, floating above green vegetation and white bougainvilleas; her domes clustered with the various spherical forms that crown the mosques and towers that live with her, like some long ago city skyline in the distant future.
As I finally left her presence, slowly, with each parting glance, I would plead:
Lady in
Taj Mahal - March 2, 2006
Exquisite flowers carved with grace. white
Softly dappled in light
Bearing such regal height
Give my dreams flight
Lady in white
Always return from the night
By day you are pure delight
Make my soul bright
Dearest Lady in white
You have altered my sight
Your dear Shah was so right
Lovely Lady in white
Vernon Ernest Ainsley
Advertisement
Tot: 0.15s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 10; qc: 66; dbt: 0.0897s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
