Taj Mahal a rare memorial of love and that too of constructed after the death of the beloved could only be in India
. The people of India are generally emotional in nature but of short memory. Therefore this magnificient memorial which took years to complete is really a memorial of love. The effort which was put in is herculean. As the magnificent looking building proves. The looks apart the Taj Mahal has been designed in such a fashion that even Natural calamities cannot effect it.
The Taj Mahal is not only an architectural & engineering feat but a unique piece of construction. During the period of the construction of Taj Mahal there were no Cranes etc. Therefore to build such a huge monument was a mammoth task. The marble used here were in large chunks unlike the thin slices as is the procedure in the modern days. For this the best marble from Rajasthan was sourced and brought by camel carts to Agra.
Unknown to many the base of the Taj Mahal is on special wooden pillars. These pillars were used as the Taj is based on the banks of the river Yamuna and this wood as long as it is wet is stronger than iron and neither catches rust nor cracks or is effected by pests. The paving surrounding the main building has been designed in such a fashion it cannot be effected by earthquake. The vibrations of the earthquake will be diverted and will bypass the main building. The four minarets which surround the Taj have been so designed and are inclined at such an angle as not to effect the building even if they fall down. All the minarets and the Taj Mahal itself have lightening very strong conductors so that even in case of heavy lightening the structure will not be effected. When the building was being constructed the normal plastering like cement or lime etc were not used to increase adhesive quality and decrease the gap between the pieces of marble. A different mixture of the white of the egg & honey combined with certain other ingredients was used. The actual tomb of Nurjahan was placed at the bottom and a false tomb was built on top of it where the general public could go to pay homage.
These huge blocks of marble could not be lifted up so an ingenious method was used. As the base of the building was constructed it was covered from all sides by mud and ramps were built as the height of the building was raised the ramps also grew in height so that the marble blocks could be delivered right at the site. Once the building was complete the mud ramps were cleared and the work of carving and finishing could start. Now there was the time for the gardens. The gardens were designed in Mughal fashion were no grassing was used as it is now. Basically the garden was developed in jungle fashion where as the building became invisible from outside and when one approached the building suddenly the Taj Mahal became visible and drew a gasp from the viewer saying wah!