Lotus Temple

Lotus Temple in Delhi: A Remarkable Architecture
Lotus Temple is one of the remarkable architectures of Bahai faith. It is located at Kalkaji in New Delhi. The temple looks like a lotus flower and is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. The temple has no restrictions for visitors and is open to people from all religions. The place provides immaculate environment for meditation, peace and wisdom. The Bahai temple was completed in 1986. Since then the temple has received recognition from all over the world for its splendid architecture and design. Lotus Temple is among the most visited monuments in India. The credit for building this beautiful structure goes to the Persian architect Fariborz Sahba from Canada. Personifying Lotus in the temple does not merely mean giving a lotus shape to the edifice but it has a message to the people of India in the form of a manifestation from the almighty. Lotus is a symbol of peace, purity, love and immortality. It is this particular specialty of Lotus flower which makes the flower an important icon in Indian culture and society. This is why the design of Lotus temple has been inspired by lotus flower.

The design looks like a half opened Lotus flower with 27 freestanding "petals" made of marble. The architect, while designing the temple took into account the eternal beauty of Lotus flower. The construction work took almost 10 years before it finally got shape and was open for public. The team comprised of 800 engineers, technicians, workers and artisans who worked diligently to give realization to one of the most complex edifices in the world. The temple integrates the aesthetic values along with the technological influence within the whole structure. There are nine reflecting pools that encompass the temple from outside. Converting the geometry of the design that did not have any straight line to the actual structure needed a lot of effort and dedicated engineering.

The temple has the capacity to accommodate nearly 2500 people and has nine doors that open in a central hall. The whole structure is made of white marble that adds to the glory of the temple. It is about 40 meters tall surrounded by nine ponds and appears as if the temple is floating like a Lotus flower in water. The most appraising aspect of this particular architectural masterpiece is the integration of the effervescent Indian history along with the modern engineering and architecture. The temple has to its accreditation being recognized all over the world as one of the most visited edifices in the world with almost 50 million people having visited the temple since its inception in 1986.

India Gate

India GateSituated at the banks of Yamuna river, Delhi, the capital of India, is a vibrant modern city with an ancient and eventful history. The city with its multi-faceted culture can aptly said to be a microcosm of the whole nation. Visit to the city offers a unique two-in-one experience as New Delhi with its wide roads and high rise buildings gives a feel of being in a contemporary city whereas a stroll down the streets of Old Delhi can easily take one to a bygone era with its narrow lanes and old 'havelis'. Delhi has thousands of historical monuments and places of religious importance.

India Gate, an important monument of the city, is a memorial built in commemoration of more than 80,000 Indian soldiers who were killed during World War I. The monument is an imposing 42 meters high arch and was designed by the famous architect Edwin Lutyens. India gate was earlier named All India War Memorial. The design of India gate is almost similar to its French counterpart war memorial, the Arc-de-Triomphe.
The building is made of red stone that rises in stages into a huge moulding . On top of the arch, INDIA is written on both sides. Names of over 70,000 Indian soldiers are inscribed on the walls of the monument in whose memory it is built. There is a shallow domed bowl at the top, which was intended to be filled with burning oil at special occasions.
At the base of the India gate there is another memorial, the Amar Jawan Jyoti that was added after independence. This eternal flame was lighted in commemoration of the unknown soldiers who laid their lives to serve this nation.
The lush green lawns, Children Park and the famous boat club around the place make it a perfect picnic spot. Cool evening breeze near the fountains of India gate attract hundreds of visitors daily. In the evenings, India gate is illuminated with number of lights around it that gives it a magnificent appeal. Standing near the base of the monument one can have a good view of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The beautifully lit up monument provides a memorable background against the darkening sky. Even in daylight, the stretch between India Gate and the Rashtrapati Bhavan offers a splendid view.
Every year on 26^th January India gate stands witness to the Republic Day parade where latest advancements of defence technology is displayed. The parade is also a good platform to have a glimpse at the colourful and diverse cultural heritage of India as artists from all over the country perform on the occasion.

Taj Mahal

About TAJ MAHAL
Experiencing the Taj Mahal without being cognizant of its history is grossly irrelevant and absurd. The extravagant expression has not come easy. There underlays an ocean of emotions and a wild passion that led the king to erect such a masterpiece in snow-white marble. It's a monument, the only one, where perhaps, ever inch of the edifice, from one corner to the other, expresses the beauty of Mumtaz Mahal. Mughal emperor's Shah Jahan's intense feelings and warmheartedness can be felt at the very first instant as you arrive here to fix your gaze upon one of the most phenomenal structures in the world.

The splendid love story begins in 1612, when a Persian princess Arjumand Bano married Shah Jahan (then prince Khurram), the fifth Mughal emperor. Arjumand Bano, who later became known as Mumtaz Mahal (the Chosen of the Palace), was a second wife to the emperor. Both a companion and an advisor, the queen followed the emperor on his journeys and military expeditions. Such was the effect of the queen on his emperor-husband that Shah Jahan was inspired to perform acts of charity and benevolence all throughout his life.

The love story took a serious turn when, on a campaign at Burhanpur with her husband, Mumtaz Mahal took his last breath giving birth to their 14th child. So heartbroken was the emperor that the whole court went into mourning for a span of over two years. It is said that, within a few months after the queen's death, the hair and beard of the king had turned white. And Shah Jahan was recklessly determined on building a monument in his consort's loving memory that the world had never seen.

The dead body of the queen was brought to Agra and buried in a garden on the banks of river Yamuna. A group of the finest architects was assembled to devise a plan for erecting the tomb. Eventually, Ustad Isa, a Persian architect, was called upon to design the structure. The master architect along with his pupil Ustad Ahmad began the construction of the edifice. The dome, however, was fashioned by Ismail Khan. A total of 20,000 labourers from across the country and the world were employed to work for 22 years continuously. Finest of the marbles were procured from the district of Markana near Jodhpur. Precious and semi precious stones were brought from far off places.

Later, the mausoleum was provided with luxuriant furnishings. Persian carpets and gold lamps embellished the interior of the Taj. Two silver gates, that were set up at the entrance, were taken away by Suraj Mal in 1764. Amir Husein Ali Khan looted the sheet of pearls that covered the stone coffins.

It is said, that after the completion of the construction, when emperor Shah Jahan viewed the Taj, he ordered his men to cut off the right hand of the master architect Ustad Isa, so the later may not be able to erect such a stately and imposing edifice again in his life. There's another legend that says Shah Jahan was contemplating to build yet another Taj Mahal across the river in blackmarble.

History of Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal : History of Taj Mahal 

The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent. It's the history of Taj Mahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a soul that is filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if it was not for love, the world would have been robbed of a fine example upon which people base their relationships. An example of how deeply a man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made sure that this memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in love with Mumtaz Mahal, his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name Arjumand Banu Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married.

Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the "Taj Mahal". The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631. Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran, and it took approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The monument was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was finally completed in the year 1653.

It was soon after the completion of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was at the end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908, as a measure to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion of 1857: Taj being blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also deprived the monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. Also, the British style lawns that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were remodeled around the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present threats from Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of love continuous to shine and attract people from all over the world. 

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is the epitome of Mughal art and one of the most famous buildings in the world. Yet there have been few serious studies of it and no full analysis of its architecture and meaning. Ebba Koch, an important scholar,  has been permitted to take measurements of the complex and has been working on the palaces and gardens of Shah Jahan for thirty years and on the Taj Mahal itself—the tomb of the emperor's wife, Mumtaz Mahal—for a decade.
The tomb is the representation of the house of the queen in Paradise, and  its setting was based on the palace gardens of the great nobles that lined both sides of the river at Agra India.  You will explore the entire complex of the Taj Mahal with an explanation of each building and an account of the mausoleum's urban setting, its design and construction, its symbolic meaning, and its history up to the present day.