Theory One
It was built in one night
The Taj Mahal just after daybreak
Pics: Mukesh ParpianiChandni Abbas lives on the banks of the Yamuna in Agra.
Across the river, the Taj Mahal wallpapers the skyline magnificently, but the 11-year-old wants Delhis Red Fort.
Taj sey ab jee hat gaya Im tired of the Taj, she says. When shes not in school, Chandni can be found at the riverside with her 24 goats and one brother, Sayeed.
Other children from their village, Kachpura, bring goats to graze on the riverbed too. The grass is the only sign of life in the Yamuna its waters dried up long ago all that remains is a sluggish stream surrounded by sand and grass.
Yet, its a good enough playground and bathtub for the boys and feeding ground for their cattle. When not dunking each other in the water and rolling on the hot white sand, they strike poses for sharpshooters; foreign tourists are charged more but of course. If asked, they even toss out a bit of history. Ya, the Taj Mahal? The British killed Shah Jehans Mumtaz in a ditch. He built this in her memory. They say it was built in one night.
Agra is not obsessed with the Taj Mahal, but the city spins outlandish stories about its creation every day. Faith and romance strut about posing as historical facts. Every one has their favourite Taj theory.
Children from the Kachpura village bringing their goats to graze on the riverbed, Chandni Abbas is in the blue skirt A sadhu at a small temple on the bank of the river says Shah Jehan wanted to build a monument mirroring the Taj, in black, opposite it, in Mehtab Bagh. The garden there still has the area marked, he says. However, historians have found nothing to substantiate this.
The sadhus sitting on a chaupai outside the temple surrounded by villagers; Mehtab Bagh is next door and the Taj in front, across the river. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Hanuman, Durga and Shiv watch over the Taj from their vantage point in the temple.
The sadhu remembers that the riverbed was a fine platform for entertainment.
He says, All-night qawaalis were held; these days its not so much. Everything changed after 1984. A hunched, bearded man sitting nearby is excited about the sightings hes had recently as well.
Pointing to his right, he says, Arre Yaani performed here. Throwing out his left hand, he says, Hema Malini performed there. I have seen film shooting also: Rani Mukerji, Govinda and Ajay Devgan
Everyones waiting for festivities to begin because theyve been told that on September 27, a qawaali will be held here again. Thats when the state Government begins celebrating 350 years of the Taj, ironic in a city that cannot even agree on who built it.
Theory Two
The descendants of the artists
A detail of the inlay work, some say before Shah Jehan, India did not have a tradition of inlay work he was responsible for introducing itShah Jehan, Ahmad Lahouri, Mohammed Isa Afandi most people back one of these favourites.
None of the historical documents available to historians Shah Jehans autobiography by his court historian, three letters written by Shah Jehan to Raja Man Singh, and three documents supposedly containing details of purchases made for the Taj speak the whole truth.
References are made to certain purchases but it is not clear whether, for instance, Shah Jehan bought a piece of land from Raja Man Singh or an existing palace.
The story of the Taj Mahal changes entirely just on the basis of this one fact. Some of the truth has been lost in translation too, so the story depends on individual interpretation. Says Dr Ghulam Ali Qamar, who was an assistant superintendent at the Taj for 22 years, A pavilion existed here, not a palace. There is no doubt that Shah Jehan got the Taj Mahal made.
Some say he was its designer. He took architectural ideas from around the world and made this. Before Shah Jehan, India did not have a tradition of inlay work he introduced it here.
Qamar lives close to the southern gate of the Taj. Many inlay craftsmen live and work here. Some of these believe, or claim, that they are descendents of the artists who worked on the Taj.
Mehtab Bagh with the area marked for the creation of the supposed mirror of the Taj in black They believe that their ability to breathe life into stone by cutting it into fiery flowers and lush leaves runs in their blood. Shahbuddin, son of Thamruddin Pachchikar (pachchikar was the title conferred on inlayers), has two workshops.
One is where fine, expensive work is done and the other takes care of quick, cheap orders. The craftsmen are not even known as artists anymore; theyre workers. A thick layer of marble dust shrouds them in both. Says Shahbuddin, This work is being done by our family for generations.
Perhaps one of the most envied jobs is that of Saiuddin, who comes to the Taj daily, to dust the tombs of Shah Jehan and Mumtaz, and the screen that surrounds the lovers. He says, I have done this for 50 years, and my father did it before me. I work here from 6 am to 2 pm. But I do not get a salary for this; its a service we provide. Whatever people give us of their own free will is enough.
As people walk in and out of the tomb, hitting a high note every now and then to hear it bounce off the dome perfectly, Saiuddin continues dusting.
Some stand aside and marvel how close he is to the legend of the Taj Mahal. But if you were to ask him whether hes ever been to the real tombs below (the ones above the ground are replicas), the mask of peace and serenity slips momentarily. Do you think they will allow anyone to go below? he asks, angrily.
Theory Three
Tilting minarets and a number game
The secrets of the Taj are guarded jealously, as though confirmation of one or another theory will cheapen the value of this historic monument. If only the Taj could talk well there are some whove tried to decipher it anyway.
A few years ago, ex-railway man K K Pandey wrote a book claiming that the Taj was a 2,200-year-old Rajput palace. He had also got a sliver of one of the doors carbon dated in 1983, which put its year as 1359. Why dont they get it carbon dated? That will settle the matter, he says, going on to explain how he reached the conclusion that its 2,200 years old.
The minarets are tilting, says Pandey. Three at .1 inch per 25 years and one at .5 inch for the same time period. He also has figures of how much each was tilted in 1940, and what the tilt was in 1965.
So if the south-west minaret was 8.5 inch in 1940, 8.6 inch in 1965 and it has been tilting .1 inch every 25 years, you do the math to see how far it takes you to when it was straight. Pandey did, and he says it took him back 2,200 years.
Israr Khan, a guide at the Taj offers a theory that uses the number 22 to make sense of the mystery that cloaks the Taj Mahal. He says, The number 22 governed Shah Jehans life, and so everything in the Taj is in twenty-twos: the number of steps leading up to the tomb, the number of domes, the number of gardens, the number of fountains is 88 and so on.
Mohammed Khan, who has been a guide for 53 years, says that everything has a religious significance at the Taj. Its as though you are entering heaven, with gardens and babbling brooks.
About the theory that Shah Jehan cut off the hands of his craftsmen afterwards, Khan ventures this, They must have been under contract to the king. And when someone asked them to do some work for them, they probably said, They couldnt, they were helpless, hamaare haath katey hain
Professor Harbans Mukhiya, medievalist historian, says most historians agree the Taj was built by Shah Jehan. And, that it made heaven a material reality. He says, It is the concept of paradise on earth. Paradise would be like the Taj Mahal. The white colour signified eternal peace.
Theory Four
There will be grand celebrations
It is hoped that the governments celebration will boost tourism to Agra. But the Taj is caught between the state Government, which announced the project, and the Centre, which is responsible for the Taj. Officials at the festival secretariat know nothing about it. We know of only one programme on the first day, the 27th.
The divisional commissioner Dr Ashok Kumar is a little more forthcoming. He says, Programmes have been lined up until March 31 next year. There is a proposal to keep the Taj open five nights a year. We are getting the boundary walls painted a red sandstone colour, according to our Bharatiya sanskriti. It will be orderly and disciplined.
Tourism minister Renuka Chowdhury also insists that everyone is working on this together, but is quick to assert that it is the Centre thats getting this festival publicity abroad. As for the programmes theyve scheduled, she throws up her hands and says, Weve been given two slots in November and February.
The problem, feel locals, is that Rajasthan is becoming the big stay for most tourists. No one wants to spend more than a day at Agra because after theyve seen the Taj, theres nothing else to do. The challenge is now in making its legend worth more than a one-night stand.
