Itmauddauhal Analysis

“Sleep is just one of those few things you loose when you are the emperor of India,” Shahjahan thought as he lay wide-awake in the bed late one night. It was nothing new. He was used to it and took it sportingly. He often joked amongst his courtiers that sleep was a luxury he could neither buy nor conquer. The courtiers obviously laughed. They had to. But this night it was different.

Finally he abandoned the efforts to close his eyes and walked to the window. It was a full moon night. The sky was clear with twinkling stars that stretched as far as eyes could see. The sight mesmerised him and no sooner he had begun to forget his mental preoccupation, it struck him. “The Taj Mahal was like a night sky without the twinkling stars. His Taj Mahal
It felt so small… so ordinary… that anyone could have aspired for it. Indeed many of his nobles and Rajput kings had within their realm buildings far more beautiful and grand than Itmauddallah’s tomb.

On the other hand, his Taj Mahal was to be way beyond the ordinary. Infact, it aspired to be beyond any human endeavour. Undoubtedly it would be grand in scale and magnificent. Yet it would exude a feeling of ethereality. The Taj Mahal would be robust yet delicate, sensuous and appealing. He would do to architecture what Jahangir had done to miniature paintings—taking it to the point of evolution where further improvement was impossible.

He remembered how as a child he would accompany his father on his inspection of miniature paintings in the imperial karkhana and was astonished by his father’s penetrating gaze. Just then a miniature painting flashed into his mind. Then came another and then another. At first their speed was slow. But soon the pace grew. So quickly they came one after the other that his mind whirred. And then they stopped.
In the mausoleum the technique of inlay is has been extensively used to translate naturalistic forms into decorative patterns. Flowers such as tulip, lily, iris, poppy and narcissus are depicted as sprays or arabesque patterns. The working of inlay is very intricate and fine. Stones of varying degrees of colours have been used to create shaded effects. As a result quite often a single flower has more than 35 variations of carnelian.

Semi-precious and precious stones used for this purpose came from far and wide. The list is an eye opener. Jade and Crystal were brought from China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan, Chrysolite and Amethyst from Egypt, Agate from Yemen, Sapphire from Sri Lanka, Coral from Arabia, Malachite from Russia, Quartz from the Himalayas, Diamond from Golconda near Hyderabad, and Shell and Mother of Pearl came from the Indian Ocean.

The best of inlay works are in the central chamber containing the replica of the graves of Mumtaj Mahal and Shahjahan. Unfortunately it is very badly lit by a lone tungsten bulb and nothing is visible. Photography too is