The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal (pronounced /t?d? m?'h?l/; Hindi: ??? ???; Persian/Urdu: ??? ???) is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.[1][2] In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.[3] The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.[4][5] Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.[6]

Origin and inspiration

Origin and inspiration
Main article: Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal -"Shah jahan on a globe" from the Smithsonian Institution

Artistic depiction of Mumtaz Mahal

In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was griefstricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child, Gauhara Begum.[7] Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death.[8] The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.[9][10] The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:[11]

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.

The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand),[12] Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.[13]

The Khaliqdina Hall

The Khaliqdina Hall and Library was the first building built by local Muslim philanthropists for the literary and recreational pursuits of the native population. It was built in 1906, at a cost of Rs. 34,000. A generous donation of Rs. 19,000 was made by Ghulam Hussain Khaliqdina, for which the hall was immortalized with his name. The rest of the funding was provided by the Karachi Municipal Corporation. The Khaliqdina Hall housed the Native General Library and a meeting hall, and was located in Runchore Lines, close to the Old Town Quarter, to facilitate easy access by the residents of the area.
The architecture employed was predominantly palladian in style, choosing elements to convey an instant sense of grandeur. The entrance is reached through an Ionic portico set over a high podium, and is topped by an overbearing triangular pediment proudly displaying the name and construction date of the building. The meeting hall on the inside is 95 ft in length and 45 ft wide and is capable of seating from 600 to 700 persons. A ten foot verandah runs around the sides of the hall.
The Khaliqdina Hall assumed historical significance and became known throughout the subcontinent when it was chosen as the venue for the trial of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, leader of the Khilafat Movement. On July 8 - 10, 1921, the Khilafat Conference, held in Karachi, passed a resolution declaring it "unlawful for any faithful to serve from today in the [British] army or help or acquiesce in their recruitment" and stated that "if the British Government directly or indirectly, openly or secretly, fights the Angora Government (the Turkish National Government), the Muslims of India will start civil disobedience". The Jauhar brothers, Maulana Mohammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali, made fiery and impassioned speeches in connection with the Khilafat conference, which led to their being arrested and charged with incitement against the British Government. The trial of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, in which he defended himself, was held in the Khaliqdina Hall and became known as the 'Trial of Sedition'. This building consequently became the symbol of the Muslim struggle during the Khilafat Movement and the movement for independence.
Presently, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has completed renovation work on the Khaliqdina Hall with an estimated cost of Rs. 13.7 million. The building is now fully renovated and pending a reopening for the public.

Minar-e-Pakistan

Minar-e-Pakistan
Minar-e-Pakistan in the lqbal Park, Lahore was constructed to commemorate the famous Lahore Resolution which on 23 March 1940, in which Pakistan Muslim League, the single representative political party of all Muslims of the India in its historic 34 annual session unanimously demanded the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of this sub-continent. The Minar is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture and has been very boldly designed. The foundation stone was laid on 23 March 1960 by the governor West Pakistan Mr Akhtar Hussain in the Minto Park, which was later renamed as Iqbal Park, after poet Dr Iqbal who first gave the idea of a separate Muslim country for the Muslims of the British India.
The minar was architectured by Naseer ud Din Mira'at Khan who was a graduate of St. Petersburg University and originally belonged to Daghistan, USSR. He came to Pakistan and married here. From 1953-58 he was consultant to the Government of Pakistan on construction and was the man behind the designing of Police Training College, Sihala, Qadaffi Stadium Lahore and many other buildings. It i s said that in early 1963,President Ayub Khan called Mr. Mira'at in governor house Lahore and took out fountain pen from his pocket and placed it vertically on the table and asked Mr. Mira'at that he wanted a monument "burj (the word he used)" like this to be build. The design approved by the President was built under the personal supervision of Mr. Mira'at by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company. The Minar was completed on 31 October 1968 at an estimated cost of Rs. 7.5 million. The money was collected by imposing additional tax on the cinema and horse racing tickets.
Pakistanpaedia Minar-e-Pakistan
The base of the tower is raised approximately 4 metres from the ground. It rises up to approximately 13 metres. forming a sculpted, flower-like base. From this point it tapers as it rises. The base platform is shaped like a 5-point star and it encloses crescent shaped pools. The overall height of the monument is approximately 60 metres. It is constructed in reinforced concrete, all poured in-situ. The floors and walls are rendered in stone and marble. From base to some 181 feet height, concrete and steel has been used, while the top 16.5 feet portion is made of stainless steel to avoid it from corrosion.
The lower portion / base is made of coarse marble, indicating the initial rough days of independence, while walls and upper portion have smooth marble showing gradual development and prosperity. On the base, all around the Minar are ten marble slabs of seven feet tall and two feet in width, on with 99 names of Allah have been written. Other inscriptions include excerpts from the speeches of Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan related to ideology of Pakistan, in Urdu, Bengali and English, besides the National Anthem in Urdu and Bengali and a verse from Dr Allama Iqbal. Some Quranic verses (Surah Baqarah, Surah Al e Imran, Surah Myedah and Surah Ra'ad) have also been inscribed. On the main entrance "Allah o Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) and "Minar-e-Pakistan" are inscribed. There are 324 stairs to go to the top, besides a lift.
The first balcony is 30 feet high, second at 50 feet. There is a separate "Chabootra" abou 12 feet high some distance away from the Minar, on which Quranic aya "Allah al mashriaq wal maghrab" is inscribed. The resting place of Hafeez Jalandhari, the writer of the national anthem of Pakistan, is also in the courtyard of the minar. The Mianr was initially named "Yadgar-e-Pakistan" but was later rightly renamed as "Minar-e-Pakistan