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00:00The Taj Mahal, symbol of India, architectural jewel, monument to a grand passion.
00:09The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century by Shah Jahan, king of the world, ruler of India's mighty
00:16Mughal empire.
00:24This great warrior king gave the world an architectural masterpiece of a kind it had never seen before.
00:33This is how it came to be made.
00:42It's also the legend of his queen, the beautiful Mumtaz Mahal.
00:47And of their love, too perfect to survive.
00:54The chosen one of the palace will have her final resting place in the world's most beautiful building.
01:11With the magnificent chambers of the Taj Mahal hide a secret.
01:20And Shah Jahan will pay a terrible price to complete his life's will, at a turning point in India's history.
01:38Today, the Taj Mahal is one of the world's greatest tourist attractions.
01:42Every year more than three million people come to see humanity's loveliest building with their own eyes.
01:50But for the Indian nation, the Taj Mahal is much more than an architectural masterpiece.
02:01This is one of the monuments that makes India what it is.
02:04It gives the people their identity.
02:06It makes them proud.
02:07This building is a symbol for the whole nation.
02:12The Taj Mahal was built in one of the most glorious periods of Indian history.
02:20The time of the Mughals, with their mighty empire and fabulous riches.
02:27Its creator, a man who dedicated his life to a dream.
02:31Great Mughal Shah Jahan.
02:38The building that emerged from his plans perfectly combines grace and scale, power and beauty.
02:47The Taj Mahal, crown of the palace.
02:54The inner sanctum of the Taj is a tomb.
02:58For Mumtaz Mahal, the love of Shah Jahan's life.
03:02In her memory, the great mogul created this eternal love poem in stone.
03:12The building of the Taj commenced in 1632.
03:19An army of elephants began dragging construction materials to the mogul capital.
03:29This would be the biggest building project of the age.
03:37In a few short years, the shell of the Taj Mahal was complete.
03:43Ready to be clad in flawless marble, at colossal expense.
03:51The location of the Taj on the banks of the Yamuna river was a special challenge.
04:04Close to water, you rarely find ground solid enough to build on.
04:08So you have to dig down, until you hit hard, dry earth.
04:13They came up with a brilliant solution to this problem.
04:17One that's still used today, in a slightly different form.
04:20They decided to build a well foundation.
04:25That was a revolutionary idea for those times.
04:31The great mogul's engineers dig deep wells to below the water table.
04:38Then they fill them up with rocks and mortar.
04:41On this base, the master builders erect stone columns linked together by massive arches.
04:52The result, a solid mountain of stone to support the foundation slab of the building.
05:02Protecting the Taj from the currents of the Yamuna river, forever.
05:09The Taj Mahal must always stand as a testament to the eternal power of love.
05:17It will be the legacy of Shah Jahan.
05:24Shah Jahan was the favorite son of the emperor, the great mogul.
05:29Raised in a world of wealth and splendor.
05:35In the year 1607, he's granted a rare honor.
05:38On his lunar birthday, he's weighed in gold and precious stones.
05:46That doesn't mean he's been chosen to become the new great mogul.
05:51But there are high hopes for this young prince.
05:58And great dangers too.
06:02His own brothers are his deadliest rivals.
06:05The firstborn prince does not always become king.
06:09All the ruler's sons will fight to claim the throne.
06:13Even to the dead.
06:16The adulation of the crowds means nothing.
06:24The court chronicles will be our guide to Shah Jahan's life.
06:29To its triumphs and disasters.
06:38The prince is given a child bride.
06:41An arranged marriage for political reasons.
06:45It could have been an empty contract.
06:48But this love will last for eternity.
06:58Ten years later, the prince is 25 years old.
07:02His star shines brighter than ever.
07:05He has fought the enemies of the emperor, winning victory after victory.
07:10As a reward, his father gives him the title, Shah Jahan, King of the World.
07:18The capital of the Mughal Empire is the great city of Agra in northern India.
07:24The location of the giant Red Fort.
07:28The center of imperial power and one of India's mightiest strongholds.
07:35The ruling moguls and their families live in magnificent palaces inside the fort.
07:42Here, the women of his harem see to Shah Jahan's every wing.
07:50But his favorite, by far, is his childhood love, Mumtaz Mahan.
07:58Shah Jahan calls her the chosen one of the palace.
08:04From the chronicles, we know this royal couple were especially close for those times.
08:12The impression which one gathers is that there is a strong personal element of personal love.
08:22There is a bit of romance.
08:25It is usually said that the concept of love is a very European concept.
08:36Because in the Eastern world, you have the emotion of love, which is impersonal.
08:48Love for deities, love for idols, love for father, love for institutions, love for religion, spiritual love, but not romantic
09:00love.
09:02But Shah Jahan's memorial to Mumtaz Mahan is the world's most exquisite symbol of romantic love.
09:11Every day, countless visitors are enthralled by the Taj Mahal.
09:17Partly because its Mughal architects use some remarkable optical tricks.
09:24The first view of the monument is framed by the main gate.
09:28As the visitor moves closer, the Taj Mahal seems to get smaller.
09:38It seems to grow bigger as you walk away.
09:42The guides here say, when you leave, you take the Taj with you in your heart.
09:56An optical trick went into the building of the minarets, too.
10:00They leaned slightly outwards.
10:05If they were truly vertical, they would seem to be leaning inwards.
10:12By leaning away from each other, they look perfectly upright.
10:16And that brings another advantage.
10:19In an earthquake, the minarets would collapse outwards, sparing the Taj and its mighty dome.
10:30The dome is the crowning glory of the Taj Mahal.
10:34The element that makes it so timeless and graceful.
10:40Today we have other options.
10:42We can build giant supporting structures in steel for a dome like that.
10:47We have other materials.
10:49They had to solve all their problems in stone.
10:54So, they laid stone on stone and built up the dome in rings.
11:01The dome rises layer by layer.
11:04The mortar between the stones gives it stability.
11:11The result is self-supporting, with no reinforcing struts or columns.
11:17The weight of the dome is transferred directly downwards to the mass of masonry below.
11:26The dome is more than 40 meters high and 4 meters thick.
11:31Yet it seems to float over the marble facade.
11:34A miracle of stress calculation, still admired by engineers.
11:40For over 350 years, this dome has been the ultimate expression of Mughal architecture.
11:501621.
11:51The Mughal Empire is at a turning point.
11:54The emperor, Shah Jahan's father, is desperately ill.
11:59His sons are gathering in the shadow of the throne, ready to fill the vacuum of power.
12:12Shah Jahan knows that his moment has come.
12:21Nothing will stop him in his lust for absolute power.
12:27No means are ruled out, not even poison.
12:37When the great Mughal finally dies, Shah Jahan has his rivals eliminated.
12:48Brotherly love means nothing when the prize is so great.
12:55There was a notion of family, and there was a notion of affection, but this feeling recede into the background.
13:06And then that particular vision of acquiring power for yourself, and to rule the country or empire as you see
13:14fit,
13:15it becomes the rationale behind all the violence that is perpetrated.
13:23With his rivals gone, Shah Jahan seizes the throne.
13:30He's crowned emperor in 1628 in the Red Fort in Agra.
13:41Shah Jahan.
13:42Shah Jahan soon proves himself a wise and moderate ruler.
13:45He guides the empire to even greater prosperity.
13:54Muntas Mahal stays in the background, but she's one of the Shah's most important advisors.
14:03This Mughal dynasty seems to have a glorious future.
14:06Perhaps it will equal the illustrious post.
14:12The Mughals are descended from the greatest warlord of them all.
14:16Genghis Khan.
14:20Their distant ancestors were fierce warriors of the Asian steppes.
14:24The Mongols.
14:29A mere hundred years before Shah Jahan's rise to power, the Mughals swept down from the north onto the plains
14:38of India.
14:45Their cannons crushed one Indian city after another.
15:00Genghis Khan.
15:01By the time of Shah Jahan, the Mughals control most of India.
15:06The first time this great land has been unified.
15:10In nearly 2,000 years.
15:18The Mughal rulers bring their faith with them.
15:21Islam.
15:22After Hinduism, Islam soon becomes India's second religion.
15:27But the invaders don't impose it on the people.
15:33They seek a balance between the cultures.
15:36The Mughal lords proclaim religious tolerance.
15:43More than a hundred million people now see business and industry, science and art flourish.
15:54Artists at court portray their rulers as god-like beings.
15:58Artists at court portray their rulers as god-like beings.
16:04There are no limits to the great Mughal's power.
16:09Shah Jahan holds sway over his subjects.
16:13Over life and death.
16:16His word is law throughout the empire.
16:21This just ruler leads the country to prosperity and stability.
16:28The court chronicle records that Shah Jahan brings the people abundant joy and happiness.
16:38Under Shah Jahan, Mughal rule in India reaches its dazzling zenith.
16:48But now, his greatest legacy, the Taj Mahal, symbol of the Indian nation, is under threat.
16:58This has been a high security zone since 2006.
17:03After bomb threats from terrorists and religious fundamentalists, it's guarded round the clock.
17:15Access to the mausoleum is tightly controlled.
17:23Filming of the magnificent interior is forbidden.
17:29No one knows how long the Taj will need this kind of protection.
17:38Art historian Ebba Koch was able to study the Taj before the restrictions came into force.
17:47She is the international expert on the building and its history.
17:59She has also decoded the religious symbolism of the monument.
18:09The Taj Mahal is the architectural embodiment of this life and of the next, according to Islamic belief.
18:20The grand plan shows this duality.
18:22The complex is split between the tomb garden with its mausoleum
18:26and a worldly side meant for bazaars and markets.
18:32What's interesting is that the worldly side is the mirror image of the mausoleum side.
18:38The connecting square with the great main gate marks the transition to the tomb garden
18:44and opens up the view to the mausoleum.
18:51At the center of the mausoleum is the Holy of Holies, the most splendid room in the Taj Mahal, the
19:00final resting place of Shah Jahan's bride.
19:07Mumtaz Mahal, the chosen one of the palace, leads a luxurious life in the women's apartments of the Red Fort.
19:21Poets admire her grace and charm.
19:25Even the moon, they say, hides from her beauty in shame.
19:31The first lady of the empire is fabulously wealthy.
19:35She has huge resources.
19:38She was the highest recipient of money in the entire harem, being the chief queen,
19:45or the most beloved queen of the emperor, because payments in the harem were graded.
19:53We have very interesting accounts of graded payments from a very huge amount to a very small amount.
20:05And on top of this, there were gifts, very, very exquisite, expensive gifts on various occasions.
20:14The riches of the Mughal dynasty are legendary.
20:18Both men and women wear jewelry.
20:20For the men, it's a sign of nobility.
20:23And they give precious jewels to their favorites in the harem.
20:33Its endless supply of gems makes India the treasure house of the world.
20:44In the Mughal empire, the Indian art of jewelry reaches its peak.
20:49Precious stones decorate statues, furniture, weapons, and fabrics.
20:55Even today, works by Mughal craftsmen command the highest prices.
21:05The same is true of India's textiles.
21:09Cotton has been woven here for more than 4,000 years.
21:13This is still a vital industry in India.
21:22Under the Mughals, India became the world's leading exporter of precious fabrics.
21:32The rulers, the great Mughal and his family, cashed in on the trade.
21:44Shah Jahan has a special duty to his dynasty.
21:48To produce heirs.
21:52His wives in the harem bear him children.
22:00But as the chronicles tell us, once they've done their duty, these women are his wives in name only.
22:12Shah Jahan's harem may once have been a love nest.
22:17Soon, it comes to resemble a nursery.
22:21The harem is not an informal, entirely informal space.
22:26It's a space with a certain protocol.
22:30It is a space with a certain hierarchy.
22:33It is a space with a whole set of rules and regulations.
22:38With the empire at peace, there's plenty of leisure time to fill.
22:43The Mughal's enjoyment of alcohol and opium is legendary.
22:53Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are together every possible moment.
22:59As the chronicles record.
23:01The mutual affection and harmony between the two had reached a degree never seen between a husband and a wife
23:10among the classes of rulers or among the other people.
23:16The Imperial Chronicle describes their life at court.
23:21The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favor which his majesty had for the chosen one of the palace, exceeded by
23:30a thousand times what he felt for any other.
23:36For Shah Jahan, the happiness of Mumtaz Mahal is paramount.
23:41If you look at the wardrobe of the emperor, if you look at his private chambers, if you look at
23:48the shelf which displays all the perfumes, ointments, oil and a whole range of aphrodisiacs.
23:58Then you would perhaps know that there is a lot of interest to develop into good lovers, to acquire emotions
24:09or to release emotions in a way that would revitalize them or rejuvenate them.
24:18Her husband's love is shared and returned by Mumtaz Mahal from the depths of her soul.
24:28And always, that lady of the age was the companion, close confidant, associate and intimate friend of that successful ruler.
24:37In hardship and comfort, joy and grief, when traveling or in residence.
24:52Fortune smiles on the king of the world.
24:58But not for long.
25:03There is unrest in the empire.
25:07In 1629, reports reach Agra of another uprising.
25:12A distant province has rebelled against the empire again.
25:17This means war.
25:21Shah Jahan mobilizes his army.
25:27He will crush opposition with brute force.
25:38Day after day, week after week, the Mughal army blazes a trail across the Indian plains.
25:46Nearly two years of forced marches follow for Shah Jahan soldiers.
25:55But nothing will tear Mumtaz Mahal from her husband's side.
26:03The Mughals are forced to leave their capital again and again.
26:10To crush rebellions in the Deccan region.
26:15The campaign seems to have no end.
26:23The great Mughal still puts his faith in his cannons, the latest super weapons imported from the Turkish Empire.
26:34His soldiers haul them over mountains and across the roughest terrain.
26:41Shattering city walls.
26:44Wiping out the rebels.
26:50But his string of victories is interrupted by tragedy.
26:57In the midst of the campaign, Mumtaz Mahal falls pregnant with the Emperor's child.
27:03But there are complications at the birth.
27:06For once the king is powerless.
27:09As his bride weakens, the great Mughal can do nothing but pray.
27:16The court chronicle recorded the sad events.
27:20On the 17th of June 1631, the unfortunate demise of Her Majesty the Queen took place shortly after her confinement.
27:31And made the whole world a house of mourning.
27:36Mumtaz Mahal dies after the birth of her 14th child.
27:41Shah Jahan's world has come to an end.
27:47They say the Emperor fasted for eight days, locked in his chambers.
27:52For two years he heard no music.
27:55Wore no jewelry or perfume.
28:03His hair and beard had turned grey.
28:09He looked older.
28:12Much, much older than what he looked when he went into confinement or statutory mourning.
28:21So surely this must have had a deep impact on him.
28:29Before she died, legend says, Mumtaz Mahal made a wish for a mausoleum more sublime than any the world had
28:38seen.
28:40This will be Shah Jahan's task for the rest of his life.
28:44To erect the world's most beautiful building in her memory.
28:55The Taj Mahal stands in a long tradition of fabulous memorials in India.
29:02Shah Jahan's predecessors had constructed many gorgeous mausoleums.
29:13The Taj Mahal combines the very best elements of the memorials to Shah Jahan's forefathers.
29:20The tomb of his own father provides the model for the minarets.
29:27His great grandfather's mausoleum had four corner turrets surrounding the central core.
29:35The four mighty portals are inspired by his grandfather's tomb.
29:44And Shah Jahan took the form of the great dome from the memorial to a famous ancestor.
29:52Different models, united in perfect harmony.
30:00No other mausoleum may come close to the Taj Mahal in scale, beauty and grace.
30:06This monument must be nothing less than a paradise here on earth.
30:19Symbolism carved in stone and marble.
30:23A heavenly memorial to the Queen of the world.
30:27Or as a poet described it, a teardrop on the cheek of time.
30:40In 1632, just six months after Mumtaz Mahal's death, work begins on the Taj Mahal.
30:47It will be the greatest building project of the age.
30:55Some say that over 20,000 workers slaved on the building.
31:00A court chronicler captures the scene.
31:05And from all sides of the imperial territories were assembled troop after troop of skilled men, stone cutters, inlayers and
31:14those who do carving in relief.
31:16Each one an expert in his craft, who began work together with the other laborers.
31:24Millions of bricks are baked on the spot for the shell of the building.
31:29The Taj rises at record speed.
31:33But progress comes at a price.
31:36Day by day, this gigantic construction is draining the imperial treasury.
31:43But nothing matters to the great Mughal.
31:46No expense is spared for this lavish project.
31:54Nothing must hold up the building work.
32:02Even if the people suffered terribly for the emperor's devotion.
32:09Shah Jahan created an artificial famine.
32:13When he diverted the supply of grain towards Agra.
32:19When it was meant for a different place.
32:22The regular supply of grain was diverted to feed a huge population of artisans, craftsmen, laborers, merchants, officials, servants.
32:36Such monuments cannot be built by a few individuals.
32:43Today, no one remembers the ordeal of the people.
32:48Only the sublime result.
32:53The color scheme of the Taj Mahal is deeply symbolic.
32:58The worldly elements and other buildings are all clad in red sandstone.
33:07White is reserved for the mausoleum.
33:10This is to be a building of enlightenment.
33:12An earthly representation of the heavenly house where Mumtaz Mahal will live for eternity.
33:18The pure white stands for the spirituality and faith of the person buried here.
33:29The white marble for the Taj Mahal comes from quarries at Makrana in Rajasthan.
33:34Still in use today.
33:40Makrana marble is already famous in Shah Jahan's time.
33:44Hard yet easy to work.
33:46It's prized for its fine detail and high polish.
33:52The great Mughal has reserved Makrana marble for imperial buildings.
34:02The marble slabs are carried more than 400 kilometers to the site of the Taj Mahal.
34:14The construction consumes colossal amounts of this fabulous stone.
34:18With the skeleton of the building complete, the bricks disappear forever beneath the pure white facade.
34:26It's this smooth glowing stone that gives the Taj Mahal its unique impact.
34:37Of course, it's this white marble that gives it its beauty, its lightness, that sense of floating.
34:48These are means of expression available to an architect, just as words are used by a poet.
34:58Right beside the marble edifice, the gardens begin.
35:03The garden is the heart of the Taj Mahal.
35:07It's an earthly picture of the paradise of the Koran.
35:12Two paths divide the terrain into four squares.
35:17The channels along the paths represent the rivers of paradise in the Koran.
35:23Where the channels meet, there's a pool.
35:27This is symbolic of the celestial pool where the faithful quench their thirst when they arrive in paradise.
35:39True to Mughal tradition, the mausoleum and garden form an indivisible unity.
35:46And the interior of the mausoleum itself is modeled after the eight paradises of the Koran.
35:54Eight chambers surround the central space beneath the dome.
36:02Mumtaz Mahal's coffin lies here.
36:05Before long, it attracted pilgrims from far and wide.
36:11Even today, the graves of deeply pious Muslims attract thousands of pilgrims.
36:17The flowers on the graves recall the prophet Muhammad.
36:20As he ascended into heaven, each drop of perspiration turned into a rose.
36:26The faithful pray to the departed, asking for their divine intervention.
36:35Indian Muslims are drawn to the sumptuous memorials of the Mughal rulers in the same way.
36:46Orthodox Islam has no time for the worship of saints.
36:50But here in India, it's widely seen.
37:01The Mughals brought Islam to the subcontinent, but they didn't interpret the Koran rigidly.
37:09For a long time in India, Islam was linked to policies of tolerance and openness.
37:22Under Shah Jahan, that tolerance and openness reaches far beyond India's borders.
37:36The great Mughal decrees that visitors from the outside world will be made welcome in his empire.
37:43He knows there is much to gain from the exchange.
37:50So, travellers from east and west are regularly seen at Shah Jahan's court.
38:01Europeans can easily be spotted by their exotic headgear.
38:06Both sides benefit from this transcontinental contact.
38:15The Europeans are drawn by the precious fabrics, spices and gemstones.
38:23European merchants pay with silver and bring new ideas to the Mughal Empire.
38:33The Taj Mahal itself demonstrates the links between India and Europe.
38:41Sumptuous stone flowers adorn the filigree marble latticework and cover the entire interior of the Taj Mahal.
38:49Sumptuous stone, techniques and motifs coming from distant Europe.
38:57These mosaics of semi-precious stones are called Pietra Dura.
39:05In Petra Dura, for instance, one doesn't know whether Petra Dura came directly from Europe or came via some intermediary
39:14zone.
39:14But nevertheless, it was something which really tickled the imagination of Shah Jahan.
39:21And he used it in a very interesting way in which the building really looks like a treasure chest.
39:36Pietra Dura is Italian for hard stone.
39:41In the Renaissance, these precious inlays decorated palaces.
39:46This craft of stone cutting traveled from Italy to India, where it experienced a new heyday.
39:57In the Pietra Dura workshops of India, the techniques haven't changed in hundreds of years.
40:04Many families have been doing this for 17 or 18 generations.
40:10These are the direct descendants of the craftsmen who worked on the Taj Mahal.
40:22Pietra Dura is a tough craft to master.
40:27The mosaics are made of tiny colored stones set into marble.
40:33A craftsman cuts hundreds of stones for a single mosaic.
40:39Each shaped and positioned with perfect precision.
40:46He needs just as much skill to carve the flower shapes into the marble, creating the setting for the precious
40:52stones.
40:57After the final delicate corrections, a special glue sets the stones in their recesses.
41:09Painting in stone is one of the glories of Indian craftsmanship.
41:15But no chronicles record the names of the artists who decorated the Taj Mahal.
41:21One thing we tend to forget is the hard labor, sweat, suffering of artisans and ordinary craftsmen.
41:30Nobody knows anything about them.
41:31So the monument is a testimony as much to their existence and the skill which they possessed as it is
41:42of Shah Jahan's aesthetic embellishment.
41:49Through their work, the men who made the Taj Mahal live on.
41:581643. The Taj Mahal is finished.
42:02It has taken 12 years.
42:05In spite of difficulties and obstacles, Shah Jahan has accomplished his dream.
42:13The chosen one of the palace rests in a shrine worthy of her name.
42:22A building more sublime than any conceived or carved by human hand.
42:30On the anniversaries of her death, Shah Jahan visits Mumtaz Mahal's tomb.
42:36The king of the world travels the Yamuna river to the shrine of the Taj Mahal to remember his great
42:43love.
42:50The Taj Mahal conceals a final mystery.
42:55The coffin seen in the mausoleum is only a cenotaph, an empty monument.
43:02Mumtaz Mahal lies in a secret marble chamber below.
43:06There she rests, undisturbed.
43:17After finishing the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan rules these lands for 20 more years.
43:24But his reign will see an inglorious end.
43:33His costly projects and extravagant lifestyle have brought the empire to the edge of ruin.
43:50In 1658, the king of the world is toppled from the throne.
43:55Deposed by his and Mumtaz's own son to save the empire from his extravagance.
44:01Shah Jahan, absolute ruler, great mogul for 30 years, is a prisoner.
44:12He's held captive in the Red Fort.
44:15He will never leave it again.
44:20In the evening, a servant reads him stories of the heroic deeds of his youth.
44:26Epics of bravery and power, struggle and triumph.
44:30A long, long time ago.
44:37In Shah Jahan's decades of intelligent rule, the Mughal Empire reached its peak.
44:48No one succeeded in challenging his infinite power.
44:58But the mightiest have furthest to fall.
45:09Just one comfort remains to Shah Jahan.
45:15In the distance from his prison window, he can see the gleaming monument of his beloved.
45:25He cannot forget his passion for the chosen one of the palace.
45:30Their happiness was mortal.
45:32Their love was for eternity.
45:45Mumtaz Mahal's tomb has carved its place in history.
45:55Shah Jahan will also find his last resting place here.
46:03In 1666, at the age of 74, Shah Jahan dies.
46:09His chronicle ends with the words,
46:12The king of the world has died.
46:15The body was taken by river to the magnificent tomb of the late queen Mumtaz Mahal.
46:23Shah Jahan is reunited with his chosen one of the palace.
46:30The men in the palace
46:31Their legacy will make them immortal.
46:36The most perfect building in the world.
46:39The most perfect building in the world.
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