Taj Mahal

The construction of the world's most splendid mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, is surrounded by a haze of romanticized legends. Did the powerful seventeenth-century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan build this filigreed marvel of white marble, gems, and semiprecious stones purely out of grief over the loss of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to her fourteenth child, or was he 'vaunting his grandeur and munificence to the world'? While master photographer Nou celebrates the exquisite artistry of the structure's stone marquetry, authors Amina Okada, an expert on Mughal and Rajput India, and M.C. Joshi, director of the Archaeological Survey of India, contemplate the motives behind the Taj Mahal's erection and discuss its remarkable design. The most astonishing of Nou's photographs are close-ups of the floral inlays that run riot in the mausoleum's luminous and arabesque interior. Every surface is alive with the grace of flowers and the animated strokes of Qur'anic calligraphy. Nou's impressive exterior shots display the opulence of the entire building, as well as the compound's earthier but still quite majestic mosque, lavish gardens, and stately main gate. A fresh and artful look at one of the wonders of the world.