Call it the monument of love or the pride of India...that everyone desires to see at least once in his or her lifetime. Yes we are talking about the famous architectural form in India, TAJ MAHAL. Taj Mahal is a monument beyond one's imagination, located on the bank of the river Yamuna in the city of Agra. This marble- made monument is one of the world's best architectural forms. It is best described by the English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold as “Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.”

The passion for an emperor's love? Now that is the interesting part of the monument and this is where its history lies. Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century by Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died while accompanying Shah Jahan in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion. She was the emperor’s second wife. The Taj Mahal or Crown Palace is a tribute to a beautiful woman and wife of Shah Jahan.

The Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture that embraces the styles from Indian, Persian, Turkish and Islamic architecture. It is located in Agra, a few kilometers away from the Indian capital, Delhi. Agra used to be the capital of the Mughal Empire during the 16th and early 18th centuries. Tourists from all over the world come here every year to admire the great standing monument of the past.

A large flat plinth supports a white marble building, with a large arch to the front and double-stacked arches to the sides. The plinth is about 50 meters square. The whole structure is then topped with a large dome that measures about 35 meters. The dome is surrounded by four smaller domed chattris at its corners. Further separate columns stand at each corner of the plinth. Because of the shape, the dome is often referred to as an onion dome or an amrud or guava dome. Its top is decorated with a lotus design. The four sides of the Taj Mahal are identical.

The interior of the Taj Mahal is the symbol of elegance of the Mughal Empire. It is decorated with semi-precious stones. The room contains the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal at the center. There is simple yet beautiful decoration around the bases of the tombs. The Taj sparkles in the moonlight when the semi-precious stones inlaid into the white marble catch the glow of the moon. It is pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines.

The exterior decorations are among the finest to be found in Mughal architecture. These were created by applying paint or stucco, or by stone inlays or carvings. The calligraphy found in the Taj Mahal is of florid thuluth script, created by Persian calligrapher Amanat Khan.

The Taj Mahal is surrounded by a 300-meter square charbagh. The charbagh garden was introduced to India by the first Mughal emperor Babur. It is a Persian style quadrilateral garden, which is divided into four smaller parts by walkways.

Crenellated red sandstone walls bound the complex on three sides with the river-facing side open. There are some other mausoleums of Shah Jahan's other wives and Mumtaz's servant's outside the walls.

This picture perfect monument deserves admiration. While approaching the Taj Mahal do pause for a minute to admire it. The closer you approach; you unveil the details of the structure. The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 1983 and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim” art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.”