Black Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is described as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Shah Jahan built this beautiful piece constructed using marble in the 17th century. He built this beautiful Mahal as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz. Taj Mahal is located in Agra. It is a monument, which represents unconditional love. Though there are many other theories, which suggest that Shah Jahan’s unconditional love for his wife has nothing to do with the construction of this magnificent monument.

However, there is this other theory called ‘The black Taj Mahal’. According to this theory, Shah Jahan wanted to build a Black Taj Mahal made by black marble. He planned to build this monument opposite to Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River. The reason behind planning this monument is that the Shah Jahan desired to have mausoleum for himself similar to Taj Mahal, which he built in memory of his wife.

European traveler named Jean Tavernier first mentioned this theory of Black Taj Mahal. His writings suggest that Shah Jahan started building his own tomb across the river but could not do so because his son Aurangzeb deposed him. Though many archaeologists believe, the Black Taj Mahal is just a myth.

It is said that Shah Jahan ordered his architects to modify the moonlight garden constructed by his great grandfather Babur, to incorporate it within the Taj Mahal complex. Black marble was found in moonlight garden but the archaeologist dismissed it by saying they are white marbles which have been discolored over the years.

In addition, the theory suggests that Shah Jahan wanted to construct a bridge, which will connect both the Taj Mahal’s. Black Taj Mahal is said to be the forgotten dream of Shah Jahan. There is some physical evidence, which actually suggests the beginning of black Taj Mahal construction.

In Agra, there is a place called Tajganj where the workers of Taj Mahal reside years back. Even today, the descendants of those workers still live in Tajganj. They are engaged in making marble artifacts and they sold it in local markets as well as they export it worldwide. While interviewing some of the senior citizens of Tajganj, it was discovered that the stories regarding The Black Taj Mahal are alive among them for years. They say that they discovered this story from their fathers and their fathers learned it from their grandfathers and so on.

According to them, the construction of Black Taj Mahal was started but stopped after Shah Jahan’s son elevated on the throne. They call Black Taj Mahal as ‘Sang-e-Musa’

Before the 1990s, the story of Black Taj Mahal was believed to be real but in 1993 during the excavation of moonlight garden (Mahtab Bagh), there was no trace of Black Marble found. Hence the theory declared as a myth. However, this theory does not have any strong proof nor does it have any strong reason to declare it as a myth. According to me, this story of Black Taj Mahal needs to be explored more.

Nonetheless, the story inspired many artists to create the replicas of a miniature version of black Taj Mahal. At the end of this blog, we could say that Yamuna River has inspired many to fire up their imagination.