Taj Mahal: Memorial to LoveLong long ago, in a land called Hindustan, reigned a dynasty of Kings as cultured as they were courageous... It isn't that they were without fault – they could be cruel and cunning warriors – but they were also men of exceptionally good taste, and blessed with the bountiful means to express their vision, they built a splendid empire of beauty, knowledge and grace beyond any known before.
Now there was one among them, known as "King of the World," whose heart's passion burned like fire, and who built a monument for the sake of love that would capture the imagination of the world... download to listen: 28k, 56k, ISDN*
Indian dancer as Mumtaz Mahal
At the age of fifteen, the prince who would be called King of the World met a refined and highborn young girl at a bazaar within the walls of the royal palace in Agra. Court poets celebrated the girl's extraordinary beauty. "The moon," they said, "hid its face in shame before her." For both, it was love at first sight. Five years would pass before the auspicious day chosen for their wedding, and from that moment, they became inseparable companions.
the young lovers
Prince Khurram was the fifth son of the Emperor Jahangir, who ruled in the country now known as India in the sixteenth century. Although the prince was not the eldest son, he soon became the favorite.
Shah Jahan on horseback
"Gradually as his years increased, so did his excellence," wrote Jahangir. "In art, in reason, in battle, there is no comparison between him and my other children." At his father's command, Prince Khurram led many military campaigns to consolidate the empire, and in honor of his numerous victories, Jahangir granted him the title "Shah Jahan", "King of the World", a tribute never before paid to an as yet uncrowned Mughal king.
But when Jahangir's health failed, his sons rivaled for succession to the throne. Ultimately, after years of battle and the deaths of his brothers under suspicious circumstances, Shah Jahan was victorious. In 1628, the King of the World ascended the throne in a ceremony of unrivaled splendor. Beside him stood his queen, his comrade and confidante. He titled her "Mumtaz Mahal", "Chosen One of the Palace", and commissioned for her a luxurious royal residence of glistening white marble. In turn, she gave him tender devotion, wise counsel and children – many children – to insure the continuance of the magnificent Mughal dynasty.
the Mughal Dynasty
Shah Jahan on throne
The reign of Shah Jahan marked the long summer of Mughal rule, a peaceful era of prosperity and stability. It was also an age of outrageous opulence, and a time when some of the world's largest and most precious gems were being mined from India's soil. According to author and art historian Milo Beach, "Jewels were the main basis of wealth, and there were literally trunks of jewels in the imperial treasury, trunks of emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds. Shah Jahan inherited it all. He had immense wealth and tremendous power and palaces all over the country." The splendor of his court outshone those of his father and grandfather. Inscribed in gold on the arches of his throne were the words, "If there be paradise on earth, it is here."
the reign of Shah Jahan
But in this world, there is an ancient tradition: sweet pleasure is not without bitterness... download to listen: 28k, 56k, ISDN*
flowers at Mumtaz Mahal's mausoleum
In 1631, in the fourth year of his reign, Shah Jahan set out for Burhanpur with his armies to subdue a rebellion. Even though Mumtaz Mahal was in the ninth month of a pregnancy, she accompanied him as she had done many times before. On a warm evening of April in 1631, the queen gave birth to their fourteenth child, but soon afterwards suffered complications and took a turn for the worse. According to legend, with her dying breath, she secured a promise from her husband on the strength of their love: to build for her a mausoleum more beautiful than any the world had ever seen before.
architectural antecedents to the Taj Mahal
The King cried out with grief, like an ocean raging with storm... He put aside his royal robes and for the whole week afterward, His Majesty did not appear in public, nor transact any affairs of state... From constant weeping he was forced to use spectacles, and his hair turned gray... download to listen: 28k, 56k, ISDN*
Shah Jahan grieved for two years. By official opinion, he never again showed enthusiasm for administering the realm. His only solace would be found in the world of art and architecture, and an obsession with perfection that would last his lifetime. Six months after the death of his wife, he laid the foundation for her memorial across the Jamuna River near his palace in Agra... the jewel of India, the far-famed Taj Mahal.
building the Taj Mahal
Pearly pink at dawn and opalescent by moonlight, Mumtaz Mahal's tomb is so delicately ethereal that it threatens to disappear during Agra's white-heat afternoons. In the center of the mausoleum lie the remains of the Empress. Subdued light filters through the delicate screens surrounding her cenotaph and mullahs chant verses from the Koran. It is here that Shah Jahan came with his children to honor the memory of his beloved wife. Here, at last, he found solace.
visiting the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal at evening
But Shah Jahan's tranquility was suddenly shattered when his son Aurangzeb assailed the throne. Just as Shah Jahan had conspired against his brothers for Jahangir's empire, so did his own son plot against him. In 1658, Aurangzeb declared himself emperor and imprisoned his father in a tower of the Red Fort in Agra. For Shah Jahan, King of the World, who once commanded the unbounded wealth of an empire, his only consolation would be a view across the Jamuna River to his vision of Paradise.
fall of an empire
Shah Jahan created his vision of the world, not as it is, but rather as it should be – harmonious, graceful and pure. Inspired by love and shaped to perfection, the Taj Mahal immortalizes one man's love for his wife and the splendor of an era.
Let the splendor of the diamond, pearl and ruby vanish like the magic shimmer of the rainbow. Only let this one teardrop, the Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time...
(Poet Rabindranath Tagore)
Borobudur: Pathway to Enlightenment
On the island of Java stands a mountain of a thousand statues...
panels at Borobudur surrounded by volcanoes, shrouded in mystery. In 1814, two hundred men cross the lush Kedu plains of Central Java to search out this legendary mountain near the small village of Boro. For six weeks, they slash and burn the choking vegetation. They clear away tons of volcanic ash. Hidden beneath the debris, they find strange figures carved in stone – thousands of them.
The excavation of the monument, known as Borobudur, has been ordered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the new British Governor of Java. Unlike the Dutch traders before him, Raffles is intrigued by the exotic stories and architecture of the Indonesian islands: "The antiquities of Java have not, till lately, excited much notice; nor have they yet been sufficiently explored. The pursuits of commerce have been too exclusive to allow there being much interest in the subject."
historical records
Buddhas at Borobudur When Raffles comes to inspect the progress of his expedition, he finds a colossal pyramid, rising to a huge bell-shaped pinnacle. Lacking adequate historical records, Raffles is unable to determine the exact date of Borobudur's construction, but he does have some insight into the purpose of the structure: "The resemblance of the images which surround this monument to the figure of Buddha, has introduced an opinion that Borobudur was exclusively confined to the worship of that deity."
But there is no central altar or sanctuary in this temple. Instead, the galleries that ring the structure are covered with nearly three thousand bas-relief panels carved into the stone.
Borobudur revealed
As word of the discovery spreads, scholars of Asian religions visit. They recognize Borobudur as the largest Buddhist temple in the world... and the most unusual. The panels depict the teachings of the Buddha, each familiar story a step in the pilgrim's progress. The galleries are designed to guide the faithful on a spiritual journey as they move upward from terrace to terrace, each level representing a higher plane of consciousness. In ancient times, pilgrims may have come from all over Southeast Asia to study the sacred texts full of mystery, meaning, meditation and morals. Borobudur is a three-dimensional guide to Enlightenment.
guide to Enlightenment
But despite Raffles' best intentions, uncovering Borobudur has placed it in grave danger, as reports of the exotic temple attract a new breed of pilgrim. The local villagers are no longer superstitious of the monument, and now view it as a constant source of building materials.
local villagers at Borobudur
Souvenir hunters decapitate many of the Buddhas and ship them to mansions and museums throughout the world. For the weary tourist, a teahouse is built high on the crumbling central stupa. According to Asian art historian, Jan Fontein, "Many of the Europeans who came to Asia, and many of the Asians themselves, because they had been converted to Islam, regarded these monuments as the work of heathen, and this prevented them from appreciating their true beauty."
But in 1885, an accidental discovery rekindles interest in preserving this ancient treasure. J. W. Ijzerman, a Dutch architect involved in a restoration project, walks along the high processional path that surrounds the base of Borobudur. "And he noticed that the moldings of the wall continued underneath a crack that he saw in the floor," says Fontein. "This meant that all these stones must have been added at a time when part of the building was already finished."
Ijzerman excitedly calls for a section of the path to be removed. When sixteen layers of stone have been pulled away, Ijzerman discovers another tier of panels quite unlike those of the upper galleries.
exposed hidden panel
These are portrayals of hellish tortures mixed with scenes of sweet pleasure. In all, one hundred sixty panels are uncovered. A few scenes had been left unfinished, with instructions to the stone carver inscribed in Sanskrit, and the style of lettering is so distinctive that it can be dated specifically to the middle of the 9th century. Experts conclude that Borobudur must have been built by the Sailendra kings who ruled in Central Java at that time.
building Borobudur
Further efforts at restoration by Europeans throughout the next century are well meaning, but ultimately do more damage than good. The sediment and plant life that had shrouded Borobudur for so long had also protected it from the elements. As the galleries are cleared, the porous volcanic stone is exposed to Java's relentless heat and torrential downpours. Throughout most of the 19th century, Borobudur suffers more damage than in the thousand years before.
nature takes a toll
In 1968, the Indonesian government and the United Nations, working through UNESCO, launch the "Save Borobudur" campaign. Over the next fifteen years, twenty million dollars are raised to support a bold plan:
UNESCO restoration project
the complete dismantling and reconstruction of the lower terraces of the monument – stone by stone. Professionals from twenty-seven countries join their Indonesian counterparts to carry out the project.
Over one million stones are moved during the course of restoration, and set aside like pieces of a massive jig-saw puzzle. Thirteen hundred carved panels are taken apart and individually cleaned, catalogued and treated for preservation. And Borobudur becomes a testing ground for new conservation techniques – new procedures to battle the microorganisms eating away at the stone. Experts in engineering, chemistry, biology and archaeology all share their skills to solve the multitude of problems. The restoration takes eight years of labor and unprecedented international cooperation to complete.
saving Borobudur
In the words of Professor Soekmono, the Indonesian archaeologist who directed the Borobudur Restoration Project: "Borobudur has resumed its old historical role as a place of learning, dedication and training. We might even conclude that the builders of the monument hoped and planned for such continuity. An excellent training program, either for the pilgrim-devotee or for the field technician, is always based on a wish, a fervent wish, that the trainee will achieve what is projected. For the ardent Buddhist it is the Highest Wisdom that leads to the Ultimate salvation, and for the technician the highest degree of expertise that leads to the appropriate fulfillment of his duty. In both cases, Candi Borobudur is the embodiment of such a deeply felt wish. It is a prayer in stone."
Post a Comment