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Taj Mahal
The builders of the monumental mausoleum, commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 to honour his wife Mumtaz Mahal, took twenty years to complete the work. A thousand elephants and entire herds of buffaloes were needed to transport marble from Makrana, jasper from the Punjab, jade and crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, sapphires from Sri Lanka, and carnelian from Arabia. A hymn to love, which, in the words of Rabindranath Tagore, resonates as: “A teardrop of marble resting on the cheek of time”.
