Described as ‘a monument of eternal love’, ‘a dream in marble’, ‘a materialized vision of loveliness’, ‘the wonder of the world’ and so on, the Taj Mahal has been a popular subject of History during the last century, and more than 200 books, monographs and poems have been written on it, in different languages. The love-story of Shah Jehan and Mumtaz Mahal has been repeated, over and over again, poetically, with a liberal dose of fanciful gossips of foreign travelers, guide-anecdotes, and romantic film-legends. Consequently, the history of the Taj Mahal has not only been romanticized, it has also been fantasized. 

THE TAJ MAHAL by R Nath and Ajay Nath is a new book on the subject which deals with its history and architecture and also with its art, archaeology and aesthetics. It gives almost complete information on such aspects as its site, land, environment, lay-out, placement, foundation, plan, design, garden, water-devices, drainage, architecture, ornamentation and inscriptions, in separate chapters, with the help of 52 drawings and 47 photographs. Chapters on ‘Constructional Modes and Techniques’, ‘Taj Polish’ and ‘Taj Mahal is sinking into the river’ deal with its archaeology and study its technical aspect, probably for the first time. Controversies have been studied side by side, and also in independent chapters as ‘Taj Mahal was offered for sale’, to which feature a novel chapter : ‘Chastity of the Taj Mahal’ has been added.

This is the first of the six paperbacks on the UNESCO World Heritage (Medieval) Sites of India which we are publishing.

Though based on a life-time’s study of the subject, it is written in a simple readable form, without research jargon, for the laymen, tourists and the general readers, as well as for the scholars, historians, archaeologists and practising architects, for whom too it has useful and authentic information which may not be available otherwise. It is fondly hoped that this shall be a standard work on the Taj Mahal, which all those interested in this subject will not only read, but will also like to possess, for a life-time.

Chapters 01. Prologue  02. Site of the Taj Mahal  03. The Land  04. The Environment  05. Terraced Lay-out of the Taj Mahal  06. Ingenious Placement of the Taj on the edge of the river-bank  07. Taj Foundation  08. Garden, Water-devices and Drainage  09. Architecture and Ornamentation  10. Subsidiary Buildings of the Taj Mahal  11. The Mahtab-Bagh and the Fiction of a Black Taj Mahal  10. Third Set of Tombstones on Real Graves  13. Inscriptions of the Taj Mahal  14. Constructional Modes and Techniques  15. Taj Polish  16. Original Measurements of the Taj Mahal  17. Builders of the Taj Mahal  18. The Material and Costs  19. Taj Mahal is sinking into the river ?  20. Taj Mahal was offered for sale ?  21. Chastity of the Taj Mahal Black-and-white Plates of the Interior 1 to 10 Colour Plates 1 to 47