A quick refresher on the Taj Mahal.
India’s most famous monument, the Taj Mahal, is also one of the seven wonders of the world. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built it as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Many people believe that Shah Jahan got the hands of the workers who built the Taj Mahal cut off so that they couldn’t build something like it again! But this is just a story, not the truth.
Yes, the Taj Mahal is beautiful, but why is it in the news?
It’s in the news because of two reasons. Under the Taj Mahal are many locked rooms where visitors aren’t allowed. Some people believe that the Taj Mahal was once a temple and that in twenty-two of these rooms there were idols of Hindu Gods. There exists no proof of this whatsoever.
A fellow named Dr. Rajneesh Singh filed a case with the Allahabad High Court asking for a group of people to be allowed to go down there and investigate. The court refused his request.
A huge monument like the Taj Mahal needs a lot of support to keep standing tall. These empty rooms are its foundation, carrying its weight for these hundreds of years. It’s simply not safe for many people to go knocking around in there.
What’s the second thing that happened?
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) released two pictures of maintenance work going on in these underground rooms. These pictures show how new and shiny the walls in these rooms look after maintenance. This is the first time such pictures of the Taj Mahal have been revealed to the public.
What does this prove?
The ASI declared that outsiders may not be allowed in these rooms, but ASI members certainly are. They have never found any temple idols there. This proves that there is nothing under the Taj Mahal.
We can see these pictures ourselves. No exciting secrets here, just plain empty rooms.
We will never be allowed in these rooms below the Taj Mahal. But we can feast our eyes on these pictures and marvel at how these empty rooms have been holding up the weight and grandness of the 390-year-old mighty monument.
