The Taj Mahal

Summarizing the Story:          

                The Taj Mahal was built as a monument to eternal love.  It all started out when Prince Khurram was 15 and Arjumand Banu was 14.  At the time, Khurram was looking for a wife.  He visited the Meena Bazaar during a festival to celebrate the New Year.  He saw a beautiful girl his age selling candy at a stall.  He went over and they started a conversation, which then led to marriage.  At first Prince Khurram wasn’t sure whether or not his father would allow the marriage, seeing as Arjumand Banu was the daughter of the Prime Minister and not a princess.  However, Emperor Jahangir asked the royal astrologers what they read in the heavens, and they told him that the marriage would result in a very good match.  On the day of Arjumand and Khurram’s wedding, Jahangir saw how beautiful Arjumand was, so he gave her a new name:  Mumtaz Mahal, which meant “Jewel of the Palace”.  Mumtaz Mahal and Prince Khurram were very much in love, and whenever he led his troops into battle, she rode in alongside him.  Whenever he was   accompanied by his wife, Khurram never lost a battle.  He defeated so many enemies that when he arrived back at the palace, his father, Emperor Jahangir, gave him a new name:  Shah Jahan, which meant “King of the World”.  Eventually, Emperor Jahangir passed away, leaving Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal in charge of India.  They were good, fair rulers, and every year, Shah Jahan would put himself on a scale, and give his weight in gold, silver, jewels, and other riches to the poor.  The people of India loved their emperor and empress.  Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal had many children.  One day, when Shah Jahan was marching out to battle 

again, Mumtaz Mahal told him that she was pregnant with another child.  He thought that she should stay in the palace, but she refused, and they left the city together.  As Shah Jahan won his fights, Mumtaz Mahal gave birth to a baby girl.  Her husband was overjoyed, but when he went to visit her, he noticed that she was very pale.  Mumtaz Mahal was very sick.  Before she died, Mumtaz made Shah Jahan promise that he would make sure that their love would never be forgotten.  Then, she passed away.  Shah Jahan was desolate with sadness.  He stopped eating and drinking, and he couldn’t think of what to do to make sure their love wasn’t forgotten.  Then, one night, he had a dream in which Mumtaz Mahal was walking around in a beautiful white palace.  Then, he knew what he needed to create.  He called in architects and calligraphers from all over the world.  He had them design and build a great tomb that would show his love to Mumtaz Mahal.  White marble, gold, silver, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, sapphires, obsidian, and all sorts of wonderful and precious jewels were used in the making of the Taj Mahal.  After a few years of construction, it was finished.  The Taj Mahal was the most beautiful building in India.  Shah Jahan wanted to be buried alongside his wife in a black tomb when he died, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.  He grew ill, and his third son took advantage of this and imprisoned his father in the Red Palace, where he was held captive for eight years until he died.  His son buried him with Mumtaz Mahal, though not in the way and place Shah Jahan had envisioned it.  The Taj Mahal still stands today as a monument to the love between Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, as well as true love all over the world.