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| Sunday, March 7, 2004 |
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| Sunday, March 7, 2004 |
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Taj — A Story of Mughal India
Timeri N. Murari has recreated this evergreen love story of the 17th century India with the lucidity of a poet. It is more than a period love story. Murari deftly weaves this magical tale with the story of Murthi and his wife Sita, both fictional characters who, in the novel, are invited by Shahjahan to assist in the building of the mausoleum. Murari’s film, The Square Circle, made it to Time magazine’s top ten best films list. He writes a weekly column for The Hindu and his novel Arrangements of Love is due for release this year. Taj — A story of Mughal India was first published in 1985 by New English Library, UK. In this novel, the author takes the reader to the 17th century India. The persistence and patience with which Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal pursued their love for each other and finally convinced Jahangir to let them get married is worthy of the monument that symbolises their love. Murari recreates the opulence of the Lal Quila which is now more a landmark than a symbol of the endless power of the rulers of that time. The grandeur that marked the lives of the royalty is juxtaposed against the stark poverty just outside the palace gates. The book also offers interesting insights into the kind of lives that the women lived during those times. They were married off before they reached teenage and marital bliss thereafter depended on the whims and fancies of their husbands. Polygamy was the done thing as most of these marriages were mere political alliances. A Mughal proverb at the beginning of the book — Taktya Takhta? which literally means throne or coffin — aptly sums up how people lusted for power during those times.It was not unusual for a prince to kill his brothers to ensure his place on the throne; for it was understood that if he spared a brother who had revolted he could be the one in the coffin and the brother could easily mount the throne. Sons plotted against their fathers and held them prisoners, if they thought that doing so would ensure that they ascended the Mughal throne. The parallel story of Murthi and Sita’s struggle to survive at the mercy of the nobles touches one’s heart. The book reverberates with the message that love is all powerful. The story of Shahjahan and Mumtaj Mahal proves that love surmounts all odds, even death. |
IF there is one monument that epitomises true love,
it is the Taj Mahal. Not only from India but from around the world,
people flock to see this wonder carved out of white marble, as pure as
the love of Shahjahan and Arjumand (better known as Mumtaz-i-Mahal). It
was, indeed, the greatest tribute anyone could have paid to their
departed love. Their love story that culminated in the building of the
Taj Mahal, also known as the Mumtaz Mahal, was as sensual and mystical
as the lady who inspired the Taj.
