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Taj Mahal: Symbol of eternity

The Taj Mahal has inspired unforgettable films, great music, beautiful paintings and haunting nazms and ghazals down the decades and remains an integral part of our aesthetic consciousness.

Taj Mahal: Symbol of eternity

(Photo: Getty Images)

The absence of the Taj Mahal from the tourism booklet of Uttar Pradesh recently has raised a controversy. It was inevitable that people would not remain silent over such an omission. The Taj Mahal has been a part of the consciousness not just of every Indian but of people all over the world who come to have a look at this wonder of the world.

It has inspired poets, painters and sculptors down the ages. The most beautiful description of this monument was given by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore when he said that Taj Mahal is “a teardrop on the cheek of eternity”.

Renowned poet Sahir Ludhianavi, who has been called a “romantic rebel” wrote a nazm titled “Taj Mahal” to express his views on the love of ordinary folk who did not have the resources to build a Taj to glorify their love. It was indeed a radically different view of the beautiful monument expressed very beautifully by the young poet who was influenced by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in his way of looking at romantic love.

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In this nazm, the lover requests his beloved not to meet him at the Taj Mahal but at some other place.

Taaj tere liye ek mazhar-e-ulfat hi sahi

Tumko is vaadi-e-rangeen se aquidat hi sahi

Meree mehboob kahin aur milaa kar mujhse

He says that for his beloved, the Taj may be a manifestation of love and she may be charmed by this beautiful site but his request is she should meet him elsewhere.

Towards the end, the poet writes, Ik shahenshaah ne daulat kaa sahaaraa lekar Hum gareebon ki muhabbat kaa udaayaa hai mazaaq Meree mehboob kahin aur milaa kar mujhse The poet-lover feels that a king had, through his wealth, ridiculed the love of the poor.

Quite a unique way of looking at this monument which had always been seen as a symbol of eternal love! Much later, when a romantic song had to be filmed as part of the movie Leader (1964) starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala, it was Shakeel Badayuni, another famous Urdu poet who penned the song, “Ik shahenshah ne banwa ke haseen Taj Mahal,saari duniya ko mohabbat ki nishaani dee hai/ iske saaye mein sadaa pyaar ke charche honge,khatm jo ho na sakegi woh kahaani dee hai. This was the traditional thought associated by poets with the Taj.

Sahir’s nazm would not have served the purpose here. It is a separate issue, however, that Sahir had written all the songs in the 1963 film Taj Mahal starring Pradeep Kumar and Beena Rai . The popular song, “Jo waada kiya woh nibhaana padega shows Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal (actually, her spirit) meeting at Taj Mahal. All the unforgettable songs of this classic were written by Sahir. They include “Paaon chhoo lene do phoolon ko”and “Jo baat tujh mein hai, teri tasveer mein nahin”.

The Taj has an ambience that evokes deep responses from people when they visit it, even in those who are not artistically or poetically inclined. An inexplicable feeling overwhelms people when they realise they are in the presence of something immense, completely different from other places they have been to. So it is no surprise that it moves greatly those who are more aware of aesthetics and beauty; to those who are more sensitive to such emotions.

It will, for all times to come, keep affecting poets and painters, thinkers and philosophers, lyricists and film makers. The 2014 film Youngistaan had this beautiful song in Arijit Singh’s voice.

Written by Kausar Munir,Suno na sang-e mar mar ki yeh minaarein,kuchh bhi nahin hain aagey tumhaare praises the beloved’s beauty by saying that this marble monument is nothing when compared to her beauty. So the lover gifts the Taj to her and says “Taj Tumhaara”.

In several films, we can see the Taj Mahal as an imposing presence, lending a wondrous look to the silver screen down the decades; in black and white films too. It is difficult to imagine our cinema without its majestic and graceful look. It is an icon of love and beauty, a symbol of eternity. Although the novelty of perspective that Sahir’s nazm gives us is fascinating, Shakeel’s composition has its own beauty too.

Taj ik zindaa tassavur hai kisi shaayar ka / uss ka afsaana haqeeqat ke siwaa kuchh bhi nahin Taj ne pyaar ki maujon ko rawaani dee hai. He says it is a Zinda Tassavur (living imagination) of a poet. And its afsaana (story) is nothing if not a haqeeqat (a reality). It has given birth to great music, beautiful paintings and haunting nazms and ghazals by the manner in which it inspires artistes. Sahir had also been deeply affected by; only it affected him in a completely different way.

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