Mumtaz Mahal

The year was 1607 when a young, beautiful girl all of 14 years old, made the young 15 year old prince fell in love with her at the first sight. That girl was non other then Mumtaz Mahal and the prince was Shah Jahan who became the king of India. This was the beginning of this eternal love story, that is still remembered by lovers all around that also became an eternal part of the history of Taj Mahal.

Mumtaz Mahal - The Eternal Beauty

Shah Jahan with his entire entourage was out in the Meena Bazaar when he first saw Arjumand Bano in the market. There she sat at her glass shop with long golden hair blossoming on her shoulder touching her milky feet, her eyes twinkling blue and the colour of her face was a perfect blend of sun, sea and sky… selling the silks and glass beads. Extremely gorgeous and fresh like a dew drops, Arjumand bowled over young prince with her graceful looks. He bought all the glass pieces from her shop and came back with a memorable image of Mumtaz in his mind. Finally a beautiful love story begins.

The Love Story Begins- The Flame is Lit
The passion and love was equal on both sides. After some courage Khurram (addressed by his father with love) after being crowned asked his father for his consent to marry Mumtaz. But before giving their story the final conclusion, they had to wait for 5 long years. In between these five years he married a Persian princess for some political reasons.

A Royal Marriage
At last after a long wait of 5 years, in 1612 Khurram got married to Arjumand Bano (named Mumtaz Mahal after marriage). At that time he was 20 and Mumtaz was 19 years old. The marriage was a very lavish affair, the best of its time. A huge procession of best musicians, dancers, court-men made this wedding a grand affair. Finally they were tied in a sacred courtship of never ending love.

Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan Joyful Life
After the death of his father Prince Khurram became the King and was given the name Shah Jahan. As a showcase of his love Shah Jahan made lavish and grand palaces and forts for her. One of them is Khas Mahal in Agra. She was a loyal Queen who stood beside her King at every moment. She even use to accompany him to many battle ground. There was happiness all around. They were living a very happy life.

Death of Mumtaz Mahal
The year 1630 was the time when this love story came to an end with the pathetic death of Mumtaz Mahal. Like any other battle time, Queen Mumtaz accompanied Shah Jahan who was on a war in the Deccan area. She was pregnant during this expedition, and gave birth to their 14th child there. Because of much weakness she fell extremely ill after the birth of their child and finally after 2-3 days she died. Before she took her last breath, she asked her husband to build a monument that would symbolize their love. For almost 2 years the entire state went in mourning.

Taj Mahal was Built As A Tribute to The Love
After 2 years Shah Jahan decided to pay tribute to her loving wife and to fulfill her last promise. For this he decided to erect a monument that was and can never be built by anyone. For this he sent for the famous Ustad Ahmad Lahauri who was the best of his time. He chose everything personally and paid special attention to it. Like white marble was bought from Italy and the artisans were brought from all over India. This was the dream that Shah Jahan saw this was 'Taj Mahal' a tribute to his wife.