I utterly love the Taj Mahal, and am always awed by its simplicity and splendour… it is a wonderful monument built for love in a world that shows scant respect for the depth and gravity of that emotion; a world that has reduced love to the span of ‘days’ and ‘date nights.’ And when I saw the Taj for the first time… it made me stop, and think about Shah Jahan, and his wife Mumtaz.
Till date, I wonder about their undying love… what kind was it? Was it intense and passionate? Was it true love… but then, what is true love? Isn’t love how we choose to define it?
They were engaged or so the lore suggests, for five years before they got married. in that intermittent time, Shah Jahan got married to a princess. Hmmm. But once married they were inseparable, or so say some articles. What did that mean in those times? And would I want that kind of a love, would it be relevant to me and in my times? Or does love change, in meaning and expression in different contexts?
Taj made me think about what kind of people they were… what kind of a man was he? Did he respect his wife? Or just lust for her? Lust is a good thing, makes you feel wanted… but lust without respect, is demeaning. Did he respect her and her body? Or was she just a trophy wife?
When domestic rape is being spoken about in a loud voice, with women trying to feel more empowered to take decisions with respect to their bodies… how was it for Mumtaz? Did she have any volition, a right to her own body or did only what Shah Jahan wanted? What did she think? About her life, about him?
Did she pine for him when he was in the harem? Did she feel jealous? She is said to have asked him not to have children with his other wives… did that include abstinence from intimacy with them? He is said to have listened but a contrary report says he had one child with each of his other wives ‘to fulfill his duty as a husband.’
Shah Jahan and Mumtaz had 14 children. They say, Shah Jahan was inconsolable after her death. Mumtaz was his right hand in life and even during court sessions. He was never able to get over the pain of her loss. And so the Taj Mahal has long stood for ‘perfect’ love, love for a wife, love for a partner. Almost bordering on worship?
As I stood before it two winters ago, I however failed to understand this expression as just ‘love’… was it pure love, or was it also ego? He was afterall a man known for his monumental architectural indulgences and so did he express love through another beautiful monument? And then, I was left with a nagging question, “Is the Taj Mahal more about Shah Jahan than about Mumtaz? “