Architecture: The Love Story Of The Taj Mahal

Two buildings, the Hagia Sophia and the Great Mosque of Cordoba, can show us two separate peoples and their approach to constructing architecture that was devoted to their religions. However, while religion played a huge role, there are similarities as well between the two that show that the rulers who commissioned these buildings were interested in mimicking beauty and showing the world that their building was the most beautiful and perhaps the most elite of its time as well as proving their divinity as a ruler of a great nation.

For a great many years, architecture has been a breaking point for different artisticeras in history. Some of the most famous “works of art” have been chapels, temples, and tombs. Among the most dominant and influential eras of great architecture are the sophisticated, stoic Greeco-Roman periods and the more mystical, elemental Japanese eras. These two very distinct and very different eras have more in common than you may realize.

A lot has happened in architecture since Louis Kahn death in 1974, some of it are really good, some are dreadful and we have different preferences about which is which. However, Kahn’s work look better than ever on its own terms. Better in its solidity and gravity. He was an architect of beautiful contradictions and one of the few to create architectural elements out of scale with the human figure. His buildings are very elegantly designed but are constructed of basic, often crude materials. Consisting of

The first piece of architectural art to look at is the Taj Mahal. It was constructed as a mausoleum for the wife of Shah Jahan’s favorite wife after her death following complications of childbirth (Kapadia, n.d.). It became so famous that its design was even replicated as a casino in Atlantic City, although that became a mausoleum for the cash of its investors. When someone looks at the Taj Mahal for the first time, the thing that stands out the most is the use of white marble in its construction. Almost everything in the Taj Mahal was created with white marble. Next to be noticed would be both the domes and minarets that make up the monument. These are key tenets of the Mughal style that was used in building it. So too is the calligraphy that adorns almost all of the gateways and

There are many ancient buildings that have withstood the test of time because of their construction and architecture. Some have undergone various renovations, others total reconstructions. A few locations of such happenings include these:

The identities of the figures in the Mewar version is extremely intermixed and complicated. Besides Sita, the main character of the story, it includes every important god of the Hindu religion. These consist of Brahma with four heads and four arms, Shiva, and many generic gods in the boats over the sky and near the area with congregated gods. Brahma, Shiva, and the King of Gods appear two times in the painting: one is to observe the crucial moment of Sita being tested in fire; the other is to ride animals across the canvas. In addition, it has two Ramas and four Sitas. Monkeys occupy a significant portion of the painting, signifying their role in defeating Ravana. In terms of characters, the painting is all-inclusive of the chief deities of Hinduism and the main characters of the Ramayana. The favor of the Indian tradition and a deep religious connotation displayed by the depictions of the gods nods to the idea of darsen--seeing the gods in exchange of their bestowed merits. The faithfulness to the Ramayana denotes the patron’s understanding of the literary tradition as well. The Mewar dynasties inherited the Hindu tradition of belief and language so that the perception of the identities of the figures would be not only natural but also deeply attached. In contrast to the Mewar painting, the Sub-imperial Mughal version is drastically more simplistic. The figures

The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary

Ching, Francis D., Jarzombek, Mark M., and Prakash, Vikramaditya. Global History of Architecture (2nd Edition). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 21 October 2015.

Nowadays, as modern societies provide an almost fixed time-table for humans to operate in various fields, we have far less freedom regarding our natural and momentary impulses than in the past. In other words, "we are increasingly detaching ourselves from organic and functional periodicity which is dictated by nature, and replacing it by mechanical periodicity which is dictated by the schedule, the calender, and the clock"(Jackson, 1994). The influence of this modern style of living on our sense of time can be seen on our relationship to every object we interact including buildings and architectural works.

“The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built” (Frank Lloyd Wright). Throughout the centuries, architecture has fascinated everyone. History is inscribed in buildings and they can express the political and economic power of a nation. Although time has gone by, buildings have not. You can still idolize ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture and see how the events that occurred at that time influenced them.

Today, people build skyscrapers one hundred stories tall, but society does not hold those in as high an esteem as it does the ancient wonders of the world. The most likely reason for this is that the ancient wonders of the world did not have modern technology. The Medieval cathedral is a perfect example of a building constructed without the help of modern technology. Cathedrals of the Gothic era were built for numerous reasons and used simple tools to create advanced architectural marvels.

The Mughal culture was influenced by South Asia and the broader Islamic world. The Mughal

Today technology allows us to construct structures that we would never have been able to make in the past. Some of the creations are impressive based on what they accomplish but others are masterpieces in themselves. Man’s capability to build such tall buildings, as the skyscrapers we are familiar with covering our cities today, is a major expression of the advancements we have made as a culture. The power necessary to build such tall structures inspired competition between architects to see who could build the tallest one. One skyscraper that has inspired many and served as a model, for high rise buildings that were created after, is the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler Building serves as an identifying mark to anyone that

This essay focuses on the theme of forbidden love, The God of Small Things written by Arundhati Roy. This novel explores love and how love can’t be ignored when confronted with social boundaries. The novel examines how conventional society seeks to destroy true love as this novel is constantly connected to loss, death and sadness. This essay will explore the theme of forbidden love, by discussing and analysing Ammu and Velutha's love that is forbidden because of the ‘Love Laws’ in relation to the caste system which results in Velutha’s death. It is evident that forbidden love negatively impacts and influences other characters, such as Estha and Rahel, which results in Estha and Rahel’s incestuous encounter.

The Taj Mahal is a prime example of India’s rich culture. A mix of Indian, Persian and Islamic characteristics, the two decade long project is a renowned “Wonder of the World” that boasts an emotional and romantic history; it was built by Emperor Shah Jahan of the Mughal era in a splendid tribute to his deceased wife. To this day, the Taj Mahal continues to be a famous landmark and cherished piece of Indian art.