Expressions, impressions
| Take in the sight of the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri on a wintry evening and return transfixed |
light and shade Fatehpur Sikri inspires awe at dusk; (below) the inlay works in the Taj Mahal
The grandeur, magnificence and majesty of Islamic monuments in India, particularly those built by the Mughals, have enchanted art lovers and connoisseurs alike.
One cannot deny the dynamism, vision and ingenuity of conception and structural technology which the Mughals brought to their architectural expressions.
Charming architecture
Although these monuments today attract international and domestic tourists, the charm and aura of their architecture can be truly experienced under certain weather and light conditions.
As a great lover of Islamic art and with frequent opportunities to travel North, I have visited these monuments during various times of the year.
In August or September; the oppressive weather after the rain makes it a physically uncomfortable experience. But in winter, particularly November, it is awesome to see and experience these monuments bathed in a haze of ephemeral shifting light.
Veiled in mist
Travelling to Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandra in November is singularly a unique experience. The city of the Taj is cold, misty and hazy, with the rising sun a golden ball of tame fire in the Eastern sky. With the monument in close proximity to the hotel, we decided to walk to the Taj. At seven in the morning, as we passed through the main gateway, the Taj Mahal stood resplendent in all its beauty, veiled like a bride in mist with the golden rays embracing her. A breathtaking and emotionally moving moment. Enhancing the visual experience was the comforting coolness, the light and the translucent marble exuding a romantic aura.
The white marble of the tomb, suffused in the morning light, was evocatively sensuous, enhancing the feminity that shines through the structure, including in its floral and geometric decorative inlays. As beautiful as the woman it holds within its bosom.
Embellishments
The decorative patterns in semi-precious stones, ‘pietra dura’, contain cornelian, agate, jasper, jade, malachite etc. These stones were selected with an eye for colours and tonal shades, and in a single flower — take a dahlia or a carnation — it is possible to see nuances of a shade like orange.
The character of the decoration also shows Shah Jahan to be a great lover of beauty. It is claimed that he had the eye to pick out the rarest of gems.
Moving beyond the pietra dura inlay decorating the walls and the cenotaph, one only needs to glance at the floor to see another form of decoration — the opus sectile. In this form of inlay, the material used is multi-hued marble, ranging from the purest white, to yellow, pink and green juxtaposed in intricate geometric and organic patterns.
While the details in the Taj inspire awe and delight, architecturally, the monument was conceived to be perfect, the only asymmetry being the cenotaph of Shah Jahan that lies off centre next to Mumtaz Mahal.
And this with a reason, since he had intended another monument for himself across the river Jamuna, in black marble — his son Aurangzeb did not allow this to happen.
If the Taj lingers in our memory as a poem chiselled in stone, Fatehpur Sikri (30 km from Agra), the capital city designed by Akbar, Shah Jahan’s grandfather, offers testimony to the great monarch’s pragmatic vision.
Bathed in light
We visited the city late in the evening, when the tourists were moving out, and the setting sun bathed the monument in glowing red, subdued only by the rising mist.
In the gradual fading winter light, it was easy to visualise the splendour of the great monarch’s court, coming alive with Tansen’s soulful music on the Anup Talao, the gentle rhythm of the dancer’s anklets or the teasing evening breeze blowing across the red sandstone ridge.
As dusk settled, the monuments, with their domed pinnacles and pyramidal roofs, rose like guardian sentinels against the sky.
ASHRAFI S. BHAGAT
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