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    Gurudwara Lekhensar Sahib‬ in Talwandi Sabo

    Gurudwara Lekhensar Sahib‬ in Talwandi Sabo

    Ulugh Beg’s Observatory in Samarqand, Uzbekistan

    Ulugh Beg’s Observatory in Samarqand, Uzbekistan

    Rani Ki Baori, Bundi, Rajasthan

    Rani Ki Baori, Bundi, Rajasthan

    Bundi Fort, Rajasthan

    Bundi Fort, Rajasthan

    Rock Paintings in Bundi, Rajasthan

    Rock Paintings in Bundi, Rajasthan

    A Classical Nayika in Indian Paintings

    A Classical Nayika in Indian Paintings

    Jhat pat Bibi ki kahani

    Jhat pat Bibi ki kahani

    Jahangir ‘s Jade Cup

    Jahangir ‘s Jade Cup

    The Jama Masjid in Bodh Gaya

    The Jama Masjid in Bodh Gaya

    Buddha statues in Guimet Museum, Paris

    Buddha statues in Guimet Museum, Paris

    Museum of Scholars, Khiva , Uzbekistan

    Museum of Scholars, Khiva , Uzbekistan

    Malika e Kishwar’s grave in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

    Malika e Kishwar’s grave in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

    Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara

    Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara

    Gur e Amir, mausoleum of Amir Timur in Samarqand,Uzbekistan

    Gur e Amir, mausoleum of Amir Timur in Samarqand,Uzbekistan

    The Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarqand, Uzbekistan

    The Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarqand, Uzbekistan

    The Aq Masjid ( white mosque) of Khiva, Uzbekistan

    The Aq Masjid ( white mosque) of Khiva, Uzbekistan

    Chor Minar ( char minar) of Bukhara, Uzbekistan

    Chor Minar ( char minar) of Bukhara, Uzbekistan

    Mausoleum of Shad-e (or Shadi) Mulk Aga in Shah e Zinda, Samarqand

    Mausoleum of Mahmud Pahlavon in Khiva, Uzbekistan

    The tomb of Baba Rukn al-Din Shirazi, Takht-i Fulad, Isfahan, Iran

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      Gurudwara Lekhensar Sahib‬ in Talwandi Sabo

      Gurudwara Lekhensar Sahib‬ in Talwandi Sabo

      Ulugh Beg’s Observatory in Samarqand, Uzbekistan

      Ulugh Beg’s Observatory in Samarqand, Uzbekistan

      Rani Ki Baori, Bundi, Rajasthan

      Rani Ki Baori, Bundi, Rajasthan

      Bundi Fort, Rajasthan

      Bundi Fort, Rajasthan

      Rock Paintings in Bundi, Rajasthan

      Rock Paintings in Bundi, Rajasthan

      A Classical Nayika in Indian Paintings

      A Classical Nayika in Indian Paintings

      Jhat pat Bibi ki kahani

      Jhat pat Bibi ki kahani

      Jahangir ‘s Jade Cup

      Jahangir ‘s Jade Cup

      The Jama Masjid in Bodh Gaya

      The Jama Masjid in Bodh Gaya

      Buddha statues in Guimet Museum, Paris

      Buddha statues in Guimet Museum, Paris

      Museum of Scholars, Khiva , Uzbekistan

      Museum of Scholars, Khiva , Uzbekistan

      Malika e Kishwar’s grave in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

      Malika e Kishwar’s grave in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

      Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara

      Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara

      Gur e Amir, mausoleum of Amir Timur in Samarqand,Uzbekistan

      Gur e Amir, mausoleum of Amir Timur in Samarqand,Uzbekistan

      The Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarqand, Uzbekistan

      The Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarqand, Uzbekistan

      The Aq Masjid ( white mosque) of Khiva, Uzbekistan

      The Aq Masjid ( white mosque) of Khiva, Uzbekistan

      Chor Minar ( char minar) of Bukhara, Uzbekistan

      Chor Minar ( char minar) of Bukhara, Uzbekistan

      Mausoleum of Shad-e (or Shadi) Mulk Aga in Shah e Zinda, Samarqand

      Mausoleum of Mahmud Pahlavon in Khiva, Uzbekistan

      The tomb of Baba Rukn al-Din Shirazi, Takht-i Fulad, Isfahan, Iran

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      The Flowers that Bloom on Taj Mahal

      inMedieval Indian History, Our Cultural Heritage
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      When Mumtaz Mahal passed away, Bebadal Khan wrote the chronogram for her that yielded 1040 — the Hijri year of her death, corresponding to 1631 AD: “Ja-i-Mumtaz Mahal jannat baad [May the abode of Mumtaz Mahal be Paradise].” And so, the grief-stricken husband took it upon himself to build a veritable paradise as her resting place.
      the Taj architects were tasked with first making a plan for a hasht bahisht tomb [an irregular octagonal architectural plan which symbolises the eight levels of heaven] in the char bagh. However, for the emperor who mourned his wife so greatly that he wore white clothes for two years and shunned jewellery and itr, just getting the design right was not enough. Physical flowers are ephemeral — there had to be flowers cast in stone to last forever. And so, the best talent was gathered to make it happen. In fact, the carving of the flowers and their inlay work went on for much longer, even after the main tomb itself had been built.
      Indians were already familiar with inlay work, the insertion of stone on stone in prepared grooves. This was called #parchinkari in Persian. The Taj Mahal, though, didn’t just have parchinkari, but elaborate and intricate inlay work where precious stones were inlaid into #marble to create beautiful flowers.
      The #Mughals had become acquainted with the technique through European visitors. This involved cutting the precious and semi-precious stones into fine pieces and shapes, and then inlaying these innumerable pieces into marble to create a single flower pattern.
      Fanny Parkes, a British woman who lived in India from 1822-1845 and kept a journal of her stay, had the patience to count the number of pieces that went into the making of each flower in the marble screen surrounding the cenotaphs on the upper level of the Taj. A mind-boggling 72 pieces went into each flower and there were 50 such flowers on the screen around each cenotaph!
      The inlay artists had plenty of riches to work with — agates were brought from Yemen, cornelians from Arabia, amethyst from Persia, malachite from Russia, turquoise from upper Tibet, diamonds from central India, onyxes from the Deccan and garnets from Bundelkhand.

      V&A
      V&A

      -#tajmahal

      Drawings v&a museum

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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