BY - Priyanka Rai
1. Taj Mahal is taller than Delhi’s Qutub Minar Would you believe us if we say that the Taj Mahal is taller than Qutub Minar? Well, the Taj is 73 m high, while the Qutub Minar measures 72.5 m
2. There are more than 10 replicas of the Taj around the world Well, you read that right! There are over 10 replicas of Taj in the world but none of them are as astounding as the original one
3. The colour of the monument keeps changing throughout the day This is quite fascinating. The Taj Mahal basks in its own glory and in varied shades as the sun ascends and descends down the horizon
4. Value of the Taj Mahal today It is believed that around INR 32 million was spent to complete the construction of this white mausoleum (in 1653). Today, the cost of building the Taj would be somewhere around INR 70 billion (nearly $1 billion)
5. Use of precious stones The Taj Mahal is adorned with more than 40 types of precious and semi-precious stones, including pearls, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires, among others
6. Over 1000 elephants were used Elephants played an important role in building the Taj Mahal. As per the reports, nearly 1000 elephants were used to transfer the construction material from one place to another during that time
7. Mumtaz Mahal died during the birth of her 14th child Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahan, after whom the Taj Mahal is built, actually died during the birth of her 14th child, and this white beauty was built by Shah Jahan in her memory
8. It took 20 years and 20000 workers It took around 20 years to complete the Taj Mahal and some 20000 workers were employed in the construction work
9. Building materials were brought from different countries In order to build the symbol of love, the materials were all transported from Punjab, Rajastha,.Sri Lanka, Tibet and China, to name a few
10. Black Taj Mahal It is said that Shah Jahan wanted to build a black coloured Taj Mahal soon after completing the white one. But his plans were interrupted by his son Aurangzeb